An ABC News correspondent is getting panned for his bizarrely empathetic and gushing interpretation of text messages between accused Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson and his transgender partner that were revealed Tuesday.
Reporter Matt Gutman breathlessly reported from the Kirk assassination press conference in Utah on Tuesday — presenting the deranged killer’s apparent confessional texts as “intimate,” “fulsome” and “very touching.”
“But, also, it was very touching in a way that many of us didn’t expect,” Gutman said of the texts sent just hours after Kirk was killed on Sept. 10.
ABC News reporter Matt Gutman called text messages between Charlie Kirk assassination suspect Tyler Robinson and his partner “very touching.”
“A very intimate portrait into this relationship between the suspect’s roommate and the suspect himself, with him repeatedly calling his roommate, who is transitioning, calling him ‘my love.’ And ‘I want to protect you, my love,’” the apparently emotionally moved reporter said.
“So, it was this duality of someone who the attorney said not only jeopardized the life of Charlie Kirk and the crowd, but was doing it in front of children, which is one of the aggravating circumstances of this case.”
“And then, on the other hand, he was, you know, speaking so lovingly about his partner. So a very interesting, riveting press conference,” Gutman concluded in his eyebrow-raising commentary.
In an ABC livestream platform following his initial comments, Gutman doubled down on the tone-deaf line of interpretation that seemingly glorified Kirk’s alleged assassin.
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“I don’t think I ever experienced a press conference in which we’ve read text messages that are a) so fulsome, so robust, so apparently allegedly self-incriminating and yet, on the other hand, so touching, right?” Gutman opined.
“And the terminology he used, he was trying to protect him. He kept calling him ‘my love.’ ‘My reason for doing this is to protect you,’ you know, but also asking him to delete the messages and not speak to law enforcement. So, there’s this heartbreaking duality that we’re seeing very tragically playing out.”
Robinson lived with his transgender partner Lance Twiggs. Lance Twiggs/ TikTok
Robinson appearing at his arraignment on Sept. 16, 2025. APThe ABC newsman was quickly and roundly blasted by internet users who were aghast at not just his words, but his sympathetic tone.
“Wtaf,” Post columnist Karol Markowicz reacted on X.
“Legacy media in all its glory,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote on the app formerly known as Twitter.
“Wait, what???” Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) exclaimed on his personal use account.
“Fundamentally, irredeemably, broken,” Fox News host Will Cain tweeted.
“Is everyone @ABC out of their minds?!” conservative talking head Meghan McCain cried.
Many others across X called for ABC News to fire Gutman for his out-of-bounds on-air comments, with several tweets calling for his dismissal amassing thousands of likes.
ABC News did not respond to The Post’s request for comment by the time of publication.
