MSNBC host Joe Scarborough revealed Thursday that he personally called President Donald Trump to offer condolences following the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, as reported [1] by The New York Post.
Speaking during his “Morning Joe” program, Scarborough said he reached out to Trump on Wednesday night because he knew of the president’s close relationship with the 31-year-old conservative activist.
“We talk to the president from time to time. I certainly spoke with the president after Butler, Pa., to call and offer my condolences, and I did the same thing last night because I knew he was close to Charlie,” Scarborough said.
Scarborough recounted Trump’s response during the call.
“He said Charlie was a great man, he talked about how he was a singular talent for this time, especially for the conservative movement. And President Trump even talked about how Charlie Kirk played a huge role in helping him get elected — the voter registration drives, going to college campuses.”
Kirk was shot and killed Wednesday during an event at Utah Valley University, where he had been speaking as part of his “Prove Me Wrong” campus tour. Authorities confirmed the shooter remains at large, though a rifle believed to have been used in the killing has been recovered.
Kirk, who co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012, was known for his work engaging young conservatives on college campuses across the country.
He attended Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025 and visited Mar-a-Lago shortly beforehand. He also maintained a close personal friendship with Donald Trump Jr., who wrote on social media that Kirk “was like a little brother to me.”
On Thursday’s broadcast, Scarborough reflected on Kirk’s impact on voter turnout. “You know, before the election, we were talking about how Republicans were depending on young men to get out to the election.
And, you know, that hardly ever happens,” he said. “After the election, people stood back and were shocked. So why did this happen? Well, Donald Trump explained last night, one of the reasons that happened was because of Charlie Kirk.”
Scarborough’s call came nearly a year after he and co-anchor Mika Brzezinski faced criticism for visiting Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in the aftermath of the 2024 election. Critics argued that the visit conflicted with the pair’s repeated on-air criticism of Trump during the campaign.
Brzezinski later defended the meeting during an interview on SiriusXM’s “Andy Cohen Live,” saying that maintaining relationships with political figures was necessary for their reporting.
The investigation into Kirk’s assassination remains ongoing, with federal and state authorities urging the public to share any information that could help locate the shooter.