The Assassination Of Charlie Kirk
Transcript of President Donald J. Trump's Address on the Death of Charlie Kirk:
To my great fellow Americans...
Today, our nation mourns the tragic and senseless loss of a true patriot, a brilliant young leader, and a dear friend to so many of us—Charlie Kirk. Charlie was shot and killed while doing what he loved most: speaking truth to power, engaging with young Americans on a college campus in Utah, fighting for the values that make our country great. He was only 31 years old, a husband to his beautiful wife Erika, a father to two young children, and a warrior for freedom.
I am filled with grief and anger at this heinous assassination. Charlie Kirk was the best of America—a man who traveled the nation joyfully, engaging everyone interested in good-faith debate, mobilizing our youth to stand up for free speech, citizenship, the rule of law, and their love of God and country. 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. He built Turning Point USA into a powerhouse that woke up a generation to the threats we face, and he did it with courage, conviction, and an unshakeable belief in the American Dream. Charlie was a martyr for truth and freedom, and his light will never go out.
This is a dark moment for America. For years, those on the radical left have demonized wonderful Americans like Charlie, comparing them to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals. Their vicious rhetoric has fueled this political violence, 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 healthcare 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.
The monster who attacked Charlie was attacking our whole country. But we will not be intimidated. My administration will find each and every one responsible for this atrocity—and for all political violence—including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country. We will bring them to justice, swiftly and decisively.
Tonight, I ask all Americans—Democrat, Republican, Independent—to commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived and died: the values of free speech, citizenship, the rule of law, and the patriotic devotion and love of God. Let us honor Charlie by redoubling our efforts to make America safe again, united again, and strong again.
Melania and I send our deepest sympathies to Erika, their children, and the entire Kirk family. Charlie, we love you. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
