Charlie Kirk Memorial, Trump Pressures DOJ, Palestinian State Recognition

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🗓️ 22 September 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

President Trump and top officials turned Charlie Kirk’s memorial into both a tribute and a political rally, with Trump calling him a martyr and vowing to continue his fight. The president is also pressuring Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue prosecutions of his political enemies, while forcing out a U.S. attorney who resisted. And several countries just recognized Palestine as a sovereign state, but in the West Bank many Palestinians say recognition without change on the ground means little.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Thousands filled a stadium in Arizona for Charlie Kirk's Memorial.
0:06.0	He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That's where I disagreed with Charlie.
0:13.4	I hate my opponent. Was it a eulogy or a political rally?
0:18.2	I'm Layla Fulton. That's Michelle Martin, and this is a first from NPR News.
0:22.5	President Trump posted a message online addressed to his attorney general,
0:26.6	investigate and prosecute his perceived political enemies.
0:29.8	It raises the question, is the Justice Department still independent?
0:33.4	And several Western allies of Israel recognized Palestine as a sovereign state.
0:38.0	But does it change anything for Palestinians still living under daily Israeli attacks in Gaza?
0:42.4	We want actions. We want people to speak up, to change something, not to just say it and move on.
0:48.0	Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.
1:01.5	This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe. When you manage your money with Wise, you'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees.
1:07.2	Join millions of customers and visit Wise.com. T's and C's apply.
1:13.6	President Trump and other top administration officials eulogized right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, and he talked about what they described as the fight going forward.
1:22.2	Donald Trump Jr. described Kirk as being like a little brother.
1:26.1	His loss cannot be the end of the story. His legacy
1:31.4	must be that when they took his life, a million more Charlies stepped up to fill the void.
1:41.6	Kirk was a divisive figure who worked to bring young people into the conservative
1:45.6	fold. He was assassinated nearly two weeks ago on a college campus in Utah. He was 31 years old.
1:53.0	He was remembered yesterday as a political organizer, a Christian evangelist, a family man, and a martyr.
1:59.6	NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith traveled with
2:02.3	the president to Arizona for the memorial, and she is with us now after a very long day. Good morning,
	...

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