At memorial, Trump says Kirk 'influential figure'

(OSV News) -- Charlie Kirk was an "influential figure" in his own election, President Donald Trump said at a memorial service for the Turning Point USA founder and conservative activist Sept. 21 at State Farm Stadium in Arizona.

"None of us will ever forget Charlie Kirk, and neither now will history," Trump said.

Kirk was killed Sept. 10 during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem. After his death, Kirk received praise from his allies in conservative politics for his willingness to debate and his advocacy for their cause. However, in discussions about his legacy, his critics also pointed to his controversial political rhetoric on subjects including race, persons experiencing same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria, and immigrants.

Trump's remarks showed how tied Kirk was to his own political operation, saying sometimes Kirk would call him and ask him to speak at an event on very short notice.

"Charlie would often call me sometimes the night before a big event on the other side of the country, and ask me and say, 'Do you think you could come and speak at the event the following day?'" Trump said. "I'd say, Charlie ... I'm the president of the United States. You want me to travel four hours by plane? And you know, sometimes I did it."

Trump also quipped at one point that Kirk "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?"

Vice President JD Vance and Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, and Cabinet officials were also among those who addressed the memorial.

Erika Kirk, who was named Turning Point USA's CEO after her husband's death, said she felt "a level of heartache that I didn't even know existed" but that "God's love continued to be revealed to me in the days that followed."

"After Charlie's assassination, we didn't see violence, we didn't see rioting, we
didn't see revolution," she said. "Instead, we saw what my husband always prayed he would see in this country. We saw revival."

Erika Kirk urged those in attendance to embrace what she called a Christian understanding of "true manhood" because she said her husband, an evangelical Christian, was passionate about reaching "lost boys."

"Please be a leader worth following," she said. "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 also urged women to "be virtuous."

Her husband, she said, "died with incomplete work, but not with unfinished business."

"He wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life," Erika said, adding, "That young man, I forgive him."

"The answer to hate is not hate," she said. "The answer, we know from the Gospel, is love. It’s always love.”

In his comments, Trump appeared to reference Erika Kirk's comments, saying Kirk "did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That's what I disagreed with Charlie (on), I hate my opponent, and I don't want the best for them."

"I'm sorry, I am sorry, Erika, but now, Erika, you can talk to me and the whole group, and maybe they can convince me that that's not right," he said.

Vance said, "Our whole administration is here, but not just because we loved Charlie as a friend -- even though we did -- but because we know we wouldn't be here without Charlie. He built an organization that reshaped the balance of our politics."

Turning Point Action was among the groups the Trump campaign used to oversee its get-out-the-vote effort in Arizona, a key swing state in the 2024 election. Volunteers for the organization were registering attendees to vote before the memorial service.

Vance called Kirk "a hero to the United States of America, and "a martyr for the Christian faith."

Law enforcement officials have identified and arrested a suspect in Kirk's shooting. They have attributed the alleged shooter’s motive -- in part -- to his views on Kirk’s position on transgender issues.

Vance and other officials in the Trump administration previously suggested they would seek to target what the vice president called “left-wing extremism” after Kirk's killing, although law enforcement officials have said they believe the shooter acted alone.

Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.