Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• ICE enforcement surge and protests in Chicago area — ICE conducted a week-long surge of immigration enforcement operations across the Chicago area, including a day-long protest outside an ICE processing center in Broadview, Illinois on September 12. Demonstrators clashed with federal agents; reports indicate a protester was shot in the leg with a pepper ball. The operations are part of Trump's pledged immigration crackdown. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, both Democrats, have condemned the enforcement actions and called for resistance.

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• Teachers and school officials investigated for Kirk assassination comments — Teachers, firefighters, elected officials, and a cable news contributor were placed on leave or faced investigation after making comments about Charlie Kirk's assassination. School employees in Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Mississippi, and Ohio were all being investigated for social media posts made less than 24 hours after Kirk's death.

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• Iowa county official defies governor's half-staff flag order for Charlie Kirk — Jon Green, chair of the Johnson County Board of Supervisors in Iowa, publicly announced he would not comply with Governor Kim Reynolds's directive to lower flags at half-staff in honor of Charlie Kirk, a rightwing activist fatally shot on September 11. Green cited Reynolds's failure to issue similar orders after other prominent gun violence cases, including the killing of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman. Reynolds responded by criticizing Green's decision as "disgraceful" and putting "politics above human decency." Green stated he would accept any legal or electoral consequences for his refusal.

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• Rep. Nancy Mace spreads false claim that shooter was transgender — Rep. Nancy Mace ranted on the Capitol steps claiming the shooter was transgender or "pro-tranny," stating "This shit needs to end! Enough is enough. It sounds like the shooter was a tranny or pro-tranny." When it was revealed that Robinson was a straight, white male from a Republican family, Mace did not apologize for spreading the false narrative.

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• Trump compares right-wing and left-wing radicalism, blames left — When host Ainsley Earhardt suggested that radicals exist on both the right and left, Trump responded by stating that right-wing radicals are motivated by opposition to crime, while left-wing radicals are "the problem," refusing to acknowledge equivalent threats from the right.

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• Trump prioritizes White House ballroom construction over Kirk's death — When asked by a reporter about his condolences for Charlie Kirk's death, Trump pivoted to discussing construction of a new White House ballroom, stating it would be "an absolutely magnificent structure" and noting the project had been sought for 150 years.

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• Kash Patel uses "Valhalla" language echoing Christchurch mass murderer — FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X: "To my friend Charlie Kirk - rest now, brother. We have the watch. And I'll see you in Valhalla." The phrase "I will see you in Valhalla" were the final words of the Christchurch mass murderer's farewell letter, a reference associated with white nationalist extremism.

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• Trump announces Kirk arrest on Fox & Friends and minimizes gravity — President Trump announced the arrest of Charlie Kirk's killer on Fox & Friends, framing the announcement as breaking news and making light of the moment by joking about host Ainsley Earhardt's fiancé Sean Hannity being disappointed he wasn't given the exclusive. Trump then complained that due process takes too long in the U.S. and suggested China's rapid trial system as a model.
• Trump criticizes constitutional due process, praises Chinese trials — Trump complained that due process in the United States takes too long because of "our pesky Constitution" and expressed admiration for China's rapid trial system, stating that trials should occur "the following day" rather than taking years.

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• Florida teacher removed from classroom for calling Kirk "racist" and "neo-Nazi" — Matthew Theobald, a social studies teacher in Florida, was removed from the classroom for a post on his personal social media account describing Charlie Kirk as "not a good guy" and "a racist, misogynistic, fear-mongering neo-Nazi." On September 11, Florida Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas sent a letter to all Florida schools announcing the state would investigate every teacher who makes "vile" comments about Kirk. The removal occurred as part of the broader coordinated pressure campaign.

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• Matthew Dowd fired from MSNBC after on-air comments about Kirk — MSNBC fired contributor Matthew Dowd, a former George W. Bush senior strategist, from his position after Republicans expressed fury over his on-air remarks immediately following Kirk's shooting. Dowd had stated that Kirk was "one of the most divisive" figures pushing "hate speech" and that "hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions." MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler issued a statement calling his comments "inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable" and apologizing for them.

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• Trump issued statement blaming "radical left" for Charlie Kirk assassination — Following the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, Trump posted a video statement attributing the killing to "radical left" rhetoric and "radical left political violence," while making no mention of violent attacks against Democratic figures or his own decade of inflammatory rhetoric demonizing political opponents as Marxists, communists, and enemies of America.
• Trump called out radical leftists for violent rhetoric — Former President Donald Trump issued a statement calling out radical leftists for poisonous rhetoric, arguing that years of comparing conservatives like Charlie Kirk to Nazis and mass murderers was directly responsible for terrorism in the country. Trump attributed the assassination to leftist rhetoric without waiting for the investigation to identify the killer's actual motive or affiliation.

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• Trump administration withheld college grants to students of color — The Trump administration announced it would withhold $350 million in grants to hundreds of colleges serving students of color, reallocating the funds away from eight discretionary grant programs that support Black, Native, Hispanic, and Asian American students. The action directly reduced educational funding for minority-serving institutions.

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• Trump blamed left for Kirk killing without evidence — Trump issued a video message from the Oval Office in which he said "For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals … My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it." Trump's warning came despite the fact that the shooter hadn't yet been identified and their motive remained unclear.

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• Trump blames "radical left" for Kirk shooting and vows investigation — President Trump addressed the nation from the Oval Office, blaming "the radical left" for the Kirk shooting without evidence. He vowed that his administration "will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials and everyone else who brings order to our country." Trump listed incidents of what he characterized as "radical left political violence" while omitting violence against Democrats, including the June murder of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband by a man with a hit list of 45 Democratic officials.
• Trump blamed shooting on "radical left" and vowed to prosecute contributors to political violence — From the Oval Office, President Trump blamed the Charlie Kirk shooting on "the radical left" and vowed to "find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country." The statement preceded any confirmed information about the shooter's identity or motive.

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• White House press secretary made baseless claim about domestic violence reports — Asked about Trump's Monday comments downplaying domestic violence during a White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt baselessly claimed that women are falsely reporting cases of domestic violence as a crime "to undermine the great work" Trump's task force is doing in DC. The claim was made without evidence.

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• Kushner advises Trump on Middle East policy while receiving tens of millions annually from Saudi Arabia and UAE — Jared Kushner, who committed in February 2024 not to advise Trump if he won re-election, has taken a central role advising President Trump on Middle East policy. Kushner simultaneously receives approximately $25 million annually from the Saudi government and collects fees from other Middle Eastern governments through his firm Affinity Partners. Since 2021, Affinity Partners has raised $4.8 billion, nearly 99% from foreign sources, primarily Middle Eastern governments. Kushner met with Trump's Middle East envoy and Israeli officials in Miami on Monday to discuss ceasefire proposals, and visited the White House two weeks prior with Tony Blair to advise on Gaza reconstruction plans.
• Kushner breaks public commitment not to advise Trump in second term — In a February 2024 interview with Axios, Kushner stated he would not resume his role advising Trump if he won re-election, citing commitments to run his private equity firm Affinity Partners "for the long term" and that his "commitment is to my investors, to my firm, to my employees, [and] to my partners." When pressed about whether his billions in investments from Saudi Arabia and UAE would make foreign policy work "very difficult," Kushner replied, "I'm an investor now." Kushner has now taken a central advisory role on Middle East policy in Trump's second term, directly contradicting his public statement.

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• Elon Musk posted about Bessent altercation to 225 million followers — Elon Musk, who reportedly had a previous physical altercation with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent when Bessent worked in the White House, posted a link to the Politico story about Bessent's confrontation with Bill Pulte to his 225 million followers on social media with the caption "Hmmmmmm," amplifying the story of internal administration conflict.

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• Trump and Republican officials blame Roy Cooper for Ukrainian refugee's murder using false claims about bail and criminal justice policy — President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Congressman Richard Hudson, and Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley publicly blamed former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D) for the August 22 murder of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee killed by Decarlos Brown Jr. on a Charlotte train. Trump claimed Brown was "released on CASHLESS BAIL in January" due to Cooper's policies; Hudson attributed the killing to Cooper's "irresponsible policies"; Bondi issued an official DOJ statement linking the murder to "failed soft-on-crime policies." The article documents these claims as factually baseless: Brown's January release was for a misdemeanor 911 call, not a violent crime; North Carolina law caps Class 1 Misdemeanor sentences at 120 days regardless; Cooper's June 2020 executive order created only an advisory task force whose recommendations were never enacted and came after Brown's September 2020 release.
• Trump politicized Ukrainian refugee's death to attack bail reform — Trump politicized the killing of a Ukrainian refugee on a North Carolina train to rail against cashless bail, saying "her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail," and calling on Republicans to vote for former RNC Chair Michael Whatley for U.S. Senate. The statement used a tragedy for partisan political gain.
• Congressman Hudson attributes murder to Cooper's policies in false social media post — Congressman Richard Hudson (R-NC) posted on X on September 9 that "Because of irresponsible policies from our former Governor Roy Cooper's administration, [t]his brutal thug was set free and allowed to terrorize our community again and again" and that "This tragedy is the direct result of policies that put politics over public safety." The article establishes this claim is false: the suspect was released in January 2025 for a misdemeanor 911 call, not a violent crime; Cooper's June 2020 executive order created only an advisory task force whose recommendations were never enacted and came months before the suspect's actual release.

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• White House issued fact sheet claiming 100 faith-related policy victories — The White House published a promotional document titled "President Trump's Top 100 Victories for People of Faith" on September 8, 2025. The document lists claimed achievements across religious liberty, anti-Semitism enforcement, school choice, abortion funding restrictions, gender-related policies, military personnel reinstatement, DEI elimination, and Israel support. The document attributes these to executive orders, agency directives, proclamations, and administrative actions taken during the Trump administration's second term.

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• Brian Kilmeade apologizes for remarks advocating execution of unhoused people with mental illness — Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade apologized on Sunday for comments made Wednesday in which he said people experiencing homelessness and mental illness should be executed via "lethal injection." The remarks came during discussion of a fatal stabbing by a man with schizophrenia. Kilmeade called his comments "extremely callous" and acknowledged that unhoused and mentally ill people "deserve our empathy and compassion." He remained employed by Fox News, contrasting with MSNBC's firing of analyst Matthew Dowd for separate remarks about Charlie Kirk's shooting.
• Fox host Brian Kilmeade issued forced apology for lethal injection comments about homeless people — Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade made comments on Wednesday suggesting homeless people could be solved through "involuntary injection or something. Just kill them." The remark circulated on social media and went viral Saturday with significant backlash. Fox forced Kilmeade to issue a 30-second apology on Sunday morning, stating he "wrongly said they should get lethal injections" and apologizing for the "extremely callous remark." Kilmeade received no discipline or punishment from Fox and remained scheduled for on-air appearances.

Supporting reports

• Trump removed his name from infrastructure projects he opposed — Trump has been removing signs bearing his name from major construction projects financed by the 2021 Infrastructure Law, which he strenuously opposed and urged Republicans in Congress to vote against. The New York Times reported that Trump is now taking credit for projects funded by legislation he actively worked to defeat.

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• Trump berated NBC reporter Yamiche Alcindor during press exchange — When asked by NBC News reporter Yamiche Alcindor whether Trump is trying to go to war with Chicago based on his Saturday Truth Social post, the president berated her, called her "darling," and told her to "be quiet," adding "You never listen. That's why you're second-rate." The exchange reflected the president's hostile stance toward press questioning.

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• House Republicans voted against Jan. 6 police memorial plaque — Republicans on the House Rules Committee voted against an amendment that would require the speaker to hang a commemorative plaque for police officers who protected lawmakers during the Jan. 6 insurrection, even though the plaque was commissioned by Congress more than three years ago.

Supporting reports

• Trump posts threat to Chicago referencing "Department of War" and deportations — Trump posted on Truth Social that Chicago was about to discover "why it's called the Department of War," referencing a recent executive order renaming the Department of Defense. The post also stated "I love the smell of deportations in the morning," alluding to the film Apocalypse Now. Governor Pritzker responded by stating the president was "threatening to go to war with an American city" and that "This is not a joke. This is not normal." The rhetoric escalates the administration's framing of immigration enforcement as military action against a domestic city.
• Trump posted AI-generated image threatening military action against Chicago — President Trump's social media account posted an AI-generated image depicting him as a Vietnam War character in front of Chicago's skyline with military helicopters and flames, captioned "Chipocalypse Now" with text reading "I love the smell of deportations in the morning… Chicago about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR." The post included helicopter emojis associated with Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's extrajudicial killings. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker responded by calling the threat abnormal and warning against intimidation.
• Trump shared "Chipocalypse Now" meme threatening deportations and war on Chicago — On Truth Social, Trump posted a meme depicting himself as an officer from "Apocalypse Now" with the caption "I love the smell of deportations in the morning" and "Chicago about to find out why it's called the Department of War." Illinois Governor JB Pritzker responded by calling Trump a "wannabe dictator" and stating he is "threatening to go to war with an American city," characterizing the rhetoric as abnormal and dangerous.
• Trump posted apocalyptic threat against Chicago on Truth Social — Trump posted on Truth Social depicting himself as the character from Apocalypse Now with the caption "I love the smell of deportations in the morning. Chicago about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR." The post threatened military action against a major U.S. city. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, and California Governor Gavin Newsom responded by characterizing the threat as authoritarian and unconstitutional. Senator Tammy Duckworth called it a declaration of war on an American city.

Supporting reports

• Trump announced federal law enforcement deployment to Chicago and Baltimore — Speaking to reporters, Trump said he will be sending federal law enforcement to both Chicago and Baltimore, but didn't specify a timeline for the deployment. Trump also said that many of the people arrested as part of his DC crackdown on crime were "born to be criminals."
• Trump suggested National Guard deployment to New Orleans — Trump suggested that he may deploy National Guard troops to New Orleans, a blue city in the red state of Louisiana.