Story perspectives

Wisconsin Bar Owner Promises Free Beer for Trump Death

4/29/2026

Summary

Story summary

Owner Kirk Bangstad posted a Facebook message promising free beer if U.S. President Donald Trump were killed, after an attempted assassination at the Washington Hilton.
The Wisconsin Democratic Party called the rhetoric unacceptable and demanded a retraction.
State Rep. Francesca Hong condemned jokes about the president’s assassination as wrong.
White House spokesperson Alison Schuster said Bangstad should be mortified, calling the comments vile, dangerous, and capable of inspiring political violence.

History

Historical Context

On March 30 1981, John Hinckley Jr. fired six shots at President Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton, wounding the president, press secretary James Brady and two officers; the Secret Service’s rapid response saved the president and others and prompted sweeping security reforms. Today’s incendiary comments by Wisconsin bar owner Kirk Bangstad revive the same rhetoric that once sparked that deadly attack.

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Story summary

Owner Kirk Bangstad posted a Facebook message promising free beer if U.S. President Donald Trump were killed, after an attempted assassination at the Washington Hilton.
The Wisconsin Democratic Party called the rhetoric unacceptable and demanded a retraction.
State Rep. Francesca Hong condemned jokes about the president’s assassination as wrong.
White House spokesperson Alison Schuster said Bangstad should be mortified, calling the comments vile, dangerous, and capable of inspiring political violence.

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