President Trump was meeting with architects about plans for a White House ballroom when staff interrupted to inform him that Charlie Kirk, the prominent conservative activist, had been killed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know what they meant. I said, \u2018What do you mean, dead?’\u201d Trump\u00a0recounted\u00a0Friday, two days after the shooting. \u201c\u2018Charlie Kirk was shot.\u2019 They thought he was dead because it was so horrific.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s shock at the news reflected the widespread feelings at the White House in the aftermath of Kirk\u2019s death: shock, anger and disbelief that someone many considered a personal friend had been shot during an appearance at Utah Valley University.<\/p>\n
Staffers and officials close to the administration \u2014 including Vice President Vance \u2014 have publicly recounted how they got to know Kirk and how he impacted them personally and politically. And, in a sign of how closely intertwined the Turning Point USA founder was with Trump and his orbit, the White House has played a central role in providing updates after Kirk\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
It was the president who announced Kirk had died.\u00a0Vance\u00a0flew to Utah\u00a0to transport Kirk\u2019s casket on Air Force Two. Trump\u00a0broke the news\u00a0that the suspected shooter was in custody, and he has said he plans to attend Kirk\u2019s funeral and\u00a0posthumously honor him\u00a0with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharlie was very much a part of this family, and maybe the highest profile MAGA person outside of those that are working here,\u201d White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said\u00a0Thursday\u00a0on \u201cThe Scott Jennings Radio Show.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I think it shook everybody to their core, and for many of us, it brought back the memories of last July 13th in Butler with the president,\u201d\u00a0she added, referencing the assassination attempt that left Trump bloodied at a 2024 campaign rally\u00a0in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
White House staff who spoke with The Hill following the shooting said the mood inside the building was somber and there was a sense of shock among many officials. Many in the building, particularly younger staff members, had gotten into politics and the MAGA movement at a time when Kirk was a rising voice, and many had met him personally.<\/p>\n
Most in Trump\u2019s orbit came to know Kirk, 31, through his work building Turning Point USA into a grassroots powerhouse that launched chapters on hundreds of college campuses. Kirk\u2019s work organizing, fundraising and registering young people to vote helped lay the foundation for the GOP\u2019s gains with young voters, and young men in particular, in the 2024 election.<\/p>\n
The president was a regular speaker at Turning Point events in recent years. Kirk was a staunch Trump supporter even after his 2020 election defeat, echoing the baseless claims of voter fraud that Trump was pushing in the wake of his loss.<\/p>\n
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u00a0formally endorsed Trump\u00a0in the 2024 race at a Turning Point Action event in Arizona. Kirk was an early advocate of\u00a0Vance, both as a Senate candidate in 2022 and later as a potential running mate for Trump, and\u00a0the commentator\u00a0was spotted at the White House on multiple occasions during Trump\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n
But the relationship between Trump\u2019s team and Kirk grew in recent years to become more than a political alliance.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, [Donald Trump Jr.] said to me, \u2018He\u2019s sort of like a son to you,\u2019\u201d the president said\u00a0Friday\u00a0on \u201cFox & Friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kirk first entered President Trump\u2019s circle through his friendship with his eldest son. The two met during the 2016 campaign and became close professionally and personally. Donald Trump Jr. described Kirk as a \u201clittle brother\u201d in the wake of his death.<\/p>\n
Kirk shared a similarly close relationship with Vance, who canceled a planned appearance in New York City to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks to instead fly to Utah and be with Kirk\u2019s family and friends. Vance then flew with his casket to Arizona.<\/p>\n
In a lengthy tribute on the social platform X, Vance recounted how he first connected with Kirk after a Fox News appearance in 2017. Vance credited Kirk with introducing him to Trump Jr. and others in the president\u2019s orbit as he mulled a Senate campaign, and with publicly and privately lobbying for Vance as a vice presidential candidate.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharlie Kirk was a true friend. The kind of guy you could say something to and know it would always stay with him. \u2026 And because he was a true friend, you could instinctively trust the people Charlie introduced you to,\u201d Vance wrote.<\/p>\n
Several other top White House officials shared similar stories, underscoring Kirk\u2019s reach across the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
White House communications director Steven Cheung called Kirk a \u201cdear friend who would drop everything if you needed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted Kirk was one of the first figures to endorse her congressional campaign in New Hampshire in the 2022 midterms.<\/p>\n
Kaelan Dorr, White House deputy communications director, recounted speaking with Kirk during one of their last in-person meetings about the challenges of being a new parent.<\/p>\n
Kirk\u2019s funeral will take place in the coming days, and the White House will likely be well represented, led by Trump and Vance.<\/p>\n
The country will also be watching to see how those in the White House respond to Kirk\u2019s gruesome and public death, amid calls from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to condemn political violence and lower the temperature.<\/p>\n
Trump has offered mixed messaging in the immediate aftermath of Kirk\u2019s death, something that was on display during\u00a0the\u00a0sit-down with \u201cFox & Friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked what his message to the right is for those who want revenge, Trump said Kirk would \u201cwant revenge at the voter box.\u201d<\/p>\n
But when co-host Ainsley Earhardt asked Trump how the country can come together, noting there are \u201cradicals\u201d on both the right and the left, Trump suggested the blame went in one direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll tell you something that\u2019s going to get me in trouble, but I couldn\u2019t care less. The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don\u2019t want to see crime,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThey don\u2019t want to see crime. They\u2019re saying we don\u2019t want these people coming in, we don\u2019t want you burning our shopping centers, we don\u2019t want you shooting our people in the middle of the street.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe radicals on the left are the problem,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd they\u2019re vicious, and they\u2019re horrible, and they\u2019re politically savvy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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