Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) on Thursday called out President Donald Trump for blaming Charlie Kirk’s killing on the rhetoric of the “radical left,” noting that his response “missed the mark.”
In an interview with ABC News Live, Shapiro said Trump should have spoken out against political violence coming from all sides.
“I think it is dangerous when the president cherry-picks which political violence he’s going to condemn and which he’s going to allow to just simply pass. I think we need to be universal in condemning all political violence,” Shapiro said. “The president missed the mark [Wednesday] night in his Oval Office address.”
In a video message posted by the White House in the wake of Kirk’s deadly shooting during an event on a college campus in Utah, Trump pointed a finger at the “radical left” for the right-wing political activist’s killing, even though officials have yet to identify a motive behind his killing.
“It’s long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree,” Trump said. “For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”
Authorities are still searching for the shooter nearly two days after Kirk’s assassination. But Trump said they were making “big progress” in their hunt for the suspect.
Shapiro was a victim of political violence himself earlier this year when a man set the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion on fire while Shapiro and his family were sleeping inside. The suspect has been charged with attempted murder, terrorism and aggravated assault, among other charges.
