President Donald Trump briefly claimed he was “not familiar” with murdered Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman during an Oval Office press briefing this week.
On Monday, Sept. 15, a reporter asked Trump if he believed it would have “been fitting to lower the flags to half staff” after Hortman — the Democratic leader of the Minnesota House — was killed alongside her husband at their home in June. While the tragedy drew national attention, Trump did not issue an order for flags to be lowered. He did, however, direct flags to half-staff after the recent assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“I’m not familiar. The who?” Trump, 79, initially responded.
When the reporter clarified that Hortman was “the Minnesota House Speaker, a Democrat who was assassinated this summer,” Trump acknowledged he recalled her. He added that if Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had formally requested flag honors, he “would have done that.”
“But the governor of Minnesota didn’t ask me,” Trump continued. “I wouldn’t have thought of that. But I would have, if someone had asked me.”
The president explained that flag-lowering requests are common and not always granted: “People make requests for the lowering of the flag, and oftentimes you have to say no because it would be a lot of lowering of the flag. [It] would never be up. Had the governor of Minnesota asked me to do that, I would’ve done that gladly.”
Hortman, her husband Mark, and their dog were killed in their home on June 14 by a gunman impersonating law enforcement, according to authorities. Walz later described the attack as a “politically motivated assassination.” Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also injured in the shooting but survived.
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As for Kirk, he was fatally shot during a campus event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, a crime captured in video that quickly spread online. The next day, Trump ordered flags to be flown at half-staff until Sept. 14.
Trump’s remarks about Hortman came just days after he told Fox & Friends that he “couldn’t care less” about bridging the divide between Republicans and Democrats, comments that followed heightened tensions in the wake of Kirk’s killing.
“The radicals on the right, oftentimes, are radical because they don’t want to see crime,” Trump said. “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.’”
He then blamed “the radicals on the left,” calling them “vicious,” “horrible,” and “politically savvy.”
In recent years, high-profile acts of political violence have alarmed both parties. Pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021; then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked with a hammer in 2022; Trump himself survived two apparent assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign; and earlier this year, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home was set on fire while his family was inside.
Since Kirk’s assassination, concerns over security have grown among lawmakers. House Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged hearing widespread fears about safety in Congress. Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina put it bluntly: “I don’t care if you’re Republican or Democrat, any politician across the country, if you are vocal, your life is at risk.” She added that she plans to carry a firearm “all the time” and avoid outdoor appearances until stronger protections are in place.
