WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said in an exclusive interview with NBC News on Saturday that he hopes the nation will heal after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, but he also suggested that a “radical left” contingent in the country stands in the way of reconciliation.
“I’d like to see it [the nation] heal,” the president stated during a brief phone interview. “But we’re dealing with a radical left group of lunatics, and they don’t play fair and they never did.”
Tyler Robinson, 22, from Utah, has been arrested in connection with Kirk’s murder. He is accused of shooting the conservative activist during a speech Wednesday at Utah Valley University. According to public records, Robinson’s most recent voter registration was on July 13, 2021, with no political party declared.
Officials said Robinson had only recently expressed an interest in politics. A relative recalled him criticizing Kirk at a dinner before the Utah Valley University event.
Investigators say Robinson left behind bullet casings with references to fascism, internet memes, and video games. He is now facing charges for aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm resulting in serious bodily injury, and obstruction of justice.
Authorities are still investigating Robinson and the shooting, including a possible motive.
Kirk’s death has sparked a debate about the toxicity of the nation’s political discourse, with Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox calling for greater tolerance and an end to finger-pointing.
In the interview, Trump stated: “We’ll see what happens.” They [the left] are dissatisfied with recent events. “We’ve been winning big.”
Following the shooting, Trump pledged in a video from the Oval Office to find “each and every one of those who contributed this atrocity … including the organizations that fund and support it.” In that video, Trump also attacked the “radical left,” despite the fact that the shooter’s identity and motivations were unknown.
In an appearance on “Fox & Friends” Friday morning, he singled out George Soros, the 95-year-old Democratic megadonor who founded the Open Society Foundations. Trump stated that “we’re going to look into Soros” for potential violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
In response to NBC News’ question about Soros, the president stated that he “should be put in jail.”
“He’s a bad guy,” Trump continued.
Soros has long supported Democratic candidates and progressive causes and is one of the largest donors on the left.
Asked to comment. On Saturday, an Open Society Foundations spokesman pointed to a post from the group last month on X.
Trump had posted that Soros and his son, Alex, who is now the organization’s chairman, should be charged with RICO “because of their support for violent protest, and much more, all throughout the United States of America.”
In response, the group stated that it does not “support or fund violent protests”. Allegations to the contrary are false, and threats to our founder and chair are outrageous. Our mission is to promote human rights, justice, and democratic values in the United States and around the world.
“We stand for fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution,” said the advocacy organization, “including the rights to free speech and peaceful protest that are hallmarks of any vibrant democracy.”
