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A memorial service for conservative activist Charlie Kirk, held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday, drew an estimated 100,000 attendees, featuring powerful speeches from President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Kirk's widow Erika Kirk, and other prominent figures.
The event, designated a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) Level 1 event due to its national significance, featured a mix of political tributes, religious themes, and calls for unity, with Erika Kirk delivering an emotional address in which she declared her forgiveness for the alleged shooter, stating, "I forgive him because it was what Christ did and what Charlie would do."
President Trump hailed Kirk as a "giant of his generation" and a "martyr" for American freedom, while also humorously noting his disagreement with Kirk's belief in loving one's opponents, saying, "I hate my opponents, and I don’t want the best for them."
In her first major public address since her husband's assassination, Erika Kirk spoke with profound emotion, describing the moment she saw her husband's body and expressing her belief that he died without fear or agony, having "blinked and seen his savior in paradise." She tearfully declared her forgiveness for the gunman, emphasizing love and forgiveness as central to her husband's legacy and the Gospel.
Erika also confirmed her appointment as the new CEO and chair of Turning Point USA, vowing to continue her husband's mission of campus debates and political activism. She shared a tender moment, noting she saw a single gray hair on her husband's head and a faint smile on his lips, which she interpreted as a sign of peace.
The President delivered a lengthy eulogy, calling Kirk a "master builder" of people and a "missionary with a noble spirit" who "did not hate his opponents." He expressed deep disagreement with this philosophy, stating, "I hate my opponents, and I don’t want the best for them," which drew laughter and cheers from the crowd. Trump announced he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously, a promise he first made at a Pentagon event commemorating 9/11. He concluded his speech by calling Kirk "eternal" and "bigger now than ever before."
Popular conservative journalist, commentator and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson addressed the crowd, and told his "favorite story ever" about the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
"Oh, that made me emotional, made me emotional to see that. Susie Wiles had tears in her eyes, which you don’t often see in politics, but it’s real," Carlson said referring to the White House Chief of Staff who spoke before him. "This is the most unbelievable thing I think I’ve ever seen. And I don’t… Whatever happens next in America, I hope it’s in this direction, because God is here, and you can feel it. And Charlie would have loved this, not just because he loved large groups of people, but because ultimately he was a Christian evangelist."
Then Carlson continued:
"And it actually reminds me of my favorite story ever. So it’s about 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem, and Jesus shows up, and he starts talking about the people in power, and he starts doing the worst thing that you can do, which is telling the truth about people, and they hate it. And they just go bonkers. They hate it. And they become obsessed with making him stop. 'This guy’s got to stop talking. We’ve got to shut this guy up.'
"And I can just sort of picture the scene in a lamplit room with a bunch of guys sitting around eating hummus, thinking about what do we do about this guy telling the truth about us? 'We must make him stop talking.' And there’s always one guy with a bright idea, and I can just hear him say, 'I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we just kill him? That’ll shut him up. That’ll fix the problem.'
"It doesn’t work that way. It doesn’t work that way. Everything is inverted, and the Beatitudes tell it, I think, the most crisply. Everything is sort of the opposite of what you think it’s going to be. It’s only an acknowledgment that what Charlie was really saying is that change begins, the only change that matters, when we repent of our sins. We, me. A recognition that the real problem is me, and how fallen I am.
'Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.'
"[He was bringing the gospel to the country. He was doing the thing that the people in charge hate most, which is calling for them to repent.] How is Charlie’s message different? Charlie was a political person who was deeply interested in coalition building and getting the right people in office, because he knew that vast improvements are possible politically, but he also knew that politics is not the final answer. It can’t answer the deepest questions, actually, that the only real solution is Jesus. Politics at its core is a process of critiquing other people and getting them to change. Christianity, the gospel message, the message of Jesus, begins with repentance.
"[Charlie was a man who followed a call to change our hearts from Jesus, which allowed him to forgive other people and not have hate in his heart.] Charlie was fearless at all times, truly fearless. To his last moment, he was unafraid. He was not defensive, and there was no hate in his heart. I know that because I’ve got a little hate compartment in my heart, and I would often express that surely about various people. He would always say, 'That’s a sad person, that’s a broken person, that’s a person who needs help, that’s a person who needs Jesus.' He said that in private, because he meant it."
Carlson's speech drew sharp criticisms from pro-Israel Jewish neocons who denounced his "favorite story ever" as "antisemitic." He's been a target of smear campaigns by pro-Israel groups since the popul;ar conservative commentator started criticizing Israeli military action against Palestinians in Gaza which the United Nations declared a genocide.
However many conservatives online praised Carlson's speech and pointed out he's merely referencing a factual story in the Bible about how a Jewish mob and their leaders the pharisees and Sadducees called for the killing and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Matthews 26: 1-5.
Leftists online were also enraged by the speeches at the memorial service. They claimed it's a "Christian nationalist" rally. However many conservatives embraced the label, pointing out that the speeches are all about honoring the life and message of Charlie Kirk: Christian evangelism and 'America first.'
The White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller also delivered a fiery speech at the memorial service, denouncing left-wing extremism and "wickedness," "jealousy, envy, hatred," and claiming they "can build nothing, produce nothing, create nothing." He positioned the conservative TPUSA movement as the force of creation and progress.
Others like the president's son Donald Trump Jr, Director of national Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Vice President Vance, Secretary Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke at the event.
Vance called Kirk a "hero" and a "martyr for the Christian faith," stating he "changed the course of history." Trump Jr. honored his close friend, saying Kirk "embodied something at the very core of our movement" and that "we are all Charlie." Hegseth called Kirk a "warrior for Christ."
Christian musicians Chris Tomlin, Brandon Lake, Phil Wickham, Kari Jobe Carnes, and Cody Carnes performed during the service. The event was held under tight security with "TSA-level screening" and was designated a SEAR Level 1 event, requiring extensive federal interagency support.