Trump issues Oval Office address on Charlie Kirk assassination

President Donald Trump issued an address from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening, condemning violent leftist rhetoric and expressing grief over the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk in Utah.

“I am filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah,” Trump said. “Charlie inspired millions and, tonight, all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror.”

TO MY GREAT FELLOW AMERICANS… pic.twitter.com/oRsrE5TTHr

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2025

Kirk, who was 31 years old, was fatally shot in the neck Wednesday afternoon during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem, shortly after a member of the audience asked him about mass shootings by transgender-identifying individuals.

Graphic videos shared on X showed him bleeding profusely from his wound as he slumped over immediately after being shot, shortly after he had confessed the Gospel and the deity of Jesus Christ to a large gathering of college students.

The founder of Turning Point USA, Kirk played a pivotal role in securing support for the president among young people, and most recently hosted a summit in Los Angeles last month, mobilizing Christian pastors to stand firm against the rising tide of evil in the culture.

Trump honored Kirk’s legacy of patriotism and faith, describing him as a martyr who is now with the Lord.

“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. He fought for liberty, democracy, justice and the American people,” Trump said.

“He’s a martyr for truth and freedom, and there’s never been anyone who was so respected by youth. Charlie was also a man of deep, deep faith, and we take comfort in the knowledge that he is now at peace with God in Heaven.”

Trump went on to express condolences to Kirk’s wife, Erika, and their two young children, adding that Kirk’s assassination suggests a spiritual darkness is manifesting in the country.

“We ask God to watch over them in this terrible hour of heartache and pain,” he said of Kirk’s family. “This is a dark moment for America.”

Trump appeared to lay blame for Kirk’s death at the feet of extremist rhetoric from the Left that demonizes and dehumanizes their political opponents. During remarks at a press briefing Wednesday, Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox described Kirk’s murder as a “political assassination.”

“It’s a long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that 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,” Trump said.

“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 right now.”

Placing Kirk’s assassination in the context of other political violence, including recent threats against federal law enforcement and his own close brush with death last year, Trump promised that his administration will apprehend “each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence.”

“Charlie was the best of America, and the monster who attacked him was attacking our whole country,” Trump said. “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.”

First lady Melania Trump also issued a statement about Kirk’s death Wednesday night.

“Charlie’s children will be raised with stories instead of memories, photographs instead of laughter, and silence where their father’s voice should have echoed,” she said. “Charlie Kirk’s life should serve as a symbolic reminder that compassionate awareness elevates family, love, and country.”

FBI Director Kash Patel tweeted Wednesday night that the FBI had released a suspect after interrogation, and the agency asked for help from the public in apprehending Kirk’s murderer.

Kirk’s murder has drawn an outpouring of grief from Christian leaders, including Bishop Robert Barron, who described him as “a man of great intelligence, considerable charm, and real goodness of heart.”

“I know I’m joining millions of people around the world in praying that he rests now in the peace of the Lord,” Barron wrote.