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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, sparred with CNN host Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday over Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk‘s alleged shooter, as the GOP lawmaker said the network should not be engaged in “misinformation.”
“We don’t have a motive yet. We don’t know yet. We’re waiting. Obviously, we’ve heard what the governor has had to say, what the FBI director had to say today,” Collins said during her show “The Source.”
“Of course we know. Come on, we don‘t have a motive yet? We don’t have a motive yet, really? That’s CNN’s position? He just happened to fire the gun in celebration. You can’t tell the motive here?” Cruz responded.
Kirk was assassinated on Sept. 10 while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. Both FBI officials and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said that the suspect, Tyler Robinson, held a “leftist ideology” and was increasingly radicalized in recent years.
Newly disclosed texts showed Robinson appearing to admit to the killing and say he “had enough of his hatred.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, clashed with CNN host Kaitlan Collins while discussing Charlie Kirk’s alleged shooter (Screenshot/CNN)
Collins pushed back, saying that wasn’t what she said, and added that law enforcement had not laid out a direct motive but had presented several pieces of evidence.
“I’m not arguing with you politically. I’m saying that law enforcement has not put a specific motive. You know that there’s a difference of what they’re pointing in a legal argument than what you’re talking about,” Collins said.
“What you are saying is objectively false, and CNN should not be engaged in misinformation,” Cruz said as the two spoke over one another. Collins insisted it was “not misinformation” and that she had laid out the facts.
Collins went on to ask Cruz if he wanted to see “right-wing groups” looked into and prosecuted, pointing to his remarks about investigating left-wing groups and their financing for protests.
“I believe anyone engaged in acts of violence should be prosecuted and go to jail,” Cruz responded. “There has been an enormous amount — and CNN has been guilty of this — of bothsidesism, of saying, ‘gosh, both sides are violent,’ and understand, yes, there is some violence on both sides, but it is the left that overwhelmingly celebrates this. It is leftists that have been celebrating. You look at Bluesky, and it is a cesspool of leftists celebrating the murder of Charlie Kirk.”
CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN’S MOTIVES REMAIN ‘ELUSIVE,’ CBS NEWS ANCHOR CLAIMS
Candles and flowers are seen near a portrait of Charlie Kirk at a makeshift memorial during a candlelight vigil at Memorial Park in Provo, Utah, Sept. 12, 2025. (Melissa Majchrzak/AFP via Getty Images)
Collins said she didn’t believe anyone should celebrate the assassination of Kirk before concluding the interview.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said Monday that investigators are probing whether Kirk’s alleged assassin acted alone or as part of a broader plot, while also revealing troubling signs that the suspect had been “taken over” by ideology leading up to the shooting.
Family and coworkers told investigators the suspect had grown more political and withdrawn in the time leading up to Kirk’s killing, Bongino revealed.
“It appears from the data we’ve accumulated that this ideology had infected him and had taken over,” Bongino said. “He was intent on making Charlie his target and people may have known in advance.”
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FBI Director Kash Patel shared details about the shooter on Monday during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
“The evidence and information will come out. I won’t stylize the evidence, but I will say what was found in terms of information was a text message exchange where he, the suspect, specifically stated that he had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and he was going to do that.”
When pressed on the suspect’s motive, Patel noted words attributed to him: “And when he was asked why, he said some hatred cannot be negotiated with.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to CNN for comment.
Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
