Likely Written Before Kirk’s Death Certificate Dried: Tom MacDonald’s ‘Charlie’ Hits Billboard
(September 25, 2025) – Opportunism sells, even if only briefly.
Just 36 hours after conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s murder on September 10 at Utah Valley University, Canadian rapper Tom MacDonald had already released “Charlie”—a hastily assembled tribute track that doubled as a MAGA rallying cry. By the time Kirk’s body was transferred back to his Arizona hometown, MacDonald’s single had topped the iTunes chart.
And in its first full tracking week, “Charlie” entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 77, the result of 18,000 downloads on iTunes and about 4.5 million streams between Sept. 12-18.
A Quick Climb, A Quicker Fall
A No. 77 debut is hardly historic—especially compared to other right-wing anthems that have reached the chart’s summit, like Jason Aldean’s “Try That In a Small Town” and Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond,” which went back-to-back at No. 1 in 2023.
But it is still an accomplishment for MacDonald, whose career chart résumé remains thin. “Charlie” becomes only his fifth Hot 100 entry (out of nearly 100 single releases during the Trump era). Just one has ever gone higher than No. 70—last year’s unlikely top-40 crossover “Facts,” aided by guest verses from Daily Wire conservative host Ben Shapiro.
Projections suggest “Charlie” will be gone from the chart next week, making this hymn of devotion a one-week wonder—more an emotional reflex than a lasting cultural moment. Still, its anti-“woke,” Christianity-evoking, victim posturing had to be satisfying for a significant part of the nation still reeling over Kirk’s horrific killing. And, like MacDonald’s earlier work, it got people talking.
Penning Before the Ink Was Dry
The most remarkable thing about “Charlie,” though, was its speed to market. The track was likely written, recorded, and packaged before Kirk’s death certificate was even signed. In the process, MacDonald wasted no time attributing blame, with lyrics pointed squarely at “woke liberals” before police had even identified the suspect.
That willingness to weaponize tragedy before facts emerged is now a hallmark of not only the MAGA pop-culture playbook but, arguably, 21st century politics in general. In this case, the song “Charlie” was as much about reinforcing talking points as it was about remembering Kirk. Incidentally, Turning Point USA—the political organization Kirk founded—hosted its second post-assassination campus event at the very university this writer earned his degree four decades ago—Virginia Tech—a university all too familiar with gun violence after 32 students and professors were killed by a mass murderer on April 16, 2007. The irony that Kirk was killed while debating gun violence at a different college campus was not lost on yours truly. Megyn Kelly, prominent right-wing political podcaster, was the chief debater at the Tech event, “honoring” Kirk while debating with students about whose ideology and rhetoric was to blame for Charlie’s demise.
The Ironic Face of MAGA Rap
That MacDonald has become MAGA’s go-to voice for hip-hop is, in itself, ironic. He’s Canadian, and Canada is not exactly a Trump-favored nation (though that list of enemies and allies changes depending on the week—see this week’s U.N. address for evidence). And the response to the Canuck’s brash brand of rap is as polarized as the rapper’s music itself, with reactions ranging from being hailed by American conservatives as bold, unapologetic and “facts,” to liberals calling it “an unstoppable force of reactionary dumbness.”
Nonetheless, and perhaps supporting both views, MacDonald has reliably delivered the uniquely American MAGA movement’s soundtrack, even if his songs rarely stick. Past titles speak for themselves: “Fake Woke,” “Snowflakes,” “White Trash,” “Straight White Male,” “If I Was Black,” “No Lives Matter,” “Race War,” and, most recently, “The Devil is a Democrat.” Each plays like a bullet-pointed grievance list dressed up as hip-hop.
And then there’s “Facts,” his lone legitimate hit, which openly mocked rap even as it relied on the genre’s very mechanics for clicks. MacDonald and featured guest Shapiro sneered that hip-hop “turns your sons into thugs or your daughters into hoes”—all while co-opting the music on his highest charting single.
The irony practically writes itself.
America’s Soundtrack, Not Canada’s
Interestingly, “Facts” is also the only MacDonald track to ever chart in his homeland, peaking at No. 42 on the Canadian Hot 100. That gap underscores how uniquely American—and uniquely MAGA—this musical niche really is.
In Canada, MacDonald seems more like a curiosity. In the U.S., he’s an on-demand mouthpiece for a movement that knows how to stream or, more accurately, download in droves when it wants to make a statement. Still, until last week, U.S. consumption of Mac’s music had been limited to those few thousand loyalists who download his singles upon initial release—enough to send it to the top of the iTunes chart for a week—but not enough activity to merit entry on the multi-metric Hot 100, which also factors in radio play and streaming…at least not until “Charlie.”
A Footnote Waiting to Fade
When the dust settles, Charlie Kirk’s legacy will continue to be debated, fought over, and reframed for years to come. MacDonald’s “Charlie,” on the other hand, will likely fade as quickly as it arrived—filed next to “Snowflakes” and “Fake Woke” in the bin of forgotten MAGA-rap moments.
At least until the “People So Stupid” rapper fires off his next missive in rhyme.
DJRob
DJRob (he/him) is a freelance music blogger from the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, disco, pop, rock and country genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff! You can follow him on Bluesky at @djrobblog.bsky.social, X (formerly Twitter) at @djrobblog, on Facebook or on Meta’s Threads.
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