After Trump's tough words, little sign of policy response to Kirk's killing

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hours after announcing that conservative activist Charlie Kirk had been killed at a college campus in Utah, President Donald Trump warned of consequences to come.

"My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it," Trump said in a video address from the Oval Office on Wednesday.

A day later, there were no signs that Trump's administration had coalesced upon a specific policy response.

The Republican president, without providing evidence, continued to blame his prominent ally's killing on "the radical left." He said investigators were making "big progress" in the search for gunman and declined to disclose any information he had on motive.

White House officials on Thursday also declined to give details on Trump's next steps, but one said the intent of his Oval Office message was clear.

"The perpetrator or perpetrators of this horrific act will pay for what they did. They will be caught and they will be brought to justice," the official said. "And any other whack jobs who engage in political violence like the tragic assassination of Charlie will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law."

Several top administration officials signaled an early response might build on Trump’s frequent use of presidential power to target adversaries within the government and beyond.

Stephen Miller, a top White House aide, pointed on X to “those in positions of institutional authority - educators, healthcare workers, therapists, government employees," whom he said reveled in Kirk’s death and believed in a "wicked ideology." He did not specify what, if any, action should be taken against such people, nor did he identify them.

State Department official Christopher Landau asked the public to identify foreigners who rationalized or made light of Kirk's killing so that consular officials could "undertake appropriate action," while Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said his department was tracking and would address reactions he deemed "completely unacceptable."

The administration, which sometimes takes its cues on policy matters from internet-savvy MAGA loyalists, faced a loud drum beat of pressure from those quarters to respond to Kirk’s killing with more than just a manhunt for the shooter.

While no suspect has been apprehended or motive established, figures including the activist Laura Loomer called for deploying new measures in a “war” against a range of ideological adversaries from the media to the Democratic Party and private citizens seen as backing leftist causes.

As Trump headed to New York for a Yankees baseball game that the Secret Service said would have increased law enforcement presence, he was asked how his supporters should respond to Kirk's death.

"He was an advocate of non-violence," Trump said of Kirk. "That's the way I like to see people."



(Reporting by Steve Holland, Trevor Hunnicutt, Andrea Shalal, Jarrett Renshaw and Jeff Mason; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Lincoln Feast.)