President Donald Trump reacts to conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death, and trial of man charged with Trump’s attempted assassination begins with interesting questions.
President Donald Trump announced Thursday he will award slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
One day after Kirk was shot and killed during an event at a Utah university, Trump called Kirk “a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people.”
Awarded by the president, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is the federal government’s highest civilian honor, given to individuals to recognize a lifetime of achievements. The date of the ceremony has yet to be announced.
Speaking at a memorial service at the Pentagon commemorating the 184 people who died at Defense Department headquarters 24 years ago during the 9/11 terror attacks, Trump called Kirk’s killing a “heinous assassination.”
“We miss him greatly, yet I have no doubt that Charlie’s voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on,” he said of the late Turning Point USA co-founder, who was a longtime ally of the president.
Trump told reporters later that he would speak with Kirk’s family Thursday. Vice President JD Vance reportedly canceled his planned appearance at New York’s 9/11 ceremony to travel to visit Kirk’s family. Kirk, 31, was married with two young children.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also praised Kirk at the event, saying “Like those on 9/11, you will never be forgotten.”
During Thursday’s service, Trump pledged to never forget Sept. 11, 2001, and “the horror of that morning” when 2,977 people were killed in simultaneous terrorist attacks that crashed airplanes into the Pentagon, the World Trade Center buildings in New York and a field in Pennsylvania.
TAs witnesses started to take the stand Thursday in the trial of the man who is accused of trying to assassinate then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, Ryan Routh was repeatedly admonished by the judge as he represented himself in court.
In one instance, instead of cross examining a witness, Routh praised the witness who initially identified him as he fled from law enforcement in September 2024.
Prosecutors will try to prove Ryan Routh planned to kill Trump on Sept. 15, 2024, and pointed a rifle through the fence as he played golf at his West Palm Beach country club.
Before Trump came into view, though, a Secret Service agent spotted Routh and opened fire, allegedly causing the man to drop his gun and flee.
Before the jury came in Thursday, Routh was all smiles as he looked around the courtroom.
When prosecutors gave their opening statement, he watched intently and took a few notes. When it was his turn to address the jury, Routh calmly walked up and started to speak about the beginnings of the human species, Hitler, Putin, and went over very descriptive scenes of things like campfires.
At one point, he got emotional while speaking.
About four minutes into his allotted 40 minutes, the judge stopped him and ordered the jury out of the room.
Judge Aileen Cannon told Routh that in an opening statement, he is only allowed to talk about valid evidence in an objective and non-argumentative way.
The judge said she would give him another chance and let Routh start again.
When the jury returned, Routh began by saying his case is about intent, doing the right thing, morals and ethics, and then continued, telling the jury that “this case means absolutely nothing.”
The judge immediately dismissed the jury again and explained that Routh had violated the rules laid out in court and that opening statements were over.