EL TIPO DE CAMBIO DE HOY ES DE: At Memorial for Charlie, Erica Kirk Calls for Forgiveness, Faith—and a Bigger Future for Turning Point USA
In a moving address, Kirk urges love over hate, outlines a vision to “make everything Charlie built ten times greater,” and offers personal counsel on marriage and purpose.
Erica Kirk’s remarks at a memorial for Charlie drew an audience into a message that blended grief with resolve. Speaking plainly and often in the language of faith, Kirk framed the moment as both tribute and mandate: to forgive, to love, and to carry forward the work Charlie began.
Kirk anchored her reflections in a verse she said Charlie cherished—“Here I am, Lord, send me”—arguing that his life exemplified total availability to a higher purpose. “When we offer ourselves fully,” she said in essence, “we open ourselves to incredible purpose.” That theme of surrender—to God’s will over personal plans—ran through the address.
“The answer to hate is not hate, but love”
In one of the speech’s most striking passages, Kirk said she forgives the man who took Charlie’s life, describing forgiveness not as forgetfulness or denial but as a deliberate act of love in the face of loss. The statement quieted the room and set a tone for the rest of her remarks. “The answer to hate is not hate, but love,” she said—a hard instruction, she acknowledged, but one she believes is urgently needed.
Counsel for families: small acts, shared missions
Kirk also turned to everyday commitments. Addressing men and women, she urged couples to keep short accounts, communicate openly, and support one another’s “God‑given missions.” Simple gestures—like love notes—matter, she said, not as sentimental extras but as habits that strengthen a home’s foundation.
A coping image: “fifteen minutes at a time”
Offering a glimpse behind the scenes, Kirk shared advice she said came from a friend named Usha. The analogy: surviving turbulence on a cramped flight by focusing only on the next 15 minutes—then the next. In grief, Kirk suggested, the same approach applies. Break the chaos into windows of endurance. Landings do come.
A public pledge: “ten times greater”
Looking ahead, Kirk said she will assume leadership of Turning Point USA, positioning the move not as filling a vacancy but as stewarding a legacy. She pledged to make “everything Charlie built ten times greater,” language that signals an ambition to scale both reach and impact. Specifics were not detailed in the address, but the promise of “10X” framed her intent: continuation with acceleration.
A call to choose
Kirk closed with a series of choices she urged listeners to make—prayer, courage, beauty, adventure, family, and ultimately Christ—casting them as practical commitments rather than abstractions. The cumulative effect was less a eulogy than a program: honor the past by living its values now.
What her message adds up to
Taken together, Kirk’s speech offered a triptych—faith, forgiveness, and forward motion. The faith piece centered on humility before God’s will; the forgiveness piece on refusing retaliation; the forward‑motion piece on building, not merely preserving, what Charlie began. Whether in the quiet discipline of a marriage or the high‑visibility demands of a national organization, she argued, the charge is the same: love first, then lead.
For those in the room—and for the broader community that followed Charlie’s work—the memorial became a moment of recommitment. If Kirk’s words are a measure, the next chapter will be written in the key she chose: strong, unsentimental, and set on multiplying the mission she now inherits
At Memorial for Charlie, Erica Kirk Calls for Forgiveness, Faith—and a Bigger Future for Turning Point USA
In a moving address, Kirk urges love over hate, outlines a vision to “make everything Charlie built ten times greater,” and offers personal counsel on marriage and purpose.
Erica Kirk’s remarks at a memorial for Charlie drew an audience into a message that blended grief with resolve. Speaking plainly and often in the language of faith, Kirk framed the moment as both tribute and mandate: to forgive, to love, and to carry forward the work Charlie began.
Kirk anchored her reflections in a verse she said Charlie cherished—“Here I am, Lord, send me”—arguing that his life exemplified total availability to a higher purpose. “When we offer ourselves fully,” she said in essence, “we open ourselves to incredible purpose.” That theme of surrender—to God’s will over personal plans—ran through the address.
“The answer to hate is not hate, but love”
In one of the speech’s most striking passages, Kirk said she forgives the man who took Charlie’s life, describing forgiveness not as forgetfulness or denial but as a deliberate act of love in the face of loss. The statement quieted the room and set a tone for the rest of her remarks. “The answer to hate is not hate, but love,” she said—a hard instruction, she acknowledged, but one she believes is urgently needed.
Counsel for families: small acts, shared missions
Kirk also turned to everyday commitments. Addressing men and women, she urged couples to keep short accounts, communicate openly, and support one another’s “God‑given missions.” Simple gestures—like love notes—matter, she said, not as sentimental extras but as habits that strengthen a home’s foundation.
A coping image: “fifteen minutes at a time”
Offering a glimpse behind the scenes, Kirk shared advice she said came from a friend named Usha. The analogy: surviving turbulence on a cramped flight by focusing only on the next 15 minutes—then the next. In grief, Kirk suggested, the same approach applies. Break the chaos into windows of endurance. Landings do come.
A public pledge: “ten times greater”
Looking ahead, Kirk said she will assume leadership of Turning Point USA, positioning the move not as filling a vacancy but as stewarding a legacy. She pledged to make “everything Charlie built ten times greater,” language that signals an ambition to scale both reach and impact. Specifics were not detailed in the address, but the promise of “10X” framed her intent: continuation with acceleration.
A call to choose
Kirk closed with a series of choices she urged listeners to make—prayer, courage, beauty, adventure, family, and ultimately Christ—casting them as practical commitments rather than abstractions. The cumulative effect was less a eulogy than a program: honor the past by living its values now.
What her message adds up to
Taken together, Kirk’s speech offered a triptych—faith, forgiveness, and forward motion. The faith piece centered on humility before God’s will; the forgiveness piece on refusing retaliation; the forward‑motion piece on building, not merely preserving, what Charlie began. Whether in the quiet discipline of a marriage or the high‑visibility demands of a national organization, she argued, the charge is the same: love first, then lead.
For those in the room—and for the broader community that followed Charlie’s work—the memorial became a moment of recommitment. If Kirk’s words are a measure, the next chapter will be written in the key she chose: strong, unsentimental, and set on multiplying the mission she now inherits
