Things were seriously heading off the rails.

Then — in the middle of all this — Charlie Kirk reached out.

He invited me to come on his show to talk with him. He wrote:

“Hey, Van, I mean it, I’d love to have you on my show to have a respectful conversation about crime and race. I would be a gentleman as I know you would be as well. We can disagree about the issues agreeably.”

Unfortunately, before I could even respond, Charlie Kirk was killed — seemingly assassinated for the words he’s spoken, though the killer’s exact motives are still being investigated.