UPDATE: The shooter was identified as Tyler Robinson, 22, from Utah. He was turned in by his father.
US President Donald Trump's niece and writer Mary Trump blamed him for the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, adding that the "Republicans started the fire."
Mary, who is a longtime critic of her uncle, was responding to Trump's call to find everyone responsible for "this atrocity and other political violence". Mary said Trump should start with "himself".
A Life of Faith, A Legacy That Endures: Remembering Charlie Kirk pic.twitter.com/z9uRgtUOJH
— Turning Point USA (@TPUSA) September 12, 2025
"The fire was started by the Republicans. Political violence and the rhetoric that drives it are almost entirely on the side of the Republican Party, and no person is more responsible for it than Donald Trump," she posted on her website.
Mary, 60, pointed out that she is just laying out the truth and it does not mean she is rejoicing in Charlie Kirk's death. "Quite the opposite: It means coming to terms with what is driving the political violence in America today," she asserted.
Mary blamed Trump for "almost single-handedly" letting his grievance, vengeance, and cruelty extend to those who support him. "Anybody who opposes him or stands up to him or simply doesn’t support him is his enemy and is therefore not worthy of protection. Worse, they are considered legitimate targets of abuse or revenge, cruelty or violence," she claimed.
The President's niece went on to say that Trump has incited violence against his political enemies and then pardoned those who committed it on his behalf, referring to the January 6 rioters who were pardoned by him.
She pointed out that it is not a "both sides" issue. "This is not a moment when we put aside our differences to come to some agreed upon notion about how to move beyond this. With Donald Trump and those who support, enable, and capitulate to him in power that would be impossible," she said, adding that the rhetoric coming from Trump and his party has divided the country.
