Trump, Erika Kirk, officers, and conservative leaders spotlighted Charlie Kirk’s religion and vowed to hold on his motion.
PHOENIX—Tens of 1000’s turned out for Charlie Kirk’s memorial service on the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 21, which featured speeches from President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, cupboard members, conservative leaders, and people who knew and labored with the conservative commentator the closest.
The occasion got here 11 days after the 31-year-old father of two was killed by a shooter at an occasion at a college in Utah.
Kirk was honored for the lives he touched, his dedication to his Christian religion, and his ardour for debating politics with anybody prepared to interact. Audio system additionally remembered Kirk’s years of labor devoted to constructing Turning Level USA, a company credited for serving to conservatives break by to younger individuals.
Listed here are eight key moments from the occasion memorializing Kirk’s life and legacy.
Kirk’s Widow Forgives Alleged Murderer
Erika Kirk quoted scripture and wiped tears from her eyes as she provided compassion to 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, the person authorities have charged with murdering her husband.
“On the Cross, our Savior said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,’” she mentioned, visibly holding again tears.
“That young man, I forgive him,” she mentioned, visibly holding again tears. “I forgive him because it’s what Christ did and what Charlie would do.”
She mentioned her husband was motivated by saving the “lost boys of the West,” a reference to boys who by no means develop up in “Peter Pan.”
She described these as “the young men who feel like they have no direction, no purpose, no faith, and no reason to live.”
“My husband, Charlie, wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life,” she said.
She implored People to counter hate with love, saying that responding with hate isn’t an acceptable reply.
Main by instance is what her husband would need, she mentioned, vowing to proceed his mission of getting “young people pointed in the right direction.”
Erika Kirk Points Challenges to Males, Girls
Erika Kirk referred to as on women and men to prioritize religion and household, highlighting how essential each had been to her husband.
A loving, supportive marriage was a trademark of Kirk’s life, she mentioned, and one which he needed to function a mannequin for others.
“To all the men watching around the world, accept Charlie’s challenge and embrace true manhood,” she mentioned.
“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 requested ladies and wives to steer their households with dignity and style.
“Be virtuous,” she said. “We are the guardians, we are the encouragers, we are the preservers.”
Erika Kirk mentioned a spouse isn’t a servant, worker, or slave. “She is your helper. You are not rivals. You are one flesh, working together for the glory of God,” she said.
Trump: Kirk ‘Will Live Forever’
Throughout his remarks, Trump mentioned that Kirk “will live forever” within the wake of his assassination.
“None of us will ever forget Charlie Kirk. And neither, now, will history,” the president mentioned.
Trump mentioned Kirk’s “voice on Earth will echo through the generations, and his name will live forever in the eternal chronicle of America’s greatest patriots.”
Within the wake of his assassination, the political commentator has grow to be “eternal,” the president mentioned.
“Charlie is … bigger today than he was two weeks ago,” Trump mentioned. “He’s bigger now than ever before, and he’s eternal.”
Trump mentioned that Kirk had confronted loss of life threats for years, but by no means backed down regardless of realizing the dangers.
Trump recounted a motto Kirk had shared with him: “Never back down, and never, ever surrender.”
“He believed in it so strongly,” Trump mentioned. “And he’s right. He’s totally right.”
Kirk’s Final Moments
Frank Turek, one in every of Kirk’s mentors, was current on the conservative commentator’s remaining occasion at Utah Valley College on Sept. 10 when he was assassinated.
He recalled the second Kirk was shot on stage and the determined makes an attempt the safety group made to save lots of the Turning Level USA cofounder’s life within the moments that adopted.
Turek, a Christian writer and speaker, mentioned the safety group did every part it may to save lots of Kirk. They carried him to an SUV to take him to the hospital as Turek climbed within the again.
“I want you to know that we did everything we could to save Charlie, but Charlie was already gone,” he mentioned.
“He was wanting previous me proper into eternity and, if it’s any consolation in any respect, I discovered later that Charlie felt no ache.
“He died instantly, but we had to try and bring him back.”
Erika Kirk remembered seeing her husband’s physique at a hospital in Utah, noticing the “faintest smile” on his lips.
“And that told me something important. It revealed to me a great mercy from God in this tragedy,” she mentioned.
Audio system Reward Kirk’s Religion, Describe Him As ‘Martyr’
Throughout his life, Kirk was outspoken about his Christian religion. A tribute video performed on the occasion exhibits a clip of Kirk answering the query, “How do you need to be remembered?’
Kirk replies: “I want to be remembered for courage for my faith; that would be the most important thing. The most important thing is my faith.”
His religion was a recurring theme talked about by audio system throughout the service.
Trump praised the 31-year-old as a “martyr for American freedom.”
“On that terrible day, September 10, 2025, our greatest evangelist for American liberty became immortal,” Trump mentioned.
“He’s a martyr now for American freedom,” the president added, saying that Kirk “has been reunited with his creator in heaven.”
Vice President JD Vance, who thought of Kirk an in depth good friend and political ally, referred to as Kirk a “hero to the United States of America” and a “martyr for the Christian faith.”
Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth mentioned Kirk waged a “spiritual war” by his group.
“Over time, he realized, like so many of us have, that this is not a political war. It’s not even a cultural war. It’s a spiritual war: faith and family first,” Hegseth mentioned.
Journalist Tucker Carlson mentioned Kirk’s Christian religion guided his core message.
“The main thing about Charlie and his message … he was doing the thing that the people in charge hate most, which is calling for them to repent,” Carlson mentioned.
Kirk acknowledged, Carlson mentioned, that “change begins—the only change that matters—when we repent of our sins.”
“A recognition that the real problem is me and how fallen I am. And that was the reason that Charlie was fearless at all times,” he said.
Trump Jr. Remembers Kirk’s Bravery
Donald Trump Jr. highlighted Kirk’s bravery throughout his memorial speech.
“At Michigan State University, five minutes before we were supposed to go on stage, the State Police told us, and I quote, ‘We can no longer guarantee your safety,’” he mentioned, including that political activists had been protesting Kirk’s look.
“It was rough. That sounded like a great reason to pack it up and head out, but it was one of the many times that I would agree with Charlie, who said, ‘No way, we’re going out there anyway,’” Trump Jr. mentioned.
He additionally recalled one of many final occasions of the 2024 presidential marketing campaign at Arizona State College. Somebody referred to as in a menace in an try to hold them off the stage, he mentioned, however they “went out there anyway without fear.”
“Charlie led the way,” Trump Jr. said. “His message was clear then, and his message is clear now. We won’t back down. We won’t be intimidated.”
Audio system Describe Kirk’s Early Days With TPUSA
A number of audio system additionally mentioned Kirk’s youth and early days with Turning Level USA (TPUSA).
Trump referenced Kirk’s little-known highschool athletic profession, throughout which he was a soccer quarterback and basketball group captain, and his previous as an Eagle Scout.
“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 … he devoted his life to converting young people to the conservative cause,” Trump mentioned.
“In 2012, two days after graduating high school and with just $1,800 in his pocket, this 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.”
Tyler Bowyer, chief working officer at TPUSA, recounted the early days of the nonprofit group he helped discovered with Kirk.
Bowyer mentioned Kirk was motivated to start out the group on the age of 21 to fight rising liberal proclivities within the millennial technology—and as soon as he received began, Bowyer mentioned Kirk labored nonstop to convey his imaginative and prescient into fruition.
“We worked 24/7. … Between me and him, we were a team that was never off the clock,” Bowyer mentioned.
He mentioned Kirk went “all over the country like a crazy man” in pursuit of “any and every possible donor” to assist fund the group.
Celebration and Revival
The congregation gathered within the stadium in Glendale from all throughout the nation. They wearing crimson, blue, and white, as instructed by the organizers, to honor the slain conservative commentator. Those that spoke to The Epoch Instances got here from Florida, Colorado, and Pennsylvania.
Nevertheless, they had been there to have fun Kirk’s life relatively than mourn his passing.
“Obviously, we’re all sad about what happened with Charlie Kirk,” 15-year-old Hezekiah Rivers advised The Epoch Instances. “But what is going to come after this?”
He added, “This is just the beginning of what he wanted to occur.”
Attendees additionally appeared to agree that it was greater than only a celebration of 1 man’s life. They advised The Epoch Instances that the gathering was an illustration of unity and revival.
“It’s the biggest revival of our faith, our family, and our country that I’ve seen in a generation,” Chris Johnson from Pennsylvania mentioned. “It’s amazing.”
Attendees additionally expressed a way of hope for the long run and a name to motion for everybody to get out into their communities and reestablish peaceable dialogue with one another for the following technology and for the nation.
Retention of religion additionally seemed to be a necessity going ahead.
“I hope for sure it gets better,” 18-year-old Calvin Gate from Arizona advised The Epoch Instances. “God turns a negative into a positive, and I know the assassination is definitely a negative. I feel like God will bring a light to that and make good out of it.”
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