MAGA'S HORST WESSEL
Charlie Kirk's Widow Erika Hails Him As A 'Martyr' In First Remarks Since His Death
Lydia O'Connor
Fri, September 12, 2025
Fri, September 12, 2025
HUFFPOST
Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, addressed the public for the first time since her husband’s slaying two days ago, calling him a “martyr” in live-streamed remarks Friday evening.
She opened her address with thanks to law enforcement, first responders, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Politics: 'Amateur Hour': FBI Director Stumbles In Charlie Kirk Murder Investigation
“Mr. President, my husband loved you, and he knew that you loved him too,” she said.
This is the first time Erika Kirk, 36, has spoken publicly since her husband, 31, was shot and killed while speaking in front of a large crowd on campus at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
“I will never, ever have the words to describe the loss that I feel in my heart,” she continued. “I honestly have no idea what any of this means. I know that God does, but I don’t.”
Erika Kirk’s remarks come the same day authorities announced they’d captured a suspect in the shooting, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson. He’s been charged with three state felony offenses: aggravated murder — which carries the possibility of the death penalty — along with obstruction of justice and discharge of a weapon causing serious bodily injury.
“The evildoers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done,” she said, adding, “If you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country.”
Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, addressed the public for the first time since her husband’s slaying two days ago, calling him a “martyr” in live-streamed remarks Friday evening.
She opened her address with thanks to law enforcement, first responders, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Politics: 'Amateur Hour': FBI Director Stumbles In Charlie Kirk Murder Investigation
“Mr. President, my husband loved you, and he knew that you loved him too,” she said.
This is the first time Erika Kirk, 36, has spoken publicly since her husband, 31, was shot and killed while speaking in front of a large crowd on campus at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
“I will never, ever have the words to describe the loss that I feel in my heart,” she continued. “I honestly have no idea what any of this means. I know that God does, but I don’t.”
Erika Kirk’s remarks come the same day authorities announced they’d captured a suspect in the shooting, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson. He’s been charged with three state felony offenses: aggravated murder — which carries the possibility of the death penalty — along with obstruction of justice and discharge of a weapon causing serious bodily injury.
“The evildoers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done,” she said, adding, “If you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country.”
Erika Kirk, left, with second lady Usha Vance and Vice President JD Vance, deplanes Air Force Two in Phoenix on Thursday. The plane was carrying the body of Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA. via Associated PressMore
The pair married in 2021 and have two children together, a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son. When her daughter asked her Thursday night where he was, she said Friday, she told her, “He’s on a work trip with Jesus.”
The former Miss Arizona regularly appeared alongside her right-wing influencer husband and spoke at his Turning Point USA conference in June, encouraging women to seek marriage.
“For the women who are getting married after 30 — that’s OK,” she said, then added, “It’s not ideal. It’s not probably the best statistical position for you — but God is good.”
Speaking Friday, Erika Kirk once again shared her beliefs about the importance of marriage and child-rearing, which was something her husband regularly espoused.
“Charlie always said that if he ever ran for office ― I know a lot of you asked if he ever was going to, but privately he told me, if he ever did run for office, that his top priority would be to revive the American family,” she said.
Since 2019, she’s hosted a Christian podcast called “Midweek Rise Up.” She also owns a faith-based streetwear line tied to a Christian ministry she runs called BIBLEin365, according to her website.
Erika Kirk said the speaking tour her husband was on when he was killed will continue, though it’s unclear who will headline the events.
“I promise I’ll make Turning Point USA the biggest thing that this nation has ever seen,” she said.
'No idea what you have unleashed': Charlie Kirk’s wife delivers first public address
WIDOW NOW RAISING BROWNSHIRTS
Michael Loria and Amanda Lee Myers,
USA TODAY
Fri, September 12, 2025
Fri, September 12, 2025
Erika Kirk vowed in a September 12 speech to continue her husband’s movement and said that “the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.”
It was Erika Kirk's first public appearance since her husband was killed while speaking with students at Utah Valley University days earlier.
“The evil-doers for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done,” she said in a livestream on the YouTube page of Turning Point USA, the conservative movement her husband started out of high school in Illinois that has since swept college campuses around the nation.
Kirk’s address came in the aftermath of authorities announcing that they had captured a suspected shooter in Kirk’s killing. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox told reporters later in the morning that Tyler Robinson, 22, was taken into custody after a family member contacted a family friend, who then informed authorities that Robinson had "confessed to them or implied that he committed the incident."
The mother of two spoke from her husband’s studio where he delivered The Charlie Kirk Show. The desk was outfitted with white hats with a gold number "47," a reference to President Donald Trump. The conservative talk show host was a strong proponent of the 47th president.
Kirk promised that her husband will not have died in vain and said that instead his message would only become stronger.
“They killed Charlie because he preached a message of patriotism, faith and of God’s love,” she said. “They should all know this. If you thought my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you have unleashed across this country and this world.
She added: “You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife.”
She said her husband’s campus tour will continue, more tours will come and his radio and podcast show will go on.
How long had they been married?
Born Erika Frantzve, Kirk married her husband in May 2021, according to the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network and a social media post by Erika.
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BuzzFeed328She worked as a real estate agent with The Corcoran Group in New York City, according to her LinkedIn profile, and is also the founder of Everyday Heroes Like You, a nonprofit organization dedicated to community empowerment.
Kirk was also a former beauty queen, having been crowned Miss Arizona USA in 2012.
How old are their children?
The couple shared two children, a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son, according to posts on social media.
The talk show host had not revealed his children's names and has largely kept their faces off of social media.
"We have a girl and a boy and it’s no one's business what their names are or their faces," the influencer said in June 2025 while on his show.
Contributing by Fernando Cervantes Jr. and Saman Shafiq
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Charlie Kirk’s wife delivers first public address
Patrick Djordjevic
Fri, September 12, 2025
THE HILL
Beyond being a conservative activist, the late Charlie Kirk was a husband his wife Erika and father to a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.
Kirk, 31, was assassinated Wednesday while at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. President Trump signaled Friday that the assassin was likely in custody.
Erika Kirk, née Frantzve, has not commented publicly since her husband was murdered.
Who is Erika Kirk?
Erika Kirk is a 36-year-old mother of two hailing from Arizona.
Kirk, who married Charlie on May 8, 2021, is known as a businesswoman, philanthropist and podcaster.
She hosts a twice-weekly podcast, “Midweek Rise Up,” which aims to “push you, Biblical leadership to challenge you, and God-breathed Scripture to posture your heart for the best that’s yet to come.”
Kirk also founded “Proclaim,” a faith-based clothing company.
She played NCAA women’s basketball for Regis University in Denver, Colorado, and won the Miss Arizona pageant in 2012. Kirk also graduated with a double major in Political Science and International Relations from Arizona State University and a Juris Master’s in American Legal Studies at Liberty University.
What is Turning Point USA?
Charlie Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 when he was 18 years old. The nonprofit political organization advocates for conservative politics on high school and college campuses, growing significantly more influential over the years.
According to its website, the organization’s mission is to “identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government.”
SO THE TERROR BEGINS
Dems hit with 'violent and graphic' threats as right-wing anger boils over
Nicole Charky-Chami
September 12, 2025
RAW STORY
A man holds a picture of Charlie Kirk, as people attend a vigil at the Montgomery Statue in Whitehall, to commemorate U.S. conservative activist, who was fatally shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University, in London. (REUTERS/Jack Taylor)
Democrats reported receiving heightened threats on Friday in the wake of the killing of MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk.
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) announced Friday that his office received threats.
"My office has received an extraordinary number of violent and graphic threats yesterday and today from right-wing individuals online and over the phone—directed toward me, my family, and my staff—after I pointed out the simple fact that President Trump should join Speaker Johnson and other level-headed Republicans in condemning political violence, not inciting it further," Moulton said.
He called on Republicans to condemn right-wing violence.
"The solution to political disagreement in America is never violence. It should be easy for everybody to say that," he added. "Republicans need to condemn violence committed by the right, just as I and many other Democrats condemn violence by the left."
Democratic members of the Utah state House also reported receiving threats via voice message Wednesday night, ABC News reports. An identified male caller reportedly called the Democrats "demons" and "enemies to the American people."
The Democratic National Committee and historically Black colleges and universities also had reported threats following the fatal shooting in Utah.
Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have blamed the "liberal left" for Kirk's killing, although the suspect's motive is still unknown as the investigation continues, The New York Times reports.
In an interview on Friday with Fox & Friends, Trump said, “We have radical left lunatics out there, and we just have to beat the hell out of them.”
Nicole Charky-Chami
September 12, 2025
RAW STORY
A man holds a picture of Charlie Kirk, as people attend a vigil at the Montgomery Statue in Whitehall, to commemorate U.S. conservative activist, who was fatally shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University, in London. (REUTERS/Jack Taylor)
Democrats reported receiving heightened threats on Friday in the wake of the killing of MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk.
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) announced Friday that his office received threats.
"My office has received an extraordinary number of violent and graphic threats yesterday and today from right-wing individuals online and over the phone—directed toward me, my family, and my staff—after I pointed out the simple fact that President Trump should join Speaker Johnson and other level-headed Republicans in condemning political violence, not inciting it further," Moulton said.
He called on Republicans to condemn right-wing violence.
"The solution to political disagreement in America is never violence. It should be easy for everybody to say that," he added. "Republicans need to condemn violence committed by the right, just as I and many other Democrats condemn violence by the left."
Democratic members of the Utah state House also reported receiving threats via voice message Wednesday night, ABC News reports. An identified male caller reportedly called the Democrats "demons" and "enemies to the American people."
The Democratic National Committee and historically Black colleges and universities also had reported threats following the fatal shooting in Utah.
Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have blamed the "liberal left" for Kirk's killing, although the suspect's motive is still unknown as the investigation continues, The New York Times reports.
In an interview on Friday with Fox & Friends, Trump said, “We have radical left lunatics out there, and we just have to beat the hell out of them.”
'I pray for your violent, bloody anguishing death': House Dem shares audio of MAGA threats
Carl Gibson,
The group says it has a presence on over 3,500 campuses and describes itself as the largest and fastest-growing youth organization in America.
How did Charlie and Erika Kirk meet?
According to a Turning Point video, the pair went on a first date in 2019. Erika Kirk’s Instagram account is filled with images and videos of her husband and children, often together, as well as her Christian faith.
“I met her and we had a very, very long dinner, which was very close to almost an interview,” Charlie Kirk said of his first date.
In her biography, she expands on her love for her husband.
Carl Gibson,
AlterNet
September 12, 2025
U.S. Congressman Seth Moulton speaking with attendees at a meet and greet at the Iowa State Education Association in Des Moines, Iowa.
One Democratic member of the House of Representatives is now sharing disturbing audio of death threats that supporters of President Donald Trump recently called into his office.
The Hill reported Friday that Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) posted a minute-long clip of several death threats to both Moulton and his children after he called on President Donald Trump to take the lead on calming the national temperature in the wake of MAGA activist Charlie Kirk's assassination. Many of the threats were profane and detailed, and at least one caller explicitly said "MAGA" before threatening Moulton's life.
"I pray to God some good old MAGA boy blows your motherf------- brains out," the caller can be heard saying. "We have most of the guns, and you won't find very many Democrats at the shooting range. We know what we're doing."
ALSO READ: ‘Expect retaliatory action’: extremists fuel fear of violence after Charlie Kirk killing
"I would spend the rest of my f------ life in federal prison to make America great again by eliminating somebody like you," the threat continued. "I pray for your violent, bloody anguishing death."
"My office has received an extraordinary number of violent and graphic threats yesterday and today from right-wing individuals online and over the phone—directed toward me, my family, and my staff—after I pointed out the simple fact that President Trump should join Speaker Johnson and other level-headed Republicans in condemning political violence, not inciting it further," Moulton tweeted. "The solution to political disagreement in America is never violence. It should be easy for everybody to say that."
After Kirk's death was announced on Wednesday, Trump took to his social media platform to blame Kirk's death on "radical left political violence." And on Friday morning, he joined Fox & Friends to say he "couldn't care less" about uniting the country and doubled down on his attacks on the political left.
After 22 year-old Utah resident Tyler Robinson was arrested for allegedly shooting Kirk, new details have emerged showing that he was raised in a staunchly pro-Trump family. While Robinson himself was registered as non-partisan in recent elections, his grandmother said she wasn't aware of a single Democrat in their family.
September 12, 2025
U.S. Congressman Seth Moulton speaking with attendees at a meet and greet at the Iowa State Education Association in Des Moines, Iowa.
One Democratic member of the House of Representatives is now sharing disturbing audio of death threats that supporters of President Donald Trump recently called into his office.
The Hill reported Friday that Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) posted a minute-long clip of several death threats to both Moulton and his children after he called on President Donald Trump to take the lead on calming the national temperature in the wake of MAGA activist Charlie Kirk's assassination. Many of the threats were profane and detailed, and at least one caller explicitly said "MAGA" before threatening Moulton's life.
"I pray to God some good old MAGA boy blows your motherf------- brains out," the caller can be heard saying. "We have most of the guns, and you won't find very many Democrats at the shooting range. We know what we're doing."
ALSO READ: ‘Expect retaliatory action’: extremists fuel fear of violence after Charlie Kirk killing
"I would spend the rest of my f------ life in federal prison to make America great again by eliminating somebody like you," the threat continued. "I pray for your violent, bloody anguishing death."
"My office has received an extraordinary number of violent and graphic threats yesterday and today from right-wing individuals online and over the phone—directed toward me, my family, and my staff—after I pointed out the simple fact that President Trump should join Speaker Johnson and other level-headed Republicans in condemning political violence, not inciting it further," Moulton tweeted. "The solution to political disagreement in America is never violence. It should be easy for everybody to say that."
After Kirk's death was announced on Wednesday, Trump took to his social media platform to blame Kirk's death on "radical left political violence." And on Friday morning, he joined Fox & Friends to say he "couldn't care less" about uniting the country and doubled down on his attacks on the political left.
After 22 year-old Utah resident Tyler Robinson was arrested for allegedly shooting Kirk, new details have emerged showing that he was raised in a staunchly pro-Trump family. While Robinson himself was registered as non-partisan in recent elections, his grandmother said she wasn't aware of a single Democrat in their family.
The group says it has a presence on over 3,500 campuses and describes itself as the largest and fastest-growing youth organization in America.
How did Charlie and Erika Kirk meet?
According to a Turning Point video, the pair went on a first date in 2019. Erika Kirk’s Instagram account is filled with images and videos of her husband and children, often together, as well as her Christian faith.
“I met her and we had a very, very long dinner, which was very close to almost an interview,” Charlie Kirk said of his first date.
In her biography, she expands on her love for her husband.
MAGA BROWNSHIRTS
‘Crush the Communist Left’: How Charlie Kirk’s Murder Ignited a Firestorm on the Right
Rolling Stone85
‘Crush the Communist Left’: How Charlie Kirk’s Murder Ignited a Firestorm on the Right
Rolling Stone85
“Above all, Erika cherishes her role as the wife of Charlie Kirk and the mother of their precious son and daughter,” it reads.
“As she continues to grow in her ministry, leadership, and entrepreneurial endeavors, Erika remains committed to inspiring others to live with purpose, rooted in faith, and driven by the love of Christ in every aspect of life,” the bio continued.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
“As she continues to grow in her ministry, leadership, and entrepreneurial endeavors, Erika remains committed to inspiring others to live with purpose, rooted in faith, and driven by the love of Christ in every aspect of life,” the bio continued.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
Republican Says Left’s Ideology Is ‘Pure Evil’
Published on September 11, 2025
House and Senate Republicans are lashing out at Democrats en masse, blaming them for rhetoric they say led to Wednesday’s assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
U.S. Rep. Bob Onder (R-MO), in a speech Thursday on the floor of the House of Representatives, attacked the left, charging that even those who are “well-meaning” abide by an ideology of “hate” that mirrors communist authoritarians and revolutionaries.
“Well, everything has changed,” Congressman Onder claimed. “If we didn’t know it already, there is no longer any middle ground.”
“Some on the American left are undoubtedly well-meaning people. But their ideology is pure evil,” he charged. “They hate the good, the truth, and the beautiful, and embrace the evil, the false and the ugly.
“And they literally will kill those with whom they disagree just as their predecessor leftists—Marx, and Stalin, and Lenin, and Pol Pot, and Fidel Castro, did. “We must know that.”
Onder is not the only GOP lawmaker on Capitol Hill attacking the left in the wake of Kirk’s killing, despite the killer having not yet been identified or captured.
U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) told Newsmax on Thursday morning that “what we are finding is that when you do have those strong conservative voices speaking truth to power you will find that when the left can no longer debate it, they can’t deny the truth, the only way they can silence those voices is through violence.”
U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) went even further, vowing to use “Congressional authority” to “cancel” anyone who “belittled the assassination of Charlie Kirk.”
“I’m basically going to cancel with extreme prejudice these evil, sick animals who celebrated Charlie Kirk’s assassination,” he wrote.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) declared on Wednesday that “Democrats own what happened today.”
“Some raging leftist lunatic put a bullet through his neck,” she declared.
As of now, there is no suspect in custody, and the FBI has announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to a suspect’s arrest.
Published on September 11, 2025
By David Badash
House and Senate Republicans are lashing out at Democrats en masse, blaming them for rhetoric they say led to Wednesday’s assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
U.S. Rep. Bob Onder (R-MO), in a speech Thursday on the floor of the House of Representatives, attacked the left, charging that even those who are “well-meaning” abide by an ideology of “hate” that mirrors communist authoritarians and revolutionaries.
“Well, everything has changed,” Congressman Onder claimed. “If we didn’t know it already, there is no longer any middle ground.”
“Some on the American left are undoubtedly well-meaning people. But their ideology is pure evil,” he charged. “They hate the good, the truth, and the beautiful, and embrace the evil, the false and the ugly.
“And they literally will kill those with whom they disagree just as their predecessor leftists—Marx, and Stalin, and Lenin, and Pol Pot, and Fidel Castro, did. “We must know that.”
Onder is not the only GOP lawmaker on Capitol Hill attacking the left in the wake of Kirk’s killing, despite the killer having not yet been identified or captured.
U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) told Newsmax on Thursday morning that “what we are finding is that when you do have those strong conservative voices speaking truth to power you will find that when the left can no longer debate it, they can’t deny the truth, the only way they can silence those voices is through violence.”
U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) went even further, vowing to use “Congressional authority” to “cancel” anyone who “belittled the assassination of Charlie Kirk.”
“I’m basically going to cancel with extreme prejudice these evil, sick animals who celebrated Charlie Kirk’s assassination,” he wrote.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) declared on Wednesday that “Democrats own what happened today.”
“Some raging leftist lunatic put a bullet through his neck,” she declared.
As of now, there is no suspect in custody, and the FBI has announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to a suspect’s arrest.
‘Fascist Playbook’: Trump Blasted for ‘Gas on the Fire’ Kirk Assassination Address
September 11, 2025
By David Badash
President Donald Trump is facing intense backlash over a video he released hours after Wednesday’s murder of prominent conservative commentator and activist Charlie Kirk, pointing to rhetoric from the “radical left.” Kirk’s killer remains unidentified and at large.
“For years,” Trump said in his address from the Oval Office, “those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans, like Charlie, to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”
Trump denounced “demonizing those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible,” which numerous critics noted has been a regular feature of his rhetoric.
And the President vowed to “find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that funded and supported, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country.”
Critics also noted that Trump listed several acts of violence largely attributable to left-wing extremists, but omitted those committed by right-wing extremists.
“Trump doesn’t know who killed Kirk,” noted Mother Jones’ Dan Friedman. “So when he blames the left, we know he is lying, attempting to use tragedy to silence critics. That’s not honoring Kirk, it’s exploiting his death.”
“Why did the President of the United States only decry ‘radical left political violence’ and list killings by Democrats in this address tonight?” asked retired award-winning political reporter Doug Sovern. “What about the assassinations & murders by Republicans? That is shameful, divisive, and inciting—exactly what fuels political violence.”
Some critics warned that Trump may be using the assassination to target his opponents.
California Democratic state Senator Scott Wiener said that “using the Kirk assassination to brand as ‘terrorists’ those who don’t support him or who criticized Kirk & threatening to ‘find’ them. This from the guy who pardoned the January 6 insurrectionists. It’s straight out of the fascist playbook.”
“The president,” warned CNN senior reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere, “is laying a pretext for investigations and other actions against a currently undefined group of people and organizations in the wake of Kirk’s murder, in ways he has not for other murders.”
Critics accused the President of inflaming tensions instead of working to ease them.
The New Republic’s Alex Shephard said that Trump was “pouring gasoline on a raging fire as usual. utterly despicable, entirely in character.”
Former Republican Capitol Hill communications director Tara Setmayer served up a simple four-word critique: “Divisive. Disgraceful. Deplorable. Dangerous.”
Former Republican U.S. Congressman Denver Riggleman characterized Trump’s remarks as “insane hyperbole.”
“The very thing he says he’s dismissing is what he’s propagating,” Riggleman, now an independent, wrote. “Hate. Dehumanization. Are we going to compare and contrast how many ideological killings there have been over the last ten years now? Compare right wing and left wing violence? This is wrong. This will cause awfulness downstream.”
Author and political commentator Sophia A. Nelson, a Republican turned independent, remarked, “we get a presidential address for the murder of #CharlieKirk but nothing for the murder of a Minnesota state elected official and her husband. And another MN legislator and his wife assailed. See how we got here? My tribe counts. Yours not so much.”
Joe Walsh, the former Tea Party Republican Congressman, now a Democrat and podcaster, wrote that Trump “had an opportunity last night to heal a broken/divided nation. Instead, he attacks, he pours gas on the fire, & he further divides. For the next 3yrs, the American people are on their own trying to lower the temperature in this country. Bcuz the guy in the White House is humanly incapable of it.”
September 11, 2025
By David Badash
President Donald Trump is facing intense backlash over a video he released hours after Wednesday’s murder of prominent conservative commentator and activist Charlie Kirk, pointing to rhetoric from the “radical left.” Kirk’s killer remains unidentified and at large.
“For years,” Trump said in his address from the Oval Office, “those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans, like Charlie, to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”
Trump denounced “demonizing those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible,” which numerous critics noted has been a regular feature of his rhetoric.
And the President vowed to “find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that funded and supported, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country.”
Critics also noted that Trump listed several acts of violence largely attributable to left-wing extremists, but omitted those committed by right-wing extremists.
“Trump doesn’t know who killed Kirk,” noted Mother Jones’ Dan Friedman. “So when he blames the left, we know he is lying, attempting to use tragedy to silence critics. That’s not honoring Kirk, it’s exploiting his death.”
“Why did the President of the United States only decry ‘radical left political violence’ and list killings by Democrats in this address tonight?” asked retired award-winning political reporter Doug Sovern. “What about the assassinations & murders by Republicans? That is shameful, divisive, and inciting—exactly what fuels political violence.”
Some critics warned that Trump may be using the assassination to target his opponents.
California Democratic state Senator Scott Wiener said that “using the Kirk assassination to brand as ‘terrorists’ those who don’t support him or who criticized Kirk & threatening to ‘find’ them. This from the guy who pardoned the January 6 insurrectionists. It’s straight out of the fascist playbook.”
“The president,” warned CNN senior reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere, “is laying a pretext for investigations and other actions against a currently undefined group of people and organizations in the wake of Kirk’s murder, in ways he has not for other murders.”
Critics accused the President of inflaming tensions instead of working to ease them.
The New Republic’s Alex Shephard said that Trump was “pouring gasoline on a raging fire as usual. utterly despicable, entirely in character.”
Former Republican Capitol Hill communications director Tara Setmayer served up a simple four-word critique: “Divisive. Disgraceful. Deplorable. Dangerous.”
Former Republican U.S. Congressman Denver Riggleman characterized Trump’s remarks as “insane hyperbole.”
“The very thing he says he’s dismissing is what he’s propagating,” Riggleman, now an independent, wrote. “Hate. Dehumanization. Are we going to compare and contrast how many ideological killings there have been over the last ten years now? Compare right wing and left wing violence? This is wrong. This will cause awfulness downstream.”
Author and political commentator Sophia A. Nelson, a Republican turned independent, remarked, “we get a presidential address for the murder of #CharlieKirk but nothing for the murder of a Minnesota state elected official and her husband. And another MN legislator and his wife assailed. See how we got here? My tribe counts. Yours not so much.”
Joe Walsh, the former Tea Party Republican Congressman, now a Democrat and podcaster, wrote that Trump “had an opportunity last night to heal a broken/divided nation. Instead, he attacks, he pours gas on the fire, & he further divides. For the next 3yrs, the American people are on their own trying to lower the temperature in this country. Bcuz the guy in the White House is humanly incapable of it.”
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