Trump blames the ‘radical left’ for Charlie Kirk’s killing

WASHINGTON — While politicians of both parties largely coalesced to mourn Charlie Kirk after he was shot and killed Wednesday^[1] at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University, President Donald Trump blamed the “radical left” for the conservative activist’s death.

“For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals,” he said in a video message^[2] Wednesday night. “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 called for “all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree” — but he then called out “radical left political violence,” without paying tribute to any Democratic politicians who have been targeted.

“From the attack on my life in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year — which killed a husband and father — to the attacks on ICE agents, to the vicious murder of a health care executive in the streets of New York, to the shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and three others, radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives,” Trump said.

Officials have not announced a motive for Kirk’s killing; Utah’s governor called it “a political assassination.”

Political violence is not relegated to one side of the aisle. Trump was the target of two assassination attempts during his latest campaign, and he was shot during one. Among Democrats, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro faced an arson attack^[3] at his house, former Minnesota state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in what authorities described as a “politically motivated assassination,^[4]” and Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked with a hammer^[5].

In his political career spanning the past decade, Trump has disparaged political foes in incendiary terms.

He has dubbed California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, “Newscum” and called former Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., an “enemy from within^[6].” Last year, he described Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker, as “evil, sick, crazy^[7].”

Trump has heaped vitriol on fellow Republicans, as well. In 2022, when he was out of office, he said Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, then the Senate Republican leader, had a “death wish^[8]” by voting for legislation sponsored by Democrats.

Trump’s response to Kirk’s death was far more polarizing than many of the other messages offered by politicians and representatives of both parties.

Flags above the White House were lowered to half-staff. Eric Trump, the president’s son, also said flags would be flown at half-staff at all Trump properties^[9].

Donald Trump Jr. posted a lengthy, heartfelt message on X, saying Kirk “was like a little brother to me^[10].”

“Moments like this remind us just how fragile life is,” he wrote. “We can’t wait to tell people how much they mean to us — we can’t admire them in silence. Charlie knew he was loved, but I want to say it again: he was a brother to me, and I will carry that with me forever.”

Newsom, a frequent Trump critic who hosted Kirk on his podcast this year, decried the shooting on X^[11] shortly after it occurred.

“The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible,” Newsom wrote. “In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.”

While some politicians used the shooting to make political points — including Republicans accusing liberals of inciting violence with rhetoric and Democrats arguing for tighter gun regulations — most stuck to more unifying messages offering prayers for Kirk and his family, condemnations of violence or both.

Vice President JD Vance posted a prayer^[12] on X: “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.” In an earlier message^[13], sent shortly after Kirk was shot, he praised Kirk for engaging in open conversation with allies and critics alike.

“If you actually watch Charlie’s events — as opposed to the fake summaries — they are one of the few places with open and honest dialogue between left and right,” Vance wrote. “He would answer any question and talk to everyone.”

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic nominee for president, wrote on X^[14]: “I am deeply disturbed by the shooting in Utah. Doug and I send our prayers to Charlie Kirk and his family.

“Let me be clear: Political violence has no place in America. I condemn this act, and we all must work together to ensure this does not lead to more violence,” she added.

Some other elected officials and prominent figures were quick to point fingers and try to score political points.

“Conservative, liberal, whatever you are, you shouldn’t be shot for your beliefs,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told NBC News. “And I hope that every single Democrat across the country will stand up and acknowledge that they have a problem within their party.”

Mace rejected the idea that Republicans might be equally responsible for the killing of Hortman in Minnesota^[15] in June.

“Some raging leftist lunatic put a bullet through [Kirk’s] neck, and you want to talk about Republicans right now?” she said. “No. No, not at all. No this is on — the Democrats own this.”

Similarly, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who credited Kirk with getting her engaged in politics, blamed progressives and the media for his death.

“EVERY DAMN ONE OF YOU WHO CALLED US FASCISTS DID THIS,” she wrote on X^[16]. “You were too busy doping up kids, cutting off their genitals, inciting racial violence by supporting orgs that exploit minorities, protecting criminals, and stirring hate. YOU ARE THE HATE you claim to fight. Your words caused this. Your hate caused this.”

Billionaire Elon Musk, a former Trump administration official and the owner of X, wrote, “The Left is the party of murder.” He posted the message before Kirk’s death was confirmed.

Some leading Democrats denounced gun violence in the hours after Kirk’s shooting, amplifying their long-articulated view that firearms should be more heavily regulated, while others stayed away from political and policy pronouncements.

“Condemning another absolutely disgraceful act of gun violence,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., wrote on X^[17]. “My thoughts & prayers are w/ Charlie Kirk & his family in this terrible moment & we are all grateful for first responders who immediately jumped into action.”

Likewise, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., who survived an assassination attempt more than a decade ago and runs an eponymous nonprofit organization dedicated to ending gun violence, pointed to the fact that figures on the left and the right have been shot and killed this year.

“This summer, America has seen multiple politically-motivated assassinations — first of a Democratic legislator, now of a Republican activist — because dangerous people turned to guns to express their disagreements,” Giffords said in a statement. “Both parties have been targeted, and both parties share a moral and patriotic duty to take meaningful action to stop gun crime from claiming more lives.”

Trump survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July 2024 after a sniper’s bullet hit him in the ear. In a separate incident, a man accused of attempting to assassinate him at one of his golf clubs in September 2024 is on trial in Florida^[18].

The Republican governor of Utah, where Kirk was killed, and the Democratic governor of Arizona, where he lived, called, respectively, for justice and calm.

“Working with the FBI and Utah law enforcement, we will bring to justice the individual responsible for this tragedy,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said after having spoken to Trump.

“This tragedy is not about who Charlie Kirk supported politically,” Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said. “It is about the devastating loss of a father, a neighbor, and an Arizonan who called this state home, and whose life was cut short by senseless violence. We must stand together in rejecting violence, lowering the temperature of our politics, and recommitting ourselves to the values of civility, respect, and community that American democracy requires.”