Trump Is Asked Why He Didn’t Lower U.S. Flags for Murdered Minn. Democrat Melissa Hortman: ‘I’m Not Familiar. The Who?’

President Donald Trump briefly suggested that he was “not familiar” with murdered Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman during a recent Oval Office press briefing.

On Monday, Sept. 15, a reporter asked Trump whether he thought it would have “been fitting to lower the flags to half staff” when Hortman — the Democratic leader of the Minnesota House — was killed alongside her husband at their home in June. Trump did not lower American flags after the Minnesota violence made national news, but recently directed flags to be lowered following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

In response to the reporter’s question about Hortman, Trump, 79, said, “I’m not familiar. The who?”

“The Minnesota House Speaker, a Democrat who was assassinated this summer,” the reporter replied.

Trump then seemed to recall her, telling the reporter that if Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had asked him to put the flags at half-staff after Hortman’s death, he “would have done that.”

“But the governor of Minnesota didn’t ask me,” the president, 79, claimed. “I wouldn’t have thought of that. But I would have, if someone had asked me.”

“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,” he said.

Hortman, her husband, Mark, and their dog were killed at their house on June 14 by a gunman who pretended to be law enforcement, according to authorities. Walz characterized the attack as a “politically motivated assassination.”

Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also shot and injured in their home — allegedly by the same gunman — but they later recovered from their injuries.

As for Kirk, he was fatally shot during a large campus event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Sept. 10, and the graphic act of violence was captured on video that circulated the internet.

One day after his death, President Trump directed flags be flown at half-staff “immediately” at all federal buildings and grounds until Sept. 14.

Trump’s response to the Hortman question, which quickly went viral on social media, came a few days after he shared on Fox & Friends on Sept. 12 that he “couldn’t care less” about mending the political divide between Republicans and Democrats, especially amid peak political tensions following Kirk’s death.

“The radicals on the right, oftentimes, are radical because they don’t want to see crime,” the president 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.’ ”

Trump went on to claim that “the radicals on the left are the problem,” adding that “they’re vicious, and they’re horrible, and they’re politically savvy.”

In recent years, incidents of political violence have become more common, targeting political figures on both sides of the aisle.

On Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump rioters breached the U.S. Capitol in search of lawmakers; in 2022, the husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was attacked with a hammer by a home intruder; on the 2024 campaign trail, Trump survived two apparent assassination attempts; and earlier in 2025, Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home was set ablaze while he and his family were asleep inside.

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Since Kirk’s public assassination, lawmakers have been on edge about their safety, with GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledging that he has heard numerous concerns from members about congressional security protocols.

“I don’t care if you’re Republican or Democrat, any politician across the country, if you are vocal, your life is at risk,” South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace told reporters last week, noting that she will start carrying a firearm “all the time” and won’t be making outdoor appearances “until we have a better handle on greater security controls.”