Washington, D.C.- Donald Trump has given a fresh reason for why he ordered flags to be flown at half-staff after the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. He says he would have done the same thing for a murdered Democratic state senator if someone had asked him to. This new defense, on the other hand, seems to go against what he said publicly about the issue before.
Trump was questioned why he signed an order to lower flags for Kirk but not for Melissa Hortman and her husband, who were shot and murdered in June, during an event in the Oval Office when he announced the deployment of the National Guard to Memphis.
Trump said, “If the governor had asked me to do that, I would have done it.” He said this several times, adding, “I wouldn’t have thought of that.” But I would have if someone had asked me. If the governor had asked me to do it, I would have been happy to do it.
Trump’s claims that he is willing to act on a request are far different from what he said just days after Hortman’s death. Trump didn’t want to call Minnesota Governor Tim Walz when reporters asked him about it at the time. He stated he had “no interest” in calling Walz since he thought the governor was “so whacked out” and “a mess.” Trump also said such a call would be a “waste of time.”
Teddy Tschann, a spokesperson for Walz, said in reaction to Trump’s comments in June, “Governor Walz wishes that President Trump would be a President for all Americans, but this tragedy isn’t about Trump or Walz.”
After a tragedy, presidents usually get in touch with governors and other political leaders to offer their sympathies and help from the federal government. In the last election, Walz and Trump were political rivals. This fact makes the public fight much more interesting.
Trump also said on Sunday that he plans to go to and speak at Charlie Kirk’s burial in Arizona this weekend. This is another example of how different his responses have been to the two awful deaths.