President Donald Trump and numerous top officials from the administration mourned the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk at his memorial Sunday.
In his address about Kirk’s legacy and what his assassination means for conservatives moving forward, Trump, who throughout his political career had a personal relationship with Kirk, mourned the 31-year-old, whom he called a martyr for American freedom.
“He did what was right for our nation,” Trump said. “Our greatest evangelist for American liberty became immortal.”
Unlike Charlie Kirk and his wife Erika, who said through tears that she forgives the man who assassinated her husband, Trump said that he hates his opponents and struggles to empathize with them:
[Kirk] was a missionary with a noble spirit and a great, great purpose. He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry. I am sorry, Erika. But now Erika can talk to me and the whole group and maybe they can convince me that that’s not right.
Looking heavenward, Trump smiled and said, “Charlie’s angry. Look at that. He’s angry at me. He wasn’t interested in demonizing anyone.”
Trump expressed a defiant tone when addressing the impact that Kirk’s murder will have on the mission of Turning Point and MAGA.
“Charlie was killed for expressing the very ideas that virtually everyone in this arena and most other places throughout our country, deeply believed in,” Trump stated.
“The assassin failed in his quest because Charlie’s message has not been silenced. It now is bigger and better and stronger than ever before,” Trump added.
In a moving speech, Erika Kirk spoke about her husband’s Christian faith and revealed that he was ready to pass away. “Eleven days ago, God accepted that total surrender from my husband and then called him to His side,” she said. “There was nothing he was putting off,” she added, noting that her husband was “ready to die.”
A devout Christian herself, Erika Kirk invoked her faith when she told the crowd of mourners that she forgives her husband’s suspected killer, Tyler Robinson, who is facing charges for assassinating Kirk during a speaking event on September 10 at Utah Valley University. Robinson texted his transgender lover that he felt compelled to murder Kirk because he had “had enough” of Kirk’s “hatred,” authorities revealed upon announcing the charges.
“I forgive him,” Erika Kirk repeated, quoting Christ’s words during His crucifixion: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
“I forgive him because it is what Christ did,” Erika Kirk continued. “The answer to hate is not hate.”
Trump embraced Erika Kirk at the end of the memorial service.
More than 100,000 people gathered at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., for the hours-long service. Numerous senior Trump administration officials — including Vice President JD Vance, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert K. Kennedy Jr., White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard — delivered speeches at the funeral.
Each one of the Trump officials discussed Kirk’s lasting impact and how conservatives should respond to his death. Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump Jr., and conservative influencer Benny Johnson were among the other notable speakers. Several staff members at Kirk’s activist organization Turning Point USA also gave speeches early in the service.
Kirk’s Christian faith and his passion for Turning Point USA were major themes of the service. Kirk was credited with helping Trump increase his vote share among young men in the 2024 presidential election, a major shift that contributed to Trump’s win over former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Kirk regularly spoke on college campuses to debate anybody willing to challenge him on the issues of the day. He had a penchant for creating messages that went viral online, and he amassed millions of followers on all the major social media platforms. Clips of Kirk’s speeches and debates have spread like wildfire in the days following his death as the public is payer greater attention to his life and work.