The Trump administration turned out en masse at the memorial service of slain right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk in Arizona on Sunday, as the president used his eulogy to promote hate, declining to express the forgiveness the crowd heard from Erika Kirk.
The service came amid a broad campaign to shame and silence opponents whose reactions to Kirk’s killing were deemed unsavory. Late night host Jimmy Kimmel was suspended last week by ABC after his Kirk monologue drew the ire of Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr. The move was roundly criticized as a government-sponsored assault on free speech.
Trump has also turned up the heat on Attorney General Pam Bondi, calling her out for not swiftly bringing criminal charges against his political rivals, including New York State Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), amid his push to seek retribution from his adversaries.
Meanwhile, Trump is traveling to New York this week to attend the United Nations General Assembly, where about 150 members have said they will vote in favor of the recognition of a Palestinian state. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has dismissed the push as “largely symbolic.”
