Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk spoke out Wednesday about the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner shooting and the “radicalization of our citizens.”
“This is what got my husband killed,” Kirk said on the Charlie Kirk Show. “This is what has led to three legitimate attempts on President Trump’s life.”
On Saturday, the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner took a turn when a gunman opened fire. Secret Service agents tackled the suspect, identified as Cole Allen, 31. No serious injuries were reported, but one agent was shot on his bulletproof vest and is recovering.
Kirk slammed the journalists at the dinner. She said she attended to see some of the people whom she believes have dehumanized her after her husband Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
“I wanted to meet some of them face to face, quite frankly,” she said. “Why have a conversation about me when you can have a conversation with me?”
Kirk pointed out and seemingly mocked a female journalist she met from Politico. Kirk said the woman responded by saying, “I know, isn’t it special, right? Isn’t tonight so special?”
Kirk said the journalists there that night have become desensitized and that “fight or flight became second to the opportunity of putting themselves into the story.”
“These journalists are using their phones to find moments to capture for clips,” she said.
A clip also circulated on social media showing Kirk leaving the dinner in tears, saying, “I just want to go.”
Kirk called out the far Left for what she believes is its lack of empathy in these situations, saying at best it gives a “shrug.” She also criticized comments made by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.
Kimmel, two days before the correspondents’ dinner shooting, said in a skit that first lady Melania Trump looked like an “expectant widow.” Donald Trump and the first lady attended the dinner.
“How would you feel if even just one person made cruel jokes about the attempted murder of your loved one?” she asked. “If you strip someone of their humanity long enough, you will arrive at the chilling conclusion that they don’t deserve to exist at all.”
She highlighted the assembly line of news headlines and articles about her that circulate every day.
“I have comedians dressing up in white face, I have people saying I’m not fit to be CEO, and I have Candace Owens claiming I murdered my husband.”
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She said this kind of behavior is dehumanizing and that Americans are consuming it.
“The media finds a way to conveniently explain away violence,” she said.