- Charlie Kirk, close aide to Trump, was shot dead at Utah University during an event
- Kirk had recently opposed more US visas for Indian migrants, citing displacement
- Trump mourned Kirk as a martyr for truth and praised his conservative values
Charlie Kirk, right-wing activist and a close aide of US President Donald Trump, was shot dead at Utah University on Wednesday during a college event. Amid the Utah horror, his recent remarks on Indian migrants, stating "America does not need more visas for people from India", have resurfaced. Kirk said that the US is "full" and it is time the country puts its own people first.
"America does not need more visas for people from India. Perhaps no form of legal immigration has so displaced American workers as those from India. Enough already. We're full. Let's finally put our own people first," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on September 2.
Kirk's post came in response to Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham's X post in which she opined that any trade deal with India would require the US to give them more visas. "I'd rather not pay them in visas and trade deficits," Ms Ingraham wrote.
Trump Mourns Ally Charlie Kirk's Death
President Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to announce the death of 31-year-old Kirk, the co-founder and CEO of the youth organisation Turning Point USA. Addressing him as "great, and even legendary," President Trump said, "No one understood or had the heart of the youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by all, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us."
Extending condolences, President Trump wrote, "Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!"
President Trump hailed Kirk as a "martyr for truth" for his conservative values. Kirk "fought for liberty, democracy, justice and the American people. He's a martyr for truth and freedom," the 79-year-old Republican said in a video posted on Truth Social.
Assuring action against assailants, President Trump said, "My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organisations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country."
