Trump Proudly Separates Himself From Charlie Kirk As A Certified Hater

President Donald Trump didn’t last more than a few minutes into his eulogy for Charlie Kirk before turning his speech into a political rally, declining to express the forgiveness the crowd had just heard from Erika Kirk.

The president, who had a close personal relationship with the right-wing pundit, called the shooting suspect a “radicalised, cold-blooded monster.”

“He did not hate his opponents; he wanted the best for them,” he said of Kirk. “That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry, Erika.”

Trump also used his remarks to tout a slew of political goals and cited Kirk’s purported support of them prior to his death. 

In one instance, he previewed an announcement he’ll make tomorrow about autism, which his Health and Human Services secretary has repeatedly pushed misinformation about as a condition to be cured.

“[Charlie] would have been front-row centre. We’ll be missing him tomorrow,” Trump said. 

In another, he spoke about how Kirk was from the suburbs of Chicago and described his backing for plans to allegedly address crime in the city even as local lawmakers have vocally opposed this effort. 

“One of the last things he said to me is, ‘Please sir, save Chicago,’ We’re going to do that. We’re going to save Chicago from horrible crime,” Trump said. 

Trump went on to reiterate his attacks on “the left” while touting the inquiries his administration is making into liberal organisations in the wake of Kirk’s killing. 

“The Department of Justice is also investigating networks of radical left maniacs who fund, organise, fuel and perpetrate political violence, and we think we know who many of them are, but law enforcement can only be the beginning of our response to Charlie’s murder,” Trump said, despite authorities not sharing any evidence thus far linking Kirk’s shooting to left-leaning groups. 

Additionally, Trump repeated claims he’s made about more political violence stemming from “the left,” even though researchers have found that “right-wing extremist violence has been more frequent and more lethal than left-wing violence,” according to University of Dayton sociologist Art Jipson.