Donald Trump Hails Right-Wing Activist Charlie Kirk as a 'Martyr' During Memorial Event

Share and Follow

US President Donald Trump has called right-wing activist Charlie Kirk a “martyr for American freedom”, at a memorial service in Arizona, saying he was killed by a “radicalised, cold-blooded monster for speaking the truth”.

Tens of thousands of people attended the memorial at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, the city where Kirk last lived with his family.

Trump said the 31-year-old was targeted because he stood “for freedom and justice, for God, country, for reason and common sense,” adding that the attack had made Kirk “immortal”.

“He was assassinated because he lived bravely, he lived boldly and he argued brilliantly,” he said.

“He’s a martyr now for America’s freedom. I know I speak for everyone here today when I say that none of us will ever forget Charlie. And neither now will history.”

Kirk was shot dead at an event at a university in the state of Utah on 10 September. The alleged perpetrator, a 22-year-old man, was arrested a short time later and charged with murder. He faces the death penalty.

Kirk’s widow, Erika, delivered a more than 20-minute speech during which she forgave her husband’s alleged killer.

“That man, that young man, I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do,” she said, adding that the answer to hate is love, as taught in the Gospel.

In contrast, Trump said that, unlike Erika Kirk, he does not wish his opponents well, saying: “I hate my opponents. And I don’t want the best for them.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry Erika.”

At the end of his speech, Trump embraced Erika Kirk, who rested her head against his chest several times as they held hands.

The memorial, organised by Kirk’s conservative youth advocacy organisation Turning Point USA, had the feel of a religious revival mixed with a Make America Great Again political rally.

Stephen Miller, the powerful White House adviser, vowed to use Kirk’s death as a galvanising force to finish the work he started.

“We will carry Charlie and Erika in our heart every single day, and fight that much harder because of what you did to us,” Miller said.

“You have no idea the dragon you have awakened. You have no idea how determined we will be to save this civilisation, to save the West, to save the republic.”

A woman with long blonde hair crying behind a podium

Erika Kirk, the 36-year-old widow of Charlie Kirk, said she forgave the man accused of killing her husband. Source: AP / Julia Demaree Nikhinson

Christian rock music blared through loudspeakers and pictures of Kirk were set on easels throughout the walkways of the stadium. The arena, which normally has a capacity of 63,000, appeared completely full.

Crowds of people, many wearing MAGA merchandise, had arrived before dawn to secure seats inside the stadium, where they encountered metal detectors amid tight security.

Speakers at the memorial service included US vice president JD Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio, defence secretary Pete Hegseth and young conservatives shaped by Kirk’s political influence.

During her remarks, Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, tied Kirk’s killing to what she described as a historical pattern in which “political fanatics” eventually turn to violence to defend their ideals.

“They kill and terrorise their opponents, hoping to silence them,” she said.

“But in this evil that we have experienced — that Charlie faced — their flawed ideology is exposed, because by trying to silence Charlie, his voice is now louder than ever.”