OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
10:50 AM – Saturday, September 13, 2025
Following the assassination of the 31-year-old conservative activist Charlie Kirk, his wife, Erika Kirk, made her first public address, promising to continue his legacy.
On Friday evening, two days after her husband was shot dead at Utah Valley University, Erika gave a 16-minute speech, which was livestreamed on Charlie’s YouTube channel from his podcast studio.
She began by thanking law enforcement officials who worked to capture the suspected killer, who has been named as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.
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Erika also thanked the team at Turning Point USA (TPUSA), the youth activism organization Charlie had co-founded.
Kirk’s wife also expressed gratitude for the support shown by the president, vice president, and their families.
“I want to thank my husband’s dear friend, Vice President Vance, and his phenomenal wife, Usha, for their love and support,” she said. “You guys honored my husband so well bringing him home. You both are tremendous.”
Vice President JD Vance and First Lady Usha Vance reworked their 9/11 schedule on Thursday to fly to Utah for a visit with the Kirk family, offering Air Force Two to transport Charlie’s casket to his home church in Arizona.
“I want to thank President Trump and his incredible family for the same,” Erika said. “Mr. President, my husband loved you. And he knew that you loved him, too.”
President Donald Trump broke the news of Charlie’s death on Wednesday afternoon. Charlie had been a loyal supporter of Trump during his 2024 campaign and is often credited with helping to win the vote of young people. Trump told the hosts of Fox and Friends that his youngest son, 19-year-old Barron Trump, admired Charlie and asked his father to set up a meeting with him.
In honor of Charlie, the president ordered flags to be flown at half-mast until Sunday.
“Charlie always said that when he was gone he … he wanted to be remembered for his courage and for his faith,” Erika said.
She declared, “Now and for all eternity, he will stand at his savior’s side wearing the glorious crown of a martyr.”
Charlie’s widow praised his love for their children and for herself, remembering how he would ask her, “How can I be a better husband?”
“He was the perfect husband,” she stated.
Erika also told her thousands of live viewers that one of Charlie’s favorite Bible verses was Ephesians 5:25.
“Husbands, love your wives,” she recited, voice breaking, “as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.”
Erika later described a heartbreaking moment when her family returned home after her husband’s death. Her daughter, three-year-old Charity Kirk, asked where her father was.
“What do you tell a three-year-old?” Erika lamented. “I said, ‘Baby, Daddy loves you so much. Don’t you worry. He’s on a work trip with Jesus so he can afford your blueberry budget.”
Charlie also leaves behind a one-year-old son.
She addressed the “evildoers” responsible for the assassination, saying they “have no idea what they have done.”
“They killed Charlie because he preached a message of patriotism, faith, and of God’s merciful love,” Erika stated. “But they should all know this: If you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country, and this world. You have no idea. You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife.”
She went on, “The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry. To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die.”
Charlie was killed at the first stop of TPUSA’s ‘The American Comeback Tour’, which was so far scheduled through September 30th. Erika promised a continuation of the campus tour this fall, despite whispers circulating that outdoor events are too dangerous in the current political environment. She also promised more tours to come, and announced that the 2025 America Fest conference will still be held in December.
The conference is set to take place in Phoenix, Arizona, and will feature speakers including Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump Jr., Jesse Watters, Greg Gutfeld, Matt Walsh and more.
“My husband’s mission will not end, not even for a moment,” Erika said.
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