Trump S Tricky Balancing Act In Responding To Charlie Kirk S

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 18, 2025, 9:45 PM

trump s tricky balancing act in responding to charlie kirk s

President Donald Trump began an address to the nation Wednesday night by expressing horror at the assassination of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a close ally who was killed hours earlier in a shocking... "All who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror," Trump said in a recorded statement from the Oval Office. Then the president quickly pivoted to blaming the "radical left" for the assassination, even though an investigation into the shooting at Utah Valley University is still ongoing and authorities have not yet identified the... "For years 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," Trump said. The response showcased Trump's instinct to attack his perceived political enemies in moments of crisis and tense national debate.

Trump's combative approach to his role of healer-in-chief when tragedy strikes also represents a break from tradition, according to presidential historians who spoke with Newsweek. Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way. President Donald Trump publicly pushed back against criticism connected to Charlie Kirk by attacking Democrats who opposed a House resolution honoring Kirk and framing critics as politically hostile, while also commenting on interpersonal dynamics... Multiple reports from late September 2025 describe Trump’s rhetorical response, his remarks about who attended Kirk’s memorial, and the White House’s posthumous efforts to preserve Kirk’s political influence, revealing a mix of partisan framing... 1.

Trump’s Public Rebuke: He Called Opponents ‘Deranged’ and Launched Into Democrats Over the Vote In late September 2025, Trump publicly criticized Democrats who voted against a House resolution honoring Charlie Kirk, calling those lawmakers “deranged” and using the controversy to cast opponents as irrational. Fox News accounts emphasize Trump’s sharp language and his decision to connect the congressional vote to broader political grievances, including disputes over a TikTok deal with China, showing he used Kirk’s honor vote as... This framing demonstrates a deliberate strategy to turn a memorial-related resolution into a wider partisan talking point and to portray criticism of his administration as politically driven. 2. Suggesting a Shift in Kirk’s Views on Speech: Trump’s Claims About ‘Hate Speech’

Donald Trump spoke to the nation Wednesday evening about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot at a campus event in Utah hours earlier. “Charlie inspired millions, and tonight, all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror,” the President said in a video address. “This is a dark moment for America,” he added, apparently blaming the shooting as well as other “terrorism,” including his own attempted assassination last year and “attacks on ICE agents,” on political rhetoric “demonizing... On Truth Social, Trump initially after the shooting posted on Truth Social, calling for prayers for Kirk, whom he called a “great guy from top to bottom.” He later posted: “The Great, and even... No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.

Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!” Trump also ordered flags in the U.S. to fly at half-mast until Sunday evening. Read More: The Killing of Charlie Kirk and the Political Violence Haunting America President Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend a ceremony at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Washington, D.C.

on September 11, 2025. Saul Loeb/AFP hide caption President Trump plans to posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's top civilian honor, to Charlie Kirk, the MAGA influencer and close Trump ally killed Wednesday in a targeted attack on a... "We miss him greatly, yet, I have no doubt that Charlie's voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on," Trump said, speaking at an... 11 attacks. On Wednesday night in a video message from the Oval Office hours after Kirk was killed, Trump praised Kirk, who he has credited for helping him win the 2024 election, for his activism.

He then said what happened to Kirk is a consequence of people demonizing those they disagree with "in the most hateful and despicable way possible," and turned his ire to the political left. "Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives. Tonight, I ask all Americans to commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived and died," Trump said. Rather than condemning violence and calling for unity, the president of the United States accused his political opposition of being accessories to murder. Updated at 1:20 p.m. ET on September 12, 2025

It is possible that, in the history of America’s radicalization spiral, the horrifying, cold-blooded assassination of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk will be recorded as only the second-most-dangerous event of September 10, 2025. If so, the more significant development will instead have been the speech that evening by President Donald Trump. If you did not listen to Trump’s remarks, which have received only light attention from the media, you might have missed the chilling message they contained. Trump may have sounded like he was deploring violence and calling for unity. In reality, he did the opposite. The speech began and ended with encomiums to Kirk’s character and family, which is wholly appropriate.

The important and dangerous passage came in a sequence of four sentences in the middle: Emotions over the murder are already curdling into something more dangerous: an appetite for revenge - and America is holding its breath for what comes next These are just some of the reactions from Donald Trump’s passionate supporters following the killing of Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, the most influential conservative student group in America. It is not the first time such threats have been made, but Kirk’s assassination, while speaking at a college campus in Utah on Wednesday, feels like a watershed moment. The President’s inner circle is in shock. They have lost somebody who was close to many of them, with Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, calling Kirk a “little brother” in a post on X.

And those feelings are already curdling into something more pernicious and more dangerous: an appetite for revenge. America is holding its breath for what comes next. President Donald Trump said Charlie Kirk “was an advocate of nonviolence” and said, “That’s the way I’d like to see people respond” to his killing. Watch Trump’s remarks in the video player above. The president said he thought progress was being made to find the shooter. “Hopefully we’ll have him and we will deal with him very appropriately,” Trump told reporters Thursday as he left the White House for a trip to New York.

READ MORE: How politicians who have experienced violence directly are responding to Charlie Kirk’s death US President Donald Trump and many of his top officials have just joined tens of thousands of people gathered at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, for a memorial service commemorating Charlie Kirk, the... Here are some of the highlights from the event: We're pausing our live coverage shortly, but you can watch the biggest moments from Kirk's memorial service here, or read more on the story here. President Trump and Erika Kirk presented a united front at Charlie Kirk’s memorial The memorial featured emotional addresses, drawing tears from some of Kirk's supporters

Trump S Tricky Balancing Act In Responding To Charlie Kirk S

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