Share and Follow
Conservatives were thrust into disarray on Wednesday night following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, which led to the cancellation of numerous MAGA movement events across the country. Concerns about rising political violence resulted in the suspension of major gatherings from California to Florida.
After news broke of Kirk’s fatal shooting at a Utah college function, conservative groups, benefactors, and public icons quickly reconsidered security measures and canceled planned events, including a significant occasion featuring Ben Shapiro in Southern California.
President Donald Trump swiftly called off a prominent dinner set for Wednesday evening at the Rose Garden, a venue he had chosen to garner support from congressional allies and steadfast followers.
But the president vowed to keep plans for a high-profile visit to New York’s Yankee Stadium on Thursday evening, on the 24th anniversary of 9/11.
Kirk, 31, founder of Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck while answering audience questions at his college tour kickoff in Utah. Witnesses screamed as chaos erupted.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox declared the act a ‘political assassination’, a label that has only intensified concerns about further targeted violence. A person of interest taken into custody but later released.
Almost immediately, MAGA-world began pulling the plug on appearances and events. Organizers cited not only grief but also the threat of further violence.
Among the most high-profile cancellations: The Reagan Foundation in California scrapped a Ben Shapiro book signing and discussion scheduled for Wednesday evening, writing on its website: ‘Our prayers are with Charlie Kirk’s family and friends.’
President Donald Trump (left) was originally scheduled to hold a 7 p.m. dinner in ‘The Rose Garden Club’ but the backyard remains quiet in the hours after prominent conservative Charlie Kirk (right) was shot and killed at an event in Utah
On Friday, the president held his first successful meeting of ‘The Rose Garden Club,’ inviting several dozen Republican lawmakers to enjoy the new patio he built in what had previously been grass in the middle of the White House Rose Garden
he most visible cancellation came from Trump himself, who called off his 7pm Rose Garden Club dinner just hours before it was to begin
Turning Point USA itself postponed all scheduled college tour stops including events in Colorado and Minnesota.
The most visible cancellation came from Trump himself, who called off his 7pm Rose Garden Club dinner just hours before it was to begin.
The long-planned event was to host a new slate of House freshmen and party donors under string lights in the newly renovated White House garden patio.
By 7:15pm the White House backyard was dark and deserted. Reporters assigned to cover the evening were sent home without comment.
Instead, Trump released a four-minute Oval Office address expressing heartbreak over Kirk’s killing and ordering all American flags lowered to half-staff.
The three flags atop the White House – including the two larger ones Trump had installed post-reelection – were lowered within minutes.
But Trump has not canceled his plans to appear at Yankee Stadium on Thursday evening.
The Reagan Foundation in California scrapped a Ben Shapiro book signing and discussion scheduled for Wednesday evening,
Shapiro posted a heartfelt tribute to X in the hours following the shocking shooting
Security at the stadium was already set to be tight due to Secret Service protocols, but officials have not ruled out further lockdown measures following the Kirk shooting.
The president is set to begin the day with a solemn visit to the Pentagon for a September 11 memorial with Vice President J.D. Vance attending the Ground Zero service in New York.
Kirk’s killing has thrown the MAGA movement into deep mourning.
Often described as the spiritual architect of youth conservatism, Kirk forged strong personal bonds with Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Kushner credited Kirk for building and fostering the MAGA movement in 2016.
President Trump released a four-minute Oval Office address expressing heartbreak over Kirk’s killing and ordered all American flags lowered to half-staff
President Donald Trump made no public appearances on Wednesday but ordered flags to be flown at half-staff. The three flags at the White House, including the two large ones that Trump installed, were quickly lowered
‘Charlie represented the best of MAGA. Firm in his beliefs, compassionate, curious, and respectful. He had huge allotments of courage, charisma and character,’ Kushner posted.
‘He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us,’ Trump wrote about Kirk on Truth Social Wednesday afternoon.
Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, had been the entry point for thousands of young conservatives, many of whom viewed Kirk as a mentor.
The Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether Trump’s security would be beefed up in the wake of the Kirk shooting.
Trump survived a similar assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.
The gunman’s bullet whizzed by the now-president’s ear. With a fist-pump in the air for the ages, he famously survived and went on to win re-election.
