Fox’s Jason Chaffetz Phones in Live to Give Emotional Eyewitness Account of Charlie Kirk Shooting
Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz called into the network just moments after news broke that conservative pundit Charlie Kirk had been shot in Utah.
Chaffetz, a former Utah congressman, was one of the many attending Kirk’s kickoff for his America’s Comeback tour, which began at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Chaffetz called into Fox News’ America Reports, having to take a moment at a certain point because he was out of breath from running.
“Well, you know, it was a good crowd. A lot of people were chanting his name. I was there. My daughter was there. My son-in-law was there. My wife was there. I mean, Charlie Kirk coming to town, we were excited. And people were there. And there were lots of them. You know, he came out, he was throwing hats, riling up the crowd. He took his first question, which was — I have to catch my breath,” Chaffetz said by phone.
The former congressman said a single shit rang out when Kirk was discussing “transgender shooters.”
Chaffetz recalled:
He took his first question, which was a religious question. And then he got to the second question, which was about 30 minutes into his presentation, 2:30 local time, and the question was about transgender shooters, mass killings versus people that weren’t transgender. And when that happened, when that question came out, you know, going to have the interaction, one-shot. I was watching Charlie. I can’t say that I saw blood. I can’t say that I saw him get hit, but I did see him fall immediately backwards into his left. And I can just hope and pray that somehow he survives that.
Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck, according to video and eyewitnesses from the scene. Kirk is famous for visiting colleges where he will often directly challenge liberals to debate controversial topics and “prove” him wrong.
On America Reports, Sandra Smith noted that Chaffetz was clearly “emotional” after having just witnessed the shooting and rushing his family to safety.
Chaffetz revealed he was texting with Kirk ahead of the event and applauded the conservative for doing the “right thing” with his Utah visit by creating an “open dialogue.”
“I traded text messages with him. I try to text message with him ahead of time, and I said hey, Charlie, hope I get a chance to see you. Our family would like to see you again,” he said. “And we still want to see him again. He said he was going to go for a few hours. Maybe we could see him afterwards. But gosh, it’s just — he is there doing the right thing, you know? It is so great to see all these 20-year-olds enthusiastic about politics in the world. And to have an open dialogue.”
Watch above via Fox News.
