Arizona [US], September 22 : US President Donald Trump said that the bullet was aimed at every conservative, emphasising that the conservative activist Charlie Kirk was killed for expressing the ideas that they believed in.
Addressing the crowd at Charlie Kirk's memorial service, Trump said, "The gun was pointed at him, but the bullet was aimed at all of us. That bullet was aimed at every one of us. Charlie was killed for expressing the very ideas that virtually everyone in this arena and most other places throughout our country deeply believed in."
"The radicals and their allies in the media... tried to silence Charlie for a simple reason because he was winning Big. They lied about him because they did not want you to listen to him or to learn from him," he added.
Trump said that one "political community" believes they have a monopoly on truth, goodness, and virtue, blaming their thinking for the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
"No side in American politics has a monopoly on disturbed or misguided people - but there's one part of our political community which believes they have a monopoly on truth, goodness, and virtue, and concludes they should also have a monopoly on power, thought, and speech. Tragically, atrocities of the kind we saw in Utah are the eventual consequence of that kind of thinking. If speech is violence, then some are bound to conclude that violence is justified to stop speech," Trump said.
Trump called Tyler Robinson, who allegedly shot Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10, a "radicalised, cold-blooded monster"
"God willing, he will receive the full and ultimate punishment for his horrific crime," Trump said, noting the suspect in Kirk's killing has been charged with capital murder.
Trump also called out the people who celebrated the death of Charlie Kirk
"Some of the very people who call you a 'hater' for using the wrong pronoun were filled with glee at the killing of a father with two beautiful young children," he said.
"The lesson of Charlie's life is that you should never underestimate what one person can do with a good heart, a righteous cause, a cheerful spirit and the will to fight, fight, fight," Trump said, echoing the words he shouted after surviving an assassination attempt in 2024.
Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, in an emotional speech, forgave Tyler Robinson, who allegedly shot Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10.
"I forgive him, I forgive him because it is what Christ did, The answer to hate is not hate," she said.
Erika Kirk also quoted Jesus on the cross, saying "Father, forgive them, for they not know what they do."
31-year-old right-wing commentator and founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, was fatally shot in the neck while speaking at Utah Valley University on September 10, as reported by The New York Times. Authorities arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson in connection with the killing, with officials in Trump's administration saying that he had left-leaning political views.
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