'Heart of the Youth': Trump, Vance react to death of conservative leader Charlie Kirk

President Donald Trump and other major leaders issued outpourings following the shooting of conservative youth leader Charlie Kirk, who was killed Sept. 10 in an attack at a Utah college campus.

"The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie."

Trump described his feelings about Kirk, whom he has previously shared the stage with, in notably personal terms.

"He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us," the president said. He said he and First Lady Melania Trump were sending good wishes to Kirk's wife and family.

"Charlie, we love you!" Trump added.

The president wasn't alone in offering effusive praise for Kirk, who was shot in the neck while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Vice President JD Vance described Kirk, a conservative stalwart, as someone who would engage with people across the political spectrum in increasingly partisan times.

Kirk was widely known for arguing with left-leaning college students in videos that often went viral online.

"If you actually watch Charlie’s events—as opposed to the fake summaries—they are one of the few places with open and honest dialogue between left and right. He would answer any question and talk to everyone," Vance posted on X.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also spoke out in the wake of the killing. Before leading the House chamber in a moment of silence, he told reporters, "We ask everyone to pray for him and his family. … This is detestable what's happened.”

Johnson characterized political violence in American society as "all too common."

"We need every political figure, we need everyone who has a platform to say this loudly and clearly. We can settle disagreements and disputes in a civil manner, and political violence must be called out, and it has to stop," he said.