The Arizona State Farm Stadium has been filled to the flag. More than 73,000 people have crowded the stands in a ceremony that has mixed evangelical mass, electoral rally and patriotic show in equal parts. Giant flags, 15 -meter screens and church songs have given the event the solemnity of a state funeral … although Charlie Kirk has never held any public office.
Trump has made the duel a rally
Donald Trump has been the absolute star. He has risen to the lectern to elevate the murdered activist to the altars of the homeland and has described it as “a giant of his generation” and a “martyr for American freedom.” “The weapon was signed up against him, but the bullet was directed against all of us,” he said, in a speech that has gone from victimism to the campaign in seconds. And, as a icing, he has slipped that this Monday the White House will present a “solution for autism”, without giving a single detail.
The political gesture has also had a photo: in the box of authorities, Trump has shaken the hand of Elon Musk, certifying the alliance in the middle of mourning. The image has been almost as commented as the president’s words.
Of the widow’s forgiveness to Miller’s roar
The widow, Erika Kirk, heiress of Turning Point USA, has taken the ceremony to the biblical field. In tears, she has looked at the sky and has whispered “I love you” before proclaiming that her husband “was ready to die” and that “she has left this world without regrets.” The culminating moment has arrived with his public acquittal to the defendant of the murder: “My husband Charlie wanted to save young people like the one who took his life. I forgive him.” The stadium has responded with an ovation that has seemed more typical of a canonization than of a funeral.
The rhetoric has multiplied with Jade Evans, who has conceded his speech in the cultural war: “Charlie brought us the truth that young people deserved. He has shown us all how to continue after his death.” Words that have reinforced Kirk’s idea as a moral guide, beyond politics.
The most incendiary tone has been put by Stephen Miller, vice chief of cabinet and personal friend of the activist, who has roared: “Do you think they could kill Charlie Kirk? They have immortalized him. They have awakened a dragon.” In his story, the conservative cause has become “an army that defends what is good and that will prevail over the forces of evil.”
Other government members have not been left behind. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health, has compared the activist with Jesus: “Christ died at age 33, but the story changed. Charlie died with 31 and has also changed it.” And Tulsi Gabbard, director of National Intelligence, added that “political fans kill and terrify their opponents, but in this case they have made their voice stronger than ever.”
The result has been an act that has turned the tragedy into epic. The American ultra -right has found in Kirk the martyr he needed, elevated between flags, hymns and inflamed speeches. And Trump, incidentally, has once again demonstrated that for him there is no border between the duel and the electoral campaign.
