nited States President Donald Trump has once again stirred controversy with his trademark bluntness, declaring openly that, unlike the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, he hates his political enemies and does not wish them well.
Trump made the remarks during a massive memorial event for Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, who was assassinated on September 10, 2025. Trump described Kirk’s killer as a “radicalised, cold-blooded monster.”
In a lengthy, emotional tribute before tens of thousands of mourners, Trump praised Kirk’s legacy but used the occasion to draw a stark contrast between Kirk’s forgiving spirit and his own hardline political stance.
“In that private moment on his dying day, we find everything we need to know about who Charlie Kirk truly was,” Trump said.
“He was a missionary with a noble spirit and a great, great purpose. He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponents and I don’t want the best for them.”
Turning directly to Kirk’s widow, Erica, Trump added: “I’m sorry. I am sorry, Erica. But now Erica can talk to me and the whole group, and maybe they can convince me that that’s not right. But I can’t stand my opponents.”
The president’s confession, delivered in his signature unfiltered tone, stood in sharp contrast to the late activist’s reported habit of praying before each public appearance.
“Charlie wasn’t interested in demonizing anyone,” Trump recalled. “He was interested in persuading everyone to the ideas and principles he believed were good, right, and true. Before each appearance, he prayed these words: ‘God, use me for your will.’ Always said the same thing: ‘Use me for your will.’ And that is exactly what God did.”
Trump went on to recount the intense hostility Kirk faced on college campuses across the country, insisting that his activism made him a target of violent left-wing extremists.
“There were bomb threats, pulled fire alarms, and countless rage-filled radicals who tried to shout him down. It was nasty,” Trump said.
“At one event, police had to build barricades to protect students from an angry mob of thugs. Many of these people, by the way, are paid a lot of money to do this. They’re agitators. They’re paid agitators. Remember that when you see them, they all have the same beautifully printed sign. Every sign is identical, comes out of a top-level print shop. Those are paid for by very bad people. And hopefully we’re going to be finding out through the D.O.J. who those people are.”
Trump accused Antifa and other far-left groups of escalating violence against Kirk.
“At another college, Antifa terrorists shattered windows, threw rocks, and tried to storm the building where Charlie was speaking. It was a really bad one. Often, dozens of police officers were needed to prevent left-wing violence. And the violence comes largely from the left. You don’t hear that from too many people, do you?”
Despite the mounting threats, Trump said Kirk never backed down.
He said, “Virtually every day for years before he was murdered, Charlie received these horrible death threats. People don’t know. I used to talk to him about it. He said, ‘I got some threats.’ He always felt that when they actually made the threat, they were not the ones to worry about. The ones to worry about were the ones that don’t make the threats.”
Trump hailed Kirk as “a martyr for American liberty,” arguing that his assassination was not just an attack on one man but on the United States itself.
“Charlie James Kirk was heinously murdered by a radicalized, cold-blooded monster for speaking the truth that was in his heart,” Trump said.
“He was violently killed because he spoke for freedom and justice, for God and country, for reason and for common sense. He was assassinated because he lived bravely. He led boldly, and he argued brilliantly, without apology. He did what was right for our nation. And so, on that terrible day, September 10th, 2025, our greatest evangelist for American liberty became immortal. He’s a martyr now for American freedom.”
The president painted Kirk’s murder as a symbolic attack on America itself.
He added, “Charlie’s murder was not just an attack on one man or one movement. It was an attack on our entire nation. That was a horrible attack on the United States of America. It was an assault on our most sacred liberties and God-given rights.
“The gun was pointed at him, but the bullet was aimed at all of us. Indeed, Charlie was killed for expressing the very ideas that virtually everyone in this arena and most other places throughout our country deeply believed in. But the assassin failed in his quest because Charlie’s message has not been silenced. Now it’s bigger and better and stronger than ever before.”
Trump also described Kirk’s rise from obscurity to one of the most influential figures in American conservative politics.
“In 2012, two days after graduating high school and with just $1,800 in his pocket, the young man from Illinois, who no one had ever heard of, started an organization whose grand ambitions were captured in its name, Turning Point USA,” Trump said.
“Charlie worked from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., lived out of his parents’ basement, wore Walmart jeans and Goodwill T-shirts, and refused to take a paycheck for five years. He wasn’t in it for the money. He was in it for the mission. As he liked to say, even back then, ‘We have a country to save.’”
Yet it was Trump’s admission of hatred for his political opponents that dominated headlines, overshadowing his glowing praise for Kirk.
“I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them,” he repeated firmly. “Charlie wanted the best for them. That’s where I disagreed with him. And maybe that’s why he was such a good man.”
