President Donald Trump has opened up about the heartbreaking conversation he had with Charlie Kirk’s grieving wife.
Kirk was shot dead in front of nearly 3,000 people while speaking at his “Prove Me Wrong” event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday (September 10).
The 31-year-old, who was the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was married to Erika Frantzve, and together they shared a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son.
On Thursday (September 11), Trump spoke to reporters outside the White House about how Kirk's wife is coping, telling the publications: “I spoke to Erika, his wife, and we had a long talk, and she is devastated. She’s absolutely devastated, as you can imagine."
Erika, a former Miss Arizona USA, has yet to publicly comment on her husband's death.
The 79-year-old president hailed Kirk as a patriot who “devoted his life to the cause of open debate," and said he was “filled with grief and anger” by the “heinous assassination".
“Charlie inspired millions, and tonight all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror,” he shared. “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 warned that political violence is the result of years of demonizing opponents. “It’s long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year in the most hateful and despicable way possible,” he said.
“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," he added.
Vice President JD Vance, who arrived in Salt Lake City to retrieve Kirk’s body aboard Air Force Two, remembered Charlie as a “close friend” who had supported him throughout his career.
Authorities have confirmed that Kirk was shot from a rooftop by a sniper positioned several hundred yards away.
In a subsequent update, President Trump disclosed that police have made significant progress in the case.
“I think we have him. I think with a high degree of certainty we have him in custody. He's in custody,” he told Fox News, adding that “someone very close to him turned him in,” and credited the help of a “minister, father” in capturing the suspect.
"I hope he's gonna be found guilty, I would imagine, and I hope he gets the death penalty for what he did," Trump continued."Things may change, but facts are the facts, we have who we're looking for."
The killer’s identity is still being withheld as the investigation continues.