Megyn Kelly Sparks Debate with Virginia Tech Student Over Trump and Charlie Kirk’s Death

Megyn Kelly found herself in a tense exchange with a student while stepping in for the late Charlie Kirk on his college tour.

The 54-year-old conservative commentator is among the prominent figures filling in at college campuses following Kirk’s fatal shooting during the first stop of his tour at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.

At Virginia Tech University on Sept. 24, a student approached the microphone and questioned Kelly about Kirk’s death and President Donald Trump’s role in the current political climate.

“I want to know why you support a president who contributes to the rhetoric that got your friend Charlie Kirk killed. We saw his rally recently. He said, ‘I hate my enemies,'” the student said, adding, “[White House deputy chief of staff] Stephen Miller said similar things.”

The student pressed further: “How can you support him when he contributed to what got Charlie killed?”

Kelly responded, saying the student’s claim “assumes facts, not evidence,” and added, “What you said is not true.”

The student referenced a study recently removed by the Department of Justice, which had concluded that right-wing political violence occurs more frequently than left-wing violence. They argued that the DOJ’s removal of the study reflected a “delusional” approach.

Kelly disputed the findings, asserting, “That’s not true. Once you pull the crazies out of there, it is overwhelmingly left-wing violence.”

She then addressed the premise of the student’s question directly, calling the claim that Trump’s rhetoric led to Kirk’s death “a blatant lie” and “inappropriate in this setting.”

The student clarified that they were referring to Trump’s contribution to political tension, which Kelly dismissed as an “utterly empty” point.

“Let’s just make clear; this guy was motivated by leftist ideology. We know it from the bullet casings. We know it from the Utah governor. We know it from his own mother. Yes, we do. Let’s be really clear on that,” Kelly said, citing publicly available information about the suspected shooter, while officials have not officially disclosed a motive.

When the student pressed, “Even if that’s true, does that make it okay for the sitting president of the United States to incite violence against liberals?” Kelly defended Trump, stating, “The president of the United States has not accepted violence against liberals,” referencing his remarks at Kirk’s memorial service.

She explained that Trump’s comments were made in response to Kirk’s wife, Erika, who publicly forgave her husband’s killer. Kelly said the president’s words were “playing off of what Erika said” and described them as a normal political reaction.

“And by the way, Trump has every right to loathe his enemies,” she added. “They tried to put him in jail for the rest of his life. They tried to bankrupt [him]. They tried to put his family in jail, and they tried to kill him.”

The student responded that Trump had been “rightfully” criticized, calling him “a criminal.” Kelly allowed the student to continue, but they thanked her and walked away from the microphone.

Despite some audience members showing discomfort, Kelly concluded by defending open discourse: “It’s good to have some folks come up and disagree.”