Charlie Kirk: 'I can't stand empathy, it's a new-age term'

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk expressed a strong aversion to the word "empathy" in 2022, labeling it a "made-up, new-age term" that causes significant harm. Kirk argued that the concept of empathy, which implies fully absorbing and feeling another person's pain, is impossible and narcissistic.

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I can’t stand the word empathy, actually. I think empathy is a made-up, new-age term, and it does a lot of damage.

He proposed "sympathy" as a superior alternative. Sympathy, Kirk explained, involves acknowledging another's suffering and offering assistance without claiming to experience their exact feelings. This maintains a healthy emotional boundary, he contended.

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When Bill Clinton said, 'I feel your pain,' that was a brilliant political move. It was total nonsense, but it worked.

Kirk suggested that "empathy" is often used as a political tool, citing Bill Clinton's "I feel your pain" as a "brilliant political move" that was "total nonsense." He argued that when political discourse centers on empathy, it shifts debates from policy effectiveness to moral judgment, determining who is a "good person" and who is a "monster."

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I prefer sympathy. Sympathy is a much better word. Sympathy is saying, 'I’m sorry for what you’re going through, I’m going to try to help you.'