Summary
- Trump said, “I couldn’t care less” about fixing the political divide.
- Made candid remarks on a Fox & Friends interview in September.
- Blamed radicals on both left and right for division.
- Critics say comments deepen political polarization and unrest.
Anger on all sides of the political spectrum has been growing since the death of right-wing political activist and podcaster Charlie Kirk on September 10.
Authorities confirmed yesterday (September 12) that 22-year-old Tyler Robinson had been arrested in suspected connection with the killing of Kirk, 31, who was shot and killed during a campus debate at Utah Valley University.
Trump has paid many homage to Kirk, including flying the flag at half-mast until Sunday, after announcing his passing on Truth Social.
Co-host Ainsley Earhardt questioned the President on his efforts to bring the nation together during his Friday appearance on Fox News' Fox & Friends, when he also disclosed that the suspect in Kirk's death "was in custody."
Earhardt asked the 79-year-old:
"Because we have radicals on the right as well. We have radicals on the left. People have gotten are watching all of these videos and cheering. Some people are cheering that Charlie was, was killed. How do we fix this country? How do we come back together?"
To which he responded:
"I'll tell you something that's going to get me in trouble, but I couldn't care less. The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don't want to see crime. They don't want to see crime. Worried about the border. 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."
He then went on to claim that it is the 'radical left' who are 'the problem', adding:
"They're vicious and they're horrible and they're politically savvy, although they want men and women sports, they want transgender for everyone, they want open borders."
This isn't the first time Trump has pointed a finger at the 'radical left', as in his video message following Kirk's death, he vowed to take action against those he believed contributed to political violence, citing examples of attacks on Republicans, but not any Democrats.
He said in his message:
"My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations 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."
And yesterday, he told reporters while on the White House lawn that 'we just have to beat the hell' out of 'radical left lunatics', as he continued:
"We have to be brave in life, in all fairness, we have a life. I probably shouldn’t be out here talking to you, in all fairness, but we will be brave. And we have a great country.
We have radical left lunatics out there, and we just have to beat the hell out of them."
What's been the public reaction to Trump's remark?
Many raised eyebrows and blasted the comment as a rejection of the president's responsibility to promote unity and quell violence. So-called experts cautioned that such offhand, careless comments do not tame far-right extremists and stoke political violence.
Some theorized that Trump's comments could justify and mobilize radical groups by treating political violence on the right as nothing serious while casting blame only upon the left.
Democrats and some former supporters claimed that Trump was stirring division and was incapable of taking responsibility for mending a broken society. Some in Trump's base viewed the quote as a realness to their belief that political violence arises mainly from leftist radicals, and that law and order concerns legitimized saying what one meant.