Trump uses Charlie Kirk death to ‘launch a war against the left’

On 10 September, a gunman shot and killed right-wing activist Charlie Kirk at a public event. In the aftermath of the event, president Trump made an address which has been described as a prelude to a ‘war against the left’:

trump is signaling that he’s going to use charlie kirks death to launch a war against left and liberal organizing https://t.co/9AVAEH0X4P

— hasanabi (@hasanthehun) September 11, 2025

Trump: “grief and anger”

In a video posted to the White House site, Trump began by saying:

To my great fellow Americans, I am filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah. Charlie inspired millions, and tonight all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror.

Charlie was a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loved so much, the United States of America. He fought for liberty, democracy, justice, and the American people. He’s a martyr for truth and freedom. And there’s never been anyone who was so respected by youth.

Trump went on to say:

For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.

People have pointed out that the president has frequently labelled his rivals as ‘lunatics‘ and ‘criminals‘. The following is something he posted to his Truth Social platform earlier this week:

Let’s not forget that this guy in Apocalypse Now was an actual lunatic. pic.twitter.com/bBTpTWEG6q

— B̴o̴r̴i̴s̴ Trump (@BorisTrump6) September 6, 2025

In a similar vein, journalist Mehdi Hasan noted the following:

Your vice-president called Trump ‘Hitler.’

Your president called Biden a Nazi and Harris a fascist.

Your husband just recently called the entire Democratic Party a ‘domestic extremist organization.’

Spare us the faux outrage. https://t.co/50vXwWr4vq

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) September 10, 2025

Trump continued his speech, saying:

My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country.

From the attack on my life in Butler, Pennsylvania last year, which killed a husband and father, to the attacks on ICE agents, to the vicious murder of a health care executive in the streets of New York, to the shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scaliz and three others. Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives.

As people have pointed out, however, the men who attempted to assassinate Trump were both Republican voters:

Both assassins were Republicans. One even voted for Trump. pic.twitter.com/SWG0AmmXHN

— Tea Pain (@TeaPainUSA) September 16, 2024

Also, Trump’s assassin was…wait for it…a Republican, white male and gun enthusiast who was previously a Trump voter. https://t.co/I6TIP6yG3P

— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) September 11, 2025

Others have noted that Trump did not mention the recent murder of several Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota:

And there it is.

The Minnesota assassin who shot Democratic lawmakers “voted for Donald Trump and was a strong Trump supporter,” according to his best friend. pic.twitter.com/9w5KuZ09uI

— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) June 14, 2025

In response to the president’s speech decrying alleged left-wing violence, some are calling for violence against the left:

President Trump said what needed to be said. He can’t yet openly declare war, but war is what we need. I still hope for peaceful separation of the left into their own little country somewhere, but if that can’t happen, we must destroy them utterly. https://t.co/7iPpc6ZcLm

— Bill Kelly (@WftRight) September 11, 2025

Others have questioned if the White House used AI in the video:

this very much looks like an AI avatar of Trump delivering an official message for the president

his body and hands barely move for the entire video

also…they missed this weird glitch

what’s going on here https://t.co/f9WeMa6gJC pic.twitter.com/2xSuRC5zJy

— Matt Binder (@MattBinder) September 11, 2025

While there do seem to be visual disturbances in the video, streamer Hasan Piker noted they could also be explained by a filter or lowered frame rate. In the same video, Piker argued that the content of the speech was far more significant than any potential use of AI.

Featured image via The White House