President Trump exclusively told The Post Wednesday afternoon that Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was “not doing well” after the conservative activist was shot during an event at a Utah college.
“It looks very bad,” the president said in a brief phone interview as the nation reeled from news of the shooting. “He was a very, very good friend of mine and he was a tremendous person.”
“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!” the president wrote on Truth Social after receiving initial word of the shooting at Utah Valley University.
Charlie Kirk is a prolific MAGA booster. Kirk campaigned for MAGA across the nation.Charlie Kirk / Instagram
Vice President JD Vance tweeted shortly before Trump’s message was posted: “Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father.”Kirk cofounded TPUSA in 2012 at age 18 after dropping out of Illinois’ Harper College — with the group rapidly emerging as a large national network of young conservatives, eclipsing the College Republicans in influence since Trump’s first election in 2016.
In addition to leading the grassroots group, Kirk has served for years as a prominent pro-Trump surrogate and as an informal adviser to White House and Republican Party officials on messaging, policy and staffing.
