Trump officials praise Charlie Kirk’s faith and his mark on the conservative movement
GLENDALE Ariz AP President Donald Trump praised Charlie Kirk as a great American hero and martyr for freedom as he and other prominent conservatives gathered Sunday evening to honor the slain conservative political activist whose work they say they must now advance The memorial organization for Kirk whom Trump credits with playing a pivotal role in his electoral process domination drew tens of thousands of mourners including Vice President JD Vance other senior administration leaders and young conservatives shaped by the -year-old firebrand He s a martyr now for America s freedom Trump mentioned in his tribute I know I speak for everyone here in the current era when I say that none of us will ever forget Charlie And neither now will history Speakers highlighted Kirk s profound faith and his strong belief that young conservatives need to get married have children and pass on their values to keep building their movement They also repeatedly communicated conservative activists sometimes in forceful tones that the best way to honor Kirk was doubling down on his mission to move American politics further to the right For Charlie we will remember that it is better to stand on our feet defending the United States of America and defending the truth than it is to die on our knees Vance stated My friends for Charlie we must remember that he is a hero to the United States of America And he is a martyr for the Christian faith Kirk s assassination at a Sept appearance on a Utah college campus has set off a fierce debate about violence decency and free speech in an era of deep political division The shooting has stirred fear among certain Americans that Trump is trying to harness outrage over the killing as justification to suppress the voices of his critics and political opponents Charlie Kirk s wife forgives suspect Those close to Kirk prayed and the floors at the home of the NFL s Arizona Cardinals shook from the bass of Christian rock bands as the memorial started with the feel of a megachurch utility before veering into something more akin to a political rally Christian singer Chris Tomlin opened the arrangement and was joined later by Brandon Lakes and Phil Wickham Near the end as Trump took the stage Lee Greenwood sang a live rendition of the president s campaign walk-on song God Bless the U S A People began lining up before dawn to secure a spot inside State Farm Stadium west of Phoenix where Kirk s Turning Point organization is based Prevention was tight and speakers delivered their tributes from behind bullet-proof glass The -seat stadium fleetly filled with people dressed in red white and blue as organizers suggested The mood in the stadium ebbed and flowed throughout a function that stretched more than five hours Mourners were person and cordial even after waiting hours to enter and then an hour or more for food in stadium concession lines Kirk s widow Erika in her own address noted in the midst of her grief she was finding comfort that her husband left this world without regrets She explained she forgives the man who is charged with killing him My husband Charlie he desired to save young men just like the one who took his life mentioned Erika Kirk who is taking over as Turning Point s leader She added I forgive him Trump who closed out the facility remarked that Charlie Kirk did not hate his opponents and longed the best for them an attribute he discovered hard to understand That s where I disagreed with Charlie I hate my opponent and I don t want the best for them Trump reported I m sorry I am sorry Erika Comments about Kirk have become a Trump administration target Trump has blamed the radical left for Kirk s death and threatened to go after liberal organizations and donors or others who he feels are maligning or celebrating Kirk s death Dozens of people from journalists to teachers to late show host Jimmy Kimmel have faced suspensions or lost their jobs as prominent conservative activists and administration officers target comments about Kirk that they deem offensive or celebratory The retaliation has in turn ignited a debate over the First Amendment Certain speakers at the memorial mentioned Kirk was battling evil and referred to a vague they as the enemy Others were blunt You have no idea the dragon you have awakened you have no idea how determined we will be to save this civilization to save the West to save this republic announced White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller Kirk was a provocateur who at times made statements that chosen called racist misogynistic anti-immigrant and transphobic That has drawn backlash from conservatives who view the criticism as cherry-picking a limited select moments to insult the legacy of someone they see as an inspirational conservative leader A -year-old Utah man Tyler Robinson has been charged with killing Kirk and faces the death penalty if convicted of the majority of serious charges Executives have not revealed a clear motive in the shooting but prosecutors say Robinson wrote in a text to his partner following the shooting that he had enough of Kirk s hatred Kirk s legacy of conservative political influence Turning Point the group Kirk founded to mobilize young Christian conservatives became a multimillion-dollar operation under his leadership with enormous reach The crowd was a testament to the influence he accumulated in conservative America with his ability to mobilize young people And the operation brought together a veritable who s who of the Republican Party with numerous current and former lawmakers in the crowd Elon Musk the tech billionaire and former top adviser to Trump was spotted sitting with Trump for part of the institution Kirk was a MAGA celebrity with a loyal following that turned out to patronage or argue with him as he traveled the country for the events like the one at Utah Valley University where he was shot Speaker after speaker including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed awe at Kirk s ability to go into what various conservatives saw as the lion s den to make the conservative circumstance college campuses Why don t you start somewhere easier Rubio recalled thinking when he first heard about Kirk years ago Like for example communist Cuba Madhani announced from Washington Associated Press writers Tiffany Stanley in Washington Silvia Stellacci in Rome Terry Tang and Jesse Bedayn contributed to this document Source
