Mary Trump, President Donald Trump’s niece, has directly blamed her uncle for creating the violent political climate that led to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. In a sharp rebuke published on her Substack newsletter “The Good In Us” on September 12, Mary Trump responded to the president’s call to find those responsible for political violence by suggesting he should start with himself.
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and a prominent right-wing commentator, was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University on September 10. The 31-year-old activist was killed by a single gunshot.
Following the assassination, President Trump delivered a televised Oval Office address calling Kirk a “martyr” and blaming the radical left for spreading rhetoric “directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today.” The president vowed to find those responsible and condemned the violence, asking Americans to commit themselves to the values for which Kirk lived and died.
Mary Trump, a clinical psychologist and longtime critic of her uncle, offered a starkly different assessment. She wrote that political violence and the rhetoric that drives it stem overwhelmingly from the Republican Party, with no person bearing more responsibility than the president himself. Mary Trump stated that “no person is more responsible for it than Donald Trump.”
The president’s niece accused Trump of purposefully dividing the nation through Republican rhetoric and criticized his history of inciting violence. She specifically cited his reckless pardon of approximately 1,600 individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol riot as evidence of his ongoing role in enabling political violence. Mary Trump argued that her uncle has incited violence against his perceived political enemies as well as against his own government, then pardoned those who committed acts on his behalf.
Mary Trump further contended that the political right often fails to condemn acts of violence unless directed at themselves, sometimes even celebrating such incidents. She pointed to the 2022 attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, during which President Trump made jokes mocking the incident at a state party convention in 2023.
The White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson responded to Mary Trump’s comments, calling them “disgusting” when contacted by media outlets. Jackson requested that news organizations include excerpts from President Trump’s remarks about Kirk’s murder, in which he asked Americans to honor Kirk’s legacy and commitment to free speech and patriotic devotion.
During a Thursday, September 11 interview with former CNN host Jim Acosta, Mary Trump reiterated her criticism, describing her uncle as incapable of serving as a “consoler-in-chief” and accused him of pouring gasoline on a raging fire. She indicated that Trump will never change, having been the same person for decades and being rewarded for such behavior throughout his career.
Mary Trump also criticized the media for continuing to give the president the benefit of the doubt despite what she characterized as extensive evidence of his role in stoking divisiveness. She suggested that her uncle was engaging in dangerous rhetoric by implying that Democrats should be targeted following Kirk’s murder.
The feud between Mary Trump and President Donald Trump traces back to longstanding family disputes over inheritance following the death of Mary’s father, Fred Trump Jr., Donald Trump’s older brother. Mary has claimed that Donald and other family members defrauded her out of her inheritance, leading to ongoing legal battles and public criticism.
Technology billionaire Elon Musk and other right-wing figures have also cast Kirk’s murder as evidence that the political left is responsible for pushing dangerous rhetoric. Following the shooting, Musk wrote on social media that “The Left is the party of murder,” while other conservative voices have blamed liberal political discourse for creating conditions that led to the assassination.
Kirk leaves behind his wife, Erika Lane Kirk, and their two young children.
According to the Utah County Attorney’s Office, Tyler Robinson, 22, the accused in Kirk’s death, made his initial court appearance today, September 16, virtually. Robinson was charged with aggravated murder, and prosecutors have announced plans to pursue the death penalty.
Mary Trump made clear in her writings that condemning Kirk’s assassination does not mean rejoicing in the incident, but rather represents an effort to address what she sees as the root causes of political violence in America today. She argued that coming to terms with these underlying factors is essential for understanding the current political climate.
