About

You Killed the Moderate, Now You Get the Radical is a catchphrase used in a series of memes showing someone who was canceled or killed under the portion of the phrase, "You killed the moderate," and a more radical replacement for the person under the phrase, "Now you get the radical." The meme first appeared on X / Twitter in mid-September 2025, following the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, in which Kirk is portrayed as the moderate. It was popularized later that month after late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off air for his comments on Kirk, with Kimmel being labeled the moderate. As the meme spread, it became increasingly ironic.

Origin

On September 14th, 2025, X^[1] user @TonyMichaelX posted a meme showing an image of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on the top, captioned, "You killed the moderate." On the lower half of the meme is an image of American Nazi Party founder George Lincoln Rockwell, captioned, "Now you get the radical." The meme, which was posted four days after Kirk's assassination, gained over 1,000 likes in a week and is the earliest known example of the format.

Spread

The catchphrase and format spread over the following days in mid-September 2025.

On September 14th, 2025, Threads^[2] user @theheatherashley made a post calling out the original version of the meme for featuring Rockwell, a neo-Nazi, garnering over 740 likes in a week.

On September 19th, X^[3] user @AlfredAlfer77, an account purportedly run by controversial animator and white nationalist Emily Youcis, posted a photo of herself in her "Pistachio Girl" era next to an edit depicting her as a Nazi under the caption, garnering over 1,900 likes in three days.

Later that day, X^[4] user @jarvis_best quoted @AlfredAlfer77's post with a photo of late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel next to a photo of fellow host Jimmy Fallon doing a silly dance, using the same caption, garnering over 90,000 likes in three days.

On September 20th, 2025, X^[5] user @BasedIllinoisan posted a version of the meme using images of former Presidents JFK and Lyndon B. Johnson, garnering over 3,800 likes in two days.

On September 21st, Instagram^[6] user bidenspeechwriter reposted the Jimmy Fallon version of the meme, garnering over 1,100 likes in under 24 hours.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References