Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/JOSH EDELSON
Topics: Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump, JD Vance, Politics, US News
Liv Bridge
Topics: Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump, JD Vance, Politics, US News
The president has reflected on the last conversation he had with Charlie Kirk before his assassination.
On September 10, the controversial right-wing commentator was shot dead while speaking at a college event in Utah.
Kirk's assassination sent shockwaves all over the world as the FBI hunted for their prime suspect, who they believe acted alone and made the fatal shot using a bolt-action rifle while positioned on a nearby rooftop.
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Prior to the arrest of the alleged suspect, identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson from Utah, President Donald Trump addressed the nation with a tribute to his 'very good friend'.
The POTUS praised the late MAGA ally, describing him as a passionate 'patriot' and 'martyr for truth and freedom'.
Now, Trump has revealed the last conversation the pair shared before the 31-year-old's demise.
The late father-of-two was speaking at Utah Valley University for the first leg of his 'American Comeback Tour', as part of his conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, when he was gunned down mid-speech.
Trump said he has appeared at Turning Point USA events in the past with Kirk regularly calling him up to encourage his participation.
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"So the last time I spoke to him, he said 'Sir,' then he goes 'Phoenix,'" Trump said.
"'Sir could you, er, get to Phoenix,' this was like in a day. I said, 'Charlie, I'm the President of the United States, you've called me, asking me if I could speak tomorrow in Phoenix? You can't do that to me, Charlie.'
"But I usually ended up going," Trump recalled with a laugh. "He was great. He was a great guy and he didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve this, believe me."
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The president's comments come as Kirk's body was flown back to Phoenix on an Air Force Two jet ahead of his funeral and memorial service this week.
On Sunday (September 21), State Farm Stadium in Arizona, which has a capacity of more than 60,000, will hold the memorial service where Trump and several other government officials are tipped to attend.
After Trump said he would posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he said he is preparing for a 'very sad weekend'.
"We lost a great person. I’ll be going on early Sunday morning. We’re going to Arizona, taking some people with us, on Air Force One."
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Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha, who traveled to Salt Lake City to fly with Kirk's casket and his grief-stricken widow Erika back to Phoenix, will also be in attendance.
Vance hosted the 'Charlie Kirk Show' podcast from the White House on Monday (September 15) in his honor, stating a 'destructive moment of left-wing extremism' was responsible for Kirk's killing.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also said to be going, telling reporters before his departure to Israel on Saturday that he would be back in time for it.
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Rubio added Kirk was a 'great young man,' stating he 'admired all the stuff he said and did on campuses' and for his 'enormous influence on young people'.
The Republican media personality will be laid to rest in Arizona, the HQ of Turning Point USA and where he lived with his wife and their two young children.
After his assassination, Erika has vowed to keep her late husband's legacy alive, including his work on his campus tour, radio show and podcast.
"They should all know this: if you thought that my husband's mission was powerful before you have no idea, you have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country and this world," she said in the livestream.