--- title: Brexit Referendum: Jo Cox Shooting Makes a Difference description: Jo Cox's murder put a pall on the Brexit debate—and pushed Britons to mediate their differences. The same thing isn't happening in the U.S. canonical: https://time.com/4378181/jo-cox-murder-brexit-orlando-shooting/ author: Ian Bremmer article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-22T16:04:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T22:46:23.473Z article:section: World og:title: Orlando Is Dividing Americans, Not Bringing Them Together og:description: Jo Cox's murder put a pall on the Brexit debate—and pushed Britons to mediate their differences. The same thing isn't happening in the U.S. og:url: https://time.com/4378181/jo-cox-murder-brexit-orlando-shooting/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb686f1dc78b8178/698898f5ab6d772e9b6aa2c0/jo-cox-britain-mp-assassination-tribute.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Murdered MP Jo Cox Is Remembered At Memorial Events Worldwide og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Orlando Is Dividing Americans, Not Bringing Them Together twitter:description: Jo Cox's murder put a pall on the Brexit debate—and pushed Britons to mediate their differences. The same thing isn't happening in the U.S. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb686f1dc78b8178/698898f5ab6d772e9b6aa2c0/jo-cox-britain-mp-assassination-tribute.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Britons Will Heal After Brexit—But Americans Will Only Keep Fighting  by [Ian Bremmer](/author/ian-bremmer/)  ## Ian Bremmer Jun 22, 2016 4:04 PM CUT  Floral tributes and messages are left outside Batley Town Hall ahead of a public event to celebrate the life and 42nd birthday of Labour MP Jo Cox in Batley, U.K., on June 22, 2016\. Cox was shot and stabbed in the street on June 16 and later died. Floral tributes and messages are left outside Batley Town Hall ahead of a public event to celebrate the life and 42nd birthday of Labour MP Jo Cox in Batley, U.K., on June 22, 2016\. Cox was shot and stabbed in the street on June 16 and later died.Ian Forsyth—Getty Images  by [Ian Bremmer](/author/ian-bremmer/)  ## Ian Bremmer Jun 22, 2016 4:04 PM CUT By chance, I was in London when news came of the [murder of British MP Jo Cox](http://time.com/4372869/thomas-mair-jo-cox-murder/ "undefined"), and I was struck by the humbling effect of the [national shockwave](http://time.com/4375058/jo-cox-killed-uk-lawmakers-tribute/ "undefined"). Campaigners on both sides of the [increasingly intense debate](http://time.com/4377911/politicians-make-final-appeals-on-eve-of-brexit-referendum/ "undefined") over the Brexit referendum on June 23 understood the time had come for a pause, a breath, a moment to step back from the battle lines. We’ll never know for sure how many minds [this horror changed](http://time.com/4371945/jo-cox-shooting-england-gun-control/ "undefined"), if any, but respect for Jo Cox and her family shifted the [terms of the Brexit debate](http://time.com/4374350/john-oliver-brexit-last-week-tonight/ "undefined"). **Read More:** [**These 5 Facts Explain the Debate Over Brexit**](http://time.com/4207785/these-5-facts-explain-the-debate-over-brexit/ "undefined") This week, as the campaign hits the homestretch, the charges and counter-charges are once again flying. Hopes and fears are raised. Britons are about to cast an historic vote. But I can’t help but reflect on the difference with what’s going on in my own country. The murder of 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando did nothing to shift the terms or tone of America’s increasingly vitriolic political debate. Democrats spoke immediately of homophobia and the easy availability of battlefield weapons on American streets. Republicans chastised President Obama for his refusal to blame all Muslims for the attack. And Donald Trump, within hours of the attack, tweeted a self-congratulatory message about how unsurprised he was by a murder that shocked and saddened people across the nation. **Read More:** [**What Anxiety Over Brexit Tells Us About the Markets**](http://time.com/4372971/jo-cox-shooting-brexit-referendum/ "undefined") In America, this crime against innocent people produced no pause, no reflection, no new civility, no shift of tone or feeling. It has not restored one ounce of dignity to the never-ending partisan food-fight that passes for political debate in the United States. Whether Britons vote to leave or remain in the European Union, I believe that people on both sides understand that something was lost during their battles over Brexit—and that the result of the vote will now be less corrosive, whatever the final result. **Read More:** [**The Surprising—and Welcome—Social Advance Embedded in the Orlando Attacks**](http://time.com/4369974/orlando-shooting-gay-rights/ "undefined") In my country, unfortunately, the murders in Orlando have confirmed my suspicion that future attacks will widen the divide, not bring Americans together. 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