“He did not hate his opponents, he wanted the best for them,” declared Donald Trump today of the assassinated Charlie Kirk. “That’s where I disagreed with Charlie, I hate my opponents and I don’t want the best for them,” he added, railing repeatedly against “nasty” political violence coming from “radical Left,” their “allies in the media,” and “paid agitators.”
While never naming the now-benched Jimmy Kimmel by name, Trump made sure his audience in-person, on TV and online today, knew exactly who he was talking about.
“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,” Trump insisted, as he has before the past week and more since Kirk was shot dead. “The same commentators who this week are crying fascism over a canceled late-night TV show, where the anchor had no talent and no ratings last were implying Charlie deserved what happened to him,” Trump went on to say, offering no evidence to his accusations.
“The gun was pointed at him, but the bullet was aim at all of us,” Trump added, referring to Kirk and his notion of freedom of speech.
Following a “unique blend of speeches,” as CNN‘s Boris Sanchez so deftly put it earlier Sunday, Trump took the stage at State Farm Stadium to a crowd of tens of thousands—with thousands more in a local spillover venue and elsewhere. Receiving multiple standing ovations, and stressing the power of faith and forgiveness, widow and now Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk emotionally eulogized her husband just before Trump took the stage.
After going hard on his enemies and critics and abandoning any attempt at a “consoler-in-chief” moment, Trump granted that maybe Erika Krik, who joined him on stage at the end, could talk him out of his vengeance and grievances.
“He could always draw a big crowd… this is a big crowd,” Trump stated of the turnout for Kirk naming cabinet members, senators and congressional representatives and other in attendance. “He was an all-American in everything he did.”
Seemingly jumping off his circumspect prepared remarks and adopting a very different approach than most of the previous speakers, Trump also launched into one of his favorite topics – taking over Democratic run cities. “One of the last things he said to me, was sir, please save Chicago,” Trump said of the Illinois-raised Kirk. “We’re going to do that, we’re going to save Chicago,” Trump added to applause from the MAGA crowd his threat to bring troops to the Windy City.
Praising his tariffs policy, troops on the streets of DC, and mocking Joe Biden, Trump appeared to go off script for the second of several times. Frequently sounding like the speech from his close advisor Stephen Miller, Trump also pitched his promise to announce Monday the origins of autism his administration has apparently discovered. “I think it is going to be one of the most important news conferences I’ll ever have, and I look forward to it.”
Punctuated by tones of revival and restraint, pyrotechnics and bullet proof glass-protected top administration officials, like longtime ally VP JD Vance, Kirk’s packed-to-the-rafters memorial comes 11 days after the MAGA activist was tragically shot in front of thousands of students and his own family at Utah Valley University.
Praising Kirk for helping him break through with younger male voters, Trump told the audience how he kicked “very powerful people” out of the Oval Office when he heard the news of the shooting.
After a couple of days of confusing reports from FBI Director Kash Patel, a suspect was arrested.
In fact, local law enforcement was notified by Tyler Robinson’s family of what the 22-year-old Beehive State native may have done after seeing photos and video footage released as part of the investigation. Robinson, whose parents walked him into a local sheriff’s office, was charged with aggravated murder and six other charges, including obstruction of justice and witness tampering on September 16.
Utah prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty.
Amidst partisan finger-pointing over Kirk’s death and the rise of political violence in America, the day after Robinson was charged, Disney “indefinitely” pulled Kimmel’s long running ABC late night show off the air on September 17.
The widely criticized move came in the fallout of comments Kimmel made on-air on September 15 about the MAGA crowd and Trump’s response to Kirk’s death. As Trump and his FCC chair Brendan Carr threatened more repercussions against media who crossed them and their base, Kimmel’s Live! remains dark, though there are ongoing talks between Disney leaders and the host and his team for a pathway for him to return.
A gathering of the MAGA elite, today’s widely covered memorial saw Trump sitting for most of the gathering in a private box with UFC boss and close pal Dana White (who at one point could be seen looking over POTUS’ speech) and, for a short but surprising time, Elon Musk – as Fox News noted:
NEW: President Trump and Elon Musk were spotted sitting together and chatting during a surprise reunion at Charlie Kirk’s memorial. pic.twitter.com/5asd3mTiJF
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 21, 2025
The biggest donor to Trump’s 2024 campaign, the world’s richest man had a very public estrangement with the former Apprentice host over the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill not long after existing as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency. That dispute exploded in early June when Musk tweeted on his X platform: “Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”
Going up and down over the summer to the White House’s frustration and distraction efforts, there has been growing discord among MAGA supporter over Trump, the DOJ and the FBI reneging on their promise to release the files on long-time Trump buddy and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who died from what has been called suicide in 2019 while in custody.
In the final months of his life, Kirk urged for the full release of the Epstein material. The activist softened his demands after a meeting with Trump, though he continued to call for great transparency from the feds. Nobody mentioned any of that today.
The post Charlie Kirk Memorial Sees Donald Trump Rail Against Jimmy Kimmel & “Radical Left” In Tribute To Slain MAGA Activist: “I Hate My Opponents & I Don’t Want The Best For Them” appeared first on Deadline.
