White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told Salem Radio Network host Scott Jennings Thursday that she told White House staffers to hug their families and to continue to speak after the assassination of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk.
Kirk was assassinated during a TPUSA “Prove Me Wrong” event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, while in the midst of a question-and-answer session with attendees. Wiles told Jennings, who broke the news to his listeners, the advice she gave at a meeting held before staff left for the day.
“I called everybody in all before they went home last night and said, ‘Go home, hug your children, hug your spouse, be careful, take precautions and don’t let your voice get softer,’” Wiles told Jennings. “Charlie would want everybody to speak as they had been and more so.”
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“He was so much help in the campaign, so there’s no question there’s a sadness here,” Wiles added.
President Donald Trump ordered flags to be flown at half-staff through Sunday, Sept. 14, to honor Kirk’s memory. Trump also announced Kirk would be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a later date during an address at a 9/11 memorial event at the Pentagon.
Kirk founded TPUSA, an organization for conservative college and high school students, in June 2012, according to the organization’s website. He also hosted “The Charlie Kirk Show,” a podcast that later became a radio show on the Salem Radio Network, according to his biography on the TPUSA site.
Democrats in the House of Representatives refused to allow a prayer for Kirk after news of the shooting on Wednesday, shouting down a request by Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, triggering an angry outburst from Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida.
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