Trump leads tributes to ‘great’ Charlie Kirk after MAGA ally shot dead at campus event in Utah
President Donald Trump led tributes to the conservative activist Charlie Kirk after he was fatally shot at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” Trump wrote on Truth Social while announcing his death.
“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 added.
Kirk, 31, was the co-founder of Turning Point USA – a nonprofit dedicated to engaging with conservative youths and promoting conservative policies on high school and college campuses. The right-wing activist rose to prominence in the Republican Party as a result of his work, becoming good friends with Donald Trump Jr.
The president said he would call for all American flags to be lowered at half-mast until Sunday evening in honor of Kirk.
Upon hearing news of the shooting, members of Trump’s cabinet, including Vice President JD Vance, sent tributes. “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,” Vance wrote on X.
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said Kirk’s influence in the presidential transition made it “the most successful in history”
“He never took credit for the assistance he provided. He was always a great friend of mine. I pray for peace and comfort for his wife and two beautiful children,” Lutnick wrote on X.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. remembered Kirk as “the most eloquent truth teller.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson led a moment of silence for Kirk on the House chamber floor on Wednesday, calling the shooting “detestable.”
Utah Governor, Republican Spencer Cox, said on X, that he had spoken with the president and would work with law enforcement “to bring justice to the individual responsible for this tragedy.”
Trump Jr. offered a tribute on X to his friend, saying, “I love you brother. You gave so many people the courage to speak up and we will not ever be silenced.”
Other Republican lawmakers including Arizona Representative Andy Biggs, former Vice President Mike Pence, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller remembered Kirk on social media.
David Sacks, a billionaire entrepreneur who currently serves on the president’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, said his friend was “the best of America.”
