US President Donald Trump said Monday he would have lowered US flags to half-staff after the assassination of Minnesota Democratic state lawmaker Melissa Hortman if governor Tim Walz had requested it. Although, at the time, he dismissed reaching out to Walz as a “waste time.” Speaking during an Oval Office event, Trump contrasted his decision to honor conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was recently killed in Utah, with his response to the June shooting deaths of Hortman and her husband.“In retrospect, 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 have staff when Melissa Horman, the Minnesota House Speaker, was gunned down by an assassin as well?” asked a reporter to which Trump was responding.“Well, if the governor had asked me to do that, I would have done that. But the governor of Minnesota didn’t ask me. I didn’t uh I wouldn’t have thought of that, but I would have if somebody had asked me,” Trump said. “Had the governor of Minnesota asked me to do that, I would have done that gladly,” he reiterated further.
Claire Lancaster, a spokesperson for Walz, responded Monday night: “Governor Walz wishes that President Trump would be a President for all Americans.” Walz later shared a video promoting unity in the wake of Hortman’s assassination and a separate Minneapolis Catholic church shooting, showing scenes from the State Fair but making no mention of Kirk. Trump’s remarks Monday contrasted with his earlier comments when questioned about offering condolences to Walz. At that time, he brushed off the idea, calling the governor “slick” and “whacked out,” and saying, “The guy doesn’t have a clue” and “he’s a mess.”On the other hand, Trump stated that he plans to attend Kirk’s funeral in Arizona this weekend. “I guess I’ll say a few words, I don’t know. But I guess I will,” he said.
Murder of Minnesota lawmaker
Two Minnesota lawmakers were shot in their homes in June in what authorities describe as a “politically motivated” attack by a suspect who may have posed as a law-enforcement officer, prompting a statewide manhunt.Governor Tim Walz confirmed that former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed. State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were also shot in a separate residence north of Minneapolis, with Hoffman reported wounded.“This was a targeted, politically motivated shooting,” Walz had said at the time.
