US President Donald Trump is facing backlash on social media due to his remarks regarding the death of Charlie Kirk.
Right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was tragically killed nine days ago while speaking at Utah Valley University during his ‘American Comeback Tour’.
At just 31 years old, Kirk left behind his wife Erika Frantzve and their two young children.
During an interview with Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum, Trump appeared to make light of Kirk’s death, drawing criticism that his comments were ‘worse’ than a monologue by Jimmy Kimmel.
A clip of Trump’s interview was reshared by X user Richard Hanania, who described it as “more insensitive than Kimmel.” In the interview, MacCallum says: “Charlie said, you know, that there was no such thing as hate speech. Um, he obviously, no-one anticipated what would happen to Charlie…”
Interrupting, Trump, 79, added: “Yeah, he might not be saying that now.”
Viewers of the footage were shocked by Trump’s apparent indifference, especially given Kirk’s strong support for Trump’s administration possibly played a role in his fate.
One commentator remarked, “Lmao proof that they don’t even care about the dude or his ideas they just found a catalyst to enact their fascist agenda and move towards authoritarianism.”
Another person sarcastically noted, “Guy who mourned Kirk by playing golf and waxing about his White House ballroom has strong ideas about what Kirk would think if he was alive.”
“Wild how cracking jokes gets people suspended but the guy running for president can drop lines like this on live TV,” commented another, referencing the suspension of talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Another social media user stated, “Putting words in dead man’s mouth for political gains is disgusting. I’d say even more disgusting than simply not mourning his death.”
Additionally, Trump recalled his last conversation with Kirk before the Turning Point USA co-founder was fatally attacked.
“So the last time I spoke to him, he said ‘Sir,’ then he goes ‘Phoenix,'” Trump recounted, referring to a Turning Point USA event.
“‘Sir could you, er, get to Phoenix,’ this was like in a day. I said, ‘Charlie, I’m the President of the United States, you’ve called me, asking me if I could speak tomorrow in Phoenix? You can’t do that to me, Charlie’.
“But I usually ended up going,” Trump chuckled. “He was great. He was a great guy and he didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve this, believe me.”
A memorial service for Kirk is scheduled for this coming Sunday (September 21) at State Farm Stadium in Arizona, which can accommodate over 60,000 attendees. Trump and other government officials are expected to attend the service.