US rightwing activist Charlie Kirk has faced condemnation after describing the United Kingdom as a “totalitarian third world hellhole” during a podcast following his visit in May. Kirk, who debated students at Oxford and Cambridge and appeared on GB News, claimed that the country was a “husk” of its former self and that immigrants were “importing insidious values into the west”.
During his three-day trip, Kirk argued at the Cambridge Union that the US Civil Rights Act was a “mistake” and that lockdowns were unnecessary. In Oxford, he alleged that police violence against Black people resulted from a “disproportionate crime problem” in the Black community. His remarks drew sharp criticism from British commentators and politicians.
Kirk also toured South Korea and Japan, where he addressed supporters and promoted anti-immigration rhetoric. In Tokyo, he endorsed the rightwing Sanseito party, describing its platform as “kicking foreigners out of Japan”. He claimed that migrants were “very quietly and secretly funnelling themselves into Japanese life” and seeking to “erase, replace and eradicate Japan”.
In Seoul, Kirk spoke at the Build Up Korea 2025 event, criticising investigations into former President Yoon Suk Yeol and warning that “if South Korea keeps on acting like this, it is the American way to step up and fight for what is right”. His comments have reignited debate over the influence of far-right American figures abroad.
