The Charlie Kirk memorial was a phenomenon. Something like 200,000 people showed up for it in Phoenix, and around 70,000 were inside the stadium. Millions watched online and on television. I think we are only beginning to see the consequences of Kirk’s murder by Tyler Robinson. They may be more profound than we could have guessed, eleven days ago.
Here are a few observations on the memorial:
* It went on for a long, long time. People were filing into the stadium hours before it actually got under way, with Christian music being performed from the stage. Some people must have been in the stadium for five hours or more.
* The early speakers were largely ministers, the politicians came later. I think the entire cabinet was present in the stadium, along with Congressional leaders. In that sense, it was an extraordinary tribute.
* One of the more significant moments may have been when Elon Musk joined President Trump in Trump’s suite. They talked in a friendly manner and shook hands before Elon left. I think everyone in the conservative movement hopes they will patch up their differences. Maybe they have done so.
* Speakers at the memorial spoke from behind bulletproof glass, a safety measure that Charlie himself declined. But of course, a stadium speech is different from a “prove me wrong” college encounter.
* Several speakers talked about how intelligent and well-read Charlie Kirk was. Some have been misled by the fact that he didn’t go to college. In today’s world, he probably didn’t miss much. But Charlie’s knowledge of the Bible was encyclopedic, and he was widely and deeply read. Larry Arnn, the President of Hillsdale College, was an early speaker. He said that Charlie completed 31 Hillsdale courses online.
* Tucker Carlson spoke. I was a little disappointed at that, but he was on good behavior and reminded us what an exceptional talent he is. On some topics, Tucker should have listened more carefully to Charlie. Happily, Candace Owens, now promoting a conspiracy theory of Kirk’s murder, was not present.
* The speakers were generally very good. I thought Tulsi Gabbard, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Jr.–whose talk was perhaps the most political–and JD Vance were especially effective. It occurs to me that the Democrats could not mount a group that would be remotely as talented.
* The emotional highlight, of course, was Erika Kirk’s speech. She is a truly extraordinary person. How many people could do what she did at all, let alone as effectively as she did? Virtually none. I think we will be hearing from Erika for a long time to come. Some years ago, my wife and I attended a Turning Point dinner in Washington at which we were seated with Erika. She introduced herself to us as “Charlie’s girlfriend.” We had no idea.
* The memorial was overwhelmingly a religious, not political, event. Thus, the climax came when Erika said that she forgave her husband’s murderer, as Jesus forgave those who crucified him. It was a moment of extraordinary emotional and intellectual power. But, speaking for myself, I will never forgive the liberals who created the conditions for the murder of Charlie Kirk, and many other evils.
* Following Erika, President Trump’s contribution was adequate but anti-climactic. The highlight was when, after he was done speaking, he and Erika hugged. She was the star of the day, not Donald.
I haven’t tried to follow far-left media (New York Times, Associated Press and so on) to see how they are trying to spin the memorial. That is commentary for another day.
