NEED TO KNOW
Following the fatal shooting of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, feelings of political division in the United States are at an all-time high. President Donald Trump does not appear interested in mending the divide.
While appearing on Fox & Friends on Friday, Sept. 12, the president, 79, fielded a question about the current political atmosphere in the wake of Kirk’s death after he was shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Sept. 10.
Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt asked Trump his thoughts on how to “fix this country” and “come back together” amid peak political tensions. The president gave a frank answer, but one that skirted around the inquiry — instead pointing fingers at “the radicals on the left.”
“I’ll tell you something that’s going to get me in trouble, but I couldn’t care less,” Trump told Earhardt. He then turned his attention to “radicals” on both “the right” and “left,” as Earhardt had just highlighted the existence of both.
“The radicals on the right, oftentimes, are radical because they don’t want to see crime,” the president said. “They don’t want to see crime. … They’re saying, ‘We don’t want these people coming in. We don’t want you burning our shopping centers. We don’t want you shooting our people in the middle of the street.’ ”
Trump went on to say that “the radicals on the left are the problem,” adding that “they’re vicious, and they’re horrible, and they’re politically savvy.”
The president’s comments come one week after he shared a mixed message about political unity while speaking with some of his top allies during a dinner party at the newly redone White House Rose Garden patio.
During his speech at the Sept. 5 event, Trump made an uncharacteristic reference to the “old days” in which Republicans and Democrats were less divided.
Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty
“In the old days, Republicans and Democrats got together and they’d go out for dinner, and then they’d fight a little bit during the day, and a lot of times they’d get 20%, 30% of one or the other’s vote. And today that doesn’t happen,” Trump said. “It’s solid blocks one way or the other. And probably that shouldn’t be, but we’ll see what happens.”
The comments came after Trump teased that he may invite some Democratic politicians into the new White House patio space.
“We’ll say the Democrats are invited now. We’ll do that for about a week or two, and then we’ll find out. Well, it just doesn’t work perhaps. And keep ’em the hell out of here,” the president said. “We’ll say, ‘You’re going to have to win the White House to get here,’ but maybe it will work. You never know. We’re going to give it a shot. We’re going to let Democrats come and we’re going to let Republicans come, and you’re going to mingle.”
MEHMET ESER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty
Trump’s latest Fox & Friends comments evoke the similar sentiments expressed by Vice President JD Vance after the assassination attempt on the now-president while he was on the campaign trail last July.
The then-senator, who had just been named Trump’s running mate, reacted to the incident by calling out then-President Joe Biden on social media, earning criticism from several politicians.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“Today is not just some isolated incident,” Vance, 41, wrote on X two hours after the attempt. “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
Trump appeared on Fox & Friends on Friday to announce that Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old suspect arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of Kirk, is in custody.
