The killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah college on Wednesday has prompted rare bipartisan condemnation from US lawmakers, with President Donald Trump ordering flags to be lowered to half-mast in his honour. Kirk, 31, was a prominent figure in the Make America Great Again movement and the founder of Turning Point USA.
Trump, who survived an assassination attempt in July 2024, blamed the violence on “radical left” rhetoric, stating in a video address: “This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country.” The president’s comments came as the identity and motives of the shooter, who remains at large, are not yet known.
Democratic leaders also condemned the attack. Former Vice-President Kamala Harris said she was “deeply disturbed” and stressed that “political violence has no place in America”. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries echoed the sentiment, calling the act “completely incompatible with American values”. Former President Barack Obama described the violence as “despicable”.
Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the attack “seems to be” political violence, adding that it “has no place in this country – none”. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed being “heartbroken and outraged”, while Vice-President JD Vance called Kirk “a genuinely good guy and a young father”.
The House Oversight Committee held a moment of silence for Kirk during a session on crime legislation. Gabby Giffords, a former congresswoman injured in a 2011 mass shooting, said: “We must never allow America to become a country that confronts disagreements with violence.”
