Mary Trump, the niece of President Donald Trump, has directly blamed her uncle for creating the violent political climate that led to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The clinical psychologist and author argued that “no person is more responsible for it than Donald Trump.”
Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and a prominent right-wing figure, was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025. The 31-year-old conservative commentator was killed by a single gunshot fired by a gunman who fled the scene.
In response to the assassination, President Trump delivered a televised Oval Office address calling Kirk a “martyr” and accusing the radical left of spreading rhetoric “directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today.” Trump vowed to find those responsible and condemned the violence, declaring his administration would find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and other political violence.
Mary Trump sharply contrasted her uncle’s statements in a post on her Substack publication “The Good In Us” on September 11. She asserted that political violence and the rhetoric that drives it are almost entirely on the side of the Republican Party. The 60-year-old psychologist argued that her uncle should start with himself when looking for those responsible for political violence.
The president’s niece accused Trump of purposefully dividing the nation through Republican rhetoric and criticized his history of inciting violence. She specifically cited his reckless pardon of approximately 1,600 individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol riot as evidence of his ongoing role in enabling political violence. Mary Trump indicated that he has incited violence against his perceived political enemies as well as against his own government, and then pardoned those who committed it on his behalf.
Mary Trump argued that the political right often fails to condemn acts of violence unless directed at themselves, sometimes even celebrating them. She pointed to instances such as the attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, during which President Trump made a joke mocking the incident at a state party convention in 2023.
The longstanding feud between Mary Trump and President Trump traces back to disputes over family inheritance following the death of Mary’s father, Fred Trump Jr., Donald Trump’s older brother. Mary claimed that Donald and other family members defrauded her out of her inheritance. In 2021, the former president sued her for $100 million, alleging that she had provided the New York Times with information for its investigation into his finances.
During a Thursday interview with former CNN host Jim Acosta, Mary Trump agreed when he said that Trump was incapable of being a “consoler-in-chief” in the wake of Kirk’s murder. She indicated that her uncle was pouring gasoline on a raging fire by singularly blaming the political left for Kirk’s death. Mary Trump emphasized that he will never change, noting he has been the same person for decades and has been rewarded for being this person.
The search for Kirk’s killer continued until Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced on Friday, September 12, that Tyler Robinson was taken into custody in connection with the fatal shooting. Robinson allegedly fled the scene after the shooting, prompting officials to launch a multi-day search. A family member of Robinson was interviewed by investigators and stated that Robinson had become more politically active in recent years.
According to the governor, the family member stated that Robinson mentioned at a dinner that Kirk was coming to Utah Valley University and expressed that he did not like Kirk or the viewpoints he held. Robinson was booked into the Utah County Jail and faced charges in connection with the shooting.
Mary Trump also criticized President Trump’s response when asked by reporters about how he was holding up following Kirk’s death. Instead of addressing the loss, Trump discussed the construction of a new ballroom for the White House, prompting Mary Trump to describe it as a rather unseemly display of grief on social media.
The president’s niece maintained that she was not rejoicing in Kirk’s death but was coming to terms with what is driving political violence in America today. She argued that the rhetoric coming from Trump and his party has divided the country and created conditions where his grievance, vengeance, and cruelty extend to those who support him.
Charlie Kirk left behind his wife, Erika Lane Kirk, 36, and their two young children. President Trump paid tribute to Kirk on Truth Social, calling him “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk” and describing him as someone who understood and had the heart of the youth in the United States better than anyone.
