September 11, 2025 • 15 mins
In this Briefing, Jon Decker examines the shocking assassination of conservative leader Charlie Kirk and the political reverberations following his death. Decker explores the circumstances of the attack, reactions from President Trump and other national figures, and the ongoing investigation. Decker also reflects on Kirk’s lasting impact on the conservative movement, especially his influence among young voters. The Briefing concludes with a commemoration of September 11th, underscoring the need to honor past sacrifices while confronting present dangers. The White House Briefing Room can be heard daily on the iHeartRadio App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the White House Briefing Room for Thursday, September eleventh.
I'm John Decker. The White House is still processing the
shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was
a very close ally of President Trump.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
To my great fellow Americans, I'm filled with grief and
anger at the heinus assassination of Charlie Kirk on a
college campus in Utah.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
The President releasing a video from the Oval Office just
hours after Kirk, who played an influential role among young conservatives,
was shot and killed at a Utah college event. Kirk
was just thirty one years old. He was a superstar
in the maga world. He was a superstar in conservative politics.
(00:52):
He started his organization Turning Point USA back in twenty twelve.
He was just eighteen years old out of college and
he wanted to find a new focus in his life.
And this group over the years drew extremely influential among
young people. In particular, it grew a stronger conservative base
(01:16):
in high schools and colleges nationwide, and it later launched
an outreach program in churches. It built a substantial media
arm which produces podcasts and videos and more recently, the
organization has focused its attention on voter outreach and electioneering,
(01:38):
and I think that's how the President grew so close
to Charlie Kirk. Kirk was a strong advocate for most
of the President's positions, and he discussed these positions when
he toured the country, when he did his podcast, that
Charlie Kirk Show, other media appearances. His support earned him
(02:00):
an enormous amount of sway with President Trump. When he
was running for president in twenty sixteen and when he
was running for president once again in twenty twenty four
it was Charlie Kirk who motivated young voters to support
President Trump in speeches that he made at high schools,
(02:23):
at colleges, at churches all across the country. He spoke
with the President quite often, and he knew many of
the people that worked in the West Wing. In fact,
when news spread that Charlie Kirk had been shot in Utah,
in the West Wing, in the press office, in the
(02:44):
West Wing in particular, there was a lot of sadness.
There was a lot of sadness among some of the
young White House staffers who came to know Charlie Kirk
out on the campaign trail. They worked with Charlie Kirk
out on the campaign trail, and it was uncertain obviously
at that point upon hearing that news, and for those
(03:06):
young staffers, it was impossible to know just how bad
the situation was going to be regarding this shooting out
in Utah. This event was organized by Charlie Kirk's Turning
Point USA. It was on the campus of Utah Valley University.
This is Trump country, so about three thousand people were
(03:27):
on hand to see Charlie Kirk as he took the stage.
It was the first stop on Kirk's Autumn American Comeback
speaking tour, and during that tour, one of the things
that young people turned out to see was Charlie Kirk
dare students too? In his words, prove me wrong? And
(03:49):
then he would do that, debate students on a variety
of issues, often social issues, and that's what happened on Wednesday.
Charlie Kirk was up on that stage in a white
T shirt and not long into his event, an audience
member appeared to challenge Kirk about transgender issues. Charlie Kirk
was asked, do you know how many transgender Americans have
(04:13):
been mass shooters? Over the last ten years, and Charlie
Kirk replied, too many, and the crowd really liked that answer.
Five individuals, that's what the audience member said, answering his
own question. And then that audience member said, do you
know how many mass shooters there have been in America
over the last ten years? And then Kirk responded, counting
(04:37):
or not counting gang violence. And then as he lowered
his microphone, you could hear a shot. You could see
this as well if you saw the video that has
been played over and over and over again from so
many angles on social media. And that's when Kirk recoiled
and he slumped to his left and blood came out
(04:58):
of his neck. It was shocking. It was a terrible
sight to see. And I advise anybody who hasn't seen
the video don't bother looking for it. It is gruesome.
Upon hearing this news, the President put a message out
on his social media platform Truth Social. He wrote, we
must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who's been shot. A
(05:22):
great guy from top to bottom. God bless him. The
president had actually been briefed by members of his staff
moments after reports of the shooting surfaced. First online, and
the White House was very solemn upon hearing this news.
There were some in the Lower Press Office again, people
(05:43):
that knew Charlie Kirk, who had tears in their eyes,
and they searched their phones for updates, the internet for updates,
asking others, what have you learned? What have you learned
about Charlie Kirk's condition. In short order, we learned that
Charlie Kirk was fatally shot, that he was killed by
an assassin's bullet, and the President hours later took to
(06:07):
the Oval Office to speak about someone that he came
to know very well over the course of the past decade.
Let's listen to what the President said right here.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
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.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
The President went on to describe how Charlie Kirk, his friend,
will be remembered.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
He's a martyr for truth and freedom, and there's never
been anyone who was so respected by youth. Charlie was
also a man of deep, deep faith, and we take
comfort in the knowledge that he is now at peace
with God.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
And have the President sounded, as you heard right there,
angry at times. And he talked about the legacy that
Charlie Kirk will have now that he's left this earth.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
This is a dark moment for America. Charlie Kirk traveled
the nation joyfully, engaging with everyone interested in good faith debate.
His mission was to bring young people into the political process,
which he did better than anybody.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
And then the President spoke about what will happen in
the aftermath, and he spoke about who may be responsible
for this assassination. Let's hear what the President said right here.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
It's a 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. For years, those on the radical
(07:57):
left have compared wonderful America 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.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
As the President concluded his remarks, he also spoke of
what Charlie leaves behind. He leaves behind a young wife,
to very young children. He was just thirty one years old,
having started his organization and his rise in politics at
just eighteen. And I think it's one of those reasons
that Charlie Kirk had such influence in the conservative movement.
(08:40):
Let's listen to what the President says right here.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
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 healthcare executive
in the streets of New York, to the shooting of
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and three others. Radical of
political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken
(09:06):
too many lives. Tonight, they asked all Americans to commit
themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived
and died, the values of free speech, citizenship, the rule
of law, and the patriotic devotion and love of God.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Clearly, I don't think that's the last we're going to
hear from the President. As he concluded his remarks, he
looked ahead. He looked ahead to what he believes will
be spoken about Charlie Kirk in the days ahead.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Today, because of this heinous act, Charlie's voice has become
bigger and grander than ever before, and it's not even close.
May God bless his memory, May God watch over his family,
and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
And the President also put out a post on truth
social He said, the great and even legendary Charlie Kirk
is dead. No one understood or had the heart of
the youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.
He was loved and admired by all, especially me, and
now he is no longer with us. Milania and My
sympathies go out to his beautiful wife, Erica and family. Charlie.
(10:18):
We love you as you can imagine. Statements came out
all across official Washington. Lawmakers put out statements from their office.
The House Speaker Mike Johnson put out a statement he
wrote utterly devastating. Charlie was a close friend and confidant.
He will be sorely missed by so many. Every political
leader must loudly and clearly decry this violence. Our prayers
(10:42):
go out to his wife and young children. May he
rest in peace. It wasn't just Republicans who were putting
out a statement regarding the assassination of Charlie, so are Democrats,
including the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, Hakim Jeffries.
He wrote un social media, I am shocked by the
murder of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. Political violence
(11:06):
of any kind and against any individual is unacceptable and
completely incompatible with American values. We pray for his family
during this tragedy, and the President put out a further
statement a little bit later in the afternoon. He wrote,
in this statement, in honor of Charlie Kirk, a truly
(11:27):
great American patriot, I am ordering all American flags throughout
the United States lowered to half massed until Sunday evening
at six pm. Now. As of this broadcast of this
podcast on Thursday, authorities in Utah they're still searching for
the person who killed Charlie Kirk. The FBI director, Cash Pattel,
(11:52):
he posted on social media late Wednesday that our investigation
continues and that reversed his earlier announcement that someone had
been apprehended for Kirk's killing, but Patel said the person
taken into custody described as a person of interest, had
been released after an interrogation, and soon the FBI agents
(12:15):
based in Utah asked the public for tips. Now, the
reason why Kirk's assassination is getting so much attention, not
only is because that all of it was called on
video and it's so shocking and so gruesome. It's because
of what Kirk managed to do in his very short
(12:36):
amount of time on this earth, what he managed to
do with his organization, Turning Point USA. It was well funded,
this apparatus, and that came after more than a decade
of traveling the country, and during the twenty twenty four
presidential election, it was Kirk and his organizers who knocked
on doors in battleground states, including Arizona and Wisconsin. You
(13:01):
can't contribute their efforts directly to the victories that President
Trump had in both of those states in twenty twenty four,
but it was influential and the group grew in influence
in the world of President Trump, in the world of MAGA.
In fact, officials affiliated with Turning Point now lead Republican
(13:26):
parties in many states, including in most key battleground states.
That's how influential Charlie Kirk was. And Charlie Kirk also
helped to convince President Trump on many occasions to endure
specific political candidates running for Congress or running for the Senate.
This was noticed by Democrats, the fact that Charlie Kirk
(13:49):
had so much influence among young people. In fact, when
Gavin Newsom, the Democratic Governor of California, when he started
a podcast in March of this year, his first guest
was Charlie Kirk. They disagreed a lot on that first show,
but what clearly came through was that Governor Newsom respected
(14:13):
Charlie Kirk and he admired him for what he has
been able to build in the short time that he
had on this earth. So Wednesday a very sad day,
a very shocking day. And here we are, Thursday, September
the eleventh, and it's a commemoration of what happened in
our country twenty four years ago. The President's scheduled today
eight forty five in the morning, the President and the
(14:35):
First Lady will attend a September eleventh observance event and
that will take place at the Pentagon. And then later
in the afternoon, the President departs the White House. He'll
travel to New York and this evening he'll actually attend
a Yankees baseball game in the Bronx. So that's the
president's schedule for the day. The day could change because
(14:56):
of the solemn nature of the day. What happened twenty
four years ago, when three thousand innocent Americans were killed
by acts of terrorism in our country. We must never
forget what happened twenty four years ago. That's the White
House Briefing Room, four Thursday, September the eleventh. I'm John Decker.
(15:18):
Have a good one.
Welcome to the White House Briefing Room for Thursday, September eleventh.
I'm John Decker. The White House is still processing the
shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was
a very close ally of President Trump.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
To my great fellow Americans, I'm filled with grief and
anger at the heinus assassination of Charlie Kirk on a
college campus in Utah.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
The President releasing a video from the Oval Office just
hours after Kirk, who played an influential role among young conservatives,
was shot and killed at a Utah college event. Kirk
was just thirty one years old. He was a superstar
in the maga world. He was a superstar in conservative politics.
(00:52):
He started his organization Turning Point USA back in twenty twelve.
He was just eighteen years old out of college and
he wanted to find a new focus in his life.
And this group over the years drew extremely influential among
young people. In particular, it grew a stronger conservative base
(01:16):
in high schools and colleges nationwide, and it later launched
an outreach program in churches. It built a substantial media
arm which produces podcasts and videos and more recently, the
organization has focused its attention on voter outreach and electioneering,
(01:38):
and I think that's how the President grew so close
to Charlie Kirk. Kirk was a strong advocate for most
of the President's positions, and he discussed these positions when
he toured the country, when he did his podcast, that
Charlie Kirk Show, other media appearances. His support earned him
(02:00):
an enormous amount of sway with President Trump. When he
was running for president in twenty sixteen and when he
was running for president once again in twenty twenty four
it was Charlie Kirk who motivated young voters to support
President Trump in speeches that he made at high schools,
(02:23):
at colleges, at churches all across the country. He spoke
with the President quite often, and he knew many of
the people that worked in the West Wing. In fact,
when news spread that Charlie Kirk had been shot in Utah,
in the West Wing, in the press office, in the
(02:44):
West Wing in particular, there was a lot of sadness.
There was a lot of sadness among some of the
young White House staffers who came to know Charlie Kirk
out on the campaign trail. They worked with Charlie Kirk
out on the campaign trail, and it was uncertain obviously
at that point upon hearing that news, and for those
(03:06):
young staffers, it was impossible to know just how bad
the situation was going to be regarding this shooting out
in Utah. This event was organized by Charlie Kirk's Turning
Point USA. It was on the campus of Utah Valley University.
This is Trump country, so about three thousand people were
(03:27):
on hand to see Charlie Kirk as he took the stage.
It was the first stop on Kirk's Autumn American Comeback
speaking tour, and during that tour, one of the things
that young people turned out to see was Charlie Kirk
dare students too? In his words, prove me wrong? And
(03:49):
then he would do that, debate students on a variety
of issues, often social issues, and that's what happened on Wednesday.
Charlie Kirk was up on that stage in a white
T shirt and not long into his event, an audience
member appeared to challenge Kirk about transgender issues. Charlie Kirk
was asked, do you know how many transgender Americans have
(04:13):
been mass shooters? Over the last ten years, and Charlie
Kirk replied, too many, and the crowd really liked that answer.
Five individuals, that's what the audience member said, answering his
own question. And then that audience member said, do you
know how many mass shooters there have been in America
over the last ten years? And then Kirk responded, counting
(04:37):
or not counting gang violence. And then as he lowered
his microphone, you could hear a shot. You could see
this as well if you saw the video that has
been played over and over and over again from so
many angles on social media. And that's when Kirk recoiled
and he slumped to his left and blood came out
(04:58):
of his neck. It was shocking. It was a terrible
sight to see. And I advise anybody who hasn't seen
the video don't bother looking for it. It is gruesome.
Upon hearing this news, the President put a message out
on his social media platform Truth Social. He wrote, we
must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who's been shot. A
(05:22):
great guy from top to bottom. God bless him. The
president had actually been briefed by members of his staff
moments after reports of the shooting surfaced. First online, and
the White House was very solemn upon hearing this news.
There were some in the Lower Press Office again, people
(05:43):
that knew Charlie Kirk, who had tears in their eyes,
and they searched their phones for updates, the internet for updates,
asking others, what have you learned? What have you learned
about Charlie Kirk's condition. In short order, we learned that
Charlie Kirk was fatally shot, that he was killed by
an assassin's bullet, and the President hours later took to
(06:07):
the Oval Office to speak about someone that he came
to know very well over the course of the past decade.
Let's listen to what the President said right here.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
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.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
The President went on to describe how Charlie Kirk, his friend,
will be remembered.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
He's a martyr for truth and freedom, and there's never
been anyone who was so respected by youth. Charlie was
also a man of deep, deep faith, and we take
comfort in the knowledge that he is now at peace
with God.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
And have the President sounded, as you heard right there,
angry at times. And he talked about the legacy that
Charlie Kirk will have now that he's left this earth.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
This is a dark moment for America. Charlie Kirk traveled
the nation joyfully, engaging with everyone interested in good faith debate.
His mission was to bring young people into the political process,
which he did better than anybody.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
And then the President spoke about what will happen in
the aftermath, and he spoke about who may be responsible
for this assassination. Let's hear what the President said right here.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
It's a 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. For years, those on the radical
(07:57):
left have compared wonderful America 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.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
As the President concluded his remarks, he also spoke of
what Charlie leaves behind. He leaves behind a young wife,
to very young children. He was just thirty one years old,
having started his organization and his rise in politics at
just eighteen. And I think it's one of those reasons
that Charlie Kirk had such influence in the conservative movement.
(08:40):
Let's listen to what the President says right here.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
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 healthcare executive
in the streets of New York, to the shooting of
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and three others. Radical of
political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken
(09:06):
too many lives. Tonight, they asked all Americans to commit
themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived
and died, the values of free speech, citizenship, the rule
of law, and the patriotic devotion and love of God.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Clearly, I don't think that's the last we're going to
hear from the President. As he concluded his remarks, he
looked ahead. He looked ahead to what he believes will
be spoken about Charlie Kirk in the days ahead.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Today, because of this heinous act, Charlie's voice has become
bigger and grander than ever before, and it's not even close.
May God bless his memory, May God watch over his family,
and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
And the President also put out a post on truth
social He said, the great and even legendary Charlie Kirk
is dead. No one understood or had the heart of
the youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.
He was loved and admired by all, especially me, and
now he is no longer with us. Milania and My
sympathies go out to his beautiful wife, Erica and family. Charlie.
(10:18):
We love you as you can imagine. Statements came out
all across official Washington. Lawmakers put out statements from their office.
The House Speaker Mike Johnson put out a statement he
wrote utterly devastating. Charlie was a close friend and confidant.
He will be sorely missed by so many. Every political
leader must loudly and clearly decry this violence. Our prayers
(10:42):
go out to his wife and young children. May he
rest in peace. It wasn't just Republicans who were putting
out a statement regarding the assassination of Charlie, so are Democrats,
including the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, Hakim Jeffries.
He wrote un social media, I am shocked by the
murder of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. Political violence
(11:06):
of any kind and against any individual is unacceptable and
completely incompatible with American values. We pray for his family
during this tragedy, and the President put out a further
statement a little bit later in the afternoon. He wrote,
in this statement, in honor of Charlie Kirk, a truly
(11:27):
great American patriot, I am ordering all American flags throughout
the United States lowered to half massed until Sunday evening
at six pm. Now. As of this broadcast of this
podcast on Thursday, authorities in Utah they're still searching for
the person who killed Charlie Kirk. The FBI director, Cash Pattel,
(11:52):
he posted on social media late Wednesday that our investigation
continues and that reversed his earlier announcement that someone had
been apprehended for Kirk's killing, but Patel said the person
taken into custody described as a person of interest, had
been released after an interrogation, and soon the FBI agents
(12:15):
based in Utah asked the public for tips. Now, the
reason why Kirk's assassination is getting so much attention, not
only is because that all of it was called on
video and it's so shocking and so gruesome. It's because
of what Kirk managed to do in his very short
(12:36):
amount of time on this earth, what he managed to
do with his organization, Turning Point USA. It was well funded,
this apparatus, and that came after more than a decade
of traveling the country, and during the twenty twenty four
presidential election, it was Kirk and his organizers who knocked
on doors in battleground states, including Arizona and Wisconsin. You
(13:01):
can't contribute their efforts directly to the victories that President
Trump had in both of those states in twenty twenty four,
but it was influential and the group grew in influence
in the world of President Trump, in the world of MAGA.
In fact, officials affiliated with Turning Point now lead Republican
(13:26):
parties in many states, including in most key battleground states.
That's how influential Charlie Kirk was. And Charlie Kirk also
helped to convince President Trump on many occasions to endure
specific political candidates running for Congress or running for the Senate.
This was noticed by Democrats, the fact that Charlie Kirk
(13:49):
had so much influence among young people. In fact, when
Gavin Newsom, the Democratic Governor of California, when he started
a podcast in March of this year, his first guest
was Charlie Kirk. They disagreed a lot on that first show,
but what clearly came through was that Governor Newsom respected
(14:13):
Charlie Kirk and he admired him for what he has
been able to build in the short time that he
had on this earth. So Wednesday a very sad day,
a very shocking day. And here we are, Thursday, September
the eleventh, and it's a commemoration of what happened in
our country twenty four years ago. The President's scheduled today
eight forty five in the morning, the President and the
(14:35):
First Lady will attend a September eleventh observance event and
that will take place at the Pentagon. And then later
in the afternoon, the President departs the White House. He'll
travel to New York and this evening he'll actually attend
a Yankees baseball game in the Bronx. So that's the
president's schedule for the day. The day could change because
(14:56):
of the solemn nature of the day. What happened twenty
four years ago, when three thousand innocent Americans were killed
by acts of terrorism in our country. We must never
forget what happened twenty four years ago. That's the White
House Briefing Room, four Thursday, September the eleventh. I'm John Decker.
(15:18):
Have a good one.
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