(José Niño, Headline USA) An insider close to Donald Trump told The Grayzone that Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s break with Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu triggered an intense backlash from Netanyahu’s allies, leaving Kirk both angry and afraid.
According to this anonymous source, unease over Israeli influence expanded inside the Trump administration after officials reportedly uncovered an Israeli spying operation. Neither the source nor Grayzone provided any actual evidence of Israeli involvement in Kirk’s death.
The insider said Kirk turned down Netanyahu’s offer earlier this year to channel major new funding into TPUSA, suspecting the Israeli leader wanted to purchase his silence as Kirk began calling for freedom to criticize Israel.
By the summer, the relationship had soured. Kirk, once one of Israel’s most reliable conservative advocates, now viewed Netanyahu as a “bully” intent on controlling Trump’s staff and securing the loyalty of party leaders with the help of donors like Miriam Adelson.
The insider recalled a tense meeting in June, when Kirk warned Trump not to launch a military strike against Iran for Israeli interests. “Charlie was the only person who did that,” the source said. Trump “barked at him” and quickly ended the exchange. For Kirk, the moment suggested the president had fallen under foreign influence.
But if that’s the case, Kirk didn’t show it publicly. On Twitter, he expressed support for Trump’s bombing, calling it “a surgical strike, operated perfectly.”
Iran gave President Trump no choice. For a decade he has been adamant that Iran will never get a nuclear weapon. Iran decided to forego diplomacy in pursuit of a bomb. This is a surgical strike, operated perfectly.
President Trump acted with prudence and decisiveness.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) June 22, 2025
By July, Kirk believed he was being targeted. Wealthy Netanyahu supporters, whom Kirk described as Jewish “leaders” and “stakeholders,” flooded him with calls, threats, and dire warnings. “He [Kirk] was afraid of them,” the source stressed.
Kirk’s unease coincided with growing dissent inside TPUSA over Israel. For years, he had courted pro-Israel donors and rewarded their loyalty with staunchly pro-Israel messaging, anti-Palestinian rhetoric, and the suppression of dissenters.
Yet as Israeli bombings in Gaza provoked unprecedented anger among younger conservatives, Kirk began openly questioning Tel Aviv. He even speculated whether Jeffrey Epstein was connected to Mossad and whether Israel allowed the October 7 attacks to advance strategic aims—echoing charges promoted by his sharpest critic, Nick Fuentes.
At TPUSA’s Student Action Summit in July, that skepticism erupted on stage. Speakers including Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, comedian Dave Smith, and others mocked influential Zionist donors and accused Israel of manipulating U.S. policy. The fallout was immediate; Kirk’s phone lit up with furious demands from Netanyahu’s allies. “He was being told what you’re not allowed to do, and it was driving him crazy,” the Trump insider said.
Candace Owens, who shifted her own views on Israel after October 7, confirmed the pressure campaign. “He was going through a lot,” she said. “They wanted him to lose everything for changing or even slightly modifying an opinion.”
In an August interview with Kelly, Kirk admitted he felt under siege. “It’s all of the sudden: ‘oh, Charlie: he’s no longer with us.’ Wait a second—what does ‘with us’ mean, exactly? I’m an American, okay? I represent this country,” he declared. Citing dozens of hostile messages, he added, “I have less ability… to criticize the Israeli government than actual Israelis do. And that’s really, really weird.”
His last recorded comments came days before his assassination in Utah last Wednesday. On Ben Shapiro’s show, Kirk asked why the media narrative around Israel should escape scrutiny when conservatives had already challenged mainstream coverage of COVID, Ukraine, and immigration.
Additionally, Infowars host Harrison Smith tweeted about a month before Kirk’s assassination that he was afraid of being killed by Israel.
I’m not gonna name names, but I was told by someone close to Charlie Kirk that Charlie thinks Israel will kill him if he turns against them. https://t.co/X7xoY5kIuV
— Harrison H. Smith ✞ (@HarrisonHSmith) August 13, 2025
According to the Trump insider, Kirk’s resentment toward Netanyahu had begun rippling through Trump’s circle. The same source even claimed White House staff discovered Israeli surveillance devices on Secret Service vehicles, a detail The Grayzone could not independently confirm.
Kirk was killed by a sniper as he spoke at Utah State University. A 22-year-old suspect has since confessed, though the motive remains unknown. Netanyahu, denying any involvement, emphasized Kirk’s long pro-Israel record in an interview on Newsmax and offered public tributes.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
