He was known affectionately as ‘the Trump whisperer’ for his closeness to the President and a regular and always welcome visitor to the White House and Mar-a-Lago.
So, it comes as little surprise that the brutal assassination of Charlie Kirk has led to a deep sense of grief within the First Family, according to insiders. They regarded him as one of their own.
Indeed, one insider said that President Trump viewed Kirk as an ‘adopted’ son alongside his five children – Don Jr., Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany and Barron.
In the wake of Wednesday’s tragedy, the shock has been clearly etched on the President’s face during public appearances, and he was visibly upset when talking about Kirk at the 9/11 memorial service at the Pentagon on Thursday.
While Kirk had millions of followers on social media, insiders say that few will have known quite how close the young conservative activist was to the President of the United States, and his children, behind the scenes.
They say that the relationship between Kirk and the Trumps cut across the usual transactional nature of politics. It was a personal and heartfelt bond, a genuine friendship that transcended the frequently ugly business of Washington power play, according to those familiar with both parties.
Despite their age difference Kirk, 31, was described by friends as an ‘old soul’ who connected with the 79-year-old president.
One friend of the First Family told the Daily Mail: ‘Our hearts are broken.’
Charlie Kirk (pictured, right) was like a ‘adopted son’ to the President and ‘little brother’ to Donald Trump Jr. He has dinner with them here at Mar-a-Lago in 2019
Donald Trump Jr. speaks alongside Charlie Kirk, co-founded of Turning Point USA, during the Turning Point USA Inaugural-Eve Ball at the Salamander Hotel on January 19, 2025 in Washington
Others close to the Trumps described Kirk as the ‘absolute best of us’ and ‘a great friend to us all.’
‘I know that the president felt very close to Charlie, he was like family,’ said House Speaker Mike Johnson.
In a tribute shared with the Daily Mail, Eric Trump said: ‘Mar-a-Lago was always such a special place for Charlie Kirk. He will be so sorely and forever missed.’
Perhaps the closest member of the First Family to Kirk, even more so than the president, was Donald Trump Jr.
The friendship between the two men went back years. In the early days of MAGA, they would campaign together on college campuses and face down hostile political audiences.
They had been in the political trenches together on the road and in the bearpit of social media.
At 47, Don Jr. was 16 years older, but he saw in Kirk a young man of great conviction who would carry the MAGA torch in the future.
Don Jr.’s grief was clear in a tribute he wrote to a man he regarded as a sibling.
‘I love you brother,’ the president’s eldest son wrote on X. ‘This isn’t my strong suit and I don’t even know how to begin to put into words the loss I am feeling right now.
‘Charlie wasn’t just a friend – he was like a little brother to me – and to millions of people around the world – he was a true inspiration. He was one of the most courageous, principled men I’ve ever known.’
First Lady Melania Trump poses with writer Charlie Kirk on New Year’s Eve at Mar-A-Lago in 2018
Kimberly Guilfoyle, Don Jr.’s former fiancée, was witness to the beginning of his relationship with his wife-to-be Erika Frantzve, a former Miss Arizona USA winner. The couple went on to have two young children, a daughter, now 3, and one-year-old son. Erika is currently studying for a doctorate in Biblical studies at Liberty University.
Guilfoyle told the Daily Mail: ‘I actually remember being with Charlie the day of his first date with Erika and seeing their relationship build and blossom since then was so profound and powerful.
‘He was so excited and nervous, which was cute to see. And looking back, it’s clear he was really excited about that next chapter and to be such a devoted father and husband.’
She added: ‘He put faith and family at the center of his mission and his love for my dear friend Erika and their young children was just so beautiful to see.’
Lara Trump told the Daily Mail about the time she and Kirk spoke at an event at her alma mater, North Carolina State University, and there were threats protests could get out of control.
While she was flying in he texted her saying: ‘If you decide it’s too crazy and you want to sit this out, totally understand.’
‘But it was clear, with or without me, Charlie was going. If he was in, I was in,’ the President’s daughter-in-law told the Daily Mail. ‘He never flinched. The respect I gained for him that day was immense.
‘There was never a single time that I asked him for help with something that he didn’t reply immediately to let me know that, of course, he would help. Whatever I needed. There will only be one Charlie Kirk, and I’m honored to have called him a friend.’
President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with with Charlie Kirk, Founder and Executive Director of Turning Point USA, right, after participating in a panel discussion in Washington in 2018
Politically, the belief that Kirk, co-founder of youth organization Turning Point USA, changed history by getting young people to vote – and that without him there would be no Trump in the Oval Office for a second term – is a sentiment echoed across the MAGA sphere, and by the President’s family.
Lara Trump added: ‘I believe that Donald Trump probably would not be president right now without the assistance of Charlie Kirk. Charlie, you changed the world – you will be so deeply missed, my friend.’
One Republican consultant told the Daily Mail the impact Kirk had on young voters was seismic, and something the President was deeply appreciative of.
‘He was a tour de force for the conservative movement,’ the consultant said. ‘He helped make conservatism cool for the youth and showed millions of people how to fight in the battlefield of ideas with the facts and win.’
First Lady Melania Trump has also reflected movingly on the devastation of Kirk’s death on his family.
‘Charlie’s children will be raised with stories instead of memories, photographs instead of laughter, and silence where their father’s voice should have echoed,’ the First Lady said.
‘Charlie Kirk’s life should serve as a symbolic reminder that compassionate awareness elevates family, love, and country.’
Charlie Kirk, 31, before he was assassinated at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah on Wednesday
Images from the scene showed the crowd run as someone fired a single shot
Ivanka Trump, meanwhile, shared a photograph of Kirk, Ericka and his two young children together.
‘Rest in Peace, Charlie,’ she wrote.
Trump’s esteem for Kirk is becoming clearer by the day. It was the President who confirmed his death publicly, and he ordered flags at the White House to fly at half-staff until Sunday.
Within the White House, where Kirk was also known as the ‘conservative boy wonder,’ there was stunned disbelief. He held no official staff position, but he was a constant presence, including in the Oval Office, and even vetted some of the President’s hires.
It was a meteoric rise which began in 2012 when, at the age of 18, he co-founded Turning Point USA, which now has over 250,000 student members and a presence on 3,500 high school and college campuses
President Trump frequently praised his ‘tremendous talent’ and said he was ‘just incredible.’
In 2020, he was the opening speaker at the Republican National Convention and, after the election defeat, remained close to Trump.
He then had a huge impact getting out the vote in battleground states.
On Thursday morning, a clearly moved President Trump announced at the 9/11 ceremony at the Pentagon that he would be awarding Kirk the President Medal of Freedom.
‘We miss him greatly,’ Trump told the crowd. ‘Yet I have no doubt that Charlie’s voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on.’
President Donald Trump delivered remarks during a ceremony to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. he said he would posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk
A U.S. flag files at half-staff in front of the White House in memory of Charlie Kirk
(L-R) Alina Habba, Senior Advisor to President Donald J. Trump, Sergio Gor, Donald Trump Jr., U.S. Vice President-elect JD Vance, Charlie Kirk, and Kid Rock on stage with The Village People during the Turning Point USA Inaugural-Eve Ball at the Salamander Hotel on January 19, 2025 in Washington
As tributes poured in Bill White, a friend of both Kirk and the Trumps, told the Daily Mail: ‘A great light has been dimmed, and I can promise you this we will do great things to honor Charlie and keep his dream alive.’
White, who is Trump’s ambassador to Belgium, added: ‘His life will not have been in vain. You cannot put a light like Charlie’s out.’
Those who worked with Kirk said he had changed politics for good by the way he had brought young people into the Republican fold.
Trump 2024 communications advisor Alex Bruesewitz told the Daily Mail he was ‘a giant.’
‘He was a true patriot whose contributions to our nation and the MAGA movement over the past decade were surpassed only by President Trump.
‘We will all miss him dearly but we know his legacy will live for eternity.’
For more on this story – follow Daily Mail podcast ‘The Assassination of Charlie Kirk,’ out now wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube.
