President Donald Trump’s biased claims about political violence faced pushback on Monday when reporters challenged his narrative. The president has been blaming Democrats for recent unrest, especially after the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in Utah last week.
Since then, he has escalated his rhetoric, insisting that left-wing groups are behind the chaos across the country.
On Sunday, Trump told reporters that the issue of violence lies entirely with Democrats. “If you look at the problem, the problem is on the left. It’s not on the right,” he said. He argued that protests against the United States and attacks on its symbols are tied to Democrats.
“When you look at the agitators, you look at the scum that speaks so badly of our country, the American flag burnings all over the place—that’s the left. That’s not the right.”
But when he spoke again on Monday, reporters directly challenged his claim. CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Nancy Cordes raised a list of violent incidents targeting Democrats over the years.
She highlighted several examples, including the recent murder of Minnesota Democrat Melissa Hortman, the 2022 hammer attack on Paul Pelosi, the 2011 shooting of former Arizona congresswoman Gabby Giffords, and the arson attack on the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion.
Cordes pressed him with a pointed question: “Given the killing of [Melissa Hortman], the attack on [Paul Pelosi], the attack on [Gabby Giffords], the [attack on the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion], why make the case that violence is only on one side?”
Trump appeared irritated but did not fully back down. Tilting his head, he replied, “I didn’t say it’s on one side.” But he quickly returned to blaming his opponents. “But I say the radical left causes tremendous violence and they seem to do it in a bigger way.”
He continued with a sweeping attack on his critics. “The radical left really causes a lot of problems for this country,” Trump said. “I really think they hate our country.”
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During the Oval Office exchange, another reporter asked him how his administration planned to confront this so-called radical left. Instead of providing policy details directly, Trump handed the question to his deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who stood by his side during the press conference.
Miller responded bluntly that the government would target those funding activist movements. He argued that officials would go after individuals who were “paying for violence.”
Miller’s comments echoed statements he made earlier when he appeared on Charlie Kirk’s talk show. That broadcast was hosted on Monday by Vice President JD Vance. Both Trump and Miller blurred the line between violent incidents and peaceful protests during their remarks. They raised movements like Black Lives Matter and immigration protests as if they were equal to violent crimes.
President Trump blames the radical left for Charlie Kirk killing
Trump: “It’s long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonising those with whom you disagree.”
I couldn’t agree more. pic.twitter.com/es0TYxOrAJ
— Clown Down Under 🤡 (@clowndownunder) September 11, 2025
At one point, Trump described demonstrators in Los Angeles using unusual tools. He claimed some had been using “beautiful, brand new hammers” to shatter concrete at protests.
The president also faced criticism for his handling of Melissa Hortman’s killing earlier this month. Unlike his response to Kirk’s killing, Trump refused to order flags to be flown at half-staff.
He defended that choice by blaming Minnesota’s Democratic governor. “Well if the governor had asked me to do that I would have done that. But the governor of Minnesota didn’t ask me,” Trump explained.
However, reporters quickly recalled past statements that contradicted his explanation. CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins reposted his own earlier remarks on social media, noting that Trump had dismissed contacting Governor Tim Walz at the time of Hortman’s death. He had said a call to Walz would “waste time.”
President Trump said just now that if Tim Walz had asked him to lower the flags after the murder of Melissa and Mark Hortman, he would have. But when I asked him on AF1 if they had spoken at the time, he said calling Walz would be a waste of time. https://t.co/NZUZqVvmnI
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 15, 2025
Trump’s effort to pin violence solely on the left was weakened by the back-and-forth. With reporters citing cases of attacks on Democrats, his claims of one-sided blame became difficult to maintain.
However, he and his team did not give up and rather portrayed demonstrations and protests as signs of extremism while presenting Kirk’s death as another reason to target the president’s political opponents.
