President Donald Trump expressed concern for the country following the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and said he wanted their supporters to respond with “non -violence.”
Trump was asked if he is worried about his own security following the fatal Kirk shooting on Wednesday when he left the White House for New York on Thursday afternoon.
“Not really,” the president replied. “I am really worried about our country. We have a great country. We have a left radical group of lunatics, only absolute lunatics, and we are going to solve that problem. I only worry about the country.”
Trump was also pressed on how he wants his followers to respond, since tensions are still high in Washington and throughout the country.
“He was a defender of non -violence. That is the way I would like to see people respond,” Trump said.
President Donald Trump talks to the media before addressing Marine One after the game to New York, in Washington, DC, on September 11, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
Kirk, a nearby Trump ally and a friend for many in the administration, was shot during an event at the University of Utah Valley on Wednesday. Trump later announced his death.
A human hunt for Kirk’s murderer is underway. The FBI said Thursday that he has recovered what is believed to be the weapon used by the shooter, and the authorities said it is believed that the suspect is a person of university age. The authorities also published images of an interest person and offered a reward of up to $ 100,000 for information that leads to the identification and arrest of the person responsible for Kirk’s murder.
Trump was asked if he worried that the authorities had not yet arrested the person who killed Charlie Kirk, now more than 24 hours after the shooting.
“Well, I hear that they are making great progress, and we will have to see what happens,” Trump said.
Trump also said he has “an indication” about the reason behind the shooting, but did not share more, just telling journalists: “We will let you know about that later.”
Trump said he spoke with Kirk’s wife, Erika, and that she was “absolutely devastated.” Kirk survives his wife and two young children.
Early in the day, Trump announced that the presidential medal of La Libertad will posthumously granted to Kirk.
“Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of freedom and an inspiration for millions and millions of people,” Trump said at the top of his comments in a commemorative event in the Pentagon to commemorate the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11.
Donald Trump and Melania Trump attend an observance event of September 11 in the courtyard of the Pentagon on September 11, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The White House moved the ceremony of September 11, Thursday in the Pentagon to the patio, far from the monument of September 11, where the gloomy ceremony was held for decades, in the light of Kirk’s murder.
“We miss it a lot, however, I have no doubt that Charlie’s voice and courage in the hearts of innumerable people, especially young people, will live,” said the president in those comments.
The presidential medal of Libertad is the highest civil prize in the United States, Trump said that the day of the ceremony would be announced soon, and added that he thought he would surely attract a large crowd.
Vice President JD Vance and the second lady Usha Vance would meet with Kirk’s family and several of his close friends in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Thursday, a source confirmed to ABC News.
Vice President JD Vance speaks with the press after presenting his respects to the victims of shooting at the Catholic Church Annunciation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on September 3, 2025.
Alex Wroblewski/Pool through Reuters
Kirk’s coffin, along with his family and friends, was going to be transferred to Phoenix, Arizona, aboard the Dos Air Force, the source also confirmed.
Vance cried Kirk in a long publication on social networks, in which he described Kirk as a “true friend.”
“The type of type you could say something and know that it would always stay with him,” Vance wrote in X. “I am in more than a few group chats with Charlie and people who presented me over the years. We celebrate weddings and babies, break the level of others, and cry the loss of loved ones. We talk about politics and sports and sports. He always had his back.”
