Grief, recrimination and a watershed moment for the conservative movement Charlie Kirk founded
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
www.cnn.com /2025/09/21/politics/conservative-movement-charlie-kirk-assassination
Grief, recrimination and a watershed moment for the conservative movement Charlie Kirk founded
Kristen Holmes, Kevin Liptak 9-11 minutes 9/21/2025
Phoenix, Arizona —
Charlie Kirk’s funeral here Sunday will punctuate a watershed moment for the grassroots conservative movement he founded as a teenager and was working to advance earlier this month when a gunman shot and killed him.
For Kirk’s supporters, the days since the assassination have been defined both by intense grief and deep anger at the forces that they believe contributed to his killing. His death at age 31 has galvanized his followers behind his conservative views and Christian faith, and they’ve resolved to continue to strengthen Kirk’s movement.
But political leaders and some of Kirk’s most public facing allies have also converted their fury into clamping down on opponents they accuse of inciting political violence or disparaging a man they saw as a generational leader. That response in the aftermath of the killing has sparked fears of a government-led crackdown on dissent, all building into a febrile moment for the country.
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Many thousands of mourners are expected gather to hear remembrances from President Donald Trump and a slew of conservative luminaries, including several top administration officials and Kirk’s wife, Erika, in her first remarks as the new CEO of the organization Kirk founded, Turning Point USA.
Trump has been front and center since nearly the moment Kirk was shot on a college campus in Utah. It was Trump who announced Kirk had been shot during the event and later that he had died. It was Trump who announced, during an interview on Fox News, that a suspect in Kirk’s killing was in custody . And it is Trump who will be the final speaker at Sunday’s event.
Aides said Trump has been heavily involved in writing his speech, which will include personal reflections on his friend and the impact he has on his political movement. While his remarks are expected to be more personal than a typical presidential speech, Trump is known for veering from his script.
Throughout, Trump has remembered Kirk as a close friend and critical factor in helping him win elections and shape his administration. But he’s done little to lower the national temperature, going after “radicals on the left” he says are responsible for an atmosphere of violence that led to Kirk’s death.
While a source close to Kirk said there wasn’t coordination on Trump’s announcement, those close to the political activist were thankful to the president for taking charge at a moment when grief had overtaken them.
“Everyone was so overwhelmed and distraught, how to communicate what happened seemed impossible,” one source said, noting that Kirk’s profile had grown so large, it was unclear how they could appropriately deliver the tragic news to his following. “He did us a favor. Charlie legitimately loved President Trump. It was right.”
Trump called Kirk’s wife while she was still at the hospital to offer condolences, in what one source described as an emotional tone. Shortly afterward, arrangements started being made for Trump to travel to Arizona for the funeral.
“They’ve asked me to go,” Trump said last week at the White House. “I think I have an obligation.”
The event, set to be held inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, which can hold more than 70,000 people, is likely to offer a window into the sentiments that have coursed through Kirk’s circle in the aftermath of his shooting.
Aside from Trump, prominent speakers at the funeral include Vice President JD Vance, chief of staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy. Underscoring the close ties Kirk built with so many in Trump’s orbit, the White House is sending two planes full of staff from Joint Base Andrews to Arizona on Sunday. Sources said the speeches given would not be subject to any sort of review beforehand.
Many close to Kirk are in the public eye, and have grieved openly on social media —some tearfully, others with anger, and others seeking consequences beyond the man in custody, charged with shooting and killing Kirk.
“They took my f**king friend,” one friend of Kirk’s told CNN. “We want justice.”
Sources close to Kirk describe the hours after his death as chaotic. Kirk’s wife and several of his closest friends and colleagues flew immediately to Utah after being alerted of the shooting, one of the sources said.
Multiple sources said their primary concern was making sure Erika Kirk was on her way and informed. Conflicting information was being circulated as Charlie Kirk’s allies tried to glean updates his condition.
“He lost so much blood, but we thought there was a chance,” one source told CNN.
Ultimately, doctors told those close to Kirk that there was no way to bring him back from the moment the bullet hit him, the source said. Administration officials at both the White House and Department of Justice, many of whom were close friends of Kirk’s, were briefed on his passing.
In her first public remarks after his death, Erika Kirk issued a call to action .
“You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife. … The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry,” she said, vowing to make his mission stronger and larger. “I’ll make Turning Point USA the biggest thing that this nation has ever seen,” she said. “I promise.”
Some conservatives view Erika Kirk’s elevation to CEO of Turning Point as a moment to bring young women into the movement in the same way her late husband drew young men to support Trump and conservative causes.
The organization says it has already seen a surge in interest since Charlie Kirk’s death, with more than 62,000 requests from high school and college students to start new chapters or become involved in existing groups.
Amid the renewed interest, conservative leaders have begun a crusade against those they allege celebrated Kirk’s death, drawing attention to their social media posts, reaching out to their employers and publishing their personal information.
Many prominent Democrats condemned political violence and voiced sympathies over Kirk’s death, even as they noted some of his more inflammatory viewpoints on guns, race and gender.
The White House has vowed to use the federal government to go after liberal groups in Kirk’s name, suggesting that his killer was part of a larger movement that promoted violence against conservatives.
One of the officials leading that charge has been deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. One source said that Miller, a close friend of Kirk’s who is expected to speak at the memorial, feels personally invested in the cause. The source said one of Kirk’s final text messages to Miller said the government needed to look into groups that he said were “fomenting” violence and root out their financial networks.
In the days after Kirk’s death, Miller cited a “network of organizations” that he accused of launching riots, specifically naming Black Lives Matter demonstrations. Black Lives Matter condemned political violence in the wake of Kirk’s shooting, with a board member saying in a statement, “Vigilante justice has no place in a just society. Not on the left. Not on the right. Not in response to racism, and not in the name of righteousness. It must be rejected, always.”
Organizers are expecting many thousands of mourners to attend Sunday’s funeral, with arrangements being made for overflow viewing areas to accommodate those who cannot fit inside the stadium, a source said. Some allies of Kirk’s expressed concern over potential security threats around the event, though they noted it would not stop them from attending. Following Kirk’s assassination, some senior White House officials have been given Secret Service protection, including press secretary Karoline Leavitt, amid security threats.
The event has been given a Special Event Assessment Rating Level 1 designation, a senior Department of Homeland Security official said, which unlocks major federal resources from across the government for security purposes.
“This designation is reserved for events of the highest national significance and enables the federal government to provide the full range of law enforcement and security resources necessary to support local officials in ensuring a safe and successful event,” the official said.
The designation has previously been given to other major gatherings like the Super Bowl and Kentucky Derby.
CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
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This is the MAGA version of a state funeral.
This is a football stadium that holds 73,000 people.
As I've said. Nobody deserves to be murdered and it is a terrible thing period.
But the right wing's attempt to canonize this absolute asshole and at some point they are going to formalize the process and actually propose sainthood.
Even if they dont fill the stadium Trump will say it was "sold out" and there were a million people out in the parking lot that couldnt get inside.
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Yet you continue to canonize violent enemies of the United States and build statues to them.
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Don't ask stupid questions, Sean knows exactly what I'm talking about.
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What statue has Ozzwald built?
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I’d suggest you read more carefully, but I don’t want to burden you. Just know that trolling will beget trolling. Maybe change your ways.
So you think that means I am talking about Sean personally? How long have you been speaking English. You do know that "you" has both a singular and plural meaning right? And you ignore the small fact that my 1st comment specified exactly who I was talking about.
If it would help, I can probably get it translated to another language. Or is this just another trolling attempt?
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Hmmm…
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Apparently there were about 100,000 that showed up, according to ChatGPT, although it said it had no official numbers. Just from various news sources.
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the cult is assembling
Oh NOW we quote the Beatitudes
I hope everyone remembered to bring their Trump bibles.
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I hope the crowd is close video taped to help identify future terrorist attacks.[✘]
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Did you try clicking on it?????
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Then post the data to refute them.
You know, you know....NO ONE CARES ? !! Evidently YOU don't care, hence, the divide in this country. RELIGION, BIGOTRY and GREED. The three pillars of the maga agenda.
Many progressives = almost none
That's really some imagination.
Their current stance is that if it was rightwing extremist violence then it wasn't MAGA. They completely and fully denounce any rightwing violence as Trump said "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence. It has no place in America."
However, when it comes to leftwing extremist violence like the murder of Kirk, EVERY LEFTIST IS TO BE BLAMED! That's an order from the rights dear Leader. It doesn't matter if every leftwing American comes out and condemns the Kirk assassination or rejects any and all violence and vandalism "in the strongest possible terms". It doesn't matter how much they denounce it or how little there is of it when compared to rightwing extremist violence, everyone on the left is a baby murdering, Christian hating, Kirk assassinating, violent extremist.
Oh, and anyone who would like to challenge the rights position on this can't use the words, names or terms 'hypocrite', 'racist', 'fascist', 'nazi', 'rightwing extremist', 'Christian dominionist', 'insurrection', 'January 6th', 'Dylan Roof', 'El Paso Walmart Massacre', Cam Thompson, Ra'Lasia Wright, Quanisha Shantel, San Coleman, Kassim Omar, Vanity Williams, Dylan Gurley, Monique Brooks Jazlynn Johnson or any of the other names of transgender Americans killed in the last two years, of which there were simply too many to list.
So that's where the debate stands, those on the right get to reject any and all evidence of rightwing violence unless the criminal was wearing a MAGA hat while murdering the trans person, and of course even then, 99% of conservatives would claim it must be a "false flag" which they use to avoid any and all responsibility for anything that would be considered 'bad' or 'wrong' even if it clearly had rightwing origins. They know they're the 'righteous soldiers of God' and it's the evil world and Satan that are trying to tear them down, so they can't be blamed for anything at all, they're minds, hearts and souls are as pure as the driven snow! The driven snow I tell you! /s
I wonder if there’ll be tailgating.
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God is up there either laughing or crying after seeing this display of performative holiness.
God will be looking at his list and checking it twice, gonna see whose been naughty or nice.
This religious service/MAGA rally is approaching the 5 hour mark.
(7 hours if you count the warm up acts)
It will be interesting to see how many lies the fact checkers find in Trumps speech at an event that mentioned God about a hundred times.
Trump has been talking for about 40 minutes and doesnt seem to be winding it down yet.
The top image was put out on the White House twitter account.
This is what is wrong. When we grieve for a friend, a relative who has died, we usually have something to blame for the death, be it cancer, a careless person or driver, and a place to put the anger as a natural part of grieving. The quote above does not place the blame where it belongs: on the young man who shot Charlie Kirk with no help from anybody, but on a faceless, nameless "them" that has been created by the very climate that the President and others have created.
If the people whom we uphold as images to replicate have a base lack of character, are we looking at the right people?
Why look to them for leadership?
Why look to them at all?
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What happened to: "Thoughts and prayers. This isn't the time for politics. Just move on." Oh yeah, that's the Republican line when there are mass murders of children at school.
For the right, whenever they feel wronged it's a "watershed moment". Sure, they ignore the dozens and dozens of transgender Americans who get shot and killed each year, a number that has grown dramatically since MAGA sprouted up, but one of theirs gets killed? Well now it's time for war! /s