President Donald Trump told CNBC anchor Joe Kernen on Thursday that he is "devastated" by the fatal shooting of conservative organizer Charlie Kirk and said Kirk "could have been president" one day. Trump also said he plans to honor Kirk posthumously with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, according to Kernen's account of the off‑camera call.
Kernen said the president had phoned to congratulate him on the 30th anniversary of his show "Squawk Box" and that the conversation shifted to Kirk, the co‑founder of Turning Point USA. "He's devastated about Charlie Kirk and said that what a guy, what a great individual and he said he helped him greatly in the last election and thinks that Charlie Kirk could have been president some day," Kernen told viewers. "He was such a talented guy."
Kirk was shot in the throat while speaking to students at Utah Valley University on Wednesday evening. Authorities say the shooter fled the scene and remained at large as of Thursday evening. Law enforcement officials in Utah are conducting an active investigation; no arrests have been reported publicly.
Vice President J.D. Vance, who traveled to Utah with his wife a day after the attack, paid tribute to Kirk on X and described him as an intellectually curious conservative who had helped build a grassroots movement. "Charlie was fascinated by ideas and always willing to learn and change his mind," Vance wrote. "Like me, he was skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016. Like me, he came to see President Trump as the only figure capable of moving American politics away from the globalism that had dominated for our entire lives."
Vance added that Kirk was an adviser and connector in his 2021 Senate campaign, saying Kirk introduced him to people who later worked on the effort and to Donald Trump Jr. Vance said he planned to escort Kirk's casket and Kirk's wife, Erika, aboard Air Force Two to Arizona.
Trump attended a ceremony at the Pentagon on Thursday to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and appeared shaken, according to Kernen's account. During the conversation with the anchor, Trump said he is focused on "winning" and on what he has been doing to try to bring the country together, Kernen reported.
Kirk had been a prominent figure in conservative student politics as co‑founder of Turning Point USA and a frequent presence on the right's media circuit. Trump and Kirk were reported to be personal friends and political allies; Trump credited Kirk with helping in the most recent election in Kernen's retelling of the call.
Authorities have not released details about a motive, the weapon used or a possible suspect. The shooting prompted an immediate law‑enforcement response at Utah Valley University's campus and drew swift statements from senior Republican officials who had worked with Kirk.
The White House did not immediately provide a written statement expanding on Kernen's account. Officials in Utah said investigators would release further information as it became available.