At a recent Senate hearing, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) asked Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. whether he accepted the fact that COVID vaccines had saved the lives of almost 2 million Americans.

“I don’t think anybody knows,” Kennedy replied, “because there was so much data chaos coming out of the CDC.” Aware of multiple studies confirming this assessment, Warner shot back, “How can you be so ignorant?”

In an exchange with Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Kennedy — who has frequently propagated discredited claims that childhood vaccines cause autism, which he now says is a “preventable disease” brought on by an “environmental toxin” — opined, without evidence, that mRNA vaccines produce “serious harm, including death, especially among young people.”

After listening to the testimony, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), a physician, stated he had “grown deeply concerned” about Kennedy’s leadership of HHS, because Americans now “don’t know who to rely on.”

The combative Senate hearing demonstrated that an infectious disease — one that rejects scientific expertise, metastasizes conspiracy theories and contaminates programs that track and treat illnesses — has entered the body politic of America’s public health agencies.

“In terms of working scientists,” Kennedy announced in May, “our policy was to make sure none of them were lost and that research continues.” A comprehensive study by ProPublica, however, reveals that more than 3,000 scientists and public health officials and 1,000 health and safety inspectors have resigned or been fired from the CDC, National Institutes of Health and FDA this year. That does not include those placed on administrative leave.

Reductions of 20,000 staff — 18 percent of the HHS’s allegedly “bloated bureaucracies” — have resulted in fewer clinical trials of new drugs; fewer specialists planning for the next outbreak of a deadly virus; fewer inspections of egg farms, seafood processers, drug manufacturers and blood banks; and less monitoring and development of treatments to prevent heart disease, strokes and HIV/AIDS, maternal and infant health problems and oral hygiene issues of children whose parents can’t afford to pay a dentist.

Draconian cuts in NIH and National Science Foundation grants have slowed or stopped vitally important research and may well end the careers of the next generation of first-rate scientists.

In late August, without consulting the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Kennedy limited the approved cohort for updated COVID-19 vaccines to people 65 or over, anyone older than six months who has an underlying condition, and patients who get a recommendation from their doctor.  

Although he had assured Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician, during his confirmation hearings that he would make no changes in the composition of the Advisory Committee, Kennedy then fired all 17 of its members. The director of the CDC was fired as well, after less than a month in office.

This infectious disease is now spreading to public agencies in the states. In April, Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) signed legislation banning schools from mandating vaccines. Earlier this month, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced that he would work with the state legislature to repeal all vaccine requirements, including the immunization of public school students against diphtheria, measles, rubella, mumps, tetanus and hepatitis B.

“Every last one of them is wrong and drip with disdain and slavery,” Ladapo proclaimed. Vaccine mandates “take away your ability to choose what you put in your body and what you as a parent put in your child’s body.”

Until now, all 50 states and D.C. have mandated childhood vaccines. Many of them, including Florida, allow parents to request exemptions on religious grounds. In the 1905 case Jacobson v. Massachusetts, the Supreme Court ruled that compulsory vaccination laws do not violate the Constitution, stating that liberty “is not absolute in each person to be at all times and under all circumstances wholly freed from restraint.” The decision has been upheld several times since.

Vaccines “are among the most studied and scrutinized medical interventions in history,” the University of Florida Academic Health Center recently emphasized. “They are proven to be safe, effective and essential in the spread of many infectious diseases. Public safety is a shared responsibility.”

Since contact among children accelerates the spread of contagious diseases and the risk of serious side effects or death from vaccines is very small, removing the mandates, according to Lisa Gwynn, former president of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, “could lead to a resurgence of preventable diseases, putting countless lives at risk.”

Florida may already be on the cusp of a resurgence. People with a “conspiracy mindset,” a recent study by the Annenberg Public Policy Center concluded, are more likely to believe misinformation about vaccination. Perhaps for this reason, 5 percent of Florida’s parents requested vaccination exemptions for their children last year, above the national average. 88.1 percent of children in the state have been vaccinated for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough), less than the 92 to 94 percent required to reach herd immunity for pertussis. In 2024, reported cases of the illness in Florida skyrocketed from 85 to 715.

The recent outbreak of measles in Texas — which, with few exceptions, was confined to unvaccinated children — could make its way to the Sunshine State. All the more so, since Kennedy, ignoring the danger the disease poses to children, believes that catching measles to get “lifetime protection” is better than vaccination, which he asserts “does cause death every year.”

For the record: Before 1963, about 500,000 Americans contracted measles each year, 500 of whom died. Following the introduction of vaccines, incidences declined by 95 percent and death became a very rare event.

President Trump promised to let RFK Jr. “go wild” on health and medicine. He has, alas, kept that promise. The result is that HHS agencies — once the envy of the world — and their counterparts in some states can no longer be relied upon to collect and disseminate accurate data, sponsor first-rate research, or implement policies to keep us healthy.

Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Emeritus Professor of American Studies at Cornell University.

An effort by President Trump’s administration to curb advertising for pharmaceutical drugs on television is posing a potential marketing hurdle for some of the country’s largest drugmakers while threatening a key revenue stream for media companies.

Advertising and pharmaceutical industry experts say an executive order Trump signed this week could pose an existential threat to the business model of both drugmakers and the media companies which raked in an estimated $5 billion in advertising revenue from pharmaceutical companies in 2024.  

The order instructs the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure “transparency and accuracy” in direct-to-consumer advertising, including requiring greater disclosures of side effects in television and other ads.  

The order stops short of directing an outright ban on drug advertisements, though HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called for a wholesale end to direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs. 

“This is a shot across the bow from the administration telling these companies we’re watching you, get your act together or we’re going to come after you,” said Robin Feldman, an expert in health law and a professor at the University of California. “The tone of the message matters as much as the language here.”  

The administration has sent firm cease and desist letters to some of the country’s largest drug manufacturers in recent says, warning scrutiny of the content in its advertisements is part of a broader push to combat “egregious violations demonstrating harm” in the marketing of high-cost prescription drugs.  

The action is seen as an about-face from previous administrations, which thanks to a powerful healthcare lobby loosened restrictions on how drug makers market and sell their products, leading to a boom in Big Pharma ads on television in recent decades.  

Chris Meekins, a healthcare lobbyist in Washington, in a memo to clients this week obtained by The Hill sought to provide assurances.

Meekins wrote that although Trump “does not have authority to outright ban pharmaceutical advertising, his administration seems to be trying to make it death by disclosure and rulemaking.”  

“Whether it can survive legal challenges is very much an open question,” he added.  

But Meekins suggested companies will have to closely consider whether they want to challenge Trump on the matter.

“Do you sue and risk the Trump administration’s wrath?” Meekins asked. “If a company sues over this, they could become a target of greater focus related to most favored nations actions and in Medicare drug negotiation (if they have a drug selected). No company wants to be the next Harvard.”  

Regardless of those consequences, some sources said some company is likely to challenge the order in court.

“One of these companies is in all likelihood going to sue over this,” predicted Roy Gutterman, director of the Syracuse University Newhouse School’s Tully Center for Free Speech. “But commercial speech is protected, less so than political speech, which means the government can enforce reasonable regulations to support an important government interest … and public health is a reasonable government interest.”  

White House officials have insisted they are not interested in pursuing an outright ban on direct-to-consumer drug ads but are instead interested in greater transparency and a more informed public on medicine and its side effects.  

“Our goal is not to see a certain numeric reduction in ads,” a senior administration official told reporters during a background call this week. “Our goal is to ensure that patients have proper information about drugs that have potential harms, and it’s to rebuild public trust.”  

There could be major downstream impacts for media companies of drug manufacturers either spending less on advertising or placing greater scrutiny on how a drug commercial gets made.  

Many of the nation’s leading newscasts and daytime cable news shows feature wall-to-wall ads for drugs to combat conditions ranging from obesity to eczema and crones’ disease.  

Advertising executives and broadcast television insiders meanwhile warn big pharma ads are a key underpinning for the industry’s increasingly shaky financial foundation.  

The Trump administration’s scrutiny of Big Pharma, these people say, comes at a time of widespread uncertainty over the financial future of linear broadcast channels and news providers.  

“Big pharma plays a big role in supporting the news we see on TV,” Gutterman said. “There are copywriters and cinematographers and a whole segment of media professionals who risk being cut back if these ad budgets tighten or the drug companies try to market their product by other means.”   

Others say a more honest advertising strategy by some of the nation’s largest drug makers would be a welcome development in the interest of public health.   

“It’s very hard to present a complete nuanced picture of a drugs benefits and risks in a 30 second TV spot at the same time you’re also trying to make it entertaining and consumable for a mass audience,” said Aaron Kesselheim, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an expert in Pharmacoepidemiology.

“Drug ads aren’t a good way to inform people about their options, but they are very prevalent so I can understand if some people feel tired of them.”  

Nathaniel Weixel contributed reporting

President Trump was meeting with architects about plans for a White House ballroom when staff interrupted to inform him that Charlie Kirk, the prominent conservative activist, had been killed.

“I didn’t know what they meant. I said, ‘What do you mean, dead?'” Trump recounted Friday, two days after the shooting. “‘Charlie Kirk was shot.’ They thought he was dead because it was so horrific.”

The president’s shock at the news reflected the widespread feelings at the White House in the aftermath of Kirk’s death: Shock, anger and disbelief that someone many considered a personal friend had been shot during an appearance at Utah Valley University.

Staffers and officials close to the administration — including Vice President Vance — have publicly recounted how they got to know Kirk and how he impacted them personally and politically. And, in a sign of how closely intertwined the Turning Point USA founder was with Trump and his orbit, the White House has played a central role in providing updates after Kirk’s death.

It was the president who announced Kirk had died. Vance flew to Utah to transport Kirk’s casket on Air Force Two. Trump broke the news that the suspected shooter was in custody, and he has said he plans to attend Kirk’s funeral and posthumously honor him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“Charlie was very much a part of this family, and maybe the highest profile MAGA person outside of those that are working here,” White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said Thursday on “The Scott Jennings Radio Show.”

“So, I think it shook everybody to their core, and for many of us, it brought back the memories of last July 13th in Butler with the president,” she added, referencing the assassination attempt that left Trump bloodied at a 2024 campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

White House staff who spoke with The Hill following the shooting said the mood inside the building was somber and there was a sense of shock among many officials. Many in the building, particularly younger staff members, had gotten into politics and the MAGA movement at a time when Kirk was a rising voice, and many had met him personally.

Most in Trump’s orbit came to know Kirk, 31, through his work building Turning Point USA into a grassroots powerhouse that launched chapters on hundreds of college campuses. Kirk’s work organizing, fundraising and registering young people to vote helped lay the foundation for the GOP’s gains with young voters, and young men in particular, in the 2024 election.

The president was a regular speaker at Turning Point events in recent years. Kirk was a staunch Trump supporter even after his 2020 election defeat, echoing the baseless claims of voter fraud that Trump was pushing in the wake of his loss.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. formally endorsed Trump in the 2024 race at a Turning Point Action event in Arizona. Kirk was an early advocate of Vance, both as a Senate candidate in 2022 and later as a potential running mate for Trump, and the commentator was spotted at the White House on multiple occasions during Trump’s second term.

But the relationship between Trump’s team and Kirk grew in recent years to become more than a political alliance.

“You know, [Donald Trump Jr.] said to me, ‘He’s sort of like a son to you,’” the president said Friday on “Fox & Friends.”

Kirk first entered Trump’s circle through his friendship with his eldest son. The two met during the 2016 campaign and became close professionally and personally. Trump Jr. described Kirk as a “little brother” in the wake of his death.

Kirk shared a similarly close relationship with Vance, who canceled a planned appearance in New York City to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks to instead fly to Utah and be with Kirk’s family and friends. Vance then flew with his casket to Arizona.

In a lengthy tribute on X, Vance recounted how he first connected with Kirk after a Fox News appearance in 2017. Vance credited Kirk with introducing him to Trump Jr. and others in the president’s orbit as he mulled a Senate campaign, and with publicly and privately lobbying for Vance as a vice presidential candidate.

“Charlie Kirk was a true friend. The kind of guy you could say something to and know it would always stay with him… And because he was a true friend, you could instinctively trust the people Charlie introduced you to,” Vance wrote.

Several other top White House officials shared similar stories, underscoring Kirk’s reach across the Trump administration.

White House communications director Steven Cheung called Kirk a “dear friend who would drop everything if you needed him.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted Kirk was one of the first figures to endorse her congressional campaign in New Hampshire in the 2022 midterms.

Kaelan Dorr, White House deputy communications director, recounted speaking with Kirk during one of their last in-person meetings about the challenges of being a new parent.

Kirk’s funeral will take place in the coming days, and the White House will likely be well-represented, led by Trump and Vance.

The country will also be watching to see how those in the White House respond to Kirk’s gruesome and public death, amid calls from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to condemn political violence and lower the temperature.

Trump has offered mixed messaging in the immediate aftermath of Kirk’s death, something that was on display during the sit-down with “Fox & Friends.”

Asked what his message to the right is for those who want revenge, Trump said Kirk would “want revenge at the voter box.”

But when co-host Ainsley Earhardt asked Trump how the country can come together, noting there are “radicals” on both the right and the left, Trump suggested the blame went in one direction.

“I’ll tell you something that’s going to get me in trouble, but I couldn’t care less. The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don’t want to see crime,” Trump said. “They don’t want to see crime. They’re saying we don’t want these people coming in, we don’t want you burning our shopping centers, we don’t want you shooting our people in the middle of the street.

“The radicals on the left are the problem,” he continued. “And they’re vicious, and they’re horrible, and they’re politically savvy.”

Young conservatives and activists are determined to let the late Charlie Kirk’s principles guide their movement on college campuses and be more active than ever in honor of his memory.   

The assassination of the founder of Turning Point USA, which has clubs on more than 850 campuses, has saddened but sharpened its followers and allies, who believe more speakers and individuals will stand up now than ever before. 

Kirk, who dropped out of college, built a movement mobilizing thousands of students, sending them to conferences and getting them out to vote. He is considered one of the forces behind the relative success President Trump saw with young voters last November.

Since his death, those same students have posted stories of Kirk’s impact in their lives and vowed it will not deter them from activism on campus.  

“We continue his legacy by doing what he did, showing up, showing out and being unafraid,” said JT Marshburn, the national chairman for College Republicans.  

“I honestly think that more Republican speakers will actually be more inclined to come to campus because of this. It shows the conservative movement that we need to continue to show face on these college campuses. … The left is controlling college campuses, and when Republicans come in, they’re typically met with not the best outcomes,” he added, such as speeches protested or interrupted. 

Marshburn did recognize more security may need to be considered at future speaking events after Kirk was shot to death Wednesday in Utah at a public debate event that was part of his “American Comeback Tour.”

Turning Point USA did not respond to The Hill’s request for comment. 

Some students have already begun showing they will move forward with Kirk’s example in mind. Members of Students for Life, a pro-life group that worked with Kirk in the past, say wore red shirts on campus this week in honor of his memory.  

“If you want to best honor Charlie Kirk’s legacy, you’re going to keep speaking up, and you’re going to actually be louder than you’ve ever been before … That’s what Charlie was doing every day. That’s what he was inspiring tens of thousands of millions of young people to do. Because we win when we debate, when we have conversations. We all lose when we stop having conversations, and we’re not going to let this tragic act of senseless violence stop that conversation,” said Kristan Hawkins, CEO of Students for Life.  

Tensions are high on campuses after the assassination, with some professors getting fired or reprimanded for celebrations of the conservative commentator’s death.  

“Yesterday, a University of Mississippi staff member re-shared hurtful, insensitive comments on social media regarding the tragic murder of Charlie Kirk. These comments run completely counter to our institutional values of civility, fairness, and respecting the dignity of each person,” University of Mississippi Chancellor Glenn Boyce said in a statement posted Thursday afternoon to social platform X.  

“We condemn these actions, and this staff member is no longer employed by the university,” he added. 

And the University of Louisville is investigating a poster hung on campus with the words “Debate this,” along with an illustration of Kirk getting hit by the bullet.  

The temperature has been turned up among some conservatives as well, who have posted on social media they feel “radicalized” after the assassination and the mocking from others that have followed it.  

“You can find far too many examples online of young progressives celebrating his murder … I’m worried that it sends an incredibly unhealthy message to the to the young people inspired by Charlie that he was wrong about the promise of engagement and respectful debate,” said Rick Hess, senior fellow and the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.    

“My biggest concern is that so many of his followers will forget the lessons he taught in their grief and frustration,” he added.  

Leaders of the conservative movement are encouraging young people on campus to push back, but in the spirit of open debate.  

“The best way to handle those truly vile and disgusting comments, not just by students, but by adults, some of them are professors and even administrators of universities, is to channel our righteous anger about those evil comments into positive action, and the best positive action that we can take right now to honor Charlie’s legacy,” said Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation. 

“And to speak up, not by screaming at other people, not with vitriol — that would be an example of stooping to the level of the radical left — but rather standing up as Charlie did, cheerfully with a broad smile, with a belief, not only in the American future, but also because of Charlie’s faith inspiring us a belief in living this life well, and I think that that’s how we can harness the energy,” Roberts added.  

As other high-profile, right-leaning college speakers vow to press on, young conservatives see the next steps forward without Kirk as movement-defining. 

“I think that we can choose at this point the way that we respond, [which] will really define how we move forward,” said Liana Graham, a recent college graduate and research assistant at Heritage.  

Tyler Robinson, the suspect accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk this week, had left-leaning political views, according to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R).

“It’s very clear to us and to the investigators that this was a person who was deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology,” Cox told The Wall Street Journal in an article published Saturday morning. 

Cox said at a Friday morning press conference that a family member of Robinson told investigators that the suspect “had become more political in recent years.”

The family member, according to the Utah governor, said Robinson recently mentioned at a dinner that Kirk was scheduled to speak at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. 

“They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had,” Cox said Friday morning. “The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate.”

Robinson is registered as an unaffiliated voter in Utah. 

Authorities recovered the alleged rifle, a Mauser 98 .30-06 caliber, with a scope mounted on top of it. 

The unfired casings had inscriptions, Cox said. The first one said, “Hey fascist!” The second unfired casing had the lyrics of the Italian folk song “Bella Ciao.” The third one said “if you read this, you are gay, lmao,” according to Cox.

Cox said Friday morning that Robinson’s family member got in touch with a family friend Thursday night, who then contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, stating that the suspect had “confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident.”

Robinson is a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College, per the Utah Board of Higher Education. 

Robinson was arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder and two other state felony charges.

New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman on Friday said President Trump and his surrounding staff are “struggling” after the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

“So many people around President Trump are very close to Charlie Kirk. President Trump was very close to Charlie Kirk. And President Trump faced two assassination attempts, one near miss last year,” she said during a Friday appearance on CNN’s “The Source.

“And so all of that is a lot of the context for how people in the White House and the president are responding to this. I think that he is struggling with this in terms of how to deal with this,” she added.

Kirk’s fatal shooting has been replayed on social sites for the past four days as online debates have emerged regarding who was to blame for his assassination.

The Turning Point USA founder was shot in the neck in front of a crowd of approximately 3,000 on Wednesday and later died.

Vice President Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and other GOP leaders have publicly mourned the loss by sharing personal memories with Kirk in a series of posts and statements.

His surviving wife, Erika, said she hasn’t slept in days following his death but promised to continue Kirk’s work through his Turning Point USA organization.

Haberman said while Trump will likely not be the “clearest talker,” he’s experiencing pain from the passing of Kirk in a fashion similar to his close confidantes.

Earlier this week, Trump described Kirk as a “giant of his generation.”

“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” the president wrote in a post on X.

“He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”

President Trump’s Vatican envoy delivered a special birthday gift to Pope Leo XIV ahead of the pontiff’s 70th celebration on Sunday. 

Brian Burch brought a cake from Portillo’s, a popular Chicago food chain, to commemorate the U.S.-born pope’s first birthday as head of the Catholic Church, according to Reuters.

Burch told the pope, “Portillo’s sent it to you,” in a video detailing their interaction. Leo responded: “And you brought it.”

Burch was previously known for his outspoken criticism of the late Pope Francis, who widely welcomed the LGBTQ+ community into the church. 

However, despite past remarks railing against the former Catholic leader, Burch told the public he would use his new role to mend a bond between Americans and religious heads in Vatican City.

“The Catholic Church is the largest and most important religious institution in the world, and its relationship to the United States is of vital importance,” Burch said in a statement Aug. 2. 

“I am committed to working with leaders inside the Vatican and the Trump administration to promote the dignity of all people and the common good.”

President Trump, in a Saturday interview, said he hopes the nation heals after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, but blamed the “radical left” for being an obstacle in that healing.

“I’d like to see it [the nation] heal,” the president said in a brief telephone interview with NBC News. “But we’re dealing with a radical left group of lunatics, and they don’t play fair and they never did.”

Police said Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old resident of Utah, is being investigated as the alleged gunman in the fatal shooting of the Turning Point USA founder.

Robinson had become “more political” before the shooting and mentioned during a dinner with family that Kirk would be visiting Utah, Gov. Spencer Cox (R) said at a Friday news conference. Cox also revealed that bullet casings uncovered as part of the investigation into Kirk’s assassination had several messages inscribed on them.

He is registered as an unaffiliated voter and does not appear to have a prior criminal record, according to the Associated Press.

Trump’s comments on Saturday echoed those from days prior, where he has claimed the “radical left” for the “rhetoric that is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today.”

Others in the GOP pointed their finger to the left in the wake of Kirk’s assassination.

On Friday, a group of Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus called for a select committee to investigate “the money, influence, and power behind the radical left’s assault on America and the rule of law” in the wake of the assassination of conservative powerhouse Kirk.

Meanwhile, some Democrats have suggested that Republicans are the ones who have promoted rhetoric that led to the shooting on the campus of Utah Valley University. 

Others, including Cox, have asked Americans and politicians to turn down the temperature.

In Trump’s Saturday interview with NBC News, he said: “We’ll see what happens. They [the left] don’t like what’s been happening. We’ve been winning very big.”

Trump, however, has blamed Democratic mega-donor George Soros for the political act of violence and said his administration would investigate the hedge fund investor on RICO charges following Kirk’s killing.

Soros founded the Open Society Foundations in 1993 to support human rights initiatives aimed at promoting democracy.

For his efforts, Trump told NBC Soros was a “bad guy” who deserved to be “put in jail.”

The Open Society Foundations responded to Trump’s late August comments suggesting Soros and his son were a part of the “radical left” in a late August post.

“The Open Society Foundations, founded by George Soros and chaired by Alex Soros, do not support or fund violent protests. Allegations to the contrary are false, and the threats against our founder and chair are outrageous. Our mission is to advance human rights, justice, and democratic principles in the United States and around the world,” the organization wrote in a statement on X.

“We stand for fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, including the rights to free speech and peaceful protest that are hallmarks of any vibrant democracy.”

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) has gained widespread attention for his remarks on the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. 

The Republican has called the violent incident on the campus of Utah Valley University “an attack not just on an individual but on democratic principles.”

Cox also gained traction after telling reporters he was “praying” Kirk’s alleged shooter would be from out-of-state or not a U.S. citizen. 

“For 33 hours, I was praying that if this had to happen here, that it wouldn’t be one of us — that somebody drove from another state, somebody came from another country… Sadly, that prayer was not answered the way I hoped for,” Cox said on Friday.

“This cuts to the very foundation of who we are,” he later added. 

The Utah governor has spent years in local and state politics warranting an array of responses to federal emergencies and critical political events.

Here’s what else you should know about Cox. 

Trump opposition

Cox previously condemned the first administration of President Trump, alleging the leader incited divisive views that further separated a fractured nation.

“We care a lot about decorum. We care about our neighbors. We are a good, kind people,” Cox told CBS News in 2016, after endorsing Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s presidential bid. 

“He [Trump] does not represent neither goodness nor kindness,” Cox added.

In 2024, Cox endorsed Trump after an assassination attempt on the leader’s life. 

“Your life was spared. Now, because of that miracle, you have the opportunity to do something that no other person on earth can do right now: unify and save our country,” the Utah governor wrote in a letter to Trump, who was on the campaign trail.

Cox said he intended to help the leader resolve political tensions across the country.

“My commitment to him is I would help him try to lower the temperature in this country,” he told Fox 13.

National Leadership

The Utah governor is in his second term as the state’s leader. From 2023-24, Cox served as chairman of the National Governors’ Association, further fueling his connection to counterparts in neighboring states.

The Utah native has also previously served as a city councilmember, mayor, county commissioner and state legislator before serving as Utah’s lieutenant governor in 2013. Cox was first sworn in as governor on Jan. 4, 2021.

Policy views

Cox is a fiscal conservative who earned recognition from state lawmakers for cutting  $1.1 billion in taxes during his first term in office. 

Under his leadership, Utah became the 17th state to enact a constitutional carry law, permitting individuals to carry a firearm in public without a permit, in 2021.

Cox is pro-life and a strong advocate for the Second Amendment.