On Sunday, President Donald Trump and Erika Kirk, the wife of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, spoke in Arizona in front of tens of thousands of people—honoring Charlie Kirk with different messages.
While both painted the same picture of who Charlie Kirk was, what he stood for and what his Christian legacy would be, Trump struck a defiant tone against the "radical left" and "antifa terrorists." Erika Kirk, on the other hand, said she forgave the "young man" who killed her husband.
The Context
Arizona's State Farm Stadium reached capacity on Sunday morning as mourners gathered for Charlie Kirk's memorial. With over 200,000 people attempting to attend, authorities began redirecting overflow crowds to a nearby arena after the 73,000-seat venue filled within hours of opening.
The United States has been reeling since Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at a college event in Utah on September 10. Conservatives have feuded over his views on foreign policy, and a national debate about free speech continues amid multiple cases of people being fired, suspended or expelled over their comments about the assassination.
Erika Kirk's Message
At the memorial, Erika Kirk, who has been named the next CEO of Turning Point USA, her late husband's conservative youth organization, spoke about her Christian faith.
"God bless all of you for coming here from all over the world to honor and celebrate my Charlie," she began her speech.
She said that when she saw her husband's body in the hospital, she "felt horror and a level of heartache that I didn't even know existed."
"Even in death, I could see the man that I love," she continued, adding, "I also saw on his lips the faintest smile, and that told me something important. It revealed to me a great mercy from God in this tragedy."
"There was no pain. There was no fear, no agony. One moment Charlie was doing what he loved—arguing and debating on campus, fighting for the gospel and truth in front of a big crowd—and then he blinked," she said. "He blinked and saw his savior in paradise. And all the heavenly mysteries were revealed to him."
She went on to say through tears that she forgave the person who killed her husband, saying Charlie Kirk had "wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life."
"On the cross, our savior said, 'Father, forgive them, for they not know what they do.' That man, that young man, I forgive him," Erika Kirk said. "I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it's what Charlie would do."
"The answer to hate is not hate," she added. "The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us."
Erika Kirk called on men around the United States to "accept Charlie's challenge and embrace true manhood. Be strong and courageous for your families, love your wives and lead them. Love your children and protect them. Be the spiritual head of your home."
"But please be a leader worth following," she continued. "Your wife is not your servant. Your wife is not your employee. Your wife is not your slave. She is your helper. You are not rivals. You are one flesh working together for the glory of God."
She added: "Women, I have a challenge for you, too. Be virtuous. Our strength is found in God's design for our role. We are the guardians. We are the encouragers. We are the preservers. Guard your heart. Everything you do flows from it. And if you're a mother, please recognize that is the single most important ministry you have."
Erika Kirk ended her 28-minute speech by again highlighting faith: "Charlie's life was a turning point for this country. It was a miracle. Let that miracle that was Charlie's life be your turning point as well. Choose prayer. Choose courage. Choose beauty. Choose adventure. Choose family. Choose a life of faith. Most importantly, choose Christ. I love you, Charlie, baby, and I will make you proud. God bless you all, and God bless America."
Donald Trump's Message
The president also spoke about Charlie Kirk's messages of forgiveness and loving your enemies.
"Shortly before Charlie arrived on campus the day he was assassinated, a staff member texted him that there were many critics and students who were opposed to his views, and rather strenuously, in the crowd," Trump said.
"And that actually made him feel good because he wanted to convince them," he continued, adding, "He understood what was right, and he was right about that."
"Charlie wrote back to the staff member, saying: 'I'm not here to fight them. I want to know them and love them, and I want to reach them and try and lead them into a great way of life in our country,'" Trump said.
"In that private moment, on his dying day, we find everything we need to know about who Charlie Kirk truly was," he added. "He 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," Trump said. "I hate my opponent, and I don't want the best for them. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Erika," the president said as the crowd laughed.
He added, "But now Erika can talk to me and the whole group and maybe they can convince me that that's not right, but I can't stand my opponent."
"Charlie's angry," Trump continued. "Looking down, he's angry at me now. He wasn't interested in demonizing anyone. He was interested in persuading everyone to the ideas and principles he believed were good, right and true."
The president went on to talk about the danger Charlie Kirk faced throughout his career, including "bomb threats, pulled fire alarms and countless rage-filled radicals who tried to shout him down. It was nasty."
"At one event, police had to build barricades to protect students from an angry mob of thugs," Trump said, alleging that "many of these people, by the way, are paid a lot of money to do this. They're agitators. They're paid agitators."
"Remember that when you see they all have the same beautifully printed sign—every sign is identical, comes out of a top-level print shop," Trump added. "That's not the signs that are made in somebody's basement. Those are paid for by very bad people."
He also said, "At another college, antifa terrorists shattered windows, threw rocks and tried to storm the building where Charlie was speaking."
On Thursday, Trump said on Truth Social that he would designate antifa, a shorthand for the anti-fascist movement, a "major terrorist organization."
The move faces multiple challenges as there is no federal process to list a domestic group as a terrorist organization, which the State Department can do with foreign groups.
In his speech, Trump discussed "radicals and their allies in the media" who "tried to silence Charlie for a simple reason because he was winning, and he was winning big."
"He was taking over college campuses—colleges that had, in theory, only very liberal or, as they like to say, progressive," Trump said. "I call them liberal, but they like to call themselves such a beautiful word, progressive. They're the opposite of progressive if you think about it. But they were really nasty."
Trump later said: "Every single American should take a long, hard look at the twisted soul and dark spirit of anyone who would want to kill a young man as good as Charlie—to kill anybody, but to kill a man like this."
He told the crowd that the Department of Justice was "investigating networks of radical left maniacs who fund, organize, fuel and perpetrate political violence."
Trump criticized the people who greeted Charlie Kirk's assassination with "sick approval, excuses or even jubilation," calling them "major losers."
The president's tone softened multiple times throughout his speech, particularly when he spoke about Charlie Kirk's "tremendous heart," his work ethic and the legacy he would leave with TPUSA under Erika Kirk's leadership.
Trump ended his 40-minute speech on a note of gratitude: "So, Charlie, we all want to thank you. We want to say a very loud God bless you, Charlie. God bless you for what you've done is incredible. And God bless Erika and the children. God bless the United States of America."
Erika Kirk's Speech in Full
God bless all of you for coming here from all over the world to honor and celebrate my Charlie. Just a few miles from here, two years ago at America Fest 2023, Charlie delivered a speech on stage for our TPUSA Faith event. Charlie loves speaking off the cuff. He's very good at that, without a script. So I personally didn't know what he was going to say. And what he chose to speak about that day was his submission to the will of God. He quoted one of his favorite Bible verses, Isaiah 6:8. "Here I am, Lord. Send me."
After Charlie finished, I met him backstage, and I spoke to him. And I'll never forget this. I said, "Charlie, baby, please talk to me next time before you say that statement. Because when you say something like that, there is so much power in that verse. When you say, "Here I am, Lord, use me," God will take you up on that. And he did with Charlie.
Eleven days ago. God accepted that total surrender from my husband and then called him to his side. More than anything, Charlie wanted to do, not his will, but God's will. And over these past 11 days, through all the pain, never before have I found as much comfort as I now do in the words of our Lord's prayer: "Thy will be done." God's love was revealed to me on the very day my husband was murdered.
On the afternoon of September 10, I arrived at a Utah hospital to do the unthinkable, to look directly at my husband's murdered body. I saw the wound that ended his life. I felt everything you would expect to feel. I felt shock. I felt horror and a level of heartache that I didn't even know existed. But there was something else, too. Even in death, I could see the man that I love. I saw the one, single gray hair on the side of his head, which I never told him about. Now he knows. Sorry, baby, telling you now. But never told him. Didn't want to. I also saw this. I also saw on his lips the faintest smile, and that told me something important. It revealed to me a great mercy from God in this tragedy. When I saw that, it told me Charlie didn't suffer. Even the doctor told me it was something so instant that even if Charlie had been shot in the operating room itself, nothing could have been done. There was no pain. There was no fear, no agony. One moment Charlie was doing what he loved—arguing and debating on campus, fighting for the gospel and truth in front of a big crowd—and then he blinked. He blinked and saw his savior in paradise. And all the heavenly mysteries were revealed to him.
God's love continued to be revealed to me in the days that followed. The next day on the tarmac in Air Force Two, I confronted Usha Vance, precious woman. I held her hand, and I told her, "Honestly, I do not know how I am going to get through this." She told me something. She said, "You know, when you're on an airplane with your kids, and it's the last 15 minutes of the flight, and things are crazy. Kids are not cooperating, toys are flying everywhere, and everyone's screaming. And you think to yourself, I cannot wait for this flight to land. And it's 15 minutes before you land." And she told me, "You will get through these 15 minutes and the next 15 minutes after that." Usha, I don't think you realized it then, but those words were exactly what I needed to hear. But most of all, God's mercy and God's love have been revealed to me these past 10 days.
After Charlie's assassination, we didn't see violence. We didn't see rioting. We didn't see revolution. Instead, we saw what my husband always prayed he would see in this country: We saw revival. This past week, we saw people open a Bible for the first time in a decade. We saw people pray for the first time since they were children. We saw people go to a church service for the first time in their entire lives.
Charlie liked to journal, and I say this because he did it to remember important moments and sayings that affected him. And one of the things he wrote in his journal was this, "Every time you make a decision, it puts a mark on your soul." To those of you out there who just made that decision and took the first step toward a spiritual life, I say thank you and welcome. One day, I hope you look back and realize it was the most important decision of your life. Because it is. All of you. All of you who are already believers. It is your job to shepherd these people. Do not take that lightly. Water the seed of their faith. Protect it and help it grow.
Every day, as Charlie rode into the office, he would go through his contact list—and I know there's many of you who were impacted by this—he would go through his contact list and send Bible verses for the day. He knew that faith was a habit. The more you live it, the more it grows. But know this, too. The seed has only just been planted. The enemy will tempt you the most in a time like this one. God will always be there for you. But you must choose to mark your soul again and again in the direction of Christ. Pray again. Read the Bible again. Go to church next Sunday and the Sunday after that. And break free from the temptations and shackles of this world. Being a follower of Christ is not easy. It's not supposed to be.
Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." He said he would be persecuted. He said we would be persecuted. And Charlie knew that and happily carried his cross all the way to the end. And I want all of you to know. While Charlie died far too early, he was also ready to die. There was nothing, nothing he was putting off. There was nothing that was too hard or too painful or nothing that he just felt like he didn't want to do it. He left this world without regrets. He did 100 percent of what he could every day. But I want you to know something. Charlie died with incomplete work, but not with unfinished business. And I will miss him. I will miss him so much because our marriage and our family were beautiful. They still are.
The greatest cause in Charlie's life was trying to revive the American family. When he spoke to young people, he was always eager to tell them about God's vision for marriage and how if they could just dare to live it out, it would enrich every part of their life in the same way that it enriched ours. And someone once asked me how Charlie and I—how we kept our marriage so strong when he was busy traveling. And our little secret: It was love notes. Every Saturday, Charlie wrote one for me, and he never missed a Saturday. And in every single one of them, he'd tell me what his highlight was for the week, how grateful he was for me and our babies. And always at the end—he would always end it with asking the most beautiful question. He'd always end it by asking, "Please let me know how I can better serve you as a husband."
Charlie perfectly understood God's role for a Christian husband: a man who leads so that they can serve.
To all the men watching around the world, accept Charlie's challenge and embrace true manhood. Be strong and courageous for your families. Love your wives and lead them. Love your children and protect them. Be the spiritual head of your home. But please be a leader worth following. Your wife is not your servant. Your wife is not your employee. Your wife is not your slave. She is your helper. You are not rivals. You are one flesh working together for the glory of God.
I was Charlie's confidant. I was his vault, his closest and most trusted adviser, his best friend. I poured into him and loved him so deeply, empowered him, because his love for me drove me to be a better wife. Every day he honored me, and I prayed that I could be the wife that God needed me to be for my husband.
Women, I have a challenge for you, too. Be virtuous. Our strength is found in God's design for our role. We are the guardians. We are the encouragers. We are the preservers. Guard your heart. Everything you do flows from it. And if you're a mother, please recognize that is the single most important ministry you have. In our home, because Charlie traveled a lot—we tried to travel with him where we could. But I made sure that when Charlie returned from work, it was his sacred landing place away from the worries of the world. I didn't make him feel guilty for being away too long or too much or getting home too late. I always told him, "Home is here for you, and it'll be ready for you." And I made it into this place where he wanted to be as soon as possible when he was on the road.
There was no keeping score between us. We were a team working together for the same mission. I never wanted to be the one standing between Charlie and the task that God prepared for him, had set for him, and I knew Charlie would always do his best to help me with the same. My marriage with Charlie was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I know it was the best thing that ever happened to him as well. He wanted everyone to experience that joy.
And that's what's so beautiful about God's design for marriage, is that everyone can. I could talk endlessly about it. In years to come, I will. But Charlie's mission, above all, was aimed directly at those who aren't married. He named his organization well. He knew things were not right with America and especially with young people, and they needed a new direction. Charlie passionately wanted to reach and save the lost boys of the West: the young men who feel like they have no direction, no purpose, no faith and no reason to live; the men wasting their lives on distractions; and the men consumed with resentment, anger and hate. Charlie wanted to help them. He wanted them to have a home with Turning Point USA, and when he went onto campus, he was looking to show them a better path and a better life that was right there for the taking. He wanted to show them that.
My husband, Charlie. He wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life. That young man. That young man. On the cross, our savior said, "Father, forgive them, for they not know what they do." That man, that young man, I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it's what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love.
Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.
The world needs Turning Point USA. It needs a group that will point young people away from the path of misery and sin. It needs something that will lead people away from hell in this world and in the next. It needs young people pointed in the direction of truth and beauty. And so I promise you, today, every part of our work will become greater.
I am tremendously honored to be the new CEO of Turning Point USA. I do not take that lightly. Charlie and I were united in purpose. His passion was my passion. And now his mission is my mission. Everything that Turning Point USA built through Charlie's vision and hard work, we will make 10 times greater through the power of his memory. Chapters will grow. Thousands of new ones will be created. TPUSA Faith will add thousands of new pastors and congregation. And, yes, campus events will continue, and we will continue to hold debates and dialogue.
The First Amendment of our Constitution is the most human amendment. We are naturally talking beings, naturally believing beings, and the First Amendment protects our right to do both. No assassin will ever stop us for standing up to defend those rights. Ever. Because when you stop the conversation, when you stop the dialogue. This is what happens. When we lose the ability and the willingness to communicate, we get violence.
And as I stand here now and look at this beautiful photo of my husband in front of me hanging in the stadium, I think of my husband 13 years ago. I hadn't met him yet. He was 18 years old. Man, barely out of high school, running around the halls of the RNC without a dollar in his pocket and a single contact in his phone. People who saw him said that he didn't know what he was doing, but he did. He did know what he was doing. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was going to change the world, and he did.
Charlie's life was a turning point for this country. It was a miracle. Let that miracle that was Charlie's life be your turning point as well. Choose prayer. Choose courage. Choose beauty. Choose adventure. Choose family. Choose a life of faith. Most importantly, choose Christ. I love you, Charlie, baby, and I will make you proud.
God bless you all, and God bless America.
Donald Trump's Speech in Full
Today, America is a nation in grief, a nation in shock and a nation in mourning. Less than two weeks ago, our country was robbed of one of the brightest lights of our times—a giant of his generation and, above all, a devoted husband, father, son, Christian and patriot.
Charles James Kirk was heinously murdered by a radicalized, cold-blooded monster for speaking the truth that was in his heart. He was violently killed because he spoke for freedom and justice, for God, country, for reason and for common sense. He was assassinated because he lived bravely. He led boldly, and he argued brilliantly without apology. He did what was right for our nation. And so on that terrible day, September 10, 2025, our greatest evangelist for American liberty became immortal. He's a martyr now for American freedom. I know I speak for everyone here today when I say that none of us will ever forget Charlie Kirk, and neither now will history.
Because while Charlie has been reunited with his creator in heaven, his voice on earth will echo through the generations, and his name will live forever in the eternal chronicle of America's greatest patriots. He will live forever. To Charlie's incredible and beautiful widow, Erika, we know the weight of this monumental loss is almost unbearable. But even in the midst of heartache and pain too great to even fathom, you have somehow found the strength and deep faith to be a comfort to millions and millions of people. And thank you very much, Erika. Thank you very much.
Today, an entire nation wraps its loving arms around you and your beautiful children. We share in your immense and overwhelming sorrow, and we vow that we will do everything we can to ensure that your children grow up in a land where their father is honored and revered as a great American hero. That's what he is.
To Charlie's parents, who lost their beloved son and to the entire Kirk family, we know that no words can ever be enough to fill the void he leaves behind. That's a void that just can't be filled. But I hope the extraordinary outpouring of emotion over these past 11 days has comforted you with the knowledge that your son brought more good and love into this world in his 31 short years than most people—even very, very successful people—can bring in a lifetime. Charlie Kirk loved America with everything he had, and as we can see so clearly today, America loved Charlie Kirk.
And he could always draw a big crowd. Look at this today. Look at what's gone on. This is a big crowd. Here today we have the vice president of the United States, JD Vance. We have the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson. We have countless members of the United States Senate, and I'm sorry, I'm not going to introduce you, but I'll be up here. They are all over the place. And likewise, the House of Representatives. They're all over this big stadium. This is not an arena. This is a stadium, a great Cabinet, and this stadium packed with rafters of people. Not to mention the one across the street that also has tens of thousands of people. And they're watching us on screen right now.
And I'm sorry we couldn't get you in. If anybody would like to give up your seat, please walk across the street. But this is like an old-time revival, isn't it? An old-time revival? For millions of Americans, especially young people, it is agonizing and unthinkable to say goodbye to a patriot whose heart still had so much to give. It's so much. Raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Charlie was filled with the patriotic spirit from his youth, and he was an All-American in everything he did. And one of the last things he said to me is, "Please, sir, save Chicago." We're going to do that. We're going to save Chicago from a horrible crime. In high school, he was the quarterback of the football team and the captain of the basketball team. He was a good athlete. A lot of people don't know that about Charlie. He was an Eagle Scout who spent his school lunch breaks listening to another champion for liberty, somebody that he greatly admired: Rush Limbaugh.
But what was even more important to Charlie than politics and service was the choice he made in the fifth grade, which he called the most important decision of his life, to become a Christian and a follower of his savior, Jesus Christ. Inspired by faith and his love of freedom, Charlie did something remarkable when he was just 18 years old. On the advice of a mentor who told him to put off going to college because he was doing so well, he devoted his life to converting young people to the conservative cause. How did he do? Take a look. How did he do? In 2012, two days after graduating high school and with just $1,800 in his pocket, the young man from Illinois who no one had ever heard of started an organization whose grand ambitions were captured in its name, Turning Point USA. Great name.
And I have a feeling it's going to be bigger and better than ever before. Does that make sense? It's going to be bigger and better than ever before. Look at what's happening. Twelve years ago, Charlie walked onto his first college campus, the very liberal University of Wisconsin at Madison. He set up a card table and put up a sign with three words, "Big government sucks." Can you believe that? That's Charlie. That day, Charlie talked to every student who approached him, most of whom were probably quite a bit older than he was.
Finally, after many hours, he found the first ever Turning Point chapter leader. His first year out of high school, Charlie traveled 300 days raising money and taking his message to campuses all over the country. He lived out of his parents' basement—and they actually loved having him there. They loved Charlie. Everybody loved Charlie—and on the couches of friends and supporters. He lived off couches for two years, three years. Then life started getting a little bit different. But he was always the same.
For five years he refused to take a paycheck, but day after day he worked from 5 a.m. in the morning till 11 p.m. in the evening. Always. His staff remembers that he wore Walmart jeans and T-shirts from the Goodwill store. Remember the Goodwill store? It wasn't easy, but Charlie wasn't in it for money at all. Never has been. Money was never his thing. He was always in it for the mission. As he like to say even back then, "We have a country to save." Well, that's just what he did. He'd call me all the time, "Sir, we have a country to save." I said: "Charlie, thanks very much for telling me that. I appreciate it."
Charlie volunteered for my 2016 campaign and traveled the nation with my son Don and Eric. I got to know him very well, and so immediately that Charlie was actually a master builder, master builder of people. It was Charlie who first started organizing young Black conservatives, hungry for support and leadership.
It was Charlie who stood up for persecuted Christians and Jews on college campuses. It was Charlie who helped bring online censorship, free speech and cancel culture to the fore of our political debate. He was right up there with me. It was Charlie who helped unite MAGA. And you know what MAHA is? That's right. Make America Healthy Again. And tomorrow we're going to have one of the biggest announcement ever, really, medically, I think, in the history of our country. We're going to be doing it with Bobby and Oz and all of the professionals. I think you're going to find it to be amazing. I think we found an answer to autism. How about that? Autism. Tomorrow, we're going to be talking in the Oval Office, in the White House, about autism, how it happens—so we won't let it happen anymore—and how to get at least somewhat better when you have it so that parents can help their child. Their beautiful child. That's a big one. I've been bugging everybody over there, "Get the answer to that."
You know, 20 years ago, one in 10,000 were born with autism. Twenty years ago, the most recent survey says one in 12. How bad is that? That's for young boys, baby boys. But also, girls a little bit better. It's about one in 20. But we can't—obviously, there was something really wrong, and we think we know what that is. I think it's going to be one of the most important news conferences I'll ever have, and I look so forward to it.
And you know who else looked forward to it? Because he knew. I tell him a little bit about what was going on, was Charlie. He would have been front row center, believe me. We'll be missing him tomorrow. It was such a big deal for him to. He brought together Donald Trump, Bobby Kennedy right here in the great state of Arizona one year ago. Remember that? What a night, what a day that was. And it was Charlie who was among the first to speak to me about a man from Ohio by the name of JD Vance. Have you ever heard of him? He's doing a good job.
But Charlie would often call me, sometimes the night before a big event on the other side of the country, and he'd ask me and say, "Do you think you could come and speak at the event the following day, right? I'd say, "Charlie, give me a—I'm the president of the United States. You want me to travel four hours by plane?" And, you know, sometimes I did it. He was a very good guy. He was a very convincing guy. He didn't stop there, but he would ask for things like that. "Sir, could you be here tomorrow in California?" I said, "Charlie, give me a break, please." He just wouldn't stop, and he succeeded. But I almost always went because you never wanted to let Charlie down. He you worked so hard, you just didn't want to let him down. I felt guilty. He'd make me feel very guilty.
As president, many people ask me for things, but Charlie was one of the few who always gave more than he took. He was a giver, much more than a taker. And no matter how big Charlie became, no one was too small for him to notice. He was good to everybody, didn't matter. Several years ago, a fourth grader asked Charlie to appear on his podcast, which was probably only watched by the parents of that fourth grader, and Charlie, who was actually pretty hot at the time to be honest, he agreed. And the boy asked for advice. Charlie replied, "The left, the left." I call it the radical left. I call it sometimes the radical left lunatics. But Charlie didn't say that. He called it the left. He was probably right, but I can't help it. So he said the left—radical left lunatics—may have all the money in the world, but they can never outwork me. I will wake up as early as I need to—about himself—I will stay up as late as I need to, and I will never stop fighting for our country. And he did this until his dying breath. That's what he was doing. That's what he was doing. Think of it.
Wow. What a horrible moment. I was in the Oval Office when I heard. They came in, and it was like a surreal experience, a terrible, terrible. I had some very big people in the Oval Office, and I was in the midst of a very important conversation for our country—big people, the biggest. And I said, you have to leave now. When they told me that—they told me in front of a group of very powerful people—I said: "You have to leave now. Right now, please. Right now. You have to leave. Go."
By his own determination and skill, Charlie Kirk built Turning Point from his humble beginnings—the beginnings that nobody believed could ever end up something like this—into a great movement and a juggernaut of American politics. And, you know, we have a massive stadium loaded up with people, but he got tremendous crowds before he had this kind of horrible news, and before we had to hear what happened so terribly. He delivered more than 250 speeches a year at over 200 colleges and universities, and that was at a time when it was not really vogue to go to colleges and universities if you were a conservative. It really took great courage. And we used to talk and I said, "You know, I think there are much more conservative than we know." And he agreed, but it just wasn't something that was happening because the radical left would do very bad things, very dangerous thing.
But Charlie set up chapters on 2,200 campuses and spoke at more than 1,000 churches. He launched a podcast and radio show that grew to an audience of 1 million Americans a day. One of the bigger shows on radio, and Charlie didn't just bring young people into the movement. All of a sudden it started to grow by leaps and bounds. By 2024, we won more young people than any Republican candidate in the history of our country, including, for the first time, a majority of males under 30. Can you believe it? Remember when Republican presidential candidates would get 4 percent? No, we did unbelievably with young people. And he was a big, big factor. Unbelievable.
But he made me work for it. "Sir, you have to make a speech here. You have to make a speech there." But we did it, and we won. And our country is doing unbelievably well now. We had a country that was dead one year ago, and now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world. And Charlie helped us make it that—one of the great people. But through it all, the core of Charlie's message and his basic method never change. It never really changed. He stayed the same person also. At every campus event, Charlie asked the people who disagreed with him to come forward, and instead of silencing them, he handed them a microphone and let them speak. And he convinced so many of them. It was pretty amazing thing to watch actually.
Shortly before Charlie arrived on campus the day he was assassinated, a staff member texted him that there were many critics and students who were opposed to his views, and rather strenuously, in the crowd. And that actually made him feel good because he wanted to convince them. He understood. He really did. He understood what was right, and he was right about that. A lot of it was based on common sense, by the way. Charlie wrote back to the staff member, saying: "I'm not here to fight them. I want to know them and love them, and I want to reach them and try and lead them into a great way of life in our country."
In that private moment, on his dying day, we find everything we need to know about who Charlie Kirk truly was. He 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'm sorry, Erika. But now Erika can talk to me and the whole group and maybe they can convince me that that's not right. But I can't stand my opponent. Charlie's angry. Looking down, he's angry at me now. He wasn't interested in demonizing anyone. He was interested in persuading everyone to the ideas and principles he believed were good, right and true.
Before each appearance, he prayed these words, "God, use me for your will." Always said the same thing, "Use me for your will." And that is exactly what God did when you think. That's exactly what he did. The more success Charlie had, and he was getting more and more successful, the more dangerous his mission became. On campuses all over the country, his quest for open dialogue was met with menacing hate.
There were bomb threats, pulled fire alarms and countless rage-filled radicals who tried to shout him down. It was nasty. I used to say, "Charlie, this is nasty stuff you're doing." At one event, police had to build barricades to protect students from an angry mob of thugs. Many of these people, by the way, are paid a lot of money to do this. They're agitators. They're paid agitators. Remember that when you see they all have the same beautifully printed sign—every sign is identical, comes out of a top-level print shop. That's not the signs that are made in somebody's basement. Those are paid for by very bad people. And hopefully we're going to be finding out through the DOJ who those people are.
At another college, antifa terrorists shattered windows, threw rocks and tried to storm the building where Charlie was speaking. It was a really bad one. Often dozens of police officers were needed to prevent left-wing violence, and the violence comes largely from the left. You don't want to hear that from too many people, do you? And virtually every day for years before he was murdered, Charlie received these horrible death threats. People don't know. I used to talk to him about it. He said, "I got some threats." He always felt that when they actually made the threat, they were not the ones to worry about. The ones to worry about were the ones that don't make the threats. I think you know what I mean. He knew the risks, but he and I shared a certain motto: Never back down and never ever surrender. Just don't surrender. Never back down.
He believed it was so strongly, so strongly. And he's right. He's totally right. The radicals and their allies in the media—sometimes referred to as my son said, the fake news media—tried to silence Charlie for a simple reason because he was winning, and he was winning big. He was taking over college campuses—colleges that had, in theory, only very liberal or, as they like to say, progressive. I call them liberal, but they like to call themselves such a beautiful word, progressive. They're the opposite of progressive if you think about it. But they were really nasty.
And he would go into these colleges. All of a sudden, within two years, three years, they turned into bastions of conservatism. It was really quite amazing to see. They lied about him because they did not want you to listen to him or to learn from him because what he was talking about and even preaching made so much sense. Everywhere he went. He won the debates. He won the hearts. He won the minds, and yes, he won the elections for people. He helped us. He helped other people. We won the biggest election in the history of our country, I believe. Charlie Kirk was without a doubt among the most influential figures in the most important election in the history of our country.
The election of, oh, that beautiful day, November 5, 2024. Do you remember that day? It was nine months ago. What a day that was. I mean, we had a pretty good day in the first one. And I must tell you, on the second one, we had a phenomenal day. But a lot of bad things happened. And now that's not even questioned. They cheated like dogs, but we got them back. Didn't we? We have got them back. But we owe Charlie a profound and eternal debt of gratitude. Now, just like Charlie and Erika made Turning Point hot, we are looking at a country that has the chance to attain a level like never before.
Tariffs are making us rich again, richer than anybody ever thought was possible, and the only one challenging them are people that hate our country or foreign countries that are paying a price because they did the same thing to us for years. They took advantage of us. But where we're making money, we're becoming richer and richer, and we're taking care of our people better and better when we do that. And we can take care of other countries better and better, but we're doing unbelievably well. The tariffs have really been a hold. The election was big, but the tariffs because of the election came in. And remember other nations do that to us. And Charlie understood that. He saw the money. He saw what was coming into our country. And we can use that for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, all of these things that we fight so hard for.
And that's exactly what's happening. The numbers are incredible. When the news finally came out on election night last November that the race was officially won—came out pretty early in the night—Charlie was live on camera. In that moment, he was overcome with emotion. I've never seen him like this. He was so happy. For a long while, he said nothing. His eyes were filled with tears, and then he buried his face in his hands, and he started crying. That wasn't the Charlie I knew, but in thinking about it, it actually was the Charlie I knew because he had a tremendous heart. He just wanted what was good for our country, and he saw us going in such a horrible direction. Lovingly—and this was so beautiful—Erika put a MAGA hat on to cover his bowed head.
I like that very much. MAGA we love. Does everybody love MAGA? Make America Great again? When Joe Biden used to get up, remember the speeches. "We will stop MAGA. We will stop MAGA." You know, he could barely get the words out. "We will stop." I said, "Can somebody inform him that MAGA means Make America Great Again?" How do you say you're going to stop it? And Charlie understood that. When Charlie finally looked up and spoke, he smiled through the watery eyes and simply said, "I am humbled by God's grace." That was his statement that night while I was watching him. I was very impressed actually. It showed he had a big heart.
Every single American should take a long, hard look at the twisted soul and dark spirit of anyone who would want to kill a young man as good as Charlie—to kill anybody, but to kill a man like this. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve this. Our country didn't deserve this. And anyone who would make excuses for it are just out of their mind.
Charlie's murder was not just an attack on one man or one movement. It was an attack on our entire nation. That was a horrible attack on the United States of America. It was an assault on our most sacred liberties and God-given rights. The gun was pointed at him, but the bullet was aimed at all of us. That bullet was aimed at every one of us. Indeed, Charlie was killed for expressing the very ideas that virtually everyone in this arena and most other places throughout our country deeply believed in. But 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, and it's not even close. And it's rare that such a thing happens. But Charlie is bigger today than he was—think about it—just two weeks ago. He's bigger today than he was two weeks ago. Now, that may not help his friends and loved ones, of which there are so many, and may not help Erika and those beautiful children who have to suffer so horribly through this moment. But they know it's true. He's bigger now than ever before, and he's eternal. He's eternal. And I just want to say we love him, and he's looking down at us right now, and he's saying, "Wow, that's a great crowd." He's saying, "That's a great crowd."
And it's a great crowd of patriots. But that's why I will soon award Charlie the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It's the highest civilian honor. And we will do the ceremony at our beautiful White House in a very safe Washington, D.C., a place that Charlie truly revered. Yeah. We stopped the crime in Washington. Took 12 days. Now, you can go to restaurants. You can walk down the middle of the street with your wife. You can have your wife walk alone down the middle of the street. She's going to be in good shape. What a difference. What a difference good management really makes. But it's—well, I'm so proud of that. Washington, D.C. You know, it's one of the worst in the nation, in the world. And now it's considered a very safe city. And it's also—I passed it yesterday. I went through it, and the lawns are good. It's like a different place. It's like the tents are gone. The threats are gone. The gangs aren't there. We got rid of, you know, we took out 1,500 career criminals.
If you have three career criminals that can make a big difference. But I'm so proud of Washington, D.C. And now we're going into Memphis. And we'll get that one straightened out fast. And then we're going into some others. But we're going to go to Chicago, and we're going to have Charlie very much in mind when we go into Chicago. And we'll get that one straightened out.
You have an incompetent governor who—he thinks it's OK when 11 people get murdered over the weekend. He thinks you don't have any crime when 11 people get murdered and 28 people get shot. He says he's got crime. Now, they don't have it under control. But we'll have it under control very quickly. So we're going to be doing that. And Charlie loved what we were doing. He was so proud of what happened. He was there to see it. He was so proud of what happened in Washington, D.C.
As you know, the depraved assassin who planned and executed Charlie's killing has been arrested and charged with capital murder. God willing, he will receive the full and ultimate punishment for his horrific crime. It's a terrible thing. Because you can't let that happen. You can't let that happen. Can't let it happen to a country. The Department of Justice is also investigating networks of radical left maniacs who fund, organize, fuel and perpetrate political violence, and we think we know who many of them are. But law enforcement can only be the beginning of our response to Charlie's murder.
Over the last 11 days, we have heard stories of commentators, influencers and others in our society who greeted his assassination with sick approval, excuses or even jubilation. You've heard that. So have I. I couldn't believe it. Some of the very same people who spent the last eight years trying to sit in moral judgment of anyone who disagreed with them about politics suddenly started cheering for a murder. Incredible. You know, the names? They're major losers, by the way. That will be proven out in a short period of time.
Some of the very people who call you a hater for using the wrong pronoun were filled with glee at the killing of a father with two beautiful young children, and the same commentators who this week are screaming fascism over a canceled late-night TV show where the anchor had no talent and no ratings last week were implying that Charlie Kirk deserved what happened to him. No side in American politics has a monopoly on disturbed or misguided people. But there's one part of our political community which believes they have a monopoly on truth, goodness and virtue and concludes they have also a monopoly on power, thought and speech. Well, that's not happening anymore. We've turned that corner very quickly. Tragically, atrocities of this kind and the kind that we saw in Utah of all places are the eventual consequence of that kind of thinking. If speech is violence, then some are bound to conclude that violence is justified to stop speech, and we're not going to let that be justified.
The tradition of reason and open debate that Charlie practiced is not a pillar of our democracy. In many ways, it's the basis of our entire society. It's the rights and inheritance of every free American, the greatest legacy of the enlightenment, and among the most treasured achievements of civilized nation. We will defend it at all costs, and we will carry forward the torch of liberty that Charlie Kirk held so proud and so high. He was so proud. And he did hold that torch high. We will never ever let it fail. We will never let it fail. But we're going to raise it higher than ever before. It's got to be raised. And this is the beginning. Perhaps it should be no surprise that Charlie, who spent his life speaking with the critics of these traditions, ultimately became convinced that we needed not just a political realignment but also a spiritual reawakening. We did. And we have to bring back religion to America because without borders, law and order, and religion, you really don't have a country anymore. We want religion brought back to America. We want to bring God back into our beautiful USA like never before. We want God back. Charlie would have been so pleased to hear his friends and colleagues today giving testimony and giving glory to God.
Within minutes of the gunshot in Utah, millions of Americans, young and old, heard the news and dropped to their knees and started praying. Even many who rarely prayed ask God for a miracle. "Please, God, save Charlie." But although Charlie's time with us on earth has ended, those prayers for a miracle have already been answered. Look at what's happening. Look at what's happening. In the days since Charlie's death, we have seen how his legacy has touched so many millions around the world. In Calgary, Canada, thousands gathered at City Hall to sing the American national anthem and raise up posters with the name Charlie Kirk. In Seoul, South Korea, crowds gathered to wave American flags and shout, "We are for Charlie Kirk!" His memory has been honored in the streets of Berlin, Warsaw, Vienna, Sydney, Madrid, London, Tel Aviv and all over the world.
So beautiful to watch. A man as far away as rural Australia texted a pastor, "I'm going to come to church tomorrow for the first time ever." The pastor asks, "Why is that?" The man replied, "Because of Charlie Kirk." Can you imagine? The lesson of Charlie's life is that you should never underestimate what one person can do with a good heart, a righteous cause, a cheerful spirit and the will to fight, fight, fight. Have to fight. We're saving our country. And Charlie's a big factor, such a big factor. Charlie Kirk started with only an idea to change minds on college campuses, and instead he ended up with a far greater achievement—changing history. He changed history. Today, Charlie Kirk rests in glory in heaven for all eternity. He has gone from speaking on campuses in Wisconsin to kneeling at the throne of God, where he is right now. We grieve for the friend and leader that we have lost, but we go forward, strengthened by his faith and bolstered by his courage and inspired by his example to defend the country he lived for.
For the freedoms he died for and the values in which he so deeply believed—he believed in values that we should all believe in—Charlie created something very special. It's called Turning Point USA, and under the leadership and love of Erika, it will become bigger and better and stronger than ever before. So, Charlie, we all want to thank you. We want to say a very loud God bless you, Charlie. God bless you for what you've done is incredible. And God bless Erika and the children. God bless the United States of America.