At a Sept. 15, 2025, White House briefing, President Donald Trump was pressed on why flags were lowered to half-staff for conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated last week, but not for Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, who was killed in June.
Featured VideoCBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes asked, “Given all of the moving ways that this White House has paid tribute to Charlie Kirk, do you think it would have been fitting to lower the flags to half-staff when Melissa Hortman, the Minnesota House speaker, was gunned down by an assassin as well?”
Trump’s reply sparked anger and frustration online. He asked, “I’m not familiar. The who?”
AdvertisementWho was Rep. Melissa Hortman?
Representative and former House Speaker Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark, and their golden retriever were shot and killed in their home on June 14, 2025, by a man pretending to be a police officer. He also injured Minnesota state Senator John Hoffman and his wife.
At the time, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called it “a politically motivated assassination.” He ordered the state to lower flags to half-mast out of respect for the Democratic Representative. When asked if he had contacted Walz after the shooting, Trump called it a waste of time and said he would not reach out to him.
“I think the governor of Minnesota is so whacked out, I’m not calling him. Why would I call him? I could call him, say, ‘Hi, how are you doing?’ The guy doesn’t have a clue. He’s a mess,” Trump said. “So I could be nice and call him but why waste time?”
AdvertisementTrump claimed that Walz had not asked him to lower flags after Hortman’s death.
“Well, if the governor had asked me to do that, I would have done that,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t have thought of that, but I would’ve if somebody had asked me. People make requests for the lowering of the flag, and oftentimes, you have to say no because it would be a lot of lowering. The flag would never be up.”
How Donald Trump reacted to Charlie Kirk’s assassination
In comparison to Hortman’s assassination, Trump has posted and spoken out repeatedly about Kirk’s death. He criticized the “radical left” for Kirk‘s death, despite the shooter’s family being registered Republicans. He himself was unaffiliated with a political party, according to the New York Times.
AdvertisementAt a 9/11 commemoration held at the Pentagon, Trump said, “Before we begin, let me express the horror and grief so many Americans at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk have felt. Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people.”
Additionally, Trump announced that he would be posthumously awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk.
The president’s differing reactions to the two high-profile killings did not go unnoticed on social media.
“Imagine if any Democrat were to ask ‘who was Charlie Kirk?’” wrote commenter Ed Krassentstein on X. “RIP Melissa Hortman You will not be forgotten even though Trump wants you to be.”
Advertisement“Why is Melissa Hortman’s life worth less than Charlie Kirk’s?” wrote strategist @TheMaineWonk.
Lawyer Aaron Regunberg, meanwhile, wrote, “When Melissa Hortman was assassinated in June by a rightwing killer, sitting GOP senators made jokes. When Charlie Kirk was killed today (by an as yet unknown killer), Democrats unanimously condemned it, while the right actively stokes retaliation against the entire left.”
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