MaddowBlog-Trump points to 'major' new investigation into people on 'the left' following Kirk slaying

[LetMyPeopleVote]

“A lot of the people that you would traditionally say are on the left [are] already under investigation,” Trump said four days after Charlie Kirk's death.

After Charlie Kirk was murdered, there were fears Trump would exploit the shooting to go after his political opponents.

Four days later, he boasted that a “major” investigation is “already” underway against unnamed targets on “the left.” www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-09-15T12:08:07.671Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-points-major-new-investigation-people-left-kirk-slaying-rcna231305

The scripted comments suggested that Trump is eager to exploit Kirk’s death to use the power of the state to go after his political opponents. Four days later, The Daily Beast reported:

Donald Trump boasted his administration has launched a ‘major investigation’ into people on ‘the left’ over the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Trump did not provide details on the probe but teased an upcoming announcement as he tore into his perceived political enemies over the fatal shooting of his close ally in Utah last week.

During a brief Q&A with reporters, the president began by pushing familiar smears against Americans who disagree with him. “If you look at the problem, the problem is on the left. It’s not on the right,” he said, once again ignoring the evidence related to right-wing violence. “When you look at the agitators, you look at the scum that speaks so badly of our country, the American flag-burnings all over the place — that’s the left. That’s not the right.”

But then he went just a bit further. “They’re already under major investigation,” Trump added. “A lot of the people that you would traditionally say are on the left [are] already under investigation.”

Trump: " They're already under major investigation, a lot of the people that you would traditionally say are on the Left. They're already under investigation."

— The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) 2025-09-15T01:18:31.658Z

.......During a Fox News interview last week, for example, the president appeared to excuse far-right crimes, insisting that extremists on the right “oftentimes” have a good reason to commit acts of violence. (He prefaced the comments by saying, “Well, I’ll tell you something that’s gonna get me in trouble, but I couldn’t care less.” His indifference, of course, is part of the problem.)

Trump added soon after that his advice to the right is to get “revenge at the voter box,” though he quickly added, “But unfortunately we don’t have so many ballot boxes because they have mail-in in voting, which is totally rigged.”

Or put another way, the president’s message to those on the right is that they could stick to democratic means but that might not be an entirely credible solution since, in his view, his opponents have undermined the electoral system.

Kirk’s death has created an important leadership test for Trump, and he keeps finding new ways to flunk that test.