Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk issued a stark rebuke Wednesday of “radicalized liberal” teachers, blaming them for promoting ideas that many see as driving political violence in the United States as she responded to the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
The shooting has reopened political divides across the country and comes amid a wave of political violence, including attempted assassinations of President Donald Trump, as well as the assassinations of Minnesota legislator Melissa Hortman and Kirk’s husband, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during an appearance at Utah Valley University last September. Erika Kirk Criticizes ‘Liberal Teachers’ Over Shooting “Anyone who stands in their way is labeled hateful, racist, fascist, and every other trigger word that is grossly dishonest,” Kirk said in a video posted on X on Wednesday.
“We want the best for our country; they don’t. This is why Charlie started Turning Point in the first place. He didn’t trust the radicalized liberal teachers, and this past Saturday, it was a schoolteacher-of all people-that attempted to change our history for the worse with bullets.” The suspected White House Correspondents Dinner shooter, Cole Allen, was employed by the tutoring company C2 Education as recently as December 2024, when he was honored as “Teacher of the Month” for his work at its Torrance, California, location.
Erika Kirk speaks at a Turning Point USA event in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 17, 2026. JIM WATSON AFP via Getty Images
Erika Kirk Calls Out Jimmy Kimmel
Kirk also criticized late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a recent joke he made about first lady Melania Trump.
Kimmel has faced backlash for a segment on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which aired prior to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, in which he pretended to host the event. He “told” the first lady that she has the “glow of an expectant widow” and joked about the president’s age and health. Two days later, the couple would be evacuated from the dinner amid the assassination attempt. Trump was uninjured in the shooting. A Secret Service officer wearing a bullet-resistant vest was shot and survived. “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.
The glow of an expected widow, just 48 hours before that nightmare almost became a reality. This culture we’re living in absorbs disagreement as a form of personal betrayal,” she said. Kimmel has defended the joke and said it was “not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination.” On Tuesday, the FCC issued a filing calling in Disney and ABC-owned-and-operated station licenses for early review.
The move has drawn First Amendment concerns, with more than 17,000 people signing a MoveOn Civic Action petition opposing the action. WHCD Shooting Investigation: The Latest on Cole Allen Prosecutors said in a new filing Wednesday that Allen had taken a photograph of himself in his hotel room with a sheathed knife, a shoulder gun holster and ammunition just minutes earlier. He repeatedly made online checks to keep up with Trump’s status that night, including live coverage of him exiting his vehicles at the Hilton Hotel, prosecutors said.
He allegedly prepared preset emails with an “Apology and Explanation” attachment that were sent at approximately 8:30 p.m. “My sincerest apologies for all the trouble I’ve caused,” the message continued, prosecutors said. Allen also allegedly wrote to an employer to apologize for his actions. “He intended to kill and fired his shotgun while trying to breach security and attack his target. Put simply, the defendant poses an uncommonly serious danger to the community if released pending trial. The defendant’s lack of criminal history and other personal circumstances do not alter this conclusion,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Jones wrote. Allen sent a manifesto minutes before the attack outlining his desire to target Trump administration officials, without mentioning the president by name, a White House official previously told Newsweek.
The document, described as filled with anti‑Trump and anti‑Christian rhetoric, was emailed to members of Allen’s family shortly before he opened fire. The official told Newsweek that the manifesto “clearly” stated Allen intended to target administration figures, and said his social media history reflected similar themes. He was formally charged in court on Monday and remains in custody.
