By Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Since the U.S. conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot in a brazen display of violence, President Donald Trump has embraced the role of spokesman in an extraordinary way.

Trump was first to confirm the news to a country in shock that Kirk was dead and first to announce that the latest suspect was in custody. He shared when Kirk’s funeral would take place and said he would attend. Before a suspect was detained, Trump blamed without presenting evidence the “radical left” for Kirk’s murder, with many of his followers repeating the accusation and calling for vengeance amid a wave of right-wing anger.

Kirk, a popular but divisive podcast host and author of a half-dozen books, left behind a wife, prominent friends and legions of

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