US revokes visas from six foreign nationals for social media comments critical of Charlie Kirk
In a stunning departure for an administration that came to power vowing to stop social-media censorship, Donald Trump’s state department announced on Tuesday that it had revoked the visas of six foreign nationals who posted critical comments on social media about Charlie Kirk, in the wake of the conservative activist’s murder.
“The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans,” the US state department said in a statement posted on X. “The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk.”
The state department then listed six “examples of aliens who are no longer welcome in the U.S.” in a thread on the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, the Trump donor who called himself “a free speech absolutist” before buying the site formerly known as Twitter.
The thread included screenshots and quotes from people identified as foreign nationals of Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Paraguay and South Africa.
None of the individuals was identified by name, but the screenshots made it possible to trace the identities of two people, including one who had been singled out for abuse by conservatives on X.
“Charlie Kirk won’t be remembered as a hero,” one of the comments posted on X read. “He was used to astroturf a movement of white nationalist trailer trash!”
The thread ended with a statement from the state department that Trump and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, “will defend our borders, our culture, and our citizens by enforcing our immigration laws. Aliens who take advantage of America’s hospitality while celebrating the assassination of our citizens will be removed.”
Last month, a deputy secretary of state, Christopher Landau, urged social media users to send him posts critical of Kirk, saying he was “disgusted to see some on social media praising, rationalizing, or making light of the event, and have directed our consular officials to undertake appropriate action.”
The administration has previously ramped up efforts to identify and potentially expel thousands of foreign students it accuses of participating in unrest in the form of protests against Israel’s mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The administration has also required foreign visitors to make their social media accounts public so that they can be checked before they are allowed to enter the land of the free.
In recent months, the administration has expelled South Africa’s ambassador to the US for comments critical of Trump, revoked a visa for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York and cancelled visas of the visas for British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.
The government has also said it is reviewing the status of the more than 55 million holders of visas to enter the US for potential violations of its standards.
Those actions have been criticized by civil rights groups as blatant violations of constitutional protections for freedom of speech, which apply to anyone in the US, not just citizens.
Key events
Closing summary
This concludes our live coverage of the second Trump administration for the day, but we will be back at it on Wednesday. Here are the latest developments:
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Donald Trump presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk’s distraught, tearful widow, Erika Kirk.
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Kirk’s widow praised her late husband and said that he would likely have run for president one day had he not been killed before his 32nd birthday.
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Trump’s state department announced that it had revoked the visas of six foreign nationals who posted critical comments on social media about Kirk, in the wake of the conservative activist’s murder.
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Trump said that a list of ‘Democrat programs’ that the White House plans to cut will be released on Friday.
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Trump warned that Hamas must disarm ‘or we will disarm them’.
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Trump announced on Tuesday that the United States has struck another small boat that he accuses of carrying drugs in waters off the coast of Venezuela, killing six people aboard.
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The US government shutdown entered its 14th day, with no end in sight.
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Katie Porter, the former congresswoman running for California governor, said in an interview that she regrets losing her temper in two video clips that went viral last week, but suggested that the state needs a “tough” leader.
Bondi repeats Trump’s bizarre false claim that antifascists display identical signs
Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday night, the attorney general, Pam Bondi, repeated Donald Trump’s bizarre false claim that antifascists show up at protests with pre-purchased placards that all match.
“One of the things about antifa you’ve heard president Trump say multiple times,” Bondi told Sean Hannity, “they are very organized. You’re seeing people with thousands of signs that all match, pre-bought, pre-put together… someone is funding it.”
Trump has indeed argued, on numerous occasions in recent weeks, that he can tell that antifascists are being paid to protest because, he claims, they carry identical, pre-printed signs at rallies.
It is not clear what the president has been referring to, however, since news photographs and video of leftwing protests show no such thing.
Here are some recent images of protests in Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles in recent months that Bondi said were organized by antifa. All feature the sort of handmade signs that Trump and Bondi claim are a sign of authentic protesters.
Katie Porter expresses regret for outbursts but says California needs a ‘tough’ leader
Katie Porter, the former congresswoman who was leading the race to be California’s next governor before two videos of her losing her temper went viral last week, said in an interview recorded on Tuesday that she regrets her behavior in the two clips, but suggested that the state needs a “tough” leader.
The first video to embarrass Porter showed her taking issue with the premise of a reporter’s question in a recent interview, and then saying that she wanted to stop the interview. The second clip, from 2021, showed her shouting at a staffer who wandered into the frame as the then-congresswoman was recording a virtual message with the Biden administration’s energy secretary.
Asked on Tuesday by the KTLA host Nikki Laurenzo if she has the temperament to be governor, given the new video evidence, Porter said: “When I look at those videos, I want people to know that I understand that I could have handled things better.”
“I think I’m known as someone who’s able to handle tough questions, who’s willing to answer questions, and I want people to know that I really value the incredible work that my staff can do. I think people who know me, know I can be tough, but I need to do a better job expressing appreciation for the amazing work that my team does,” she continued.
When Lorenzo asked if Porter could assure California voters “that there aren’t any more Katie Porter videos out there,” the candidate refused to answer directly, saying instead: “What I know is that I could’ve done better, in those moments.” She also said that she was glad that she ultimately decided to continue the interview with the reporter after the part of the exchange that went viral.
“I am taking responsibility for this situation, and I’m also not going to back down from fighting back for California, from being tough,” she added. “I don’t think this is a moment where the same old, same old, is going to cut it.”
Porter stayed on the theme of her toughness as an asset when asked if she had heard from supporters in the aftermath of the clips going viral.
“As you’ve seen publicly, many of the groups that support me, groups like the Teamsters, have said that they’re proud to stand with me, because they know I’m going to fight for California, that they know I’m going to be tough, that they think what’s needed is the level of strength of character in this moment,” Porter said.
Leaders of Young Republican groups in New York, Kansas, Arizona and Vermont used racist, antisemitic, sexist and homophobic slurs in private Telegram group chat messages over a period of seven months obtained by Politico, the news outlet reports.
The young Republicans referred to Black people as monkeys and “the watermelon people” and joked about raping their enemies, driving them to suicide or putting them in gas chambers.
In August, one of the Young Republican leaders, Bobby Walker, chair of the New York State Young Republicans, presented an award to Elise Stefanik, the pro-Trump congresswoman expected to run for governor.
Alex deGrasse, a spokesman for Stefanik, told Politico that the congresswoman “was absolutely appalled to learn about the alleged comments made by leaders of the New York State Young Republicans and other state YRs in a large national group chat.”
“If the description by Politico is accurate, Congresswoman Stefanik calls for any NY Young Republicans responsible for these horrific comments in this chat to step down immediately,” he added.
Lauren Gambino
Congress remained deadlocked on legislation to reopen the federal government, as the US Senate on Tuesday again rejected a Republican plan to end the government shutdown that began two weeks ago.
The eighth Senate vote to advance a Republican bill that would fund government operations through 21 November failed on a 49-45 tally – far short of the 60 needed for advancement in the chamber. In a sign that that there has been little if any progress toward ending the stalemate, no senators changed their votes from the last time the measure was brought to the floor, though there were a handful of absences.
Earlier on Tuesday, the House speaker, Mike Johnson said he won’t negotiate with Senate Democrats as the government shutdown dragged into its 14th day, while defending the Trump administration’s decision to shuffle Pentagon funds to make sure military personnel get their paychecks.
US revokes visas from six foreign nationals for social media comments critical of Charlie Kirk
In a stunning departure for an administration that came to power vowing to stop social-media censorship, Donald Trump’s state department announced on Tuesday that it had revoked the visas of six foreign nationals who posted critical comments on social media about Charlie Kirk, in the wake of the conservative activist’s murder.
“The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans,” the US state department said in a statement posted on X. “The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk.”
The state department then listed six “examples of aliens who are no longer welcome in the U.S.” in a thread on the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, the Trump donor who called himself “a free speech absolutist” before buying the site formerly known as Twitter.
The thread included screenshots and quotes from people identified as foreign nationals of Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Paraguay and South Africa.
None of the individuals was identified by name, but the screenshots made it possible to trace the identities of two people, including one who had been singled out for abuse by conservatives on X.
“Charlie Kirk won’t be remembered as a hero,” one of the comments posted on X read. “He was used to astroturf a movement of white nationalist trailer trash!”
The thread ended with a statement from the state department that Trump and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, “will defend our borders, our culture, and our citizens by enforcing our immigration laws. Aliens who take advantage of America’s hospitality while celebrating the assassination of our citizens will be removed.”
Last month, a deputy secretary of state, Christopher Landau, urged social media users to send him posts critical of Kirk, saying he was “disgusted to see some on social media praising, rationalizing, or making light of the event, and have directed our consular officials to undertake appropriate action.”
The administration has previously ramped up efforts to identify and potentially expel thousands of foreign students it accuses of participating in unrest in the form of protests against Israel’s mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The administration has also required foreign visitors to make their social media accounts public so that they can be checked before they are allowed to enter the land of the free.
In recent months, the administration has expelled South Africa’s ambassador to the US for comments critical of Trump, revoked a visa for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York and cancelled visas of the visas for British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.
The government has also said it is reviewing the status of the more than 55 million holders of visas to enter the US for potential violations of its standards.
Those actions have been criticized by civil rights groups as blatant violations of constitutional protections for freedom of speech, which apply to anyone in the US, not just citizens.
David Smith
Erika Kirk delivered an emotional speech, at times dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, as Trump stood to her right.
She said: “I have spent seven and a half years trying to find the perfect birthday gift for Charlie… But now I can say with confidence, Mr President, that you have given him the best birthday gift he could ever have.”
The pair then spoke quietly for some moments as a band began to play Amazing Grace.
Trump previously called presidential medal ‘much better’ than top military award
The White House ceremony in honor of Charlie Kirk has now concluded.
At a campaign event last year, Donald Trump said that the Presidential Medal of Freedom for civilians, which he bestowed on Kirk on Tuesday, was “much better” than the top military award for those killed or wounded in action: the Medal of Honor.
Trump was widely criticized for that comment, made as he addressed Miriam Adelson, the widow of the Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson. Trump had awarded Miriam Adelson the Medal of Freedom in 2018.
The civilian medal, Trump told supporters then, is “actually much better because everyone [who] gets the congressional Medal of Honor, they’re soldiers.”
“They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets or they’re dead. She gets it, and she’s a healthy, beautiful woman. And they’re rated equal.”
Charlie Kirk is not the first to receive the medal from Trump posthumously. During his first term, he gave it to Babe Ruth, Elvis Presley and Antonin Scalia.
In 2020, Trump also presented the medal to the rightwing radio host Rush Limbaugh during a State of the Union address.
In his speech at the memorial for Kirk in Arizona last month, Trump revealed that Limbaugh was one of Kirk’s role models. “He was an Eagle scout who spent his school lunch breaks listening to another champion for liberty, somebody that he greatly admired, Rush Limbaugh,” Trump said.
David Smith
“Charlie Kirk was one of a kind. He was unstoppable… He’s irreplaceable. Nobody can replace him,” Donald Trump said in his remarks.
“In Charlie’s honour we will continue to fight, fight, fight and win, win, win.”
A military officer then read Kirk’s citation for the presidential medal of freedom.
Kirk’s widow Erika thanked Trump and said: “Charlie always admired your commitment to freedom.”
Erika Kirk praises late husband’s Christian faith, says he would probably have run for president
In remarks at the White House, Charlie Kirk’s widow praised her late husband in explicitly Christian terms and said that he would likely have run for president one day had he not been killed before his 32nd birthday.
“If the moment had come, he probably would’ve run for president, but not out of ambition,” Erika Kirk said.
David Smith
In paying tribute to Kirk, Trump railed against “radical left extremism, violence and terror.”
He asserted: “They have the devil’s ideology… They seem to become very violent on the left.”
Trump claimed these attacks included the attempt on his own life at a campaign rally last year, even though the would-be assassin had no apparent political motive.
The president went on tout his law and order crackdown on US cities. “We’ve done a great job.”
He said of Washington: “We’re done with the angry mobs.” He claimed the city is now safe.
But then police car sirens wailed near the White House. Trump, however, insisted: “That’s a beautiful sound. They’re stopping crime. That’s what they’re doing.”
Trump presents Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk’s widow
Donald Trump just presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk’s distraught, tearful widow, Erika Kirk.
Erika Kirk then made remarks from the podium, telling Turning Point USA members that her husband’s mission lives on through them.
