Charlie Kirk, Martyr
A massive memorial service showed two divergent paths forward.
I listened to this morning’s episode of The Daily podcast, “Charlie Kirk’s Politically Charged Memorial,” on the way in this morning. The transcription is not yet available. The guest, Robert Draper, covers domestic politics for the NYT but did not write a story for the paper about the event that I can link to.
His colleague Elizabeth Dias, the NYT national religious correspondent, did under the headline “At Kirk Service, an Extraordinary Fusion of Government and Christianity.”
Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, paid tribute to Charlie Kirk by citing the gospel message of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Stephen Miller, a deputy White House chief of staff, envisioned a spiritual uprising in Mr. Kirk’s wake. Vice President JD Vance said Mr. Kirk’s influence had reshaped the balance of American politics and traced it back to Mr. Kirk’s faith.
Because of Mr. Kirk, he said, “I have talked more about Jesus Christ the past two weeks than I have my entire time in public office.”
At the memorial service of Mr. Kirk on Sunday in a packed football stadium in suburban Phoenix, the highest levels of U.S. government and evangelical worship were woven as one. Perhaps never before, at such a grand scale, had such a fusion taken hold in a public display. More than just a tribute in the style of Mr. Kirk’s evangelical tradition, the service represented a pinnacle event reflecting the degree to which conservative Christianity had melded with Republican politics in the Trump era.
The belief that Mr. Kirk is a modern-day Christian martyr was infused throughout the service. And it solidified in real time through testimonies from a who’s who of conservatives, planting Mr. Kirk’s story firmly into a line of Christians over history who lost their lives with their faith.
“We must remember that he is a hero to the United States of America. And he is a martyr for the Christian faith,” Mr. Vance said.
Benny Johnson, a right-wing podcaster, also tied that sense of martyrdom to a divine plan for America, and thanked the Trump administration for carrying out “that godly mission of wielding the sword against evil.”
Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, shared a message of Christian salvation, about the blood of Jesus washing away sins. “We always did need less government. But what Charlie understood and infused into his movement is, we also needed a lot more God,” he said.
So on this Sunday, looking around the stadium, he said, “I’d like to think we’re all in Charlie’s church.”
Near the close of the service, President Trump called Mr. Kirk a martyr. But he described him not as a Christian martyr but an American one. It was a clear sign of how the two themes had merged at times indistinguishably.
“Our greatest evangelist for American liberty became immortal,” Trump said. “He’s a martyr now for American freedom.”
Two things stuck out to me from the podcast.
First, Kirk is clearly a far bigger deal in some circles than I had ever realized. My impression of him was that of his Wikipedia intro: “an American right-wing political activist, entrepreneur, and media personality.” Mentally, I filed him in the same category as Ben Shapiro, another prominent conservative pundit who got his start as a teenager.
That he’s been compared to Martin Luther King, Jr. and others is just bizarre to me, in that he always struck me as more of an entertainer than a change agent. But, rather clearly, some are portraying him as a world-historical figure whose assassination will literally be a turning point in history.
Second, the fact that Kirk’s widow is preaching Christian forgiveness while the senior political leadership of the country is decidedly not is, while not exactly shocking given the rhetoric of the post few years, nonetheless stark. President Trump, who closed out the event, was especially blunt.
“He did not hate his opponents, he wanted the best for them,” Trump said. “That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponents, and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry.”
Trump noted at one point that Kirk referred to his political rivals as “the left,” adding that he preferred the term “radical left” or “radical-left lunatics.”
His tone was jocular, but there’s not much doubt he meant it.
BBC (“Trump hails Charlie Kirk as martyr as thousands fill memorial service“):
US President Donald Trump hailed the conservative activist Charlie Kirk as a “great American hero” and “martyr” during a speech to tens of thousands of mourners at a memorial service in Arizona.
Trump was the headline speaker at the packed event on Sunday, which saw top officials from his administration, including Vice-President JD Vance, praise Kirk’s political legacy after he was shot dead on 10 September.
Kirk’s wife, Erika, delivered a tearful speech at the State Farm Stadium near Phoenix, in which she said she had forgiven her husband’s alleged killer.
But the US president broke with her forgiveness message to say he disagreed with Charlie Kirk’s view of wanting the best for his opponent.
“I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them,” he said, adding: “I’m sorry, Erika.”
The president called Kirk “our greatest evangelist for American liberty” who was now immortal, adding: “He’s a martyr now for American freedom.”
I fear that Erika Kirk’s path will not the the outcome of this.
Charlie Kirk did not deserve to be assassinated.
BUT…. His sudden death should not obscure his legacy, which is of a divisive, racist, homophobic, misogynist, partisan ideologue. He did nothing to bring common ground to the forefront. He did the opposite. He divided people by race, gender and ideology, and was especially cruel to women of color.
That so many people would fill a stadium to honor him, despite his own words, says alot about a great percentage of the American public – and none of it good.
I’m so glad I no longer live here, even though I still have to work here. Hard to believe the people in a “shithole country” are kinder, more empathetic, and better to live with than so many Americans.
I have been impressed by most of what I’ve seen Erika Kirk say over the last few days. I absolutely appreciate her deeply Christian statement about not personally advocating for the death penalty for her husband’s alleged killer. FWIW, that’s already much different than her husband’s rhetoric.
Ditto her statements at the funeral.
It’s a shame that all the men around her, especially the President, were preaching significantly different (and far less Christian, as I understand it) values.
“a divisive, racist, homophobic, misogynist, partisan ideologue.”
Yes, and your favorite activist on the Left is a divisive, racist, misandrist, idiotic, partisan ideologue. Where does that leave us?
I don’t think you are going to like having this “only BAD people could disagree with my politics” mindset applied to your side.
@PepperPrepper:
“I don’t think you are going to like having this “only BAD people could disagree with my politics” mindset applied to your side.”
After so many decades of that being conservatives’ primary argument, we have gotten used to it by now.
@Matt Bernius:
Christianity is as Christians do. There is no such thing as “true” or “actual” Christianity within the realm of tangible reality.
And right now, Christianity is a very, very ugly thing.
@PepperPrepper:
I don’t believe this at all. There are plenty of reasonable disagreements to be had.
Portions of comment in violation of site comment policies deleted by mods.
@PepperPrepper: Would you care to demonstrate to those of us who have listened to Kirk’s speech and deem it racist, misogynistic, homophobic, etc., what we are misunderstanding?
Who are you talking about here?
@PepperPrepper:
Just curious, who are you thinking of and why do you think said “activist” is our favorite?
Everything that @EddieInCA said is a valid interpretation of what Kirk said. Just a reminder:
The list goes on from there (BTW, what White Person’s job did Michelle Obama take?).
Here you go for the full excerpt: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/11/charlie-kirk-quotes-beliefs
Of course, you’re free to make an argument that none of that is racist or sexist (or the rest). Looking forward to it.
@drj:..Christianity is as Christians do. There is no such thing as “true” or “actual” Christianity within the realm of tangible reality.
Is this person in charge of who is & isn’t Christian?
Make your response in the form of a question.
Who does Trump hate the most today?
The remark about black pilots makes me think. When I see a white male CEO am I looking at a nepo baby whose road to the top was greased by preferential admission to the right educational and social circles? The brain processing power remark reminds me that we Jews clearly do better than Wasps in educational achievements; we don’t think that goyim are particularly smart. Goyishe kopf is not an expression of praise.
Imagine this: a guy travels around the country and puts forth some controversial ideas. He mostly appears on college campuses and sets up what he calls debates. One of his targets are Jews. He says they have a disproportionate influence in America, control too much wealth and too much media. He says the special relationship with Israel is bad for the country. He uses stereotypes about Jews. What would have the reaction to this man among media, among politicians? He would have been considered a fringe nutjob, castigated as an anti-semite.
As MB recounted, Charlie Kirk said shit about blacks that would do David Duke proud. He also said that MLK, Jr. was awful and he bemoaned the fact that they ever passed Civil Rights Acts. He said blacks were better off in 1940 than they are today.
He was a racist piece of shit. He specifically pushed the idea that blacks are intellectually inferior to white people. He was smart enough to realize that he could make millions off people who need to hear someone tell them that black people are inferior. I wish he hadn’t been assassinated, but if he had been run over by a bus it would have been just another day ending in “y”. Mourn his passing? Gimme a break.
Has anyone mentioned Kimmel yet in this thread, I think that is who PepperPrepper is referencing.
Once again a case where the Right wants to have it both ways, first they say Kimmel was cancelled because it was a business decision, he had a miniscule audience, no one was watching or listening to him so it was costing ABC too much money to keep him on the air, and now Pepper is saying that “everyone” who leans Politically Left watched and listened and hung onto every word he said.
Quite an accomplishment for someone who is supposed to have been a has been on TV that no one paid attention too.
I think this is pretty fair:
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) defended her vote against a resolution to honor the life and legacy of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and lamented that more Democrats did not join the 58 “no” votes in the House.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Crockett said it “honestly hurts my heart” that all but two members who opposed the resolution, according to her own count, were people of color.
Congress gave a high honor to a racist. Almost all white Democrats decided that he deserved the honor.
@inhumans99: So I think you left out a step in the Kimmel propaganda evolution.
First, they said that what he said on the air was “awful” and we all looked at it and said, “WAT”. There wasn’t anything awful there.
So then they switched to “he was unpopular and it was a business decision” This took maybe a day.
And maybe now he was a favored activist? Jimmy Kimmel an activist?
They are flopping around like the fish you just caught but dropped inside the boat.
I’ve been wondering how many of the people so deeply affected by Kirk’s death had any clear idea who he was before he became a cause celebre. How many people had ever heard of Horst Wessel before he died?
@gVOR10:
Among Turning Point’s target audience, youth, he had a following and they are honestly affected, but the rest are cynically exploiting the assassination or are simply fellow travelers that saw a bandwagon to board.
“Yes, and your favorite activist on the Left is a divisive, racist, misandrist, idiotic, partisan ideologue.”
Not anyone I read comes close to that. Do they exist? Sure, especially easy to find people who are partisan, ideologies or idiots, but like others here it’s hard to think of someone on the left who has the total package and the same prominence as Kirk. Which of course just ignores the obvious point that Trump, the actual leader of the GOP, regularly engages in name calling and the stuff you describe, not true of Dem leaders.
Just for the record I think true Christianity is just fine. I have some wonderful friends who believe and act like Christians. I make some efforts towards that also but fall short. I think the majority of people who claim to be Christians and support Trump are just performative Christians.
Steve
@PepperPrepper: @EddieInCA:
Obvious that Pepper is calling out EddieinCA as “divisive, racist, misandrist, idiotic, partisan ideologue .”
But Pepper DOES NOT identify Eddie’s “favorite activist”, leaving the rest of us to wonder who Pepper thinks is “the favorite activist”.
Of course, Pepper is trolling,
ETA: Misandry is the hatred of or prejudice against men or boys.
@gVOR10: While I was generally aware of Charlie Kirk and his schtick, I genuinely had no idea that Christianity was a big part of it, though it doesn’t surprise me that he professes to be some form of a Christian. The idea that the ideas he died for espousing were his Christian ideas (other than talking shit about people who generally didn’t meet his Christian ideals) seems a little far-fetched to me.
@gVOR10: While I understand the analogy, Kirk was definitely a far more prominent figure in contemporary Americans politics than was Jordy Wessel was in Germany.
I just had a trillion dollar idea: Troll Firewall.
@Joe:
This demonstrates the true wisdom of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, but not in the way MAGA sees it now.
The Trumpists don’t see it yet, but the “extraordinary fusion of government and Christianity” on display with Kirk’s martyrdom will do more to damage their religion than it will to establish their religion as core to US society. How the Trump government is behaving is anathema to core Christian ideals held by non-Evangelical Christians and the vast majority of people of other faiths – ideals like forgiveness, grace, charity, and hope.
With what is happening now, the marriage of MAGA and Evangelicals is far less likely to lead to EC becoming the official religion of the US than it is to turn people away from their hateful, vindictive sect.
Yes. Grift now has a martyr.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2025/09/22/turning-point-usa-charlie-kirk-donors-texas-foundation/
Nearly a half a billion that guy pulled in during his short career.
I think we have all underestimated the level of misogyny and racism in the USA, and the money behind it.
No wonder Iowa is mandating Kirk statues on college campuses.
They have found their patron saint.
Because he was murdered. Replace his body with that of Ben Shapiro or Candace Owens or Tucker Carlson or Matt Walsh or Steven Crowder or Megyn Kelly or [pick and insert viral video grifter here] and the same postmortem hagiographic myths would hold.
Donald Trump lost the youth vote to Hillary, Biden, and Harris. The last by 4-8 points, depending on the exit poll. Since then, Trump’s approval with young voters has collapsed. (Note the “This isn’t what I voted for” podcast bros hoodwinked last year by Donald “Bring Back Comedy” Trump now rushing to defend Kimmel from the FCC.) They took a risk that has not paid off.
Will they repeat their failed experiment for Vance, DeSantis, Haley, Rubio, Hawley, Cruz, Kemp, Youngkin or whomever? I suppose it depends on the other options. But I reckon President Trumpflation destroying jobs and bank accounts will crowd out other issues, including memories of Charlie Kirk, or his absence.
However…
We could turn this around on a dime.
Tell Trump that they were considering him (DJT) for the Nobel prize… But now… it is clearly obvious that based on how the country rallied for Charlie Kirk that it is OBVIOUS that he outshines Trump and ANYTHING Trump has ever done. And ALL that was based on Trump’s words about Kirk and how he spoke so highly of him. Trump himself elevated Kirk to be nominated above him.
The outcome?
Trump would literally dig up the corpse and shoot it in the middle of 5th Ave., and then sue the corpse for $26 Billion for littering the road in front of Trump Tower.
This is the way to defeat him. Always point out how his opponents are far greater than him.
Small men can never tolerate being less than.
@Scott F.:
I haven’t seen anything definitive, or even convincing, but I seem to see a lot of references lately to the Evangelical/GOP alliance weakening.
Speaking of Christianity, and the offense the MAGAts say they are suffering, I’d advise them to heed this quote from some guy named Jesús, whom apparently is a figure of some importance to their religion:
The spectrum of Christianity
Paul Campos is great on this topic today.
https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2025/09/im-pretty-sure-the-central-message-of-buddhism-is-not-rock-and-roll-all-night-and-party-every-day
“He did not hate his opponents, he wanted the best for them,” Trump said. “That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponents, and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry.”
So sayeth the divider in chief, refusing to do the performative Christianity that JD Vance thinks will advance his own political career.
@gVOR10:
Re: The Evangelical/GOP alliance weakening: The interests of the oligarchs (who fund the Republican Party in order to secure their deregulation and tax breaks) are fundamentally at odds with the interests of the theocrats (who want to compel the behaviors they’ve deemed sinful back into closets.) ‘Twas ever so and ever will be.
@EddieInCA:
Charlie Kirk absolutely deserved to be shot through the throat while promoting hatred, Christian Nationalism, White Supremacy and gun violence. 100% deserved it. For hubris alone.
That, however, does not mean it was right for anyone to do it. We are, ostensibly, a nation of laws, and a community. The shooter did more than kill a hateful human being who caused more harm than good, he also hurt our country and our community. And that was wrong.
Charlie Kirk’s life was a study in contradictions. He made the world a worse place both by being in it, and by leaving it. If only his mother had been on birth control.
@DK:
There’s only one way to test this, and (again) that would be wrong
ETA: Also, RFKJr deserves to die from Whooping Cough. His antivaccine agenda has killed a lot of people, and if there was a kind and loving God, He would have taken RFKJr. into his arms by now.
(But, again, it would be wrong for someone to hurry it along.)
@Matt Bernius:
Maybe I’m just a cynical old fart, but I expect that her “forgiveness” of the killer will quickly morph into blaming whole groups. Because Charlie Kirk wasn’t really killed by a man with a gun on a rooftop, he was killed by transgender ideology, the sins of our decadent culture, and the indoctrination of one semester at college that led this poor Child of Christ astray.
Because if it was just Tyler Robinson that killed her (horrible racist) husband, how can anyone engage in blood libel?
It wasn’t Caiaphas and Pontius Pilate who killed Jesus, it was the Jews (with a little Roman help). The Jews as a group. Even the ones who wouldn’t be born for another 2000 years.
It’s like the old saying, there is no hate like Christian love. A love that can inspire Crusades, Pogroms and probably something at an HOA somewhere.
There are some fine Christians who actually believe in helping the poor, welcoming the refugee, etc, but that’s not the Christianity that MAGA embraces.
But I may just be a cynical old fart (only 55, but so very old).
For those who question the existence of God, remember that Turning Point was founded by Bill Montgomery, an anti-vaxer who died of COVID, and the blessed St. Charlie, a champion of the second amendment who died of a gunshot wound.
Then again, I suppose this only proves the existence of a Darwin…
@dazedandconfused:
Which god?
I can picture Nemesis contracting such jobs to the Furies.
@Gustopher:
Dear God no. There’s only so much Republicans can do to morph the eminently-punchable face of Charlie Kirk into something hero-adjacent. Remember, before his horrific demise Kirk was at times vexed en feud with (at least) Owens, Shapiro, Fuentes, and Loomer. All had to scrub anti-Charlie tweets and content. He was not liked, thus easily swept aside by the pretty likeable Jimmy Kimmel.
But Candace Owens is pretty, culturally hip, and charming, within her malevolent Hitler-apologia. If she were in Kirk’s place, the rightwing tributes would make their nauseating Kirk idolatry look like contempt. All the same fake-patriotic psuedo-Christian cosplay + portraying the “radical left” as “the real racists” and pretending MAGA loves the blacks + dialing up “protect women from the trans menace” rhetoric to Level 19 on a scale of 10. No thanks. May bad luck and random gun violence leave Candace alone. I wish her many years of great health.
@Steven L. Taylor:
Autocorrect for the win!
Kirk is just the latest in a long line of dead people the MAGAts have seized on for propaganda purposes, starting perhaps with “six brave American heroes” killed in Benghazi all those years ago. They’re getting better and better at whipping up hysteria within their cult, which is a serious concern, but I doubt Kirk’s murder will end up changing anything significant. Unless the information released about his killer is all wrong, it appears he was murdered because a 22 year-old man resented Kirk’s opinions about trans people because he had a trans partner. It’s very hard to present that as martyrdom for either Jesus or America. Indeed in any other country, it would not have any political connotations at all.
I didn’t watch any of Sunday’s stage show, but it seems to have been little more than a super-sized Trump campaign rally. Obviously nobody from outside the cult was invited to speak, even though that would have been the norm in a genuine memorial service intended to unify the nation.
Frankly, I’m still just waiting to learn who my favourite activist on the Left is.