President Donald Trump is President Donald Trump, and many in the liberal media still can’t accept that. That was clear yesterday at the Arizona memorial for Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated this month, allegedly by a hate-filled leftist.
After Kirk’s widow, Erika, forgave her husband’s killer, Trump, himself the target of two assassination attempts and years of political attacks, said he admired Kirk’s ability to forgive, but it’s something he could never do. It’s just not in his blood.
“He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them,” Trump said of Kirk. Then he added, “I hate my opponents.”
For some at CNN and MSNBC, that was the big takeaway of the hourslong event as they searched for a way to portray it as divisive. “He has never made a pretense of being a leader for all Americans, as most of his predecessors have — even if they didn’t follow through,” said a CNN analysis.
On MSNBC, following the memorial, White House correspondent Vaughn Hillyard also highlighted the different views and said, “I think what was stunning about the tension that exists here in 2025 was to listen to Erika Kirk, a big supporter of the president, be followed 15 to 20 minutes later by the president of the United States. Clearly, somebody who she loves, but come out and directly say, ‘I disagree with Charlie Kirk. I disagree with you, Erika,’ and say, ‘I hate my opponents.’”
He added, “And I think that says a lot about where we are and the questions about where we go moving forward. The Erika Kirk route or the Donald Trump route.”
Vaughn Hillyard on MSNBC’s The Weekend Primetime:
VAUGHN HILLYARD: I think what, honestly, I’ll take away from tonight is watching the weight of a woman, a mother, lose her husband. Most people cannot say they’ve experienced losing a spouse at this young of an age, and I don’t know who we are to suggest how somebody should respond in real time. One week after her husband’s passing, she went in front of a crowd of 40 to 50,000 people, people watching all over the world. And she delivered remarks in which she forgave the assassin that shot her husband and killed him.
Co-host Elise Jordan: I thought it was just remarkable.
HILLYARD: A remarkable moment because in so many ways, where America stands in 2025 is: How do we respond going forward? And the woman that just lost her husband stood there in front of the world and said, ‘I forgive.’ And because her Christian faith teaches her to love your enemy and not hate your enemy, and to love those that persecute you. And I think what was stunning about the tension that exists here in 2025 was to listen to Erika Kirk, a big supporter of the president, be followed 15-20 minutes later by the president of the United States. Clearly, somebody who she loves, but come out and directly say, ‘I disagree with Charlie Kirk. I disagree with you, Erika,’ and say, ‘I hate my opponents.’ And I think that says a lot about where we are and the questions about where we go moving forward. The Erika Kirk route or the Donald Trump route.
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Jorge Bonilla, a news analyst with the Media Research Center’s NewsBusters, explained our pick: “In the immediate aftermath of the powerful Charlie Kirk memorial, Trump-deranged MSNBC showed that they couldn’t leave well enough alone. What began as a complimentary reaction turned into Trump-deranged brainworms for MSNBC consumption. Erika Kirk’s testimony of forgiveness towards her husband’s murderer stands as a potent example of Christ-like behavior in a most difficult time. Forgive them for they know not what they do, indeed. But Hillyard couldn’t leave well enough alone, and he had to fabricate this oppositional friction where none exists between the Kirks and Trump. It’s almost as if they didn’t watch the memorial, and its many underlying messages centering around grace.”
Rating: FOUR out of FIVE screams.