Even before it started, the memorial service for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk was being described as a blend of state funeral, religious revival, and MAGA mega-rally, with top-level security reflective of the times.
On Sunday, the reality bore that out. The service at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona – attended by an estimated 100,000 people, including mourners in a nearby overflow arena – was in many respects the emotional apex of a searing episode in modern American political history: the Sept. 10 assassination of a charismatic and politically divisive young leader who had engaged students on campuses across the country and brought many into the Republican fold.
Tributes by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Donald Trump Jr., and multiple Cabinet members, as well as Mr. Kirk’s widow, captured a mix of emotions – of love, grief, faith, and admiration – around a young man who had built a national movement from scratch and who supporters believed might even rise someday to the highest office in the land.
Why We Wrote This
The memorial service for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk showcased his influence in both the political and religious spheres and underscored how his message will continue to shape the Republican Party.
The service was a reminder of the degree to which religious conservatism remains closely entwined with Republican politics at its highest levels. Most prominently, speakers vowed that the movement Mr. Kirk began would continue and thrive under the leadership of his wife, Erika Kirk, recently named as his successor as chief executive of Turning Point USA.
Whether the Kirk assassination, wrought by an accused gunman on a Utah university campus, proves to be an inflection point in the nation’s polarized politics remains to be seen. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Mr. Trump opted for a message of revenge over national unity. On Friday, dozens of Democrats in Congress voted against a resolution honoring Mr. Kirk – saying many found his worldview “racist, harmful, and fundamentally un-American,” according to a statement by the Congressional Black Caucus.
At Sunday’s service, President Trump and Mr. Kirk’s widow offered starkly contrasting remarks. In what might have been the emotional high point of the service, Ms. Kirk said she had forgiven the accused shooter, “because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do.”
“The answer to hate is not hate,” Ms. Kirk said, her voice thick with emotion. “The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love.”
But Mr. Trump, speaking directly after Ms. Kirk, characterized himself as unable or unwilling to forgive.
“He did not hate his opponents,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Kirk. “He wanted the best for them. That’s where I disagree with Charlie. I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry. I am sorry, Erika.”
The president’s words stood out among the series of speakers who spoke mostly to honor Mr. Kirk’s deep religious faith and a legacy of outreach and dialogue with all comers in campus events dubbed “Prove Me Wrong.”
“A ripple effect on the entire world”
Braving the sticky heat, tens of thousands of hopeful attendees, spanning all ages and races, lined up on Sunday morning in red, white, and blue. Many sported shirts like the one Mr. Kirk wore the day he died, with “FREEDOM” stenciled on the front. Some carried Bibles. Some held infants. One mother nursed as she walked.
Evan Duteau stood in line holding his son, not yet 8 months old. A self-described libertarian from Mesa, Arizona, Mr. Duteau noted that Mr. Kirk was just a few years younger than him, and had also started a family.
Sarah Matusek/The Christian Science Monitor
The activist’s killing has had “a ripple effect on the entire world,” says Mr. Duteau, who owns a rainwater harvesting company.
He says he agreed with Mr. Kirk on most issues. And though he only knew Mr. Kirk through social media, he says, “his death affected me quite a bit.”
Alexis, who asked that her last name not be published, came to the service with her family from San Diego. The mother of seven, a conservative Christian, says her husband deepened his Christian faith by listening to Mr. Kirk on YouTube.
The couple wept when they heard the news of the killing, Alexis says. But the turnout for the memorial Sunday gave her hope.
“One man’s death is bringing so many people to Christ,” she says, and God “uses evil for good.” Alexis says she didn’t feel safe until she arrived here, and witnessed “all the patriots come together” who loved Mr. Kirk.
“People are waking up to this craziness, to liberalism,” she says.
A smattering of protesters were also on the scene, positioned behind barricades outside the stadium. Jorge Soria, a Democrat from Phoenix, said he opposed Mr. Kirk’s message and the celebration of his life.
“All he was advocating for was racism, and for the white man to keep his power,” Mr. Soria says.
Other protesters used the occasion to promote unrelated causes, such as support for the people of Gaza.
A deeply divided country
Since Mr. Kirk’s murder, Americans have debated where the nation’s sharp divisions are heading. Political violence is on the rise, with recent instances affecting elected officials from both parties and other prominent figures, from President Trump to Minnesota state legislators to a health care CEO.
At the Kirk memorial, some speakers ominously suggested coming reprisals. Mr. Trump and some of his top aides have indicated that they are looking to take action against liberal groups they accuse of inciting violence.
“You have no idea the dragon you have awakened,” deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller warned, in a comment shared immediately on social media by Donald Trump Jr., a close friend of Mr. Kirk’s.
Other Republicans have sought to tone down the rhetoric. “Using Charlie’s murder to justify retaliation against political rivals is wrong and dangerous. It will further divide and embitter our country. No good thing will come of it,” wrote Karl Rove, a former top adviser to President George W. Bush, in The Wall Street Journal. Blaming anyone other than the alleged gunman for Mr. Kirk’s death, Mr. Rove added, was an “insult” to the conservative activist’s memory.
Democrats, too, are reflecting on the meaning of this moment – and where the nation is heading.
“You don’t have to agree with everything Charlie Kirk said to absolutely be horrified by what happened and denounce what happened,” says Karen Finney, a Democratic consultant.
But Ms. Finney expresses concern that Mr. Trump’s calls for retribution, not forgiveness, will only heighten the nation’s divisions.
“This could be such a great moment of unity and bringing people together, right?” she says. “And heck, you could still push your ideology, but you could do it in a more unifying way, instead of just this divisiveness.”
Revival instead of rioting
In Glendale, Kirk supporters coming out of the service reflected on what the young leader meant to them.
Arizona couple Daniel Villani and Josilynn Reyes left the memorial from an overflow space holding hands. The 20-something Christians describe themselves as politically moderate, though he says he leans conservative. While he didn’t agree with all of Mr. Kirk’s views, Mr. Villani says he appreciated Mr. Kirk’s emphasis on connecting to God and putting family first.
Sarah Matusek/The Christian Science Monitor
The couple hope to follow the traditional gender roles modeled by the Kirks. “I do want to live that traditional life,” says Ms. Reyes, a special education assistant who says she wants kids someday. “I know that it’s not for everybody.”
To her, that lifestyle means respect for and loyalty to her partner, as well as submissiveness.
“If she wants to work, of course she can,” says Mr. Villani, a steelworker. “But I don’t want her to feel like she has to work.” He says Mr. Kirk inspired him to be a better man, and respect himself.
In her remarks at the service, Erika Kirk offered words of hope that her husband’s killing would have a positive impact. In the wake of his death, she said, many people opened a Bible for the first time and went to church for the first time.
“After Charlie’s assassination, we didn’t see violence,” Ms. Kirk said. “We didn’t see rioting. We didn’t see revolution. Instead, we saw what my husband always prayed he would see in this country – we saw revival.”
