President Donald Trump scrapped a Wednesday night dinner in ‘The Rose Garden Club’ after the horrific murder of prominent conservative Charlie Kirk.
The White House’s backyard remained quiet a little after 7 p.m., when the dinner had been scheduled.
The White House sent reporters home, but the president shared a four-minute Oval Office address on his Truth Social network shortly before 9 p.m.
It was Trump who announced Kirk’s death, after the 31-year-old was slain by a shot in the neck at an event he was headlining at a Utah college.
Afterward, Trump called for the country’s flags to be flown at half-staff to honor Kirk’s memory.
All three of the White House’s prominent flags were quickly lowered.
A ‘person of interest’ was said to be in custody in connection with Kirk’s shooting, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced Wednesday evening.
However, they were later released, FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed.
Originally, President Donald Trump was set to host a 7 p.m. dinner in ‘The Rose Garden Club,’ yet the area remained silent after conservative figure Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at a Utah event.
On Friday, the president successfully hosted his first ‘The Rose Garden Club’ meeting, inviting several Republican lawmakers to enjoy the new patio he added to the White House Rose Garden.
“The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues, and we will keep sharing information for transparency,” Patel stated.
Kirk’s death will likely darken what is already expected to be a somber day on Thursday.
The president is scheduled to head to the Pentagon to mark the 24th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks.
Vice President J.D. Vance will appear at New York’s Ground Zero memorial service.
Trump’s schedule later in the day was expected to be more lighthearted.
The president was to travel to New York and appear at Yankee Stadium for a game between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers.
So far, Trump’s schedule hasn’t been modified and it wasn’t immediately clear if Kirk’s death would have an impact on his plans for Sept. 11.
Fans attending the Yankees game already faced enhanced security due to the Secret Service’s presence on-site, and security might be tighter following what officials have termed a ‘political assassination.’
President Donald Trump did not make public appearances on Wednesday but ordered flags at half-staff, including the two large flags he installed, which were promptly lowered.
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.
Kirk was the head of Turning Point USA, a group aimed at getting young Americans interested in conservatism.
He was a close friend of the president and the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., and hosted droves of MAGA heavyweights at his TPUSA events over the years.
Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, credited Kirk for building and fostering the MAGA movement in 2016.
‘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.
