This article is currently being heily edited because its subject has recently died. Information about their death and related events may change significantly and initial news reports may be unreliable. The most recent updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. Please feel free to improve this article (but edits without reliable references may be removed) or discuss changes on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Charles James Kirk (October 14, 1993 – September 10, 2025) was an American conservative[a] political activist, author, and media personality. He co-founded the conservative organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA) in 2012 and was its executive director. He was the chief executive officer of Turning Point Action (TPAction) and a member of the Council for National Policy (CNP). In his later years, he was one of the most prominent voices of the populist MAGA movement and exemplified the growth of Christian nationalism in the Republican Party.[6][7][8][9][10]
Charlie KirkKirk in July 2025BornCharles James Kirk(1993-10-14)October 14, 1993Arlington Heights, Illinois, U.S.DiedSeptember 10, 2025(2025-09-10) (aged 31)Orem, Utah, U.S.Cause of deathGunshot woundOccupationsPolitical activistauthornonprofit executivemedia personalityorganizerYears active2012–2025Organizations Turning Point USA Turning Point Action Political partyRepublicanMovement Conservatism Trumpism Christian right[1] Spouse Erika Frantzve (m. 2021)Children2AwardsSee full list Kirk's voice Kirk on the influence of religion on people's behiorRecorded March 15, 2022Kirk was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs of Arlington Heights and Prospect Heights, Illinois. In high school, Kirk actively engaged in politics, supporting Republican candidate Mark Kirk (no relation) and his U.S. Senate campaign. He briefly attended Harper College before dropping out to pursue political activism full-time, influenced by Tea Party member Bill Montgomery. In 2012, Kirk founded TPUSA, a conservative student organization that quickly grew with backing from donors like Foster Friess.
Kirk expanded the organization's influence through initiatives such as the Professor Watchlist and School Board Watchlist, which sought to fire or silence professors and educators through targeted harassment campaigns for sharing opinions opposed by Turning Point. In 2019, Kirk founded Turning Point Action, a political advocacy arm, and later, with Pentecostal pastor Rob McCoy, formed Turning Point Faith—aimed at mobilizing religious communities on conservative issues. Kirk hosted The Charlie Kirk Show, a conservative talk radio program. A key ally of Donald Trump, Kirk promoted conservative and Trump-aligned causes. He espoused a variety of controversial views, especially regarding his opposition to gun control, abortion and LGBTQ rights; his criticism of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Martin Luther King Jr.; and his promotion of Christian nationalism, COVID-19 misinformation, the Great Replacement conspiracy theory, and false claims of electoral fraud in 2020.
On September 10, 2025, Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at a TPUSA event on the campus of Utah Valley University as part of his American Comeback Tour at his signature Prove Me Wrong table.[11]
Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Organizations 2.1 Turning Point USA 2.2 Turning Point Action 2.3 Turning Point Faith 2.4 Falkirk Center for Faith and Liberty 3 Media 4 Political positions and activities 4.1 Republican and pro-Trump activism 4.2 Promotion of falsehoods and conspiracy theories 4.2.1 COVID-19 misinformation 4.2.2 Election fraud claims and 2021 United States Capitol attack 4.3 Social policy 4.3.1 Christian nationalism 4.3.2 LGBTQ rights 4.3.3 Abortion 4.3.4 Gun rights and the Second Amendment 4.3.5 Relationships and "sexual anarchy" 4.3.6 Race 4.3.7 African Americans 4.3.7.1 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 4.3.8 Jewish Americans 4.3.9 Islam 4.3.10 Immigration 4.3.11 Opioid epidemic in the United States 4.4 Foreign affairs 4.4.1 Israel and Palestine 4.4.2 Russian invasion of Ukraine 5 Achievements and legacy 6 Books 7 Personal life 7.1 Religious views 7.1.1 Creationism 8 Death 8.1 Reactions 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References 12 External links Early life and educationCharles James Kirk was born on October 14, 1993, in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois,[12] and raised in nearby Prospect Heights. His mother is a mental health counselor, and his father is an architect.[13] Kirk was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and earned the rank of Eagle Scout.[14] In 2010, during his junior year at Wheeling High School, he volunteered for the successful U.S. Senate campaign of Illinois Republican Mark Kirk (no relation).[15] In his senior year, Kirk created a campaign to reverse a price increase for cookies at his school.[13] He also wrote an essay for Breitbart News alleging liberal bias in high school textbooks, which led to an appearance on Fox Business. Kirk attended Harper College near Chicago, but dropped out before completing a degree or certificate.[12]
At a speaking engagement at Benedictine University's "Youth Empowerment Day", Kirk met Bill Montgomery, a retiree more than 50 years his senior, who was then a Tea Party–backed legislative candidate.[16][17] Montgomery encouraged Kirk to engage in political activism full-time.[12] He subsequently founded Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a "grass-roots organization to rival liberal groups such as MoveOn.org".[18] At the 2012 Republican National Convention, Kirk met Foster Friess, a prominent Republican donor, and persuaded him to finance the organization.[16][18]
Organizations Turning Point USA Main article: Turning Point USAKirk was CEO, chief fundraiser, and the public face of Turning Point USA from its founding to his death in 2025.[19][14] He co-founded the organization in 2012 at 18 years of age.[20] According to The New York Times, he turned the organization into a "well-funded media operation, backed by conservative megadonors like the Wyoming businessman Foster Friess".[21] TPUSA's activities include publication of the Professor Watchlist and the School Board Watchlist.[22] Critics of these watchlists say that they threaten academic freedom and he led to the targeted harassment of academics.[23][24] In 2019, the Professor Watchlist was briefly suspended by its web host.[25]
Kirk and President Donald Trump speaking with attendees at a Turning Point Action Conference in 2023In 2020, ProPublica investigated the finances of TPUSA and found that the organization made "misleading financial claims", that the audits were not done by an independent auditor, and that the leaders had enriched themselves while advocating for Trump. ProPublica also reported that Kirk's salary from TPUSA had increased from $27,000 to nearly $300,000 and that he had bought an $855,000 condo in Longboat Key, Florida.[26] In 2020, Turning Point USA had $39.2 million in revenues.[27] Kirk earned a salary of more than $325,000 from TPUSA and related organizations.[28]
Kirk and Candace Owens speaking at the Student Action Summit hosted by Turning Point USA, West Palm Beach, Florida, December 22, 2018In 2021, TPUSA announced an online academy targeted towards students in schools "poisoning our youth with anti-American ideas". Turning Point Academy was intended to cater to families seeking an "America-first education". Arizona education firm StrongMind initially partnered with TPUSA with plans to open the academy by the fall of 2022 and assessed its "potential to generate over $40 million in gross revenue at full capacity (10,000 students)". The partnership ended after StrongMind received backlash from its own employees and key subcontractor Freedom Learning Group, which prepared course content for the academy, also backed out.[29]
Turning Point ActionIn May 2019, it was reported that Kirk was preparing to launch Turning Point Action, a 501(c)(4) entity designed to target Democrats.[30] In July 2019, Kirk announced that Turning Point Action had acquired Students for Trump along with "all associated media assets."[31] He became chairman and launched a campaign to recruit one million students for the 2020 Trump re-election campaign.[32] The unsuccessful effort led to TPUSA and the Trump campaign blaming each other for an overall decline in youth support for Trump.[33] In December 2022, Kirk announced the Mount Vernon Project, an initiative by Turning Point Action to remove members from the Republican National Committee who were not "grassroot conservatives".[34]
Turning Point FaithAfter Liberty University did not renew Kirk's contract with the Falkirk Center for Faith and Liberty in 2021, Charlie Kirk and Rob McCoy founded Turning Point Faith, an organization that encouraged pastors and other church leaders to be active in local and national political issues.[35][36] Its activities include faith-based voter drives and inculcating TPUSA's core values."[37] According to TPUSA's 2021 Investor Prospectus, the program—with a budget of $6.4 million—"will 'address America's crumbling religious foundation by engaging thousands of pastors nationwide' in order to 'breathe renewed civic engagement into our churches'."[38]
Falkirk Center for Faith and LibertyIn November 2019, Kirk and Jerry Falwell Jr. co-founded the "Falkirk Center for Faith and Liberty", a right-wing think-tank funded, owned and housed by Liberty University.[39][40][35] "Falkirk" was a portmanteau of "Falwell" and "Kirk".[35] Fellows included Antonia Okafor, director of outreach for Gun Owners of America; Sebastian Gorka, former deputy assistant to President Trump; and Jenna Ellis, a senior legal counselor for Trump.[41][40] In 2020, the Falkirk Center spent at least $50,000 on political Facebook advertisements promoting Trump and Republican candidates.[42]
Students and alumni raised objections about the organization's aggressive political tone, which they considered to be inconsistent with the university's mission.[40][35] Falwell resigned as president of Liberty University in August 2020, and the university did not renew Kirk's one-year contract in late 2020. In 2021, the university renamed the organization "Standing for Freedom Center".[35]
MediaFrom October 2020 until his death, Kirk hosted a daily three-hour radio talk show, called The Charlie Kirk Show, on Salem Media's "The Answer" radio channel.[43][44] According to internal data from Turning Point USA, Kirk's podcast was being downloaded between 500,000 and 750,000 times each day in 2024.[45]
Kirk debating with a college student in April 2024As of December 7, 2021, The Charlie Kirk Show podcast was ranked as the 21st-most-popular podcast on Apple Podcasts.[46] Kirk's "Turning Point Live" was a three-hour streaming talk show aimed at Generation Z. Turning Point USA's monthly online erage grew to 111,000 unique visitors in 2021.[47] A February 2023 Brookings Institution study found Kirk's podcast contained the second-highest proportion of false, misleading and unsubstantiated statements among 36,603 episodes produced by 79 prominent political podcasters.[48]
In 2022, journalist Bari Weiss released a report of internal Twitter documents dubbed "The Twitter Files", which alleged that Twitter was censoring conservative personalities on the social media platform. Weiss posted screenshots of Twitter tools that moderators could use to limit the reach of posts and accounts. According to Rolling Stone magazine, Kirk's Twitter account was flagged under "do not amplify", which meant algorithms would not highlight tweets coming from those accounts.[49][50]
In April 2024, Kirk created a TikTok account after previously expressing skepticism of the social media platform. Kirk's account gained popularity on the platform after he posted numerous videos of him talking to college students during his campus tours, with some videos garnering as many as 50 million views.[51] In February 2025, Kirk signed with Trinity Broadcasting Network to host a weekday talk show, Charlie Kirk Today.[52]
Political positions and activities Charlie Kirk with Nate Morris at his final political rally at Shepherdsville, KentuckyKirk's outspoken political activism received criticism and controversy. The New York Times described Charlie Kirk as symbolizing hope for the Christian right.[1] His rhetoric was described as divisive, racist, xenophobic, and extreme by groups that studied hate speech, including the Southern Poverty Law Center. Kirk disagreed with critics that he created a toxic environment online, arguing that "Disagreement is a healthy part of our systems".[53]
Kirk was the William F. Buckley Jr. Council Member of the Council for National Policy (CNP), a group "that has served for decades as a hub for a nationwide network of conservative activists and the donors who support them",[54] according to the CNP's September 2020 membership directory leaked in February 2021.[55][56][57] He was a spokesperson for CNP Action, the political arm of the CNP.[56][58] In March 2025, President Trump appointed Kirk to the United States Air Force Academy Board of Visitors.[59][60] Kirk's last political rally had taken place in Kentucky, where he appeared alongside Senate candidate Nate Morris.[61][62]
Republican and pro-Trump activism Kirk with Donald Trump at a rally in 2021Kirk addressed the 2016 Republican National Convention.[63] In an interview with Wired magazine during the convention, Kirk said that while he "was not the world's biggest Donald Trump fan", he would vote for him, and that Trump's candidacy made Turning Point's mission more difficult.[64] Kirk flipped to supporting Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention and spent the remainder of the campaign assisting with trel and media arrangements for Donald Trump Jr.[65] In October 2016, Kirk participated in a Fox News event along with Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Lara Trump that had a pro-Donald Trump tone.[66]
In July 2019, Kirk became chairman of Students for Trump, which had been acquired by Turning Point Action, and launched a campaign to recruit one million students for the 2020 Trump reelection campaign.[32] The unsuccessful effort led to TPUSA and the Trump campaign blaming each other for an overall decline in youth support for Trump.[33] In April 2020, Matthew Rosenberg and Katie Rogers wrote in The New York Times that Kirk "[walks] the line between mainstream conservative opinion and outright disinformation" and that "with a powerful ally in the president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., Mr. Kirk both amplifies the president's message and helps shape it."[65]
On March 3, 2020, Kirk released his book, The MAGA Doctrine, a manifesto for the Make America Great Again movement, in which he said that the Republican Party is "in some sense no longer a conservative party, no longer the party of Reagan, but instead a Trump-remade populist party".[67] At an August 2020 meeting of the Council for National Policy, Kirk said: "Democrats he done a really foolish thing by shutting down all these campuses ... It's gonna remove ballot harvesting opportunities and all their voter fraud that they usually do on college campuses – so they're actually removing half a million votes off the table. So please keep the campuses closed – it's a great thing. Whatever!"[54] In December 2022, Kirk urged the Republican National Committee to listen to their grassroots voters. Kirk stated that "If ignored, we will he the most stunted and muted Republican Party in the history of the conservative movement, the likes of which we hen't seen in generations."[34]
Kirk and Senator Rand Paul in Palm Beach, Florida, December 18, 2019Kirk was an early investor in 1789 Capital, which invests in conservative "MAGA" businesses. Trump Jr. joined 1789 Capital in November 2024, after Trump won the 2024 election.[68][69] Prior to the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Kirk visited approximately 25 college campuses, marketed as the "You're Being Brainwashed" tour. His aim was to stir up more Gen Z voter turnout, and he would engage and debate with students on many different relevant topics. According to Turning Point Action, the tour produced around two billion viral views on social media.[70] The tour has been praised as hing a "critical role" in helping Donald Trump's election.[71] Kirk aided the president-elect in choosing leadership positions for his administration, including cabinet positions.[72]
On July 15, 2025, Kirk conducted extensive interviews about Jeffrey Epstein on his podcast and pressured Trump's administration to release more information.[8] By then Kirk was one of the most prominent figures in the populist MAGA movement and often described as the face of the movement.[7][8][9]
Promotion of falsehoods and conspiracy theories External videos Charlie Kirk ~ The Conservative Forum ~ 9-8-2015 on YouTube (Liberty Forum of Silicon Valley) (at 2:10–3:20)According to Forbes, Kirk was known for "his repudiation of liberal college education and embrace of pro-Trump conspiracy theories".[73] Kirk promoted the Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory and described universities as "islands of totalitarianism".[14][74][75]
In a 2015 speech at the Liberty Forum of Silicon Valley, Kirk stated that he had applied for nomination to the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, and was not accepted.[19] He said that "the slot he considered his went to 'a far less-qualified candidate of a different gender and a different persuasion'" whose test scores he claimed he knew.[14] He told The New Yorker in 2017 that he was being sarcastic when he said it.[14] He told the Chicago Tribune in 2018 that "he was just repeating something he'd been told",[13][76] while at a New Hampshire Turning Point event featuring Rand Paul in October 2019 he claimed that he never said it.[76]
In July 2018, Kirk falsely claimed on social media that Justice Department statistics showed an increase in human trafficking arrests from 1,952 in the year 2016 to 6,087 in the first half of 2018. He deleted the tweet without an explanation the next day, after a fact-checker had pointed out that the false 2018 number had originated on the conspiracy site 8chan.[77][78] In December 2018, Kirk falsely claimed that protesters in the French yellow vests movement chanted "We want Trump". These false claims were later repeated by President Trump himself.[79]
Kirk spread falsehoods about voter fraud,[80][81] as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.[73] In defending the Trump administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kirk falsely stated that, during the H1N1 swine flu pandemic, it "took President Barack Obama 'millions infected and over 1,000 deaths'" to declare a public health emergency.[82][83] In fact, when the Obama administration acknowledged the WHO's declaration of a public health emergency on April 26, 2009,[84] there were less than 280 cases of H1N1 infection reported in the U.S.,[85] and the first confirmed death (of a Mexican toddler on vacation) occurred the next day, April 27.[86] The WHO projected 1,000,000+ U.S. cases on June 25, after declaring a pandemic on June 11.[87]
COVID-19 misinformation Kirk with Simone Gold, founder of America's Frontline Doctors, at a TPUSA forum in 2020Kirk spread false information about COVID-19 on social media platforms, such as Twitter, in 2020. Kirk sharply criticized Democrats' criticism of Donald Trump's withdrawal of WHO funding and referred to COVID-19 as the "China virus", which was retweeted by Trump.[65] Kirk alleged that the WHO covered up information about the COVID-19 pandemic. He was briefly banned from Twitter after falsely claiming that hydroxychloroquine had proved to be "100% effective in treating the virus";[65] he alleged that Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic governor of Michigan, threatened doctors who tried to use the medication.[65] These falsehoods were retweeted by Rudy Giuliani, whose account was then suspended by Twitter as well.[65][88]
Kirk described the public health measure of social distancing prohibitions in churches as a "Democratic plot against Christianity" and made the unfounded assertion that authorities in Wuhan, China, were burning patients.[65] In 2020, Kirk said that he refused to abide by mask requirements, stating that "the science around masks is very questionable."[73][89] In July 2021, Kirk promoted misleading claims about the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines.[28] On Fox News' Tucker Carlson show, Kirk called mandatory requirements for students to take the COVID-19 vaccine "medical apartheid".[90] Kirk called for parents to protest at school board meetings urging parents to stand up and push back against mask-wearing.[91]
Election fraud claims and 2021 United States Capitol attackImmediately after Donald Trump lost the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Kirk promoted false and disproven claims of fraud in the election.[92][93] On November 5, 2020, Kirk was the leader of a Stop the Steal protest at the Maricopa Tabulation Center in Phoenix.[94] Kirk was considered a "big name" social influencer in Rudy Giuliani's communications plan to overturn the 2020 election.[95]
On January 5, 2021, the day before the Washington, D.C., protest that led to the January 6 United States Capitol attack, Kirk wrote on Twitter that Turning Point Action and Students for Trump were sending more than 80 "buses of patriots to D.C. to fight for this president".[96][97][98] A spokesman for Turning Point said that the groups ended up sending seven buses, not 80, with 350 students.[96][99] In the lead-up to the storming, Kirk said he was "getting 500 emails a minute calling for a civil war."[100] Publix heiress Julie Fancelli ge Kirk's organizations $1.25 million to fund the buses to the January 6 event. Kirk also paid $60,000 for Kimberly Guilfoyle to speak at the Trump rally.[101]
Afterward, Kirk said the violent acts at the Capitol were not an insurrection and did not represent mainstream Trump supporters.[102][103] Appearing before the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack in December 2022, Kirk pleaded the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. His team provided the committee "with 8,000 pages of records in response to its requests".[104] In another closed-door meeting of the House January 6 Committee, Ali Alexander blamed Kirk and Turning Point USA for financing the trel of demonstrators to the Stop the Steal rally.[105]
Social policy Christian nationalismIn the 2020s, Kirk was a Christian nationalist who advocated for the end of the separation of Church and state in the United States.[106][107][10] In 2024, Kirk stated, "One of the reasons we're living through a constitutional crisis is that we no longer he a Christian nation, but we he a Christian form of government, and they're incompatible. You cannot he liberty if you do not he a Christian population".[108]Appearing at a Trump campaign rally in the same year, he declared "This is a Christian state. I'd like to see it stay that way".[109] Kirk promoted the Seven Mountain Mandate, a dominion theology concept which calls for Christians to control seven spheres of society (government, education, media, arts and entertainment, business, family, and religion).[10] Before the 2020s, Kirk had been more secular. He told De Rubin in 2018: "We do he a separation of church and state, and we should support that".[10]
Kirk believed in the superiority of the Western world. In a 2023 speech, he said that "all men are created equal in the eyes of God, all men and women, but not all cultures are created equal. To say that, you get attacked in every direction, but excuse me when I say that Western civilization is the best that humanity has produced. It’s an outgrowth of the Bible."[110]
LGBTQ rightsAccording to a 2024 NBC News report, Kirk was relatively secular liberal regarding LGBTQ rights in the United States in 2018, but shifted towards more religious conservative stances.[10] Kirk argued there is an "LGBTQ agenda",[10] and he opposed gay marriage.[111] In 2024, while criticizing YouTuber Ms. Rachel for quoting Leviticus 19:18 ("Love your neighbor as yourself"), Kirk responded by citing Leviticus 20:13 ("If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them he committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them"), as "God's perfect law when it comes to sexual matters".[106] According to Media Matters, Kirk argued against gender-affirming care for transgender people, saying, "We must ban trans-affirming care — the entire country. Donald Trump needs to run on this issue."[112] Kirk stated that "there are only two genders" and that "transgenderism and gender 'fluidity' are lies that hurt people and abuse kids".[113][independent source needed] He has said that transgender women in women's locker rooms should be taken care of "the way we used to take care of things in the 1950s and 60s".[114]
AbortionIn a September 2024 debate hosted by Jubilee Media, Kirk argued that there may be situations wherein abortion could be medically necessary if the mother's life is at risk. However, he also argued that abortion is murder and should be illegal. He opposed exceptions for rape, including for children as young as 10.[115] Kirk compared abortion to the Holocaust, and said that abortion is worse.[116]
Kirk with Tucker Carlson in December 2018 Gun rights and the Second AmendmentKirk was a gun owner and gun rights advocate. After the Parkland shooting in February 2018, he spoke for the National Rifle Association in Parkland, Florida.[117][118] Kirk was invited by a student to a pro-gun event in the school where the shooting happened, but the event was cancelled. He had said that guns, armed guards and gun detectors could be used in order to prevent shootings in schools and campuses.[119][120] In an April 2023 Turning Point USA event in Salt Lake City, Utah, Kirk said: "I think it's worth it, I think it's worth to he a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can he the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights."[121][122][123][124]
Relationships and "sexual anarchy"In October 2021, Kirk said on his podcast that Democrats wanted Americans to live where "there is no cultural identity, where you live in sexual anarchy, where private property is a thing of the past, and the ruling class controls everything." Following social media backlash, he released a statement on the website of the Claremont Institute doubling down on and expanding his remarks.[125][126][113]
According to Media Matters, at the TPUSA Young Women's Leadership Summit 2022 Conference, Kirk said that the "biblical model" for women to pursue in romantic relationships is a partner who is "a protector and a leader, and deep down, a vast majority of you agree" and that "if you want to go meet conservative men that he their act together, that aren't like, woke beta men, like, start a Turning Point USA chapter, you'll meet a lot of them."[127] Kirk stated that birth control makes women angry and bitter, which he alleged suited the political leanings of the Democratic Party. He also believed the medication "screws up female brains".[128]
RaceKirk said that the concept of white privilege is a myth and a "racist idea".[129][19][130] Kirk served on President Donald Trump's 1776 Commission, a response to the 1619 Project.[131] Assuming "more hard-right positions", he said that Democratic immigration policies were aimed at "diminishing and decreasing white demographics in America."[57][132] In October 2021, Kirk began the "Exposing Critical Racism Tour" of a number of campuses and off-campus venues to "fight racist theories on America's college campuses!"[133][134] Kirk posted on Instagram in March 2024 that "The 'Great Replacement' is not a theory, it's a reality." Alongside this statement, Kirk shared a screenshot from a Fox News story headline that read; "7.2M illegals entered the U.S. under Biden admin[istration], an amount greater than population of 36 states."[135]
Kirk with Ben Carson in June 2024 African AmericansIn 2018, Kirk cited single motherhood in Chicago's Black community as a cause of gun violence, blaming the absence of a father from some Black households on "a broken culture problem."[136][137]
On the Minnesota leg of the tour on October 5, 2021, Kirk called George Floyd a "scumbag" and appeared to refer to the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol when he said that "if you dare walk into the U.S. Capitol building and take a selfie, they'll put you in solitary confinement."[138]
Kirk promoted several debunked claims about Floyd, such as that he was "illegally counterfeiting currency," and had once "put a gun to a pregnant woman's stomach."[138] On Facebook, YouTube and Rumble, Kirk repeatedly promoted the false claim that the medical examiner who performed the autopsy declared Floyd had died of an overdose. Following a fact check by AFP that noted the doctor stood by the classification of Floyd's death as a homicide, corrections were added to Kirk's posts on social media.[139] In a November 2021 Fox News article, Kirk wrote that he believed state power should be used to stop teachers from instructing children on critical race theory: "directly confronting the left, and promising to fight their illiberal ideology with state power when necessary, is the key to winning everyday Americans."[140][141]
Kirk praised Martin Luther King Jr. prior to December 2023, variously calling him a "hero" and a "civil rights icon". That December, however, he used a speech at AmericaFest to describe him as "awful ... not a good person" and as someone who is admired only because he "said one thing he didn't actually believe." The speech also saw Kirk condemn the Civil Rights Act of 1964, calling its passage a "huge mistake" and alleging that it had created a "permanent DEI-type bureaucracy".[141] Kirk called the legal apparatus of the Civil Rights Act an "anti-white weapon."[142] Kirk told The New York Times, "I take the Caldwellian view, from his book The Age of Entitlement, that we went through a new founding in the '60s and that the Civil Rights Act has actually superseded the U.S. Constitution as its reference point. In fact, I bet if you polled Americans, most of them would he more reverence for the Civil Rights Act than the Constitution. I could be wrong, but I think I'm right."[51]
In January 2024, Kirk said that a "myth" had been created around King which had "grown totally out of control" and that King was currently "the most honored, worshiped, even deified person of the 20th century" despite "most people" supposedly disliking him during his life. Responding to accusations by Malcolm Kenyatta that he was working to undermine King and the Voting Rights Act, Kirk called this claim "a lie" and "fear-mongering", and added that telling the "truth" about King "should not be trampling sacred ground" since he was "just a man ... a very flawed one at that" and a "mythological anti-racist creation of the 1960s." Kirk later said he had "found the sacred cow of modern America" in criticizing King.[143]
On September 9, 2025, while speaking about the unprovoked murder of a Ukrainian refugee woman in Charlotte, North Carolina, Kirk accused Democrats of spreading a "false narrative" that "that there is a relentless assault against Black people on behalf of white people",[144] saying "White individuals are actually more likely to be attacked, especially even per capita, by Black individuals in this country."[9]
Diversity, Equity and InclusionAlso in January 2024, Kirk blamed DEI programs for national iation issues, saying, "If I see a Black pilot, I'm going to be like, 'Boy, I hope he's qualified.'"[145][146][147] He had previously expressed opposition to DEI programs, describing them as "anti-White".[148] NBC News further reported that Kirk's comments about DEI programs and his comment about Black or African American airline pilots resulted in ongoing conflict with the Republican National Committee over outreach to Black voters.[45] Kirk called Ketanji Brown Jackson a "recipient of Affirmative Action" and said she was nominated for the Supreme Court because of her race.[149] Kirk blamed the high death toll of the July 2025 Central Texas floods on DEI.[150]
Jewish AmericansAfter the October 7 attacks, Kirk criticized Jewish philanthropy to American universities for "subsidizing your own demise by supporting institutions that breed Anti-Semites and endorse genocidal killers." Weeks later, on "The Charlie Kirk Show", he said that Jewish people control "not just the colleges; it's the nonprofits, it's the movies, it's Hollywood, it's all of it." These comments were criticized by some conservatives for being anti-semitic. The ADL accused Kirk of creating a "vast platform for extremists and far-right conspiracy theorists" and promoting "Christian nationalism".[151]
Kirk stated in late 2023 that "Jewish donors" had "a lot of explaining to do" and that they had "been the number one funding mechanism of radical open-border, neoliberal, quasi-Marxist policies, cultural institutions and nonprofits". He later also said that "Jews he been some of the largest funders of cultural Marxist ideas and supporters of those ideas over the last 30 or 40 years".[152]
After Elon Musk was widely criticized for endorsing an antisemitic post that referenced the Great Replacement Theory and blamed "Jewish communities" for supporting mass migration, Kirk defended Musk, stating that "Jewish communities he been pushing the exact kind of hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them."[153] Kirk went on to say that it was "completely correct" that "the philosophical foundation of anti-whiteness has been largely financed by Jewish donors in the country", praising Tucker Carlson's statements on the issue.[154]
Kirk with Alex Marlow and Nigel Farage in December 2018In July 2025, Kirk warned his followers against hatred of Jews, calling it "evil" and "demonic".[155] He has said that he had defended Israel for his "whole life".[151] Some Jewish public figures he defended Kirk against accusations of antisemitism, citing his pro-Israel stance. Kirk has been funded by some Jewish donors, including Bernie Marcus.[156]
IslamFollowing the victory of Zohran Mamdani in the 2025 New York City Democratic mayoral primary, Kirk posted that "24 years ago a group of Muslims killed 2,753 people on 9/11. Now a Muslim Socialist is on pace to run New York City." Liberal Fox News commentator Jessica Tarlov asked Kirk to take down the "gross and islamophobic" post.[157] In a separate post, Kirk argued that "It's not Islamophobia to notice that Muslims want to import values into the West that seek to destabilize our civilization."[158] Earlier in 2018, Kirk spoke at the annual conference of anti-Muslim group ACT for America, an organization with multiple ties to Turning Point USA.[159]
Following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Kirk incorrectly linked Ilhan Omar to Hamas and called for her deportation.[110]
ImmigrationAt a 2023 event at Missouri State University, Kirk said that immigration to the United States should be completely stopped.[110]
In the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election, Kirk promoted the false claim that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio were eating residents' pets and other wildlife.[160][161]
Opioid epidemic in the United StatesKirk blamed the Chinese Communist government and drug cartels for the opioid crisis in the United States, telling the audience that "almost nobody in this audience has a friend that you've lost to the Russian government but you do he a friend or a family member that has died because of the cartels and the Chinese Communist Party with a fentanyl coming into our communities".[162]
Foreign affairs Israel and PalestineKirk was highly supportive of Israel.[163][164][165][166] During a 2019 visit to Jerusalem, he told an audience "I'm very pro-Israel ... and my whole life I he defended Israel".[151] In August 2025 he said "I he a bulletproof resumé showing my defense of Israel ... I believe in the scriptural land rights given to Israel. I believe in fulfilment of prophecy", and added that he would "fight for" Israel.[167]
Kirk often repeated pro-Israeli talking points about the Gaza war/Gaza Genocide.[167] He blamed Hamas for the deaths of civilians in Gaza,[167] and denied that Israel is starving Palestinians.[151]
In April 2024, he backed Republican crackdowns on the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses.[151] However, in April 2025, he dismissed the Trump administration's efforts to punish pro-Palestinian students on campus as an attack on free speech, saying: "Once 'antisemitism' becomes valid grounds to censor or even imprison somebody, there will be frantic efforts to label all kinds of speech as antisemitic — the same way the left labeled all kinds of statements as 'racist' to justify silencing their opposition."[151]
In May 2025, Kirk opposed a bipartisan bill to expand anti-BDS laws, which punish the boycott of Israel.[168] He said the bill would "only create more antisemitism, and play into growing narratives that Israel is running the U.S. government".[169]
Although Kirk was a staunch defender of Israel, he also shared some critical views of the Israeli government. Shortly after the October 7 attacks on Israel in 2023, Kirk had promoted a conspiracy theory alleging the Israeli government knew that Hamas was going to launch the attack, and that Netanyahu allowed it to go ahead as part of a plan to remain in power.[170] Shortly before his death, he suggested that Jeffrey Epstein was an Israeli intelligence agent.[167]
In June 2025, Kirk opposed US involvement in the Iran–Israel War.[171]
Several Israeli government ministers, politicians and political activists mourned Kirk's death, with many describing him as a "friend of Israel" and a few linking his killing to anti-Zionists.[172] Netanyahu said he had recently invited Kirk to Israel, while Morton Klein said Kirk had recently accepted an invitation to speak at the Zionist Organization of America's national gala.[151]
Russian invasion of UkraineKirk often advanced pro-Russian talking points about the Russo-Ukrainian War.[173] In the days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kirk characterized the tensions as a "border dispute" and repeated on his Telegram channel false claims from Russian state media that Ukrainian forces had been shelling a Russian separatist encle. Kirk's spokesman said at the time that while Kirk disagreed with the Russian invasion, he was "rightly questioning" U.S. foreign policy.[174]
Kirk suggested that Russia might not he invaded Ukraine if Ukrainian citizens were well-armed and the country had strong gun rights like the U.S. (see gun law in Ukraine).[175] However, he opposed the U.S. sending arms to Ukraine or helping the country financially.[173] In August 2025, Kirk said that he disagreed with Trump's decision to send more military aid to Ukraine, saying: "We were against it with Biden. Why would we be for it now? Unless it gets us to a peace settlement".[176] He called Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "CIA puppet" and claimed that eastern Ukraine "historically belongs to Russia".[173] Kirk claimed that Zelenskyy had no interest in ending the war with Russia.[162] Kirk believed that the U.S. was "wrong" to view Russia as an enemy, although he said he did not like "the Russian Federation or Russian dictator Vladimir Putin".[173]
At the February 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference, Kirk said that "the southern border matters a lot more than the Ukrainian border" and "I want every Republican leader ... to call what's happening on the southern border an invasion because two million people waltzed into our country last year."[177]
Achievements and legacyKirk was listed on the 2018 Forbes 30 Under 30 in Law & Policy.[178][179] In May 2019, Kirk was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humanities (D.Hum.) from Liberty University.[180] A day after Kirk's death, Donald Trump announced that Kirk will be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[181]
BooksKirk co-wrote, with Brent Hamachek, the 2016 book Time for a Turning Point: Setting a Course Toward Free Markets and Limited Government for Future Generations (Simon & Schuster).[182] Kirk wrote the 2018 book Campus Battlefield: How Conservatives Can WIN the Battle on Campus and Why It Matters. Donald Trump Jr. wrote the foreword for the book.[183] In a review for The Weekly Standard, Adam Rubenstein described the book as a "hot mess", "nothing more than a marketing pitch for [Turning Point USA]" and said the "thin" book was "stuffed with reprintings of his tweets and quotes from others."[184] Other books include The MAGA Doctrine: The Only Ideas That Will Win the Future (2020),[185][186] The College Scam: How America's Universities Are Bankrupting and Brainwashing Away the Future of America's Youth (2022),[187] and Right Wing Revolution: How to Beat the Woke and Se the West (2024).[188]
Personal life Kirk and his wife, Erika Kirk, speaking together at an event in Texas in 2025In May 2021, Kirk married Erika Kirk (née Frantzve), a businesswoman, podcaster, and philanthropist who won the Miss Arizona USA pageant competition in 2012.[189][190] The couple's first child, a daughter, was born in August 2022.[191] The couple's second child, a son, was born in May 2024.[192]
Religious viewsKirk was an evangelical Christian.[193] The Christian denomination to which he belonged was the Calvary Chapel Association.[36] Prior to the early 2020s, Kirk was described as secular and a critic of religious influence on politics and the state.[10][194] Later he became a Christian nationalist. In 2021, Kirk partnered with California pastor Rob McCoy to launch TPUSA Faith to mobilize conservative Christians to vote Republican. Kirk's shift was influenced by events such as Trump's move of the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and COVID-era church closures, which he and his allies portrayed as religious persecution.[10]
CreationismCharlie Kirk advocated Christian creationism, arguing that evolution is false and that Charles Darwin has been debunked.[195][196] He has debated this topic at his Prove Me Wrong table on campus.[197][198] Speaking on a podcast episode with creationist Stephen Meyer, Kirk said that he was intrigued by Meyer's argument that there was scientific confirmation for intelligent design, contrary to Darwin.[199] He has discussed with Randy Guliuzza, the president of the Institute for Creation Research, their support for Young Earth Creationism on his podcast.[200]
Death Main article: Killing of Charlie KirkOn September 10, 2025, while on stage at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, for a TPUSA event, "The American Comeback Tour",[201][202] Kirk was fatally shot in the neck. The shooting took place around 12:20 p.m. MDT (18:20 UTC), 20 minutes after the event began, in front of an audience of about 3,000 people.[203][204][205] Immediately before being shot, Kirk was discussing mass shootings. A student asked "Do you know how many mass shooters there he been in America over the last 10 years?", and Kirk's last words before being shot were his reply, "Counting or not counting gang violence?"[206][207]
Kirk was taken to the Timpanogos Regional Hospital in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead later that afternoon. He was 31.[208][209] FBI special agent in charge Robert Bohls described the investigation as "in its early stages" and encouraged members of the public to come forward with information.[210]
Reactions Main article: Killing of Charlie Kirk § Reactions and analysisFollowing the shooting before Kirk was pronounced dead, President Trump called for prayers for Kirk on Truth Social.[211][212][213] Several prominent political figures from both parties echoed the sentiment while condemning the act of political violence,[205][214] as well as a number of international heads of state.[172][215][216][217] Trump issued an order for all US flags to be flown at half-staff throughout the United States in his honor until September 14 at 6:00 p.m.[218] Extremists called for violence and revenge in the aftermath of Kirk's killing,[219] and posted identifying details about people they accused of celebrating or justifying his death.[220]
See also Steven Crowder Ben Shapiro Dennis Prager Matt Walsh Candace Owens De Rubin Nick Fuentes Michael Knowles Tucker Carlson Glenn Beck Notes ^ Attributed to multiple sources: [2][3][4][5] References ^ a b Dias, Elizabeth; Graham, Ruth (September 11, 2025). "Kirk's Christian Supporters Mourn Him as a Martyr". Retrieved September 12, 2025. ^ Risen, Clay (September 10, 2025). "Charlie Kirk, Right-Wing Force and a Close Trump Ally, Dies at 31". The New York Times. Charlie Kirk, a conservative wunderkind who through his radio show, books, political organizing and speaking tours did much to shape the hard-right movement that has coalesced around President Trump, becoming a close ally of his, died on Wednesday in Orem, Utah, after he had been shot while speaking at a college campus event. ^ "Congress' civility crisis erupts over Charlie Kirk shooting". The shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk threatens to bring the already hostile relationship between Democrats and Republicans in Congress to a breaking point. ^ "How the Shooting of Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk Unfolded". ^ Kamisar, Ben (September 11, 2025). "Trump says he will award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously". NBC News. Retrieved September 11, 2025. President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously to conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in Utah on Wednesday. ^ "Conservative activist Charlie Kirk fatally shot in Utah; person of interest in custody". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ a b Riccardi, Nicholas; Swenson, Ali (September 10, 2025). "Turning Point founder has been a key figure in building support for Republicans among young people". AP News. Archived from the original on September 10, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025. Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old activist who was shot at an appearance at a Utah college Wednesday, personifies the pugnacious, populist conservatism that has taken over the Republican Party in the age of President Donald Trump. ^ a b c Lotz, Avery; Caputo, Marc (July 15, 2025). "Charlie Kirk talks Epstein, urges Trump administration to act". Axios. Archived from the original on July 15, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025. Charlie Kirk, one of the most powerful and influential MAGA podcasters, devoted Tuesday's podcast to extensive interviews about Jeffrey Epstein — a day after he and several other MAGA figures suggested they would take President Trump's advice and move on...On Tuesday's show, Kirk urged the Trump administration to fix the Epstein mess by disclosing more information. ^ a b c "Who was Charlie Kirk? What we know about the shooting and the suspect". Al Jazeera. September 11, 2025. Archived from the original on September 11, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025. Kirk's group grew into the country's largest conservative youth movement, and over the years, he became a central player in a network of pro-Trump influencers, often described as the face of the "Make America Great Again" movement. ^ a b c d e f g h Hixenbaugh, Mike; Smith, Allan (June 12, 2024). "Charlie Kirk once pushed a 'secular worldview.' Now he's fighting to make America Christian again". NBC News. Retrieved December 23, 2024. ^ Watson, Kathryn; Hubbard, Kaia; Walsh, Joe; Quinn, Melissa (September 10, 2025). "Charlie Kirk shot and killed at Utah event; manhunt for shooter still ongoing". CBS News. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ a b c Risen, Clay (September 10, 2025). "Charlie Kirk, Right-Wing Force and a Close Trump Ally, Dies at 31". The New York Times. ^ a b c Keilman, John (October 22, 2018). "Before Trump and Kanye became fans, Charlie Kirk battled 'Marxist' high school teachers in Chicago's suburbs". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 27, 2021. ^ a b c d e Mayer, Jane (December 21, 2017). "A Conservative Nonprofit That Seeks to Transform College Campuses Faces Allegations of Racial Bias and Illegal Campaign Activity". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2021. ^ Lester, Kerry (April 29, 2013). "Perfect storm launches 19-year-old Wheeling native into political punditry". Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, IL. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2018. ^ a b Nelson, Rebecca (March 25, 2015). "The 21-Year-Old Becoming a Major Player in Conservative Politics". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved September 25, 2020. ^ Peterson, Anne (May 2019). "Charlie Kirk And Candace Owens' Campus Tour Is All About The Owns". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved December 10, 2020. ^ a b Bykowicz, Julie (May 7, 2015). "This Boy Wonder Is Building the Conservative MoveOn.org in a Lemont Garage". Crain's Chicago Business. Bloomberg. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ a b c Guinto, Joseph (April 7, 2018). "Trump's man on campus". Politico. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2021. ^ "A Profile of Charlie Kirk". The Dartmouth Review. November 1, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2022. ^ Plott, Elaina (October 27, 2020). "Win or Lose, It's Donald Trump's Republican Party". The New York Times. Retrieved January 6, 2021. ^ Childress, Greg (September 7, 2021). "National watchlist for 'radical left' policies includes 5 North Carolina school boards". The Pulse. Retrieved November 13, 2021. ^ Wasser, Dan Lieberman,Jeff Simon,Zach (December 21, 2017). "Death threats forcing professors off campus". CNN. Retrieved September 11, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) ^ "Targeted Harassment of Faculty". www.aaup.org. Archived from the original on September 7, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Holt, Jared (May 13, 2019). "TPUSA's 'Professor Watchlist' Suspended By Web Host". www.peoplefor.org. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Spies, Mike; Pearson, Jake (July 21, 2020). "At This Trump-Fored Charity, Financial Reporting Is Questionable and Insiders Are Cashing In". ProPublica. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020. ^ Stone, Peter (October 23, 2021). "Money and misinformation: how Turning Point USA became a formidable pro-Trump force". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 7, 2025. Retrieved October 24, 2021. ^ a b Stanley-Becker, Isaac (July 29, 2021). "Charlie Kirk's pro-Trump youth group stokes vaccine resistance as covid surges again". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 13, 2021. ^ Stanley-Becker, Isaac; Reinhard, Beth (February 8, 2022). "Firm saw $40 million potential in Charlie Kirk's 'America-first' academy. Then its plans fell apart". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 6, 2022. ^ Schwartz, Brian (May 20, 2019). "Pro-Trump college GOP activist Charlie Kirk will launch a new group to target Democrats in 2020". CNBC. Retrieved July 22, 2019. ^ "Turning Point Action Launches 2020 Expansion, Acquires 'Students for Trump'". Students For Trump. Archived from the original on July 21, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2019. ^ a b Singman, Brooke (July 2, 2019). "Charlie Kirk launches GOTV campaign to enlist 1 million 'Students for Trump' in 2020". Fox News. Retrieved July 19, 2019. ^ a b Orr, Gabby (November 27, 2020). "Blame game erupts over Trump's decline in youth vote". Politico. Retrieved April 19, 2021. ^ a b Stanley-Baker, Isaac (December 23, 2022). "Charlie Kirk delivers a warning to the RNC, and sparks a backlash". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 24, 2022. ^ a b c d e Graham, Ruth (March 16, 2021). "Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk Lees Liberty University Think Tank". The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2025. The Falkirk Center, named for its founders, Jerry Falwell Jr. and Charlie Kirk, was the center of evangelical Trumpism. ^ a b Branson-Potts, Hailey (November 24, 2024). "In California, Charlie Kirk's pastor sees God's hand in Trump's win". The Columbian. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ "Turning Point Faith". tpusa.com. Turning Point USA. Retrieved September 6, 2021. ^ Armiak, Did (October 25, 2021). "Turning Point USA Seeks $43 Million to Escalate the Right's Culture War in American Schools". Center for Media and Democracy. Retrieved December 11, 2021. ^ Seltzer, Rick (October 29, 2020). "'Pray for Our President': A Liberty University think tank pushed the boundaries on political advertising and messaging this year". Inside Higher Education. Retrieved December 10, 2020. ^ a b c Parke, Caleb (December 2, 2019). "Kirk, Falwell Jr. launch Liberty University think tank to fight attacks on Judeo-Christian values". Fox News. Retrieved January 8, 2021. ^ Troutman, Hattie (January 20, 2020). "What is the Falkirk Center? Liberty University joins Charlie Kirk to create a new kind of think tank to promote faith and liberty on college campuses". liberty.edu. Liberty University Champion. Archived from the original on November 5, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020. ^ Severns, Maggie (December 14, 2020). "In final years at Liberty, Falwell spent millions on pro-Trump causes". POLITICO. Retrieved December 14, 2020. ^ Robins-Early, Nick (November 2, 2020). "The Christian Radio Network Working To Reelect Trump". HuffPost. Retrieved May 9, 2021. ^ Salem Media Group (September 1, 2020). "SRN Adds The Charlie Kirk Show to Weekday Lineup". Business Wire (Press release). Camarillo, CA. Retrieved November 25, 2020. ^ a b Smith, Allan; Gomez, Henry J.; Dixon, Matt; Hillyard, Vaughn (February 18, 2024). "Conservative activist Charlie Kirk helped oust Ronna McDaniel at the RNC. Now the knives are out for him". NBC News. Retrieved March 19, 2024. ^ Winn, Ross (May 21, 2018). "Top 100 US Podcasts (Apple Podcasts Top Charts)". podcastinsights.com. Podcast Insights. Retrieved November 15, 2021. ^ Beaumont, Thomas (November 17, 2021). "How a right-wing provocateur is using race to reach Gen Z". Associated Press. Retrieved November 18, 2021. ^ Thompson, Stuart A. (February 9, 2023). "Steve Bannon's Podcast Is Top Misinformation Spreader, Study Says". The New York Times. ^ Dickinson, Tim (December 9, 2022). "Latest 'Twitter Files' Allege Blacklisting of Conservatives". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 14, 2022. ^ Hewitt, Hugh (December 13, 2022). "I defended Twitter to other conservatives. I was wrong". Opinion. The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 14, 2022. ^ a b Draper, Robert (February 10, 2025). "How Charlie Kirk Became the Youth Whisperer of the American Right". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 11, 2025. ^ "Charlie Kirk Inks Deal with TBN For Nightly TV Show". Barrett Media. February 5, 2025. Retrieved July 11, 2025. ^ Rogers, Katie (September 10, 2025). "Inside the Close Alliance Between Trump and Charlie Kirk". The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2025. Mr. Kirk's own rhetoric was long cast as racist, xenophobic and extreme by groups that study hate speech, including the Southern Poverty Law Center. For years, he used his various platforms to decry racial equity programs, float an array of conspiracy theories and test out divisive messaging that Mr. Trump has later adopted. ^ a b O'Harrow, Robert (October 14, 2020). "Videos show closed-door sessions of leading conservative activists: 'Be not afraid of the accusations that you're a voter suppressor". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 28, 2021. ^ "CNP Membership Directory September 2020". Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2021. ^ a b Nelson, Annie (March 24, 2021). "The Shadow Network (Council for National Policy) Is Not Going Away". billmoyers.com. Retrieved September 18, 2021. ^ a b Wilson, Jason (September 30, 2021). "Top Republicans rub shoulders with extremists in secretive rightwing group, leak reveals". The Guardian. Retrieved October 28, 2021. ^ "CNP Action, Inc". cfnp.org. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021. ^ Samuels, Brett (March 17, 2025). "Trump appoints Charlie Kirk, Walt Nauta, Michael Flynn to military boards". The Hill. Archived from the original on March 20, 2025. Retrieved March 26, 2025. ^ Starcevic, Seb (March 17, 2025). "Trump stacks military academy boards with MAGA loyalists, including Michael Flynn and Charlie Kirk". POLITICO. Retrieved March 26, 2025. ^ "Charlie Kirk, Republican who helped Nate Morris launch Senate campaign, killed in shooting". Yahoo News. September 10, 2025. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ "Nate Morris rallies supporters with Charlie Kirk's support in Shepherdsville". WDRB. June 30, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ "Republican National Convention, Day 1 Afternoon Session". c-span.org. Retrieved April 16, 2022. ^ Lapowsky, Issie (July 20, 2016). "At the Republican Convention, Millennials Search for Signs of the Future". Wired. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2018. ^ a b c d e f g Rosenberg, Matthew; Rogers, Katie (April 19, 2020). "For Charlie Kirk, Conservative Activist, the Virus Is a Cudgel". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 19, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2021. ^ Vasquez, Michael (May 7, 2017). "Inside a Stealth Plan for Political Influence". The Chronicle of Higher Education. ISSN 0009-5982. Archived from the original on September 16, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017. ^ Allen, Mike (March 3, 2020). "Charlie Kirk leads pro-Trump youthquake with new book". Axios. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Tan, Gillian; Burton, Katherine (March 10, 2025). "Donald Trump Jr. Has Big Plans for Monetizing MAGA". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2025. Retrieved July 29, 2025. ^ Ulmer, Alexandra; Ulmer, Alexandra (November 12, 2024). "Trump son Don Jr joining venture capital firm 1789 Capital, sources say". Reuters. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Miller, Joshua Rhett (November 8, 2024). "Charlie Kirk took conservatism to college campuses ahead of Trump's big win". Newsweek. Retrieved November 19, 2024. ^ Aitken, Peter (November 17, 2024). "Trump Is Picking the 'Avenger Squad' for Cabinet, Charlie Kirk Says". Newsweek. Retrieved November 19, 2024. ^ Baio, Ariana (November 12, 2024). "Trump is taking Charlie Kirk's advice on who will serve in his administration". The Independent. Retrieved November 19, 2024. ^ a b c Solender, Andrew. "Trump Gives Conservative Youth Activist Charlie Kirk 'Patriotic Education' Post During Last-Minute Hiring Blitz". Forbes. Retrieved December 21, 2020. ^ Braune, Joan (2019). "Who's Afraid of the Frankfurt School? 'Cultural Marxism' as an Antisemitic Conspiracy Theory" (PDF). Journal of Social Justice. 9. New York City: Springer. ^ "Cambridge Union allowed far right-linked Turning Point to invite three members of their own debate opposition". Varsity Online. Retrieved November 9, 2020. ^ a b DePaolo, Joe (November 15, 2019). "Charlie Kirk Shouts 'Fake News' at a Town Hall Questioner for Asking About Something He Actually Said". mediaite. Archived from the original on October 8, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2020. ^ View, Tris (September 18, 2018). "How conspiracy theories spread from the Internet's darkest corners". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 6, 2021. ^ View, Tris (September 12, 2018). "How A QAnon Talking Point Treled From 8Chan To Charlie Kirk's Twitter Account". Contemptor. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021. ^ Baudoin-Laarman, Louis; Daudin, Guillaume (December 4, 2018). "No, French protesters are not chanting, 'We want Trump'". AFP Fact Check. Archived from the original on December 8, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018. ^ Culliford, Elizabeth (February 4, 2020). "REFILE-Iowa official slams viral claim of suspicious voter registration activity as false". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020. ^ "Report about potential Iowa voter fraud is false". PolitiFact. February 3, 2020. Archived from the original on May 25, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020. ^ Fichera, Angelo (March 31, 2020). "Flawed Comparison on Coronirus, H1N1 Emergency Timelines". FactCheck.org. Archived from the original on April 13, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020. ^ Qiu, Linda; Bouchard, Mikayla (March 5, 2020). "Tracking Trump's Claims on the Threat From Coronirus". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 18, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020. ^ "2009 H1N1 Flu Pandemic Timeline". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. May 8, 2019. Archived from the original on March 5, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ "Flu spreads across U.S., officials weigh measures | Top News". Uk.reuters.com. February 9, 2009. Archived from the original on May 7, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ "Swine flu fatality in Texas likely infected in Mexico, official says". CNN. Archived from the original on May 3, 2009. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ "1 Million Americans Likely Stricken by Swine Flu: CDC". Forbes. June 25, 2009. Archived from the original on June 27, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2009. ^ Porter, Tom (March 29, 2020). "Twitter deleted a tweet by Rudy Giuliani for spreading coronirus misinformation". Business Insider. Retrieved May 5, 2021. ^ Ecarma, Caleb (December 18, 2020). "Thousands of Young Conservatives May Hold Blowout Conference in Florida, COVID Be Damned". Vanity Fair. Retrieved December 21, 2020. ^ Levin, Bess (July 8, 2021). "'Apartheid-Style, Open-Air Hostage Situation': Conservatives Lose Their Minds Over Biden's Vaccination Push". Vanity Fair. Retrieved July 12, 2021. ^ Wong, Julia Carrie (August 24, 2021). "Masks off: how US school boards became 'perfect battlegrounds' for vicious culture wars". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 12, 2023. ^ Budryk, Zack (December 15, 2020). "Geraldo Rivera, Charlie Kirk clash over voter fraud: 'That is so dishonest'". TheHill. Retrieved December 18, 2020. ^ Collman, Ashley (December 15, 2020). "Fox News star Geraldo Rivera called out die-hard Trump fan Charlie Kirk for continuing to push voter-fraud theories after the Electoral College confirmed Biden's victory". Business Insider. Retrieved December 18, 2020. ^ Armiak, Did (November 6, 2020). "Operatives tied to Council for National Policy Organizing Protests Alleging Voter Fraud". exposedbycmd.org. The Center for Media and Democracy. Retrieved September 13, 2021. ^ "Strategic Communications Plan Giuliani Presidential Legal Defense Team" (PDF). justsecurity.org. House January 6 Committee. Retrieved December 24, 2022. ^ a b Qiu, Linda (September 16, 2020). "No, there is no evidence that Ginni Thomas paid for buses to bring people to the Capitol siege". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 12, 2021. ^ Thalen, Mikael (January 10, 2021). "Charlie Kirk deletes tweet saying he sent '80+ buses full of patriots' to D.C." Daily Dot. Retrieved January 16, 2021. The deleted tweet, uncovered by the Daily Dot on Saturday, was posted just two days before Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. ^ Kirk, Charlie [@charliekirk11] (January 5, 2021). "This historic event will likely be one of the largest and most consequential in American history The team at @TrumpStudents & Turning Point Action are honored to help make this happen, sending 80+ buses full of patriots to DC to fight for this president" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021 – via Twitter. ^ Tanfani, Joseph; Berens, Michael; Parker, Ned (January 12, 2021). "How Trump's pied pipers rallied a faithful mob to the Capitol". Reuters. Retrieved January 12, 2021. ^ Cerabino, Frank (January 11, 2021). "Cerabino: Pence missed chance in West Palm last month to alert U.S. to its domestic terror problem". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved July 8, 2021. ^ Stanley-Becker, Isaac; Reinhard, Beth (December 22, 2022). "Publix heiress was willing to spend $3 million on Jan. 6 rally, documents show". Washington Post. Retrieved December 24, 2022. ^ Halon, Yael (January 10, 2021). "Kirk: Despite what the media claims, Trump supporters are 'repulsed' by Capitol riots". Fox News. Retrieved January 12, 2021. ^ Palmer, Ewan (January 12, 2021). "Charlie Kirk says Capitol attack was not insurrection after deleting "80+ buses" tweet". Newsweek. Retrieved January 12, 2021. ^ Hansen, Ronald J. (December 22, 2022). "Kelli Ward, Charlie Kirk had little to say to Jan. 6 investigators about 2020 election efforts". azcentral.com. AZ Central. Retrieved December 24, 2022. ^ Petrizzo, Zachary (December 28, 2022). "Jan. 6 Organizer Turns on Right-Wing Youth Org in Capitol Riot Blame-Fest". The Daily Beast. Daily Beast. Retrieved December 28, 2022. ^ a b Post, Kathryn (November 1, 2024). "Charlie Kirk's TPUSA opens a new front in 'spiritual warfare' on Christian campuses". Religion News Service. Retrieved August 5, 2025. ^ Stone, Peter (March 2, 2024). "A far-right US youth group is ramping up its movement to back election deniers". The Guardian. Retrieved August 5, 2025. ^ Jenkins, Jack (January 5, 2025). "Who is Charlie Kirk, the new faith-focused enforcer of Trumpism?". Religion News Service. Retrieved August 5, 2025. ^ Riccardi, Nicholas; Swenson, Ali (September 10, 2025). "Charlie Kirk, who helped build support for Trump among young people, dies after campus shooting". AP News. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ a b c Foster, Kelly Dereuck and Samantha. "Charlie Kirk visited Springfield in 2023. What he said about immigration, climate change". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Ronen, Tomer; Patra, Sreejita (September 5, 2024). "Charlie Kirk floats controversy on Library Mall". The Daily Cardinal. Retrieved December 23, 2024. ^ Media Matters Staff (April 1, 2024). "Charlie Kirk: "We must ban trans-affirming care — the entire country. Donald Trump needs to run on this issue."". Media Matters for America. Retrieved December 23, 2024. ^ a b Kirk, Charlie (October 14, 2021). "On Sexual Anarchy". americanmind.org. Claremont Institute. Retrieved October 21, 2021. ^ Perry, Sophie (September 11, 2025). "Charlie Kirk's anti-LGBTQ+ controversies explored – including calls for violence". PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Jubilee (September 8, 2024). Can 25 Liberal College Students Outsmart 1 Conservative? (feat. Charlie Kirk) | Surrounded. Retrieved December 30, 2024 – via YouTube. ^ "'Abortion worse than holocaust': Charlie Kirk's controversial views re-surface after Trump ally assassinated". The Economic Times. September 11, 2025. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Guinto, Joseph (April 6, 2018). "Trump's Man on Campus". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ "Gun Rights Advocate Not Allowed To Speak At Marjory Stoneman Douglas High - CBS Miami". www.cbsnews.com. April 13, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ Magnoli, Mike (April 13, 2018). "Charlie Kirk invited by students to Stoneman Douglas; administration says no". WPEC. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ Andone, Dakin; Gallagher, Dianne (April 20, 2018). "Parkland student hosts livestream supporting 2nd Amendment while his classmates walk out". CNN. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ Liles, Jordan (September 10, 2025). "Charlie Kirk once said some gun deaths 'worth it' in order to he Second Amendment". Snopes. Archived from the original on September 10, 2025. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ Mordowanec, Nick (April 6, 2023). "Charlie Kirk Says Gun Deaths 'Unfortunately' Worth it to Keep 2nd Amendment". Newsweek. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ Kircher, Madison; McKinley, Jesse (September 10, 2025). "Social Media Falls Into Well Worn Grooves After Charlie Kirk's Death". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 11, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Rahn, Wesley (September 10, 2025). "US: Conservative pundit Charlie Kirk shot dead at Utah rally". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on September 11, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ O'Dell, Liam (October 9, 2021). "Charlie Kirk roasted for saying Democrats want Americans to live in 'sexual anarchy'". Indy100. Retrieved November 6, 2021. ^ Rumpf, Sarah (October 8, 2021). "Charlie Kirk Warns That Democrats Want You to 'Live in Sexual Anarchy' and Twitter Wants to Know Why He Can't Comb His Hair". Mediaite. Retrieved November 6, 2021. ^ Peltz, Madeline (June 5, 2022). "Turning Point USA conference for young women leaders suggests their role is to get married and he babies". Media Matters for America. Retrieved June 8, 2022. ^ Furendi, Ann. "The American right's deranged war on the Pill". Spiked. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Kelley, Brendan Joel (February 16, 2018). "Turning Point USA's blooming romance with the alt-right". splcenter.org. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved June 30, 2021. ^ Kirk, Charlie (April 7, 2021). "'White Privilege' is a Racist Lie". tpusa.com. Turning Point USA. Retrieved June 30, 2021. ^ Kotch, Alex (March 17, 2021). "The Right's Campaign to Erase America's Racist Roots". prwatch.org. PR Watch. Retrieved September 13, 2021. ^ Rumpf, Sarah (September 23, 2021). "Charlie Kirk Wants to Start a Border Militia to Protect 'White Demographics in America'". Mediaite. Retrieved October 24, 2021. ^ "Right-Wing Activist Charlie Kirk Coming To Mankato". Southern Minnesota News. September 8, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021. ^ Robinson, Riley (October 19, 2021). "After finding a venue, Charlie Kirk brings his show to Burlington". VTDigger. Retrieved October 24, 2021. ^ Ferral, Katelyn (March 1, 2024). "Undocumented immigrants are not proof of a scheme to replace whites with nonwhites". Politifact. Retrieved June 26, 2025. ^ "Charlie Kirk blames Chicago gun violence on "a lack of father problem in the Black community"". Media Matters for America. August 9, 2018. Retrieved September 12, 2025. ^ "The whitewashing of Charlie Kirk's toxic legacy is underway". Daily Kos. Retrieved September 12, 2025. ^ a b Eischens, Rilyn (October 6, 2021). "Right-wing celeb Charlie Kirk thinks George Floyd is a 'scumbag'". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved October 24, 2021. ^ "Doctor did not say George Floyd's death should be ruled an overdose". AFP Fact Check. Archived from the original on January 29, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Kirk, Charlie (November 5, 2021). "Charlie Kirk: What Youngkin's victory tells us about Trump and the conservative movement". Fox News. Retrieved November 9, 2021. ^ a b Turton, William (January 12, 2024). "How Charlie Kirk Plans to Discredit Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Act". Wired. Retrieved January 13, 2024. ^ "Charlie Kirk: The Civil Rights Act "created a beast, and that beast has now turned into an anti-white weapon"". Media Matters for America. April 16, 2024. Retrieved September 12, 2025. ^ Skinner, Anna (January 15, 2024). "Charlie Kirk Flips on Martin Luther King Jr., Attacks Growing 'Myth'". Newsweek. Retrieved January 19, 2024. ^ "Death of Charlie Kirk lays bare deep US political divisions". Reuters. September 11, 2025. ^ Haberman, Maggie; Gold, Michael; Goldmacher, Shane (March 12, 2024). "Trump Courts Black Voters Even as He Traffics in Stereotypes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 29, 2024. ^ Freeman, Mike. "A story about sports, Black History Month, a racist comment, and the greatest of pilots". USA Today. Retrieved March 29, 2024. ^ Ingram, Did (January 28, 2024). "How right-wing influencers turned airplanes and airports into culture war battlegrounds". NBC News. Retrieved March 29, 2024. ^ "Former BLM activist: DEI is a fancy way to say anti-White". Fox News. March 22, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2024. ^ "Charlie Kirk calls Ketanji Brown Jackson a "recipient of affirmative action" who is "unqualified" for the Supreme Court". Media Matters for America. June 29, 2023. Retrieved September 12, 2025. ^ "Charlie Kirk on Texas flooding: "What you are not being told by the media anywhere is that the death toll likely would not he been as high if it wasn't for DEI"". Media Matters for America. July 9, 2025. Retrieved September 12, 2025. ^ a b c d e f g "Conservative influencer and Israel advocate Charlie Kirk shot dead at Utah event". The Times of Israel. September 11, 2025. ^ Rascouët-Paz, Anna (September 11, 2025). "Charlie Kirk once said Jewish money was ruining US culture". Snopes. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Weisman, Jonathan (July 15, 2024). "Charlie Kirk, Long Accused of Antisemitism, is Set for a Prime-time Speech". The New York Times. Retrieved June 26, 2025. ^ "Charlie Kirk defends Elon Musk's antisemitism: "Some of the largest financiers of left-wing anti-white causes he been Jewish Americans"". Media Matters for America. November 16, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Wolicki, Pesach (July 20, 2025). "Charlie Kirk's role in defending Israel and the growing generational divide - opinion". The Times of Israel. ^ Gross, Judah Ari (September 11, 2025). "Jewish groups 'horrified' by Kirk's killing, rising political violence". EJewish Philanthropy. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Baragona, Justin (June 25, 2025). "MAGA spirals into ugly Islamophobia after Mamdani's win, warns New York 'is about to see 9/11 2.0'". The Independent. Retrieved June 26, 2025. ^ Axelrod, Tal (June 26, 2025). "MAGA erupts with Islamophobic attacks on Zohran Mamdani". Axios. Retrieved July 2, 2025. ^ "Turning Point USA". Anti-Defamation League. February 14, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2025. ^ "Charlie Kirk amplifies since-debunked social media rumor about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio". Media Matters for America. September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Kirk, Charlie (September 9, 2024). "Haitian Migrants are Coming For Your Pet". The Charlie Kirk Show. ^ a b "Shooting at Utah Valley University debate: Who Charlie Kirk is and what he said about Ukraine". RBC-Ukraine. September 10, 2025. ^ "Islamophobic U.S. commentator Charlie Kirk shot dead at university event". 5Pillars. September 10, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ "Slain Commentator Charlie Kirk Was 'Ally to Israel'". COLlive. September 10, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ "Jewish, Israeli leaders call for prayers and end to political violence after Charlie Kirk is shot". The Times of Israel. JTA. September 10, 2025. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Zeitlin, Alan (September 11, 2025). "Conservative and Pro-Israel Commentator Charlie Kirk Assassinated in Utah". The Jewish Press. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ a b c d "What Charlie Kirk said about Iran, Israel, Islam and Jeffrey Epstein". Middle East Eye. September 11, 2025. ^ "US bill to ban Israel boycotts faces right-wing backlash over free speech". Al Jazeera. May 5, 2025. ^ Rod, Marc (May 5, 2025). "House cancels vote on IGO Anti-Boycott Act following right-wing objections". Jewish Insider. ^ "Conspiracy Theorists Go Viral With Unsubstantiated Claim About Israel-Hamas Conflict". Forbes. October 16, 2023. ^ Baragona, Justin (June 20, 2025). "Charlie Kirk warns Lindsey Graham and Iran war hawks: 'Not even the Romans could defeat Persia'". The Independent. ^ a b "Israeli, world officials give condolences, condemn Charlie Kirk assassination". The Jerusalem Post. September 11, 2025. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ a b c d "Charlie Kirk, Trump Ally Who Opposed US Aid to Ukraine, Shot Dead in Utah". Kyiv Post. September 11, 2025. ^ Frenkel, Sheera; Thompson, Stuart A. (March 23, 2022). "How Russia and Right-Wing Americans Converged on War in Ukraine". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 23, 2022. ^ @JasonSCampbell (February 25, 2022). "Charlie Kirk: If Ukraine had a robust 2nd Amendment, would Putin invade?" (Tweet) – via Twitter. ^ "Charlie Kirk: "I don't love the idea of sending arms to Ukraine"". Media Matters for America. August 7, 2025. ^ Wade, Peter (February 24, 2022). "Charlie Kirk Barely Out-Duels Ted Cruz for Worst CPAC Ukraine Take". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 6, 2022. ^ Howard, Caroline (November 14, 2017). "30 Under 30 Class Of 2018: The Young Stars, Visionaries And Creative Disruptors". Forbes. Retrieved April 5, 2021. ^ Bogaisky, Jeremy; Denhart, Christopher; Draplin, Derek; Roy, Avik (eds.). "30 under 30 Law and Policy". Forbes. Retrieved April 5, 2021. ^ "Vice President Mike Pence challenges 2019 grads to 'go forth for Liberty'". Liberty University. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2019. ^ Hutzler, Alexandra (September 11, 2025). "Trump announces he will posthumously award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom". ABC News. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Kirk, Charlie; Hamachek, Brent (2016). Time for a turning point : setting a course towards free markets and limited government for future generations. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-68261-247-7. OCLC 952648187. ^ "Donald Trump Jr. - The foreword is the best part, obviously... because I wrote it. The rest is really good too. Check out Campus Battlefield by my buddy Charlie Kirk". facebook.com. Retrieved April 14, 2022. ^ Rubenstein, Adam (October 10, 2018). "Charlie Kirk's Campus Battlefield Is a Hot Mess". The Weekly Standard. Archived from the original on October 10, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018. ^ Debenedetti, Gabriel (April 17, 2020). "Three Views of Donald Trump". The New York Times. Retrieved June 29, 2021. ^ Donoghue, Steve (March 7, 2020). "The MAGA Doctrine by Charlie Kirk". Open Letters Review. Retrieved April 20, 2022. ^ Ruelas, Richard. "Charlie Kirk, Turning Point founder, to headline fundraiser for Arizona State University center". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved November 5, 2023. ^ Kirk, Charlie (June 11, 2024). Right Wing Revolution: How to Beat the Woke and Se the West. Winning Team Publishing. ISBN 978-1-7355037-9-0. ^ "Who Is Charlie Kirk Married To? Inside Conservative Activist's Wedding Details and Wife". HollywoodMask. July 27, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022. ^ Munoz, Marisol. "Erika Frantzve: more than just a pretty face". AZFoothills.com. Retrieved September 16, 2024. ^ Kirk, Charlie [@charliekirk1776]; (August 29, 2022). "Welcome to the world baby girl. We love you so much.❤️ Erika did so so well, praise God! 🙏". Retrieved November 28, 2022 – via Instagram. ^ Kirk, Charlie (May 20, 2024). "Glory be to God for the birth of our Son! Erika did so amazing, I am so proud of her!". www.facebook.com. Retrieved August 27, 2024. ^ Crump, James (October 19, 2020). "Charlie Kirk's Twitter account locked for spreading misinformation about mail-in votes". The Independent. Retrieved November 13, 2020. ^ Hagen, Lisa (October 24, 2024). "Beyond campuses and churches, can Charlie Kirk turn out votes for Trump?". NPR. Retrieved August 5, 2025. ^ "Evolved, or Created?". The Charlie Kirk Show. May 1, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Kirk, Charlie (June 15, 2025). "The Charlie Kirk Show". We AI Note Taker: Podcast Notes with AI. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ "- YouTube". YouTube. March 6, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ "Remembering Charlie Kirk, Creation Defender – CEH". CEH – Creation Evolution Headlines. September 11, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Klinghoffer, Did (September 10, 2025). "When Charlie Kirk Talked About Intelligent Design". Science and Culture Today. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ "Turning Point Founder Charlie Kirk Is Now with the Lord". The Institute for Creation Research. September 10, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Pitts, Emma (September 9, 2025). "Charlie Kirk brings 'Prove Me Wrong' tour to Utah this week". Deseret News. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ "The American Comeback Tour". Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Gamio, Lazaro; Wu, Ashley; McCann, Allison (September 10, 2025). "Charlie Kirk Shooting: Visual Timeline, Maps and Photos". The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ "Charlie Kirk shot during event at Utah university". The Guardian. September 10, 2025. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ a b "Charlie Kirk: Trump ally shot dead at campus event in Utah". BBC News. September 10, 2025. Archived from the original on September 10, 2025. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ "Witnesses say Charlie Kirk was debating about gun violence before deadly shooting". CBS News. September 10, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ "Who was Charlie Kirk? What we know about the shooting and the suspect". Al Jazeera. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ "JUST IN: Charlie Kirk is in critical condition at hospital after being shot at Utah event, AP source says". Associated Press. September 10, 2025. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ Hammond, Elise (September 10, 2025). "Utah Department of Public Safety and FBI are leading criminal investigation into Kirk's death, official says". CNN. Retrieved September 10, 2025. After Kirk was shot, he was taken "by private vehicle" to Timpanogos Regional Hospital, where he died... ^ FBI Salt Lake City Press Office (September 10, 2025). "Remarks Delivered by Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls at a Press Conference Regarding Sept. 10 Shooting at Utah Valley University". fbi.gov (Press release). Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ Liptak, Kevin (September 10, 2025). "Trump calls for prayers for Charlie Kirk". CNN. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ Trump, Donald (September 10, 2025). "We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!". Truth Social. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ Barrett, Devlin; Thrush, Glenn; Patil, Anushka; Pager, Tyler; Mineiro, Megan; Toler, Aric; Ahn, Ashley; Levenson, Michael; Draper, Robert; Baker, Mike; Kanno-Youngs, Zolan; Testa, Jessica; Bensinger, Ken; Goldberg, Emma; Sakamoto, Rex; Walker, Mark (September 10, 2025). "Live Updates: Charlie Kirk, Right-Wing Influencer, Shot in Utah". The New York Times. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ Powell, Tori B. (September 10, 2025). "Prominent political figures react to Kirk's death". CNN. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ Gooch, Bryony (September 10, 2025). "Sir Keir Starmer leads UK tributes to Trump ally and right-wing activist Charlie Kirk". The Independent. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ Morrison, Catherine (September 10, 2025). "Canadian politicians condemn shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk". Toronto Star. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ Al Shemary, Josef (September 10, 2025). "'A dark moment for America': Trump vows crackdown on 'political violence' after Charlie Kirk assassinated". LBC. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ "Live: Donald Trump announces Kirk's death". BBC News. September 10, 2025. Retrieved September 10, 2025. ^ Gilbert, Did. "'War Is Here': The Far-Right Responds to Charlie Kirk Shooting With Calls for Violence". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved September 11, 2025. ^ Gilbert, Did. "Right-Wing Activists Are Targeting People for Allegedly Celebrating Charlie Kirk's Death". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved September 11, 2025. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to Charlie Kirk. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charlie Kirk. Official website Charlie Kirk at IMDb Appearances on C-SPAN