In the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Kirk memorial, the Trump-deranged MSNBC showed that they couldn’t leave well enough alone. What began as a complimentary reaction turned into Trump-deranged brainworms for MSNBC consumption.
Watch as MSNBC Senior White House Correspondent Vaugn Hillyard finds a way to pit Erika Kirk against Trump:
TFW you're blown away by Erika Kirk's remarks but HAVE to feed TDS brainworms to your MSNBC audience pic.twitter.com/GxytM7hOzh
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) September 21, 2025
VAUGHN HILLYARD: I think what, honestly, I'll take away from tonight is watching the weight of a woman, a mother, lose her husband. Most people cannot say they've experienced losing a spouse at this young of an age, and I don't know who we are to suggest how somebody should respond in real time. One week after her husband's passing, she went in front of a crowd of 40 to 50,000 people, people watching all over the world. And she delivered remarks in which she forgave the assassin that shot her husband and killed him.
ELISE JORDAN: I thought it was just remarkable.
HILLYARD: A remarkable moment because in so many ways, where America stands in 2025 is: how do we respond going forward? And the woman that just lost her husband stood there in front of the world and said, I forgive. And because her Christian faith teaches her to love your enemy and not hate your enemy, and to love those that persecute you. And I think what was stunning about the tension that exists here in 2025 was to listen to Erica Kirk, a big supporter of the president, be followed 15-20 minutes later by the President of the United States. Clearly somebody who she loves, but come out and directly say, I disagree with Charlie Kirk. I disagree with you, Erica, and say, I hate my opponents. And I think that says a lot about where we are and the questions about where we go moving forward. The Erika Kirk route or the Donald Trump route.
Hillyard’s statement would’ve been remarkable had he stopped at the halfway point. Indeed, Erika Kirk’s testimony of forgiveness towards her husband’s murderer stands as a potent example of Christ-like behavior in a most difficult time. Forgive them for they know not what they do, indeed.
But Hillyard couldn’t leave well enough alone, and he had to fabricate this oppositional friction where none exists between the Kirks and Trump. Trump said what he said about forgiveness but Hillyard conveniently leaves out the part where Trump says he’s open to being persuaded by Erika. That take isn’t the same with Trump saying he’s open to forgiveness. And perhaps this is the story about where we are in 2025.