Her edit is wrong, and probably deliberate, for that she will be criticized. But Kirk did write and say some truly heinous things. That much is something we all know.
Pathetic.
You should never be attributing verbatim quotes to someone while signing their name to it, especially as a journalist, it's simply wrong and unacceptable.
The reader can decide for themselves what Kirk actually meant after reading his actual original quote with you or her deciding for all of us.