President Donald Trump said Charlie Kirk died as a “martyr for truth and freedom” when he was assassinated at a Utah university on Wednesday.
“He fought for liberty, democracy, justice, and the American people. He’s a martyr for truth and freedom, and there’s never been anyone who was so respected by youth,” Trump said in a video announcement on Truth Social.
Trump said he will focus on tracking down anyone who was involved in the assassination. FBI Director Kash Patel said a person of interest was released after interrogation.
“My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organized actions 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,” Trump said.
“Charlie was a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loved so much, the United States of America,” Trump added.
Trump directly called out political violence, saying Kirk championed youth activism and those on the left have no right to demonize his death.
“Violence and murder are the tragic consequences of demonizing those with whom you disagree. Day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible. For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals,” Trump said.
The type of rhetoric, Trump said, is responsible for terrorism. He also referenced the attack on his own life in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives,” Trump said.
“The monster who attacked him was attacking our whole country. An assassin tried to silence him with a bullet, but he failed because together we will ensure that his voice, his message and his legacy will live on for countless generations to come,” Trump said.
First Lady Melania Trump chimed in on the remembrance as well. She wrote on X, reminding those to be compassionate.
Charlie Kirk’s life should serve as a symbolic reminder that compassionate awareness elevates family, love, and country,” she wrote on X.