Featured Image Credit: David Dee Delgado/Getty Images for The New York Times
Topics: Erika Kirk, US News, News, Crime
Lucy Devine
Topics: Erika Kirk, US News, News, Crime
Erika Kirk has spoken out about the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner over the weekend, recording a 'special message' which she shared on social media.
Erika, who lost her husband Charlie Kirk to a shooting in September last year, addressed a joke that Jimmy Kimmel had made prior to the incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, claiming that First Lady Melania Trump had 'a glow like an expectant widow' in a sketch that aired two days earlier.
During the episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the 58-year-old chat show host delivered a parody segment of the dinner in advance, including his own alternative comedy monologue, pretending to be the event’s MC.
Melania herself has since spoken out on the remarks, calling Kimmel's words 'corrosive' and contributing to the 'political sickness within America'.
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Now, Erika has also slammed Kimmel, telling viewers: "Ask yourself, how would you feel if even just one person made cruel jokes about the attempted murder of your loved one. That is what Jimmy Kimmel did to the First Lady. He said that she had the glow of an expected widow.
"Just 48 hours before that nightmare almost became a reality."
Kimmel has since responded to the backlash, explaining on Monday evening: “Obviously, it was a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they’re together. It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am. It was not – by any stretch of the definition – a call to assassination. And they know that. I’ve been very vocal for many years, speaking out against gun violence, in particular.
“But I understand that the first lady had a stressful experience over the weekend, and probably every weekend is pretty stressful in that house. And also, I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do, and I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it. Donald Trump is allowed to say whatever he wants to say, as are you and as am I. Because under the First Amendment, we have, as Americans, a right to free speech.”
On Saturday evening (25 April), US President Donald Trump was present at a dinner held at the Washington Hilton Hotel, alongside other government officials and a room full of journalists.
But the event turned to chaos when an armed man, later identified as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old teacher and engineer, was accused of rushing a White House security checkpoint and exchanging gunfire with law enforcement.
Video footage shows Vice President JD Vance, 41, being manoeuvred away from a dinner table by the Secret Service, meanwhile armed police can be seen storming the room before removing Trump and Melania away from the ballroom.
Meanwhile, Erika was also present at the dinner. In one video, Erika could be seen in floods of tears while leaving the event. She could be heard saying, 'I just want to go home' as she left the building.
She wrote on X: "Saturday was yet another traumatic example of the evil in our country and the continued rise in political violence.
"I’m taking time to spend with my family."
Erika went on to add: "I will be joining The Charlie Kirk Show Wednesday at 12PM ET to briefly address what took place. Enough is enough."
Recording a special message which aired on Wednesday (29 April), Erika also told viewers that she had 'lived through hell' in the months after her husband's passing and slammed the 'evil forces working to pull us apart'.
"I can speak first hand to that unbearable toll this must take on our first Lady. There has never been a president that has faced this many assassination attempts in America's entire history," Erika told viewers.