Live updates: Vance hosts ‘Charlie Kirk Show,’ shooting investigation, latest Trump news
President Donald Trump and other key members of his administration are blaming the killing of Charlie Kirk on radical members of the left, while keeping quiet about far-right rhetoric that has been directed at Democrats in recent months.
In the Oval Office today, Trump said the suspect was “radicalized over the internet,” and that his radicalization was “on the left.”
“He’s a left. A lot of problems with the left, and they get protected, and they shouldn’t be protected,” the president said. Trump also said he would consider designating Antifa and other left-wing groups as “domestic terrorists.”
Trump made similar statements yesterday: “When you look at the problems, the problem is on the left,” the president told reporters Sunday. “It’s not on the right.”
Meantime, earlier today, Vice President JD Vance offered similar comments while guest hosting Kirk’s podcast: “While our side of the aisle certainly has its crazies, it is a statistical fact that most of the lunatics in American politics today are proud members of the far left.”
And top Republican members of Congress are not weighing in on the president’s rehtoric. Senate Majority Leader John Thune today would not call on Trump to condemn political violence from right-wing actors at the same time he loudly decries violence from left.
“The president can speak for himself,” he said.
Thune did, however, call on Americans to respect views they differ with and have debates without inciting violence.
House Speaker Mike Johnson also deflected a question about the topic. Asked if Trump should also condemn right-wing violence against Democratic politicians, Johnson responded, “I think the president has been very clear in condemning violence.”
CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Ted Barrett, Alison Main, Manu Raju and Alejandra Jaramillo contributed reporting to this post.
