President Donald Trump proclaimed Charlie Kirk a “martyr for American freedom” in a memorial ceremony to commemorate the political activist as Erika Kirk said she forgave the man who gunned down her husband.
“On that day, this evangelist for American liberty became immortal,” Trump said Sunday before tens of thousands of mourners inside the State Farm stadium in Glendale, Arizona. “He’s a martyr now for American freedom.”
Trump described how Kirk would ask him to fly across the country to appear at his events with little notice.
“You never wanted to let Charlie down,” Trump said. “He worked so hard you just didn’t want to let him down.”
But Trump also angrily attacked liberals and pledged to continue investigations of groups he accused of fostering violence.
“He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them,” he said. “That’s where I disagree with Charlie. I hate my opponent. And I don’t want the best for them.”
Trump also invoked one of his final exchanges with Kirk to support his long-threatened plan send in federal forces to crack down on crime in Chicago. “We’re going to have Charlie very much in mind when we go to Chicago,” he said.
“The depraved assassin” has been charged with Kirk’s killing, Trump said. “God willing he will receive the ultimate punishment.”
Moments earlier, Erika Kirk, vowed to continue her husband’s legacy, enrolling more campuses and students in the conservative movement he founded.
Kirk eulogized her husband in a tearful speech near the end of an hours-long memorial service for the conservative activist who was killed on Sept. 10. The service was heavily focused on Kirk’s Christian faith.
One of the most powerful moments came in Erika Kirk’s remarks, when she offered not a political message, but one of faith and forgiveness.
“I forgive him,” she said of the man who killed her husband. “I forgive him because it was what Christ did and it’s what Charlie would do.”
Throughout the service, Vice President JD Vance and other cabinet members, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, focused on Christianity and how their faith aligned with Kirk’s, a notable blending of government and religion.
Kirk, newly named the chief executive officer of Charlie Kirk-founded Turning Point USA, said she was committed to the same campus events and debate he used to galvanize young conservatives and challenge liberal orthodoxy.
“Everything that Turning Point USA built through Charlie’s vision and hard work, we will make ten times greater through the power of his memory,” she said.
Kirk, 31, was killed on Sept. 10 during a debate at a Utah university, leaving behind Erika, and two young children, as well as the Turning Point USA organization he founded. On Sunday, he was lionized as a Christian martyr and patriot committed to free expression and challenging liberal orthodoxy.
Supporters vowed Kirk’s legacy would continue — growing bolder in the wake of his death. Turning Point has reported thousands of inquiries from people interested in starting high school and college chapters.
Kirk rose from a teenage political activist to a conservative influencer and standard bearer for MAGA youth, his surge in popularity intertwined with Trump’s political fortunes. He founded Turning Point with the goal of fighting liberal ideology on college campuses and propelling conservatism, and it’s now one of the most powerful conservative lobbying networks in the country. Turning Point USA grossed nearly $85 million in revenue last year and had chapters on over 3,300 college and high school campuses, according to its 2024 tax filing.
Kirk was also a relentless champion of Trump — even through his 2020 election defeat, as he helped chart the president’s return to power and gave guidance on policies and appointees.
Kirk’s get-out-the-vote efforts last year helped Trump’s improved showing among young voters and helping him flip Arizona back to Republicans in 2024.
In the days since Kirk’s killing, Trump and top Republicans have criticized left-wing rhetoric for helping foment violence, and pressured the Walt Disney Co., the parent of ABC, to sideline comedian Jimmy Kimmel for making critical comments about Kirk.The administration has moved to target left-leaning groups with racketeering probes and the potential loss of their tax-exempt status.
Erika Kirk heralded the First Amendment as “the most human amendment. We are naturally talking beings. Naturally believing beings. And the First Amendment protects our right to do both.”