White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday shared a social media post on a personal account suggesting that an earthquake recorded in Utah last week was a sign of God’s anger at the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Leavitt, who describes herself as a devout Christian, shared a post on Instagram that read: “On the night Charlie was shot, a 4.1 earthquake struck Utah. In scripture, 40 represents trials; 41 signifies a shift. It hit at 5:57 local time, 7:57 Eastern.”
“Acts 7:57 describes Stephen, the first martyr, stoned as the crowd silenced his truth. The Bible says the earth trembles when God is angry. That night, as a voice was silenced, the ground groaned.”
She reposted the screenshot of a Twitter post, adding: “Wow.”
According to The Daily Beast, a seismograph station operated by the University of Utah recorded a 4.1 magnitude earthquake at 5:57 pm local time, just hours after Kirk was killed by a single gunshot to the neck while speaking at Utah Valley University.
The post shared by Leavitt suggests a connection between the time of the earthquake — which was 7:75 pm Eastern Time — and the Bible passage Acts 7, verse 57, which recounts the story of Saint Stephen being stoned to death.
The White House has been rocked by the violent death of Kirk, a 31-year-old who was close to numerous members of the administration as well as a close friend to the president’s sons.
He was instrumental in Trump’s choice to elevate then-Ohio senator J.D. Vance to the vice presidency by naming him as his running-mate in last year’s election.
Vance, who guest-hosted Kirk’s eponymous podcast on Monday from his office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, praised the late firebrand as “the smartest political operative I ever met” and a “joyful warrior for our country.”
He also partly blamed his assassination on an “incredibly destructive movement of left wing extremism” that he said had grown within the U.S. over the past few years.
Kirk, Vance said, “was a critical part of getting Donald Trump elected as president, getting me elected as vice president, and so much of our success over the last seven months is due to his efforts, his staffing, his support and his friendship.
Leavitt, who appeared as a guest alongside Vance, said Kirk had been “so inspiring to me as a young conservative woman” and recalled how she’d gotten to know him during her failed 2022 campaign for a New Hampshire House seat.
“I got to know him personally when I decided to run for Congress, and he was a tremendous supporter and friend,” she said.
