‘The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry’
In an impassioned speech two days after her husband was assassinated on a college campus in Utah, Erika Kirk vowed to carry on her husband’s mission at Turning Point USA and to spread the Gospel and “make Heaven crowded.”
Speaking through tears, Charlie Kirk’s widow said when she returned home, her daughter, Gigi, asked, “Where’s daddy?”
“What do you tell a 3-year-old? She’s 3,” the mother of two said mournfully. “I said, baby, daddy loves you so much. Don’t you worry. He’s on a work trip with Jesus so he can afford your blueberry budget.”
Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin was identified Friday morning as Taylor Robinson, 22, following a 33-hour manhunt after he fled the scene at Utah Valley University in Orem, where a TPUSA event was being held.
Although the shooter’s plot was an act of evil, Erika Kirk affirmed that although she and all who loved her husband are heartbroken, she knows God will use this tragedy for good.
“I honestly have no idea what any of this means. I know that God does, but I don’t. But Charlie, baby, I know you do too. … Our world is filled with evil, but our God, you guys, our God is so good. God is so incredibly good. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose.
Admonishing the “evildoers responsible for my husband’s assassination,” Erika Kirk warned that they have unleashed a movement that will propel her husband’s mission forward.
“They killed Charlie because he preached a message of patriotism, faith and God’s merciful love. They should all know this: If you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea,” she declared. “The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry to everyone listening tonight across America. The movement my husband built will not die. It won’t. I refuse to let that happen. It will not die.”
As the founder of TPUSA, Charlie Kirk played a pivotal role in securing support for President Donald Trump among young voters, and most recently hosted the TPUSA Faith Forward Pastors Summit in Los Angeles to mobilize Christian leaders to stand firm against the rising tide of evil in society.
Echoing many pastors who shared this week that although her husband was known for mobilizing youth to vote and become contributing members of society, Erika Kirk said the message he prioritized most was that of the Risen Lord. “In one of the final conversations that he had on this Earth, my husband witnessed for his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Now and for all eternity, he will stand at his Savior’s side wearing the glorious crown of a martyr.”
Her husband’s activism, she said, was out of love for his country and its future. He especially wanted to see Americans flourish in their lives by getting married, having children, and most importantly, having a relationship with God, she added.
“Charlie always believed in God’s design for marriage and the family,” she said. “It was the greatest joy of his life. And over and over, he would tell all these young people to come and find their future spouse, become wives and husbands and parents. And the reason why is because he wanted you all to experience what he had and still has. He wanted everyone to bring Heaven into this Earth through love and joy that comes from raising a family. It’s beautiful.”
Many have long speculated that Charlie Kirk would one day run for president, and his spouse shared that if he had ever decided to run for office, his No. 1 policy priority “would be to revive the American family.”
Sharing her late husband’s favorite Bible verse, Ephesians 5:25, which says, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,” she added: “My husband laid down his life for me, for our nation, for our children. He showed the ultimate and true covenantal love. I’ll never ever have the words to describe the loss that I feel in my heart.”
Describing the ways her husband tangibly showed his love for her and their children daily, Erika Kirk recounted what she had shared publicly in times past, saying, “Every day he would ask me, ‘How can I serve you better? How can I be a better husband? How can I be a better father?’ … He was the perfect father. He was the perfect husband.”
After encouraging high school and college students to get involved in a TPUSA chapter or start one of their own, she urged Americans of all ages to start or renew their relationship with God, stressing that no one is ever too young or too old to surrender their life to Christ.
“Most important of all, if you aren’t a member of a church, I beg you to join one, a Bible-believing church. Our battle is not simply a political one; above all, it is spiritual. … The spiritual warfare is palpable.”
Reiterating that her husband’s faith was the foundation upon which he stood and relied on daily, she said his goal was for everyone to experience that same glory.
“Charlie loved his Savior with all of his heart, and he wanted every one of you to know him, too. He wanted everyone to know that if they confess the Lord Jesus who rose from the dead, then they will be saved.”
The young widow said her husband’s radio show, which he loved so much, would continue and encouraged everyone — youth, pastors and parents — to join her in continuing the mission of both TPUSA and TPUSA Faith to spread the Gospel and to “get involved with saving this beautiful country.”
