Democratic congressional candidate Adelita Grijalva speaks to the media during a primary election-night party, July 15, 2025, in Tucson, Ariz. Rebecca Noble/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Tuesday’s special election for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District will likely narrow Republicans’ slim majority in the House and deliver the decisive vote on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
The heavily blue district will vote to replace the late Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva, who served 22 years in Congress before passing away at 77 in March from complications with cancer treatments.
His daughter, former Pima County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva, is favored to win against Republican Daniel Butierez, who lost to the elder Grijalva last year by nearly 27 percentage points.
Tuesday’s election will likely deliver the decisive signature to allow a vote on compelling the Department of Justice to release all records related to Jeffrey Epstein. The bipartisan discharge petition was put forth by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna.
After Democrat Rep. James Walkinshaw won his special election in Virginia earlier this month, the newly sworn-in congressman brought the discharge petition to 217 signatures, inching it closer to the required 218 needed to force a vote on the matter.
Both Grijalva and Butierez told the Arizona Daily Star last week that they would sign the petition if elected.
This election also has broader implications in the overall makeup of the House of Representatives. House Republicans currently have a narrow majority with 219 seats, while the Democrats hold 213.
Some Republican states are also following President Donald Trump’s call to pick up seats by redrawing their congressional maps to produce more GOP-friendly districts ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
Grijalva seeks to continue her father’s legacy of environmental justice and public education, in addition to focusing on protecting Medicaid.
“I’m not running on my last name, it just is my last name,” she told ABC News ahead of the Democratic primary earlier this year. “So my dad left really big shoes to fill, but I stand on my own two feet in my more than two decades of public service to Arizona, and I’m proud to be supported by leaders and organizations that are leading the progressive movement.”
She was challenged in the crowded Democratic primary by 25-year-old progressive activist Deja Foxx, who would have been the first Gen-Z woman in Congress. Grijalva defeated Foxx by over 40 points. Butierez won the Republican primary with nearly 61% of the vote over two other candidates.
Butierez is a business owner who is focused on curbing illegal immigration and drug flow into the region. Speaking to KGUN about how he was once homeless, imprisoned, and addicted to drugs, Butierez believes these experiences allow him to understand his community’s needs and utilize a firsthand perspective to address these issues.
ABC News’ Lauren Peller, John Parkinson, Brittany Shepherd, and Rachael Dziaba contributed to this report.
U.S. President Donald walks toward reporters while departing the White House on September 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is scheduled to travel to New York City this evening. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace.
The comments came as Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Pressed on whether the U.S. would back up NATO allies in such a situation, Trump said “it depends on the circumstance.”
Poland and Romania reported violations of their airspace earlier this month by Russian aircraft, prompting NATO to scramble fighter jets in response. Estonia on Friday said three Russian jets entered its airspace, which Russia has denied.
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski, who had been critical of Trump’s approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin in peace negotiations, responded quickly to Trump’s comments that NATO allies should shoot down Russian drones in their airspace.
“Roger that,” Sikorski wrote on X.
NATO’s Secretary General Mark Rutte on Tuesday reaffirmed the group’s commitment to defend allied territory but stopped short of saying any Russian aircraft that violates allied airspace would be shot down.
“Decisions on whether to engage intruding aircraft, such as firing upon them, are, of course, taking in real time, are always based on available intelligence regarding the threat posed by the aircraft, including questions we have to answer like intent, armament and potential risk to Allied forces, civilians or infrastructure,” Rutte said.
In his speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump criticized Russia for its ongoing war in Ukraine.
“It’s not making Russia look good. It’s making them look bad,” Trump said.
Trump said the United States is prepared to enact severe tariffs on Russia should Moscow not be ready to make a peace deal, a threat he’s made for weeks.
But he said other countries need to pull back on buying Russian oil and energy products “otherwise we’re all wasting a lot of time.”
“Europe has to step it up. They can’t be doing what they’re doing. They’re buying oil and gas from Russia while they’re fighting Russia. It’s embarrassing to them,” Trump said.
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy said he supported the idea when he met with Trump later Tuesday.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in a bilateral meeting with Trump, said she wants Europe to abandon its use of Russian energy by 2027 or earlier.
“President Trump is absolutely right on it,” she said. “We have reduced already massively the gas supply from Russia, completely gotten out of Russian coal and massively also reduced the oil supply. But there’s still some coming to the European continent.”
“We want to get rid of it,” she said.
Trump said he believed targeting Russia’s economy would help lead to the end of the war.
“After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” Trump wrote on his social media platform after his bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy. “Ukraine would be able to take back their Country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that!” he added.
ABC News’ Hannah Demissie and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on September 23, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump is now delivering remarks to the United Nations General Assembly, as world leaders convene in New York for the body’s 80th session.
It is Trump’s first speech to the annual gathering since his return to office.
“Six years have passed since I last stood in this grand hall and addressed a world that was prosperous and at peace in my first term. Since that day, the guns of war have shattered the peace I forged on two continents, an era of calm and stability gave way to one of the great crises of our time,” Trump said as he opened his remarks.
Trump’s speech is expected to center on “touting renewal of American strength around the world,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday.
“The president will also touch upon how globalist institutions have significantly decayed the world order, and he will articulate his straightforward and constructive vision for the world,” Leavitt said.
Later Tuesday, Trump will participate in bilateral meetings with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and the leaders of Ukraine, Argentina and the European Union. He will also hold a multilateral meeting with leaders from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine war are likely to dominate the U.N. General Assembly this week.
Several prominent world leaders, including key U.S. allies such as the United Kingdom and Canada, are moving to formally recognizing Palestinian statehood as international alarm builds over Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza and an ongoing hunger crisis in Gaza.
Abbas called on Hamas to surrender their weapons and he condemned the killings on Oct. 7, 2023. He also expressed readiness to work with Trump to implement a peace plan and called for a “permanent ceasefire.”
Trump has said he wants the war in Gaza to end, but has disagreed with other nations on the issue of Palestinian statehood.
“He feels this does not do anything to release the hostages, which is the primary goal right now in Gaza; does nothing to end this conflict and bring this war to a close,” Leavitt said on Monday.
“And frankly, he believes it’s a reward to Hamas,” Leavitt continued. “So he believes these decisions are just more talk and not enough action from some of our friends and allies. And I think you’ll hear him talk about that tomorrow at the U.N.”
On the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for those gathered at U.N. General Assembly to put “strong political pressure” on Russia.
“There is a real need for strong pressure on Russia, new joint steps from everyone in the world who believes that international law must work again,” Zelenskyy said.
Trump’s expressed increasing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin since their summit in Alaska last month yielded no breakthroughs. Last week, Trump said thought the war would be one of the easiest global conflicts to solve “because of my relationship with President Putin.”
“But he’s let me down,” Trump said. “He’s really let me down.”
Last week, while meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the U.K., Trump signaled he could do more to pressure Russia, but said other countries need to pull back on buying Russian oil first.
“I’m willing to do other things, but not when the people that I’m fighting for are buying oil from Russia. If the oil price comes down, very simply, Russia will settle, and the oil price is way down.”
ormer Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with Michael Strahan on “Good Morning America,” Sept. 23, 2025, in New York City. ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Former Vice President Kamala Harris, on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, said she does regret not personally challenging former President Joe Biden’s decision to run for reelection.
In an interview with “Good Morning America” co-anchor Michael Strahan, Harris said it was “reckless” of her to not raise her concerns with Biden choosing to run for reelection.
“Do you regret not voicing your opinion in that moment?” Strahan asked Harris, who wrote in her campaign memoir “107 Days” out Tuesday that the reelection decision was Joe and Jill Biden’s to make.
“Yes,” Harris said, “and I, and I actually have reflected on that, and I’ve written about that.”
“Would that have mattered if you did?” Strahan asked Harris.
“I don’t know,” Harris replied. “I don’t know, but I can only take responsibility for myself and on reflection, you know, and I talk about it in the context of asking a question of myself, ‘was that grace to not bring it up to him, or was it reckless?’
She added, “And on my part, I do reflect on that and feel that it was — it was a recklessness about not raising it with him.”
She said she felt raising her concerns with Biden would be seen as “self-serving.”
“I talk about what was going through my head, right? And what was going through my head to not bring it up was that it would come off as being very self-serving, and therefore maybe lack the credibility that it deserved. But I do think about it. I do think about it,” she said.
“And I also say, though, and I speak extensively about this, my concern about him running for reelection was completely separate from my admiration and knowledge about his capacity to serve as president United States, which was consistent and never wavered,” Harris added.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
The U.S. Supreme Court is shown March 17, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Trump administration defied a federal judge’s court order this past weekend in a case related to the deportation of more than 200 alleged Tren de Aragua gang members to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act of 1789. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Supreme Court on Monday in a 6-3 decision upheld President Donald Trump’s termination of Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, at least on an interim basis, as the justices said they would expedite a review of the high-stakes dispute over the scope of executive power.
The Supreme Court did not explain its decision, but the move was in line with other recent orders by the conservative majority giving broad deference to the president over staffing of independent agencies that exercise significant executive authority.
Trump removed Slaughter — who was appointed by former President Joe Biden — without cause, citing purely policy differences.
Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the decision citing the text of federal law, which only allows the removal of FTC commissioners for cause and a longstanding high court precedent — Humphrey’s Executor v US — which upheld those terms.
“The president cannot, as he concededly did here, fire an FTC Commissioner without any reason,” Kagan wrote in dissent. “To reach a different result requires reversing the rule stated in Humphrey’s: It entails overriding rather than accepting Congress’s judgment about agency design.”
Kagan accused the majority of effectively overruling Humphrey’s on the Supreme Court’s emergency docket without saying so explicitly or holding briefing or argument.
“The majority may be raring to take that action,” Kagan wrote. “But until the deed is done, Humphrey’s controls, and prevents the majority from giving the President the unlimited removal power Congress denied him.”
The justices will take up that precedent directly during a December hearing, examining whether removal protections for members of the FTC violate separation of powers and Humphrey’s overturned, the Court said in its order.
In a separate order, the Court declined to take up expedited appeals by Cathy Harris, a Trump-fired member of the Merit Systems Protection Board, and Gwynne Wilcox, a Trump-fired member of the National Labor Relations Board, both of whom are also contesting the president’s actions under Humphrey’s.
The move suggests the Court plans to use the Slaughter case as the primary vehicle for resolving critical questions of presidential power across more than 50 executive branch independent agencies and corporations.
Aerial view of Trenton New Jersey Skyline featuring state capitol dome of New Jersey. (Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
(TRENTON, N.J.) — As New Jersey’s 2025 election for governor — one of only two being held in the country this year — approaches, the candidates are grappling with whether the race is a bellwether for how voters feel about President Donald Trump, the upcoming battle for the U.S. House in the 2026 midterms, and the more general national sentiment against incumbent leaders.
In other words: as goes the Garden State, so goes the nation?
“All eyes in the United States are going to be on New Jersey. This looks like the most competitive race, certainly of one of magnitude in the country,” Daniel Bowen, a political science professor at The College of New Jersey, told ABC News.
On the Republican ticket, former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli is making a third try for the office and hopes to flip the state’s governorship currently held by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who cannot run for a third consecutive term. On the Democratic ticket is U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who beat out a crowded primary field in June and now looks to keep New Jersey’s governorship blue.
“I understand why people say there’s national implications here. There’s only two governor races in the entire country this year,” Ciatterelli told ABC News in a recent interview.
“But this is all about New Jersey’s future and that’s where I keep my focus. My only concern is fixing New Jersey … as I go around the state, that’s exactly what people want to hear. That’s exactly what people want.”
Sherrill, in a statement to ABC News, brought up her campaign aims of helping with affordability and accountability, while also framing the race as having national stakes.
“New Jerseyans know what’s at stake in this election, and we know that the nation is watching,” Sherrill said. “We can choose to elect a Trump lackey who is going to do whatever the President says, and make New Jerseyans foot the bill, or we can chart a different path forward… by delivering for working families, we’re laying the groundwork for Democrats in 2026 and beyond.”
The race could measure how voters are looking for change, Bowen told ABC News, given that “a fact of politics in 2025 is this distrust of politicians, distrust of those in power, dissatisfaction with where things are, and that could advantage an opposition candidate,” which could help Republicans in the state campaigning against New Jersey’s currently Democratic-controlled government.
But at the same time, Bowen added, “if you think of trying to react against the way things are going right now, who is determining the way things are going? Well, that’s largely being set by the federal government and the Trump administration. So your response isn’t necessarily to the state government. It’s probably more likely going to be the response to the federal government.”
The question of who voters are seeing as the “incumbent” played out during Sunday night’s gubernatorial debate, one of two where Ciattarelli and Sherrill are facing off. Sherrill, for instance, occasionally brought up Trump, and at one point criticized Ciatterelli’s praise of parts of the president’s signature tax and policy bill.
“I’m sure he would like you to focus on those four things, because he doesn’t want you to focus on his tariff plan, which is putting small businesses out of business … In every single way, we’re seeing costs go up on New Jersey families and Jack just says he has nothing he disagrees with Donald Trump on,” she said.
But Ciattarelli later tied Sherrill to incumbent Gov. Phil Murphy and the current Democratic control of the state, which he framed as causing disillusionment and challenges for New Jerseyans.
“Their party’s been in control [of the state legislature] for 25 years, and they’ve had the executive branch for eight years. But you don’t hear her, you don’t hear my opponent criticizing the current [New Jersey] administration, or the 25 year reign of the Democrats,” he said.
The governor’s race in New Jersey is projected to see $140 million in ad spending, an expected 268% increase over spending in the state’s 2021 gubernatorial race, according to media tracking agency AdImpact. The agency has also tracked millions more spending in support of Sherrill than of Ciatterelli as of mid-September.
Those ads are playing for unaffiliated voters as well, which number over 2 million in New Jersey.
“The independent vote is really a material part of New Jersey’s political history … the fact that New Jersey has gone, and the governor’s mansion, from red to blue to red to blue,” Keith Norman, vice president for political practice at LG Ad Solutions, told ABC News. “It’s a state that doesn’t typically see one party holding the office consistently.”
Republicans point to 2024 as a sign they can flip the governorship. Democratic candidate Kamala Harris won New Jersey by around 6 percentage points in 2024, even though Joe Biden won the state by about 16 percentage points in 2020.
The campaigns are also working to reach the large number of voters around the state who don’t have traditional over-the-air TV or cable, and can target New Jerseyans using streaming platforms and internet-connected TV more precisely.
Off the airwaves, meanwhile, both sides are running large ground games to turn out the vote.
Kate Gibbs, the executive director of the New Jersey Republican Party, told ABC News that the party aims to knock on 1.2 million doors, is working with every local GOP organization, and is trying to narrow the gap between New Jersey’s registered Democratic and Republican voters.
As of the beginning of September, there were over 860,000 more registered Democrats in New Jersey than Republicans, according to data from the New Jersey Department of State.)
And Gibbs says the party feels voters are anti-incumbent towards the current governor: “What we’re hearing overwhelmingly is that people think the state’s on the wrong track and that they want change.”
The Sherrill campaign, meanwhile, says it has contacted over 1.7 million voters since the primary, knocked on almost 150,000 doors, and gotten donations from all 21 counties.
FBI Director Kash Patel listens as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks before signing a Presidential Memorandum in the Oval Office on September 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — During Charlie Kirk’s memorial service on Sunday, FBI Director Kash Patel posted an update on the investigation of Kirk’s assassination, saying the FBI is “pursuing every lead.”
Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested and charged with Kirk’s murder, but Patel said the FBI is looking into the “possibility of accomplices.”
“We are meticulously investigating theories and questions, including the location from where the shot was taken, the possibility of accomplices, the text message confession and related conversations, Discord chats, the angle of the shot and bullet impact, how the weapon was transported, hand gestures observed as potential ‘signals’ near Charlie at the time of his assassination, and visitors to the alleged shooter’s residence in the hours and days leading up to September 10, 2025,” Patel said in a post on X.
Patel made similar assertions during two days of House and Senate oversight hearings last week.
The online messaging platform Discord confirmed reports that about two hours before Robinson was taken into custody, he allegedly posted messages to a small group of friends on the platform that said, “Hey guys, I have bad news for you all … It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this.”
Patel addressed the Discord message during his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying that the FBI is investigating “anyone and everyone involved in that Discord chat” with Robinson. Patel said there are “a lot more” than 20 people linked to Robinson on Discord, “and we’re running them all down. … Every single one.”
“There are a number of individuals that are currently being investigated and interrogated, and a number yet to be investigated and interrogated, specific to that chat room. So we are very much in our ongoing posture of investigation,” Patel told senators, adding that other people could be involved.
In his post on Sunday, Patel said, “The entire FBI mourns the loss of Charlie Kirk. We will not rest until justice is served, and our investigation into this assassination will continue until every question is answered.”
Robinson was charged with numerous offenses on Tuesday, including aggravated murder, with prosecutors last week announcing their intent to seek the death penalty.
Robinson didn’t enter a plea on Tuesday. The judge said the court would appoint an attorney for him before his next court appearance on Sept. 29.
The United Nations headquarters is seen in Manhattan on Sept. 9, 2025 as the annual U.N. General Assembly, the 80th, began with thousands of delegates and world leaders expected to attend over the next few weeks. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump and foreign world leaders will meet this week at the United Nations General Assembly where Trump is expected to deliver the first address of his second term to the annual gathering of global leaders on Tuesday — though Trump will largely be isolated from more than half of the member nations and key allies over the war in Gaza.
All eyes will be on Trump, who in recent months has initiated massive cuts to U.S. foreign aid since his return to the White House, eliminating support for U.N. agencies and aid as overseas humanitarian crises continue to grow.
Trump’s appearance at the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly comes as several prominent world leaders — and key allies — of the U.S. are set to formally recognize Palestinian statehood as international alarm continues to build over the ongoing war and starvation crisis in Gaza.
On Monday, France and Saudi Arabia will hold an international peace conference in support of the two-state solution that will take place in New York. France and several other countries are expected to recognize Palestinian statehood, joining more than 140 countries which have already recognized Palestinian statehood.
Leaders from the United Kingdom, France, and Canada have maintained there should be an end to the war in Gaza, including the immediate release of all remaining hostages, and the understanding that Hamas would no longer be a leading authority in Gaza after the war.
The French have said that 10 countries would formally recognize Palestinian statehood at the meeting — Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Portugal, Malta, Britain and San Marino alongside France.
The U.S. will not participate in the conference and was one of only 10 countries who voted against the General Assembly resolution backing the high-level gathering.
Israel, for its part, has vowed to take action in retaliation of the formal recognition, which may include annexing parts of the occupied West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was unequivocal in rejecting the planned international conference in a statement Sunday.”I have a clear message to those leaders who recognize a Palestinian state after the terrible massacre on October 7th, 2023: You are giving a huge reward to terrorism,” Netanyahu said.
“And I have another message for you: It will not happen. A Palestinian state will not be established west of the Jordan River.”
Critics of the recognition — which include the U.S. and the Israeli governments — have long condemned the plan, saying it only moves to embolden Hamas and further isolate Israel and the Trump administration on the international stage.
U.S. officials have said the action is largely “performative” and “symbolic” and will do nothing to help mend the relationship between the Palestinians and the Israeli government.
“I think much of that is a reaction to several nations around the world deciding to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio on reports that Israel was seriously debating annexing parts of the West Bank, which some say would be illegal under international law.
“We warned them that we thought that was counterproductive. We actually think its undermined negotiations, because it emboldened Hamas, and we think it undermines future prospects of peace in the region. We thought it was unwise to do that, and I think you’re seeing that as a counterreaction,” Rubio told reporters last week.
The U.S. — Israel’s main ally — has opposed the recognition and last month moved to deny and revoke visas to the Palestinian delegation, including for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of Monday’s international conference, accusing the Palestinian leadership of undermining peace efforts. The Palestinian state holds permanent observer status at the U.N. and is not a full-blown member state.
But on Friday, the U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelming to allow Abbas to address this week’s gathering of world leaders virtually after the Trump administration declined to grant Abbas a visa. The motion passed by a vote of 145-5 with six abstentions. The U.S. and Israel voted against the motion.
On Sunday, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia formally recognized a Palestinian state — three countries who are some of the U.S. and Israel’s closest allies. The move came after an official state visit from Trump to the United Kingdom, during which he voiced his disapproval of the plan.
Other experts remain wary of the recognition, suggesting that while the acknowledgment of a Palestinian state is a long-overdue decision, it must be accompanied with more concrete action against the Israeli occupation, which launched a ground invasion last week. Such action could include an arms embargo, sanctions and more support for international tribunals investigating Israel’s possible crimes.
Trump is expected to meet with Netanyahu on the sidelines at this year’s UNGA.
Trump is also expected to meet with other foreign leaders throughout the week, including Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who will be a prominent new addition to the gathering. The meeting with Trump will mark their second meeting this year as the Syrian leader confronts the challenges of rebuilding the country after years of civil war under Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Iran’s nuclear program will also be a top-agenda item this year as sanctions against Tehran that were lifted 10 years ago are set to be reinstated. France, Germany and the United Kingdom moved last month to trigger the “snapback mechanism,” which automatically reimposes all U.N. sanctions that were in effect before the nuclear deal.
Trump will also meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines this week over promised postwar security guarantees, which Zelenskyy has said are critical to resolving the war with Russia. Russian President Vladmir Putin has so far refused to engage in a good faith effort to end the war after almost four years of fighting.
Erika Kirk joins U.S. President Donald Trump onstage during the memorial service for political activist Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
(GLENDALE, Ariz.) — Tens of thousands of people packed State Farm Stadium in Arizona on Sunday to pay tribute to Charlie Kirk, who was hailed a “martyr” by President Donald Trump and other leading conservative figures.
“I know I speak for everyone here today when I say that none of us will ever forget Charlie Kirk, and neither now will history,” Trump said.
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University for his The American Comeback Tour, which invited students on college campuses to debate on hot-button issues.
After founding Turning Point USA at age 18, Kirk rose to become one of the most prominent conservative voices in the country. But some of his comments on gun violence, LGBTQ issues, race and more often drew criticism from liberals and others.
At Sunday’s public memorial service, administration officials cast him as a “warrior” for the MAGA movement and his wife, Erika, said he died with “incomplete work but not with unfinished business.”
Here are the key takeaways.
Conservatives memorialize Kirk as ‘martyr’ and ‘warrior’
Kirk was lionized by several speakers as a modern-day martyr, many using the word in the context of his Christian faith.
“Charlie Kirk is now a martyr. His power will only grow,” conservative commentator Benny Johnson said in spirited remarks. “Evil thought there’d be a funeral today, God has created a revival right here in this house right now,” Johnson added.
Vice President JD Vance, a close friend of Kirk who escorted his casket back to Arizona on Air Force Two, said, “We must remember that he is a hero to the United States of America. And he is a martyr for the Christian faith.”
President Trump called Kirk a martyr for “American freedom.”
Others praised Kirk as a “MAGA warrior,” and Florida Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna compared him to George Washington, John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
The service mixed politics and religion, as the day started with hours of Christian music before the program began. Many in the crowd stood worshipping with their hands in the air.
Speakers pledge that Kirk’s movement will continue
White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, in some of the most heated remarks of the program, said Kirk’s death created a “fire in our hearts.”
Miller railed against an unnamed enemy, telling the crowd: “They cannot imagine what they have awakened. They cannot conceive of the army that they have arisen in all of us because we stand for what is good, what is virtuous, what is noble.”
Trump praised Kirk’s organization as a “juggernaut of American politics” that he believed is “going to be bigger and better than ever before.”
Trump and several administration officials watched the program in a suite behind bulletproof glass, and nearly his entire Cabinet sat in the front row.
Vance noted, “Now our whole administration is here, but not just because we love Charlie as a friend, even though we did, but because we know we wouldn’t be here without him. Charlie built an organization that reshaped the balance of our politics.”
Erika Kirk says she forgives alleged shooter in emotional speech
Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow, in emotional remarks, revealed that she forgives the alleged shooter, who has been charged with his murder.
“That young man, I forgive him,” she said as she was holding back tears, with the crowd jumping to their feet in a standing ovation.
Tyler Robinson, 22, was charged with a slew of offenses for allegedly killing Charlie Kirk, including aggravated murder.
“The answer to hate is not hate,” she said at the memorial service.
She also recounted the moments when she saw her husband’s body after he had been assassinated, saying she experienced “a level or heartache I didn’t even know existed.”
When she saw his body, she said she saw the “faintest smile” on his lips, telling her that he “didn’t suffer” and there was no “fear” or “agony” when he died.
“While Charlie died far too early, he was also ready to die. There was nothing that he was putting off,” she said.
Erika Kirk said taking over Turning Point USA is not something she takes lightly, after recently being elected to replace her husband as CEO, but that she and her husband share the same mission.
She said campus events will continue, stressing the need for debate and the importance of the First Amendment. “No assassin will ever stop us for standing up to defend those rights ever,” she said.
President Trump gave closing remarks, called Kirk ‘immortal’
In closing remarks for the memorial service, President Donald Trump said Charlie Kirk, whom he described as “our greatest evangelist for American liberty,” is now “immortal.”
He emphasized that Kirk was someone who had a “good heart” and was a “great American hero” who had the “will to fight, fight, fight” — a phrase that has become a rallying cry for Trump supporters since the attempted assassination attempt on him in July 2024.
The president said Kirk was a “missionary with a noble spirit and a great, great purpose” but that he differed with the conservative activist on one point, specifically that Kirk “did not hate his opponents.”
“That’s where I disagree with Charlie. I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them,” Trump said.
Trump also continued to predominantly blame “the left” for political violence in the U.S. He called the alleged shooter a “radicalized cold-blooded monster” and reiterated his direction to the Justice Department to investigate groups he claims contribute to political violence.
Throughout his speech, Trump strayed from talking about the conservative activist several times. His remarks on Kirk were briefly interrupted when he discussed a forthcoming announcement about autism, his tariff policy and his grievances about the 2020 election. He also added that “violence comes largely from the left.”
As Trump closed the program, he invited Erika Kirk back on stage and the two embraced.
(NEW YORK) — Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said Sunday that the United States is in “one of the most dangerous moments America has ever faced” with President Donald Trump using the federal government to try to punish his political opponents.
“The United States is now employing the full power of the federal government, the FCC, the Department of Justice, in order to punish, lock up, take down off the air all of his political enemies,” Murphy told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl. “As you know, this is what happens in Iran. This is what happens in Cuba. This is what happens in China, in deeply repressive states in which if you have the courage to stand up and speak truth to power, you are silenced. I mean, there is no more fundamental right in America than the right to protest your government.”
Murphy said Trump’s threats to have the Federal Communications Commission reexamine licenses for television broadcasters that repeatedly criticize him is an effort to use the government to silence critics.
“Listen, every single president, every single politician has drawn issue with something that a media figure has said and may use the power of persuasion to try to get them to change what they say. That’s very different than using the power of government in a coercive way that’s actually illegal. The Supreme Court has said, no, you cannot use the regulatory power of the government to say to a broadcaster, if you don’t say what I want you to say, as the president, United States, there will be a official legal consequence that’s illegal”
