President Donald Trump stated that investigators are “making big progress” in searching for the individual who killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk at an event in Utah on Wednesday.
“I hear they’re making big progress, and we’ll have to see what happens,” Trump told reporters before boarding Marine One en route to New York. He added that the shooter was “an animal” who would be “dealt with very appropriately.”
When asked about a possible motive, Trump said, “I have an indication, yeah, but we’ll let you know about that later.”
The President also verified he plans to attend Kirk’s funeral in Arizona in the coming days. “They’ve asked me to go,” Trump said, continuing, “I think I have an obligation.” He indicated that he believed the service would be next weekend, although final details are still being worked out.
Vice President JD Vance was expected to be on Air Force Two with Kirk’s casket as it traveled from Utah to Arizona on Friday.
Trump indicated that he spoke at length with Kirk’s widow, Erika, describing her as “devastated.” “We had a long talk, and she’s devastated. She’s absolutely devastated, as you can imagine!” he told reporters. The Kirks have two small children.
When asked about his own security after the assassination, Trump replied, “Not really,” although security precautions have been heightened. Instead, he claimed to have concern for the country as a whole and said the “radical left” was to blame for political violence without substantiation.
“We have a great country. We have a radical left group of lunatics out there, just absolute lunatics, and we’re going to get that problem solved,” he said. “I’m only concerned for the country.”
Trump also told his supporters to act peacefully, just like Kirk’s messages. “Kirk preached nonviolence,” Trump said. “That’s how I would like the people to take that” to his murder.
“Hopefully we’ll have him,” Trump said, referring to the shooter. “And we will deal with him very appropriately.”
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