The president Donald Trump recounted in an interview with Fox News the moment he received the news of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, one of the most influential figures in the youth right-wing movement in the United States.
Trump recounted that he was meeting with architects at the White House discussing a project for the construction of a ballroom—an aspiration that has been pending for decades at the presidential residence—when he was informed that Kirk had died.
They entered and said, "Charlie Kirk is dead." I didn't know what they meant. I asked, "What do you mean by dead?" They replied, "Charlie Kirk was shot...," he recounted.
According to his account, the news was so shocking that he immediately dismissed those present at the meeting: "I just told them to leave. It was the worst, so bad for our country."
Tributes and symbolic measures
Thousands of people have attended vigils in memory of Kirk, whose body was transported to Arizona aboard Air Force Two for his funeral. Trump stated that he will attend the farewell.
"I shouldn't be having a funeral right now. I should be there... He had a huge impact on the elections. I got so many young voters... and I give him a lot of credit," he noted.
Kirk was the founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, an influential conservative organization that promotes its ideas in universities and high schools across the United States.
The leader signed an official proclamation in honor of his memory, describing him as an "American patriot and defender of freedom."
He also announced that he will posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States.
The leader emphasized his family's personal closeness to the activist and recalled a lunch he organized for his son Barron to meet him: "He came back and said, 'That guy is great, Dad!'"
Kirk was married and had two young children.
Trump revealed that he spoke with his wife about Kirk and that she is "devastated."
A crime with a political background
Charlie Kirk, 31 years old, died after being shot in the neck while participating in a question and answer session at Utah Valley University.
The attacker shot from a nearby rooftop and fled into a wooded area.
The police identified him as Tyler Robinson, 22 years old, who was handed over to the authorities through the mediation of a religious pastor who convinced his father.
Robinson acted alone and confessed to an acquaintance his involvement in the crime.
Trump announced this Friday morning "with a high degree of certainty" that the individual had been detained.
"I believe that, with a high degree of certainty, we have it in custody," he expressed.
The police investigation found substantial evidence against the suspect: a high-powered rifle with ideological engravings, shoe prints, and a palm print linking him to the attack.
The FBI had offered up to $100,000 for information leading to the capture of the suspect, and received more than 7,000 tips before making the arrest.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox confirmed that the accused had become politically radicalized in the days leading up to the incident, reinforcing the hypothesis of a crime motivated by ideological differences.
Trump demands the death penalty
In the same interview, Trump called for the death penalty to be applied to both Robinson and the perpetrator of the murder of Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee who was stabbed on a train in North Carolina in August.
"In Utah, the death penalty is in place, and the governor is very committed to enforcing it. He should be. North Carolina also has it, and we need to ensure that it is upheld. That was a horrific crime," he stated.
The president directly blamed the "radical left" for the political violence that, according to him, triggered the tragedy.
"Charlie was a martyr for truth and freedom. There has never been someone so respected by the young. He was a man of deep faith and is now at peace with God," he declared.
National debate
Kirk's death has sparked a wave of condemnation and reignited the debate on political violence in the United States.
For some sectors, his assassination symbolizes the risk of an increasingly polarized climate; for others, it represents a painful contradiction, given that Kirk himself had openly defended the right to bear arms, claiming in life that "gun deaths are the price of freedom."
For its part, the university community is questioning the lack of security during the event, and social media is flooded with messages of mourning and controversy: some remember him as a tireless patriot, while others label him as a victim of a system he helped uphold.
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