US President Donald Trump proclaimed Charlie Kirk as a “American freedom martyr” at a memorial ceremony to honor the political activist, while Erika Kirk said he forgave the man who killed her husband.
“That day this evangelist of American freedom became immortal,” Trump said on Sunday, in front of tens of thousands of people at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. “He is now a martyr for American freedom.”
Trump described how Kirk asked him to fly around the country to attend his events with little warning.
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“You never wanted to disappoint Charlie,” said Trump. “He worked so much that you just didn’t want to disappoint him.”
But Trump also furiously attacked the liberals and promised to continue investigations against groups he accused of fostering violence.
“He didn’t hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them,” he said. “That’s where Charlie I disagree. I hate my opponents. And I don’t want the best for them.”
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Trump also mentioned one of his latest conversations with Kirk to support his plan long threatened to send federal forces to combat crime in Chicago. “We’ll have Charlie a lot in mind when we go to Chicago,” he said.
Moments earlier, Erika Kirk promised to continue her husband’s legacy, involving more campuses and students in the conservative movement he founded.
Kirk gave an emotional speech near the end of a memorial that lasted hours for the conservative activist, killed on September 10. The ceremony had a strong focus on Kirk’s Christian faith.
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One of the most powerful moments was in Erika Kirk’s words when she offered not a political message, but of faith and forgiveness.
“I forgive him,” she said about the man who killed her husband. “I forgive him because it was what Christ did and that’s what Charlie would do.”
Kirk, a newly named CEO of Turning Point USA, founded by Charlie Kirk, said he was committed to the same events on campuses and debates he used to mobilize young conservatives and challenge liberal orthodoxy.
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“Everything Turning Point uses has built through Charlie’s vision and hard work, we will do ten times greater for the power of his memory,” he said.
Kirk, 31, was killed on September 10 during a debate at a Utah University, leaving Erika, two young children and the Turning Point USA organization that founded. On Sunday, he was celebrated as a Christian and patriotic martyr committed to free expression and the challenge to liberal orthodoxy.
Supporters promised that Kirk’s legacy will continue – growing more strongly after his death. Turning Point has reported thousands of consultations from people interested in creating chapters in schools and universities.
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Kirk went from a teenage political activist to conservative influencer and youth spokesman Maga, his popular growth intertwined with Trump’s political fate. He founded the Turning Point aimed at combating liberal ideology on university campuses and boosting conservatism, being today one of the most powerful conservative lobby networks in the country. Turning Point USA earned nearly $ 85 million last year and had chapters in over 3,300 university and high school campuses, according to its 2024 tax report.
Kirk was also a tireless defender of Trump – even after the 2020 electoral defeat, helping to trace the president’s return to power and guiding policies and appointments.
Kirk’s efforts to mobilize voters last year helped improve Trump’s performance among young people and regain Arizona for Republicans in 2024.
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In the days after the death of Kirk, Trump, and Republican leaders criticized left -wing rhetoric for fostering violence, pressuring ABC controller Walt Disney Co., pushing comedian Jimmy Kimmel away for critical comments to Kirk. Administration began investigations against leftist groups, with risk of loss of tax exemption status.
Erika Kirk praised the first amendment as “the most humane amendment. We are naturally talking beings. Naturally believers. And the first amendment protects our right to do both.”
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