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President Donald Trump’s security is under the spotlight in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination — just a year after two assassination attempts against the president. 

While the Secret Service has initiated a host of changes to the agency to prevent another assassination attempt on the president in the past year, the president is constantly under threat. And he’s poised to visit a huge stadium Sunday for Kirk’s memorial service, which is fertile ground for more threats. 

Trump is slated to attend Kirk’s memorial service at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The venue has the capacity to host 63,400 people and can accommodate up to 73,000 for “mega-events,” according to its website.

A senior administration official confirmed to Fox News Digital Friday that federal law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, distributed a report Thursday warning that they are monitoring “several threats of unknown credibility” against Trump, Vice President JD Vance and others planning to attend Kirk’s memorial service. 

The assessment claims that the memorial may be an attractive target for violent extremists or lone wolf actors due to the significant media coverage it’s expected to attract. 

Tim Miller, who served as a Secret Service agent during Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton’s administrations, said that Secret Service knows that the “threat picture” has likely never been higher for any other president and will be providing the highest level of protection possible during the memorial event. 

“The Secret Service is never going to underestimate the potential threats of these events,” Miller, who now heads up Lionheart International Services Group that provides security support and training, told Fox News Digital Tuesday. “They are going to provide exactly the amount of security required to ensure the highest level of safety, especially given that the event where Charlie Kirk died was an outdoor event.” 

In addition to attending the memorial, Trump is expected to share some remarks. 

“It’s going to be big,” Trump told reporters Monday. “I’m going to be at the stadium, and I guess I’ll say a few words. I don’t know, but I guess I will, but I knew him very well. He was an amazing guy. He was all about young people and getting them started.”

WHITE HOUSE PUSHES FOR $58M SECURITY INCREASE IN WAKE OF KIRK ASSASSINATION

Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck during a stop on his American Comeback Tour Wednesday at Utah Valley University. While Kirk did not receive a Secret Service security detail for the large event like Trump does at every outing, his death, along with the assassination attempts on Trump in 2024, amplify pressure on the agency to hone its skills. 

“After yesterday, I am sure every Secret Service agent recognizes that every day that they go to work could be the day,” Miller said Thursday. 

Meanwhile, the assassination has prompted the White House to pursue more security funding to protect the president. The White House has put in a request for an additional $58 million in security funding for the executive and judicial branches from Congress, a spokesperson for the White House’s Office of Management and Budget confirmed Monday to Fox News Digital.

The added funds would be tacked onto a continuing resolution, the spokesperson said. Lawmakers must pass a stopgap spending measure to keep the government open, or else a government shutdown could occur when funds expire on Sept. 30. 

No additional details were provided, and the office did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Efforts also are underway on Capitol Hill to enhance security for lawmakers, and the Senate approved a new rule change Thursday that would permit lawmakers to foot the bill for personal security measures using official office funds. 

‘GRADUALLY AND THEN SUDDENLY’: REAGAN SPEECHWRITER TALKS POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN AFTERMATH OF KIRK’S DEATH

Meanwhile, the White House has implemented venue changes that would provide Trump greater security, directly after Kirk’s death. 

A White House official confirmed to Fox News Digital that Trump’s speech at the Pentagon to commemorate the 9/11 terrorist attacks was moved inside due to an “abundance of caution.” 

Meanwhile, the Secret Service has been operating at the most heightened levels following the two assassination attempts against Trump last year. 

“The Secret Service now has to play at a level of enhanced security that they’ve never dreamed of before,” Miller told Fox News Digital Thursday. “I think (Secret Service Director Sean Curran) is doing a good job in leading that effort.”  

“But here’s the bad news for the Secret Service: They don’t have time,” Miller said. “This threat is now. Can you imagine — they already shot our president once. Can you imagine if they’re able to kill him?”

SECRET SERVICE UNDER PRESSURE: WHAT KIRK’S ASSASSINATION MEANS FOR TRUMP’S SECURITY

The White House did not provide comment to Fox News Digital on whether bolstered security would be in place during Kirk’s funeral. 

The Secret Service did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital about security at the memorial service. The agency previously extended its sympathies to the Kirk family, but did not comment on any specific alterations to Trump’s security detail in response to Kirk’s death.

“The safety and security of our protectees is the U.S. Secret Service’s top priority,” a Secret Service spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “President Trump receives the highest levels of U.S. Secret Service protection and the agency adjusts our protective posture as needed to mitigate evolving threats.  Out of concern for operational security, we cannot discuss the means and methods used for our protective operations.”

After conservative activist Charlie Kirk was murdered in Utah last week, leftist and contrarian figures across the country reacted with open celebration, prompting widespread public condemnation.

Fox News Digital spoke this week to several experts who analyzed whether the trend remains a fringe occurrence or if celebrations of political opponents’ deaths and injuries are becoming mainstream.

Paul Sracic is a former politics professor at Youngstown State University and is currently an adjunct fellow at the domestic policy-focused Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. He said the answer depends on one’s definition of “fringe.”

CHARLIE KIRK’S MURDER THE LATEST IN INCREASING POLITICAL VIOLENCE NATIONWIDE, FROM PA GOVERNOR TO SCOTUS

Sracic said recent surveys showed as many as one-fifth of self-identified liberals agreed that political violence is sometimes justified.

“Presumably, most of these very liberal and liberal voters support Democrats. This should horrify Democratic leaders, but it’s arguably the inevitable outcome of Democrats either adopting or at most failing to push back against notions that words themselves can be a form of violence and therefore can make people feel “unsafe” if they are exposed to a political argument with which they disagree,” Sracic said.

Democratic leaders, however they might personally think, also know that these more-energized voters must be attracted to the polls in the midterms, no matter the political environment, in order for the party to have a shot at winning back part of the federal government, he said. 

Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., who is also running for Sen. Mitch McConnell’s to-be-open Senate seat, offered another perspective – focusing on the increasing trend of political violence from the left against the right.

He cited Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., nearly being assassinated at a Virginia ballfield, two attempts on President Donald Trump’s life, and Kirk’s murder.

“Make no mistake—whether you stand with President Trump, support Israel, or believe in free-market capitalism, you are being targeted,” Barr said.

“I will work with the Trump administration and provide every resource necessary to prevent these acts of domestic terrorism before they happen.”

Democratic strategist and former congressional staff advisor Julian Epstein argued that multiple factors are driving the reaction to Kirk’s killing.

RESEARCHERS WARN OF RISING ‘ASSASSINATION CULTURE’ AFTER MURDERS OF CHARLIE KIRK, BRIAN THOMPSON

“The celebration of Kirk’s death on the far left, both on and offline, is far too common, and not sufficiently denounced,” he said. “The minimization of assassination by Democrat elites in arguing the both side-ism — and in the case of an ABC reporter, the moral relativism — is also too common.”

Epstein warned that the indiscriminate use of historically charged terms like “fascism” is radicalizing political bases, and argued the left is failing to uphold Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Civil Rights-era call to reject violence as a path to political change.

“That failure occurred not only with the Kirk assassination, but also during the L.A. riots and the scourge of antisemitic violence on college campuses and elsewhere in the past few years,” he said.

Link Lauren, former advisor to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and host of the podcast “Spot On,” said the trend is no longer fringe but increasingly mainstream:

“They call us Nazis, fascists, and threats to democracy. In the wake of George Floyd, the left burned down cities and businesses,” Lauren said.

“Since Charlie’s assassination, conservatives have gathered in churches and peaceful prayer. [That] tells you all you need to know.”

At the Manhattan Institute, legal policy fellow Tal Fortgang added that political violence is “capacious.”

“There is an increasingly mainstream view among progressives, gaining ground within the Democratic Party as its democratic socialist influence grows, that terrorism is justified if it evens out power disparities,” he said. “So you see prominent Democrats downplaying the atrocities of Oct. 7, 2023, on the grounds that Israel was the more powerful party in that fight.”

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Fortgang said New York Assemb. Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America have risen in prominence since the Hamas terror attacks.

“And, as Mamdani’s star has risen, so has the premise that violence is justified if it’s someone “powerless” attacking someone ‘powerful.’”

Fortgang also pointed to comments from Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts after the murder of a health care executive – a case in which the prime suspect has been treated like a celebrity outside his ongoing court hearings.

Warren originally said that violence is “never the answer,” with the caveat that “people can only be pushed so far… if you push people hard enough, they lose faith in the ability of their government to make change.” She later clarified her remarks, stating: “Violence is never the answer. Period. I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.”

Fortgang said suspect Luigi Mangione “struck a blow against capitalism,” and posited that Kirk’s suspected murderer Tyler Robinson may have been motivated by a desire to avenge transphobia.

“Hamas fights settler-colonialism when they burn families alive. Systemic thinking is dehumanizing, but it became basically orthodoxy on the American left,” he said.

“Even if it is not solely responsible for the uptick in political violence, or its widespread celebration, it helps sustain it. That’s what the Democratic Party needs to confront.”

President Donald Trump’s declaration that antifa is a “major terrorist organization” has spurred questions about who falls under that category and what repercussions they could face from law enforcement.

Trump’s announcement, made in a Truth Social post Wednesday, aims to punish antifa, described by the president as a dangerous “radical left disaster.” But some experts warn that antifa, shorthand for “antifascism,” is a catch-all term that ropes in law-abiding people and that, unlike foreign terrorist organizations, there is no legal designation for domestic terrorist organizations.

Alex Nowrasteh, a vice president at the thinktank Cato Institute, told Fox News Digital Trump’s announcement carries little weight but that the White House could craft an executive order that transforms the president’s words into action.

“It’s all social media vibes, until there is an order from the president of some kind, and that’s going to be the dividing line,” Nowrasteh said. “That’s going to be what we need to really take a look at.”

TRUMP TO DESIGNATE ANTIFA A ‘MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION’

A White House official told Fox News Digital the administration is examining ways to memorialize Trump’s call to action.

“The White House is exploring a wide variety of options to put pen to paper to address left-wing political violence and the network of organizations that fuel and fund it,” the official said. “Specifics on what that looks like continue to be discussed.”

Trump also said on Truth Social that those providing funds to antifa-affiliated groups should be investigated.

Trump’s announcement came less than a week after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated by a gunman who allegedly wrote gamer-inspired antifascist messaging on bullet casings and accused Kirk of spreading hate. Authorities are still working to develop a complete picture of suspect Tyler Robinson’s motive.

Former FBI Director Christopher Wray described antifa as a decentralized “ideology.” The Congressional Research Center emphasizes that it is a broad term and that its members have a variety of radical views closely aligned with anarchism, communism or socialism. The first group known to adopt the term antifa was Rose City Antifa in Portland, Oregon, in 2007. On occasion, violent criminals have been cited in court as affiliating with antifa.

TRUMP SIGNALING TO DOJ TO TAKE ANTIFA ‘SERIOUSLY,’ FORMER DHS OFFICIAL SAYS

Former acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf told Fox News Trump’s announcement could cause a shift in federal law enforcement priorities. Wolf said a crackdown on antifa, whose members often dress in all black and appear at political protests, was long overdue. The president first said antifa was a terrorist organization in 2020 amid protests and destructive riots related to George Floyd’s death.

“I’m glad to see this. This needed to happen,” Wolf said. “It needed to happen in 2020, when not only was I in the middle of it, but I think most Americans saw what was going down not only in Portland but around the country, and we saw antifa being very violent.”

Wolf noted that Trump’s social media announcement alone could spur the Department of Justice and the FBI to allocate resources toward investigating suspected antifa members and use their prosecutorial discretion to prioritize going after them. Domestic terrorism on both sides of the political aisle has long been a focus for federal law enforcement.

Any antifa targets who face criminal charges could see prosecutors recommend tougher sentences that include a terrorism enhancement. Additionally, federal law enforcement could conduct surveillance of suspected domestic terrorists or place them on the no-fly list.

DAVID MARCUS: DEMOCRATS MUST STOP THEIR DEADLY ANTI-FASCISM COSPLAY

Some have expressed concerns that Trump’s announcement, and any subsequent actions the president takes related to it, could lead to constitutional violations against nonviolent people or groups on the left.

“I hope he can first define what antifa is because there is no antifa organization. … He’s using the Charlie Kirk murder as a pretext to go after people that he disagrees with,” Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said.

Nowrasteh said that peacefully adhering to some kind of antifascist ideology is “absolutely protected speech.”

“You can believe and say, ‘hey, this terrorist organization. … I believe in what they’re doing. Their goals are great. Their beliefs are awesome.’ You could say that. That’s not a legal violation, because of the First Amendment.”

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The American Civil Liberties Union’s response to Trump’s announcement echoed similar constitutional concerns.

“President Trump seems hellbent on targeting real or perceived political opponents based on their constitutionally protected beliefs and speech, and we should all be very clear that he is jeopardizing everyone’s First Amendment rights,” the ACLU’s Hina Shamsi said.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris noted that she was unaware that she had “pulled the pin on a hand grenade” with her response to a question while appearing on “The View” ahead of the 2024 presidential election, according to an Associated Press report about the unsuccessful candidate’s forthcoming book about her whirlwind 2024 White House campaign.

Asked whether she would have done anything differently than President Joe Biden, Harris replied by saying nothing “comes to mind” and adding that she had “been a part of … most of the decisions that have had impact.”

“I had no idea I’d just pulled the pin on a hand grenade,” Harris wrote in her book, “107 Days,” which is slated for release on Tuesday, according to the AP — “my staff were besides themselves” regarding how she had handed a “gift to the Trump campaign,” she noted, according to the outlet.

KAMALA HARRIS COMPLAINS ABOUT ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ LACK OF SUPPORT FROM BIDEN’S COMMS TEAM, INNER CIRCLE

Harris explained in the book that she did not want to criticize the president or litigate matters on which they did not agree, according to the AP, but she did not grasp the extent to which her connection with Biden was holding back her presidential bid.

President Donald Trump decisively defeated Harris in the 2024 election, winning both the Electoral College and the popular vote.

HARRIS ADMITS SILENCE ON BIDEN’S 2024 RE-ELECTION BID WAS ‘RECKLESSNESS’

“I could barely breathe,” Harris wrote regarding her experience of learning that she had lost the White House contest to her Republican rival, the outlet reported. She kept asking, “My God, my God, what will happen to our country?”

Earlier this year, Harris announced that she had decided against mounting a 2026 California gubernatorial bid.

HARRIS REVEALS ‘FIRST CHOICE’ FOR RUNNING MATE BUT SAYS AMERICA WASN’T READY FOR IT

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“In recent months, I have given serious thought to asking the people of California for the privilege to serve as their Governor,” she noted in a statement issued in late July. “But after deep reflection, I’ve decided that I will not run for Governor in this election.”

Prosecutors are expected to rest their case Friday in the federal trial of Ryan Routh, accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club in September 2024. 

Routh, representing himself with standby counsel, is expected to begin presenting his own witnesses once the government completes closing arguments.

On Thursday, jurors heard from Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Destructive Device Examiner Randy Walters, who testified that the gray storage box linked to Routh contained improvised firing mechanisms and parts designed to deliver a .50 caliber round. 

PROSECUTORS TO WRAP TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT CASE AS DEFENSE READIES WITNESSES

Walters said the homemade components, including rat traps, were spray-painted green. He testified that seven partially assembled devices were inside a bag in the box, saying the repetition showed “someone definitely attempting or tinkering with new ideas.” On cross-examination, Routh asked if the majority of the items were legal to own. Walters said they were not assembled, but that, “it is illegal for convicted felons to possess .50 caliber ammunition.”

Jurors also heard from FBI Special Agent Nicholas Schnelle, introduced as an expert in sniper tradecraft. Schnelle described Routh’s alleged hideout found near the sixth hole of Trump International Golf Club as a “final firing point” with “multiple shooting lanes.” He said the fence provided support for the rifle, which he compared to “loophole shooting in combat operations.” He demonstrated the safety on the SKS rifle for the jury and said, “the gun is similar to an AK-47.”

GUN SELLER TELLS RYAN ROUTH: ‘I HEARD OF YOU THREATENING PEOPLE’ IN TENSE COURTROOM EXCHANGE

Cross-examining Schnelle, Routh asked if the sniper hideout was well-concealed. Schnelle answered, “Yes, sir.” Routh followed up, pointing to the red and blue bungee cords, and asked again. Schnelle replied, “Yes, sir. Those colors are in the natural environment.”

Routh’s children, Sara and Adam, were in court watching closely.

FBI PHONE EXTRACTIONS, DNA TESTIMONY HEADLINE DAY 7 OF RYAN ROUTH TRIAL

Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, occasionally interrupted when Routh continued speaking after objections. She reminded the jury that Routh is only on trial for the listed charges.

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The court is scheduled to break on Friday afternoon for a charge conference with counsel. Jurors could begin hearing from Routh’s witnesses — including a firearms expert and potential character witnesses — once the defense begins.

EXCLUSIVE — It’s been nearly two decades since former Sen. John E. Sununu’s name has been on the ballot, but if the New Hampshire Republican decides to launch a 2026 campaign for the swing state’s open Senate seat, he’s confident he can win.

“I’m sure that if we put together a strong team, this is a race that can be won. This is a race I know I can win. And more importantly, it’s a role where I know I can make a difference for New Hampshire,” Sununu said in his strongest comments to date, in an exclusive national interview with Fox News Digital.

The former senator, who reiterated he’ll “make a decision in October” on whether to launch a Senate campaign in the expected competitive race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, said “it’s a winnable race for the right person who reflects our state’s values, not the values of Washington.”

And despite calling President Donald Trump a “loser” in a newspaper opinion piece early last year, Sununu may land the president’s support if he runs.

THUNE SPEAKS WITH SUNUNU ABOUT SENATE BID TO FLIP BLUE SEAT RED

“President Trump appreciates winners and understands that John E. Sununu puts this race on the map for Republicans,” a national Republican familiar with the Senate race in New Hampshire told Fox News Digital.

Sununu is a former three-term representative who defeated then-Gov. Shaheen in New Hampshire’s 2002 Senate election. But the senator lost to Shaheen in their 2008 rematch. 

RISING REPUBLICAN STAR ASHLEY HINSON LAUNCHES SENATE BID TO SUCCEED IOWA’S ERNST

Shaheen announced earlier this year that she wouldn’t seek re-election in next year’s midterms, and Republicans are hoping to flip the seat as they aim to not only defend but expand their Senate majority. Four-term Rep. Chris Pappas is the clear frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.

After nearly two decades in the private sector, Sununu sounds like someone ready to hit the campaign trail.

“This is an incredibly important race. It’s an incredibly important time for the country and I feel it might be the right time to step up,” Sununu told Fox News Digital.

He said that “over the last few weeks, people in New Hampshire have reached out. They’ve encouraged me to run for Senate, because they know how important it is that New Hampshire has the right kind of voice in Washington, someone who will stand up for our state, someone who won’t just be a rubber stamp for anyone else, but will represent New Hampshire every single day.”

But it’s not just New Hampshire voters who may be encouraging Sununu to run.

Top national Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, have held conversations with the former senator regarding a 2026 Senate campaign, a source told Fox News Digital two weeks ago.

TRUMP NOT ON BALLOT BUT FRONT-AND-CENTER IN 2025 ELECTIONS

Also speaking with Sununu was former Sen. Cory Gardner, chair of the Senate Leadership Fund, which is the top super PAC supporting Senate Republicans. The source added that Thune and Gardner were cautiously optimistic that Sununu would launch a campaign.

Sununu is a brand name in New Hampshire politics. The former senator’s father, John H. Sununu, is a former governor who later served as chief of staff in then-President George H.W. Bush’s White House. And one of his younger brothers is former Gov. Chris Sununu, who won election and re-election to four two-year terms steering the Granite State.

But the Republican Party has dramatically changed since the former senator last ran for office 17 years ago. The GOP, under the firm control of President Donald Trump and his America First agenda and MAGA movement, has been transformed from a business-orientated platform into a more populist party.

Asked if there’s still room for an old-school fiscal conservative in Trump’s GOP, Sununu said, “good decision-making, good leadership, never goes out of style. Standing up for your state, standing up for your neighbors and your friends, and the things that make New Hampshire strong never goes out of style. Being an effective voice never goes out of style.”

FOUR KEY SENATE SEATS THE GOP AIMS TO FLIP IN NEXT YEAR’S MIDTERM ELECTIONS

But some of Sununu’s past criticisms of Trump could come back to hurt him if he joins a Republican primary that already includes former Sen. Scott Brown and state Sen. Dan Innis, who are both showcasing their support for the president.

Sununu, along with then-Gov. Chris Sununu, endorsed former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the 2024 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary, as she battled Trump for the nomination.

And on the eve of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, the former senator wrote an opinion piece titled “Donald Trump is a loser,” that ran in the New Hampshire Union Leader, the state’s largest daily newspaper.

“@JohnSununu was the original ‘Never Trumper,’” Brown charged in a social media post this month. “He’s going to have to explain that.”

Brown endorsed Trump ahead of his 2016 New Hampshire primary victory, which launched him toward the GOP presidential nomination and ultimately the White House. Brown later served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during Trump’s first term.

And Innis claims that he’s the most pro-Trump candidate in the race.

Asked if he could win a Republican primary race that could turn into a Trump loyalty test, Sununu said “the real question is, can you be effective? Can you work with other members of Congress? Can you work with this White House? Can you provide the kind of leadership it takes to get things done? And I know I can do that.”

“If there’s a primary, I’ve seen them before. I’ve been through them before,” he added. “I’m very comfortable with where we are today, and over the next few weeks, I’ll continue to get people’s perspective, put together a good team, make sure we have a winning message and make a decision in October.”

Trump, whose endorsement in Republican primaries is extremely influential, has remained neutral to date. 

And the president may be willing to overlook Sununu’s past jabs.

Earlier this year, when Chris Sununu flirted with a Senate bid after leaving office, Trump urged him to run.

The younger Sununu, who was Haley’s top supporter and surrogate in New Hampshire, repeatedly criticized Trump during the 2024 Republican presidential primaries.

Trump told reporters in April that he had met with the former governor in the Oval Office and that he’d “support him fully.”

“He’s been very nice to me over the last year or so,” Trump added. “I hope he runs. I think he’ll win that seat.” 

The national Republican strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, said that “aside from his famous last name, Sununu is a serious candidate with the ability to fundraise and appeal to New Hampshire’s unique politics. All other candidates — announced or considering — will have a very difficult time against Chris Pappas next November.”

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Asked about trying to earn Trump’s support, Sununu said, “I’d certainly love to have support from across the spectrum, that includes the president.”

But he added that “at the end of the day, this is about building support in New Hampshire, providing the right leadership for New Hampshire and the right message for New Hampshire.”

FIRST ON FOX — Charlie Kirk’s shooting death last week that sent shockwaves through the nation has had an outsize impact on young conservative voters — among them, Brilyn Hollyhand, a 19-year-old college freshman who on Thursday announced a multi-state university tour designed to foster conversation, debate, and engage young voters to continue to build on Kirk’s legacy.

The “One Conversation at a Time” tour, previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital, is sponsored by the Kirk-founded nonprofit, Turning Point USA, which seeks to engage young people in conservative politics. Hollyhand’s tour will include stops at 10 big-name universities across the broader southeast, including in Florida, South Carolina, and Mississippi — whose undergraduate populations average between 30,000 and 40,000 people, according to data from the U.S. News & World Report. 

Hollyhand, who wields considerable influence in his own right — he’s both a podcast host and author who met Kirk in fourth grade, when Kirk appeared as a guest on his podcast — told Fox News Digital in an interview that Kirk’s death should inspire people to speak up and engage with others face-to-face.

That was something Kirk excelled at, Hollyhand said — and something that’s especially important to continue to diminish the power of violent political actions.  

FLORIDA COLLEGE ANNOUNCES CHARLIE KIRK STATUE: ‘A REMINDER OF WHAT AMERICA IS ALL ABOUT’

“If we’ve learned anything in the last week, it’s that you can kill a man, but you cannot kill a movement,” he said. “We’re not going to be silenced. And more than ever before, we have to make America talk again — and that starts on college campuses.”

Kirk, who died at 31, differentiated himself from other political “influencers” because of his authenticity, Hollyhand said. He established a presence in large part because of his college stops, where he’d sit for hours at a “Prove Me Wrong” table to debate young people face-to-face.

He leaped onto the national stage at a time when the Republican Party had been struggling to attract young voters, compared to then-President Barack Obama and the considerable star power wielded by the Democratic Party. And while Kirk’s views were unabashedly controversial, they were seen as a welcome breath of fresh air for many Republicans, who often felt out of place and unrepresented on college campuses.

“Charlie has really large shoes to fill, not just because he was a tall guy with a big shoe size,” he laughed, “but because he genuinely inspired a generation, and it wasn’t a simple task.” 

“He made young people aware of why politics was important, and he made conservatism cool again. And so we can’t attempt to replicate that, but we can carry the torch for him, and we can grab the microphone and continue the relay race.

PASTOR: CHARLIE KIRK’S GRAPHIC DEATH WAS ‘TRAUMATIC’ AS MANY AMERICANS RECONCILE WITH LOSS

Hollyhand, who first met Kirk when he was in fourth grade, acknowledged he is not embarking on the tour without fear. The threats against him had skyrocketed in the days since Kirk’s killing, necessitating a meeting with his security detail, who required they escort him to his classes.

The threats against him were also more detailed, “explicitly mentioning [my] walks to classes,” he said.

It’s the first time he said he considered leaving the political orbit altogether. “I paused for a second, and I stepped out of the room,” he said. “I thought, ‘What if I just stop, or if I just put down the microphone? What if I stepped away from politics?’”

“What if I went back to being a normal college student partying it up and going to classes? It would be a lot safer,” he said. “I wouldn’t have to have a detail walk with me to class.”

“And so, when Turning Point reached out about doing this tour for Charlie, [that] is why I’m doing this, not because it’s easy, but because it’s hard and because it is terrifying.”

“It’s really hard to stand on the stage and on a campus and on a microphone. But Charlie would not want us to cower, and he would want us to be louder than ever, and that’s what the movement as a whole has to understand.”

Hollyhand hopes he can engage and connect with his peers in the same way Kirk did.

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“There has never been a more impactful figure for Gen Z and or never will be,” he said. “And we can’t attempt to replicate that, but we can carry the torch for him, and we can grab the microphone and continue the relay race. 

“So to continue Charlie’s life and legacy, I am honored to announce that I’m partnering with Turning Point USA to launch the one conversation at a time tour where I will be speaking on 10 college campuses this semester, bolder and louder than ever before.”

FIRST ON FOX: After an administrator at George Washington University outlined on social media why the assassination of Charlie Kirk was “fair,” the university confirmed he is no longer employed. 

“This past Saturday, the university requested that, pending further review, the staff member leave campus due to the impact his social media post had on his ability to do his particular job,” a George Washington University spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The staff member is no longer employed by the university.”

The employee in question, Anthony Pohorilak, the former assistant director of academic initiatives at George Washington University’s Mount Vernon Campus, posted on Facebook, “If nothing else, it is fair, in a nation where children get massacred by gun violence on the regular, the people who advocate for continued gun ownership at the expense of those children are not immune from the consequences of their advocacy.

“No thoughts, no prayers,” Pohorilak added in his post, first reported by Fox News Digital, that went up shortly after Kirk was murdered while speaking to college students in Utah. 

TENNIS LEGEND MARTINA NAVRATILOVA REACTS TO JIMMY KIMMEL BEING PULLED OFF AIR AFTER CHARLIE KIRK COMMENTS

George Washington University said in a statement to Fox News Digital at the time that the school is “one of the most politically engaged campus communities in the country” and believes “everyone is entitled to their beliefs, and no one should ever be subject to violence for expressing their views.

“This individual employee is not authorized to speak on behalf of GW, and his opinions do not reflect those of the university.”

In the next several days, conservatives on social media launched a campaign to expose individuals who attempted to justify the political assassination, which resulted in dozens of firings.

On Saturday morning, the university sent an email to students that was obtained by Fox News Digital, saying that “enhanced safety measures” were implemented on campus, adding, “in response to media coverage of a staff member’s social media post, some members of our community have received threatening communications from non-GW individuals.”

HILLARY CLINTON SPARKS SOCIAL MEDIA FIRESTORM FOR PROMOTING BOOK WARNING ABOUT ‘FASCISTS’: ‘SICK PEOPLE’

Outrage over the administrator’s post and the school’s response spread across social media, and the university’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter put out a statement condemning the post.

“GW YAF draws a distinction and condemns the statement of a recent administrator,” the conservative student group posted on Instagram. “In the shadow of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, we realize the danger of political violence and the need for helpful dialogue. 

“This administrator took advantage of this time of despair and anxiety to propose that Mr. Kirk, through his rigorous defense of the Second Amendment, was in some way responsible for his own death and other tragedies,” it continued. 

“This argument is not made in good faith. Furthermore, the grave reality which must be recognized is that America suffers from deadly polarization — polarization that recent comments have exacerbated. We must commit ourselves against political violence and not celebrate, defend, or be selectively ambivalent towards it, as we have unfortunately seen on campus recently.”

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The group added that while it supports free speech, “we also realize the necessity for political dialogue which is truly productive.

“But as conservatives on a college campus, we understand students’ fears for the future of safe, free speech. This administrator was callous toward these concerns. To win political points when students fear for our political process is irresponsible.” 

FIRST ON FOX: Shortly after announcing a strategy to go after deceptive direct-to-consumer advertising by the pharmaceutical industry, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Department of Health and Human Services released a parody video of a drug advertisement, a pointed way of emphasizing the fact that the United States is largely unique in allowing drug ads.

“Tired of endless drug ads promising quick fixes but leaving you sicker than you were before? That can change today. Ask your doctor about MAHA,” the parody commercial begins, referring to Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative. 

“MAHA may cause healthier living, fewer chronic diseases and lower drug costs,” the video’s narrator continues. “Some Americans reported more time spent with family instead of at the pharmacy. Other side effects may include healthier children, a stronger nation, more transparency in healthcare, honest advertising and accountability from Big Pharma.”

The drug advertisement parody comes after Kennedy and HHS laid out their plans to target direct-to-consumer drug advertising — something that isn’t widely allowed outside the United States — in a new children’s health strategy released earlier this month. 

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The strategy said it will ramp up enforcement of current prescription drug advertising laws, with a priority on “egregious violations demonstrating harm from current practices.” The strategy noted these violations could include the dissemination of “risk information and quality of life through misleading and deceptive advertising on social media and digital platforms.”

The strategy to go after direct-to-consumer drug ads will also include interagency cooperation to explore the development of potential new industry guidelines that limit direct-to-consumer advertising for certain “unhealthy foods” to children. These efforts include “evaluating the use of misleading claims and imagery,” the MAHA children’s strategy stated. 

Kennedy said alongside the release of HHS’s parody advertisement that the Trump administration plans to begin holding the pharmaceutical industry accountable for not sharing full safety information in drug ads on television, radio and beyond.

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“No more hiding vital information in small print or pushing it off to a website or a 1-800 number,” Kennedy said in a video released in conjunction with the parody advertisement. He also noted that regulators have been letting pharmaceutical manufacturers avoid providing complete warnings in their marketing materials.

Kennedy said in the accompanying video that, in the past, regulators let companies mention a vague “major statement” of risk that required consumers to go elsewhere for important details about the drug. The secretary said this “loophole” opened the door to a “tsunami” of misleading advertisements.

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“Drug ads drove up prescription drug costs and distorted doctor-patient conversations. Patients saw glossy ads and often asked for new medications,” Kennedy continued. “Big Pharma’s marketing hooked the country on prescription drugs. We’re taking action to end that practice.”

EXCLUSIVE — Nate Morris says last week’s assassination of his friend Charlie Kirk was a “gut punch.”

But the Republican businessman from Kentucky, who was the last Senate candidate Kirk endorsed and joined on the campaign trail before he was shot and killed, said in an exclusive national interview with Fox News Digital that “we’re picking up the mantle for Charlie.”

And Morris, one of three major candidates vying for the Republican nomination in the 2026 race to succeed retiring longtime former Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, emphasized, “We’re going to honor him by running an incredible campaign and winning this thing.”

Morris said that when he was considering a Senate run, “I got a chance to meet Charlie and get to know him. And, you know, he didn’t know me from Adam. He didn’t know really anything about me, other than I was a business guy, and I was looking at the race.

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“I think Charlie’s superpower was his ability to listen and give people an opportunity to share what’s on their mind,” Morris said. “He certainly did that for me, and he came away motivated to help me, which, which was unbelievable to have that kind of support early on.”

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Kirk, the conservative firebrand, activist, media superstar on the right, co-founder of the influential Turning Point USA organization and ally and outside advisor to President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr., invited Morris on his radio show.

And in June, he teamed up with Morris at a campaign kickoff event just south of Louisville, Kentucky.

“It was such a shot in the arm to our campaign. I mean, you couldn’t ask for anything greater,” Morris said. “When you’re launching something like a United States Senate campaign, an iconic leader like Charlie, who believes in you and believes in your vision, it changes everything. And it changes the way you look at the race. It gives you a confidence that I think very few candidates are lucky enough to get.”

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Morris added that “Charlie was all in on this campaign from the very beginning, and I think it set the tone as well and showed conservatives what kind of campaign we’re going to run.

“But, also, he spoke for me, my beliefs and my character before a lot of people knew me,” Morris said. “I’m running as an outsider. I’m not a career politician. I’ve never run for office before, and having Charlie vouch for me in this campaign changed everything for us.”

Morris is facing off against fellow major contenders Rep. Andy Barr and former Kentucky Attorney General and 2023 gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron, in a growing field of candidates in a Republican race that’s turning combustible. 

“The assassination of Charlie Kirk is a national disgrace and a wake-up call for America. Enough is enough. I continue to pray for Charlie’s family during this unspeakable tragedy,” Barr wrote in the hours after Kirk’s murder.

And Cameron, this week, said that in Kirk’s “honor, we will continue to stand for truth and this Nation’s founding ideals.”

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In the wake of Kirk’s shooting death while speaking to college students at Utah Valley University, Morris said he’s more motivated than ever to win the Senate race.

“I had a burning desire from the moment I started thinking about this race that I felt like I had to get in. I felt that with every fiber of my being,” he said. “Let me tell you, since this has happened, this fire is like a fire I can’t describe. We have to win, and we have to honor Charlie and what he did for us. We have no choice.”