'Fuel on a speculative fire': Analyst slams GOP governor's 'dog whistle-laden' statements
Utah Governor Spencer Cox speaks at a press conference after U.S. right-wing activist, commentator, Charlie Kirk, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U.S. September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart/File Photo

A prominent liberal analyst slammed Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox's press conference on Sunday, updating the public about the investigation into conservative activist Charlie Kirk's murder last week.

Sam Seder, co-host of "The Majority Report," responded to some of the claims Cox made during his press conference on a new episode of the podcast. He took issue with Cox claiming that the alleged shooter had a left-wing political ideology and the governor's discussion of engravings found on the shell casings.

"Spencer Cox wanted to end speculation about what was on the shell casings, and so he reads off what was on there, which of course is nothing but an accelerant and fuel on a speculative fire," Seder said. "If you genuinely wanted to inhibit speculation, you wouldn't release this information right now."

"It's sort of fascinating because this was a very dog whistle-laden press conference... There is a politeness about Mormonism that he's got to appeal to," Seder said. "He also knows that he's being viewed nationally, and so he's got to come off like he's calling for national reconciliation, but he does specifically say he was proud of Utahans by dog whistling 'We didn't have any George Floyd protests here.'"

"He didn't say George Floyd, but he started going through a litany of things," Seder added.