President Trump spoke Thursday with the widow of Charlie Kirk, roughly 24 hours after he was shot and killed at an event in Utah.
“I spoke to Erika, his wife. And we had a long talk. And she’s devastated. She is absolutely devastated, as you can imagine,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for New York City.
Kirk, 31, was shot and killed during an appearance at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. The conservative activist was a close ally of the White House and was a close friend of Donald Trump Jr. and many administration officials.
Vice President Vance, who was also close with Kirk, flew to Utah on Thursday to meet with Kirk’s family and friends.
Air Force Two will transport Kirk’s casket from Utah to Arizona. Turning Point USA, which Kirk co-founded, is headquartered in Phoenix.
The FBI earlier Thursday suspended a planned afternoon press conference on the shooting because of “rapid developments” in the case. The announcement came after the FBI had released photos of a person of interest in the case.
