President Donald Trump on Thursday said that assassinated conservative commentator Charlie Kirk had a chance of becoming president one day.
“Just last week, a great American, Charlie Kirk, was heinously assassinated for speaking his mind,” Trump said as he closed his opening remarks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “He was a great young man. Incredible future. Some people said he might be president someday. I told him, I said, ‘Charlie, I think if you have a good shot someday being president.’
Trump added that he has “never seen anybody relate to youth like Charlie, and they related to him, and they’re devastated.”
“But I appreciate the many British citizens who have offered their condolences. And again, Charlie was a great person. We'll be going out to a service on Sunday ... But I hope that together, our nations can lead a movement to defend the glorious traditions of freedom on both sides of the Atlantic.”
On Sept. 10, Kirk was shot and killed while holding a debate at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, leading to the capture and arrest of 22-year-old suspected assassin Tyler Robinson. Prosecutors on Tuesday charged Robinson with capital aggravated murder, witness tampering, and other charges, and a judge said later that day that Robinson does not have an attorney and will be held without bail.
“During that phone call some information was provided about Tyler potentially having some suicidal ideations and was en route to a remote area in Washington County,” Brooksby told reporters. “The parents convinced him not to do that and, you know, conveyed that they would stand by him and help him ... surrender peacefully.”
Part of the negotiation efforts included treating the situation as “delicate and as soft as possible to make him feel comfortable to where he would show up at my office,” he said.
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said Tuesday that Robinson’s mother told investigators that her son had become more political in recent years and more leftist, while becoming “more pro-gay and trans rights-oriented.” Robinson was also involved in a romantic relationship with his roommate, a man who identified as transgender female, prosecutors said.
When he was asked why he allegedly carried out the killing, Robinson told his parents, “There is too much evil and the guy spreads too much hate,” prosecutors said.
During congressional hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday, FBI Director Kash Patel said that more than 20 members of a Discord chat allegedly used by Robinson would be investigated.
