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Charlie Kirk is the Founder and President of Turning Point USA, the largest and fastest growing conservative youth activist organization in the country with over 250,000 student members, over 150 full-time staff, and a presence on over 2,000 high school and college campuses nationwide. Charlie is also the Chairman of Students for Trump, which aims to activate one million new college voters on campuses in battleground states in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election. His social media reaches over 100 million people per month and according to Axios, he is one of the "top 10 most engaged" Twitter handles in the world. He is also the host of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” which regularly ranks among the top news shows on Apple podcast charts.
Charlie Kirk Guides Teen with Divorced Parents on Politics, Faith, and Honoring Your Family
When a teenager with divorced parents, one conservative, one liberal, asks Charlie Kirk whether she should care about politics and which parent to lean toward, his answer surprises many. Speaking at a campus event, Kirk redirects the conversation from political allegiances to biblical principles, emphasizing that honoring your parents transcends political disagreements. He explains why the Fifth Commandment is the only one attached to a promise about the land, how college culture tries to separate children from their parents, and why bringing Jesus into your life matters more than any political position. Kirk offers practical advice for navigating a divided household while staying grounded in Scripture.
A young woman, not yet of voting age and not a UT student, approached Charlie Kirk with a deeply personal question. Her parents are divorced with opposing political views—her mom is conservative, her dad is liberal. With her mom constantly encouraging her to engage with politics, she wanted to know: should she care about politics, and if so, which parent should she align with?
The Biblical Foundation: Honoring Your Parents
Kirk immediately noticed the girl's shirt, which read "Who whom shall I send? Here I am." He recognized this as the Hebrew word "hineni," which appears throughout Scripture—when Abraham responds during the binding of Isaac, when Moses encounters the burning bush, in the call of Isaiah, and the call of Samuel. Kirk emphasized that every believer should learn what this word means: Lord, use me, send me.
Before addressing the political question, Kirk made his priorities clear: "The most important thing is to bring Jesus into your life. Let me just make sure I say that most important thing. It's way more important than politics. It's the most important thing."
He then turned to a foundational biblical principle: honoring your parents. Kirk stressed that Christianity places heavy emphasis on this commandment, regardless of whether parents share your values or worldview. He explained that you are biblically obligated to honor your parents—to spend time with them, love them, and visit them—even when you disagree with their politics.
Why Honoring Parents Matters for America
Kirk connected this individual obligation to the health of the nation itself. Referencing the Ten Commandments, he pointed out that "honor your mother and father" is unique among the commandments because it comes with a promise: "so that you may live long in the land of which you are in."
"You will cease to have a strong country, America, if we do not have kids honoring their parents," Kirk stated. He encouraged everyone in the audience to call their parents on a weekly basis, warning that college often exists to separate children from their parents by suggesting that parents aren't cool, don't understand you, or don't share your values.
"The closer that you stay with your parents, even though you have disagreements, the better you will be and your nation will be," he added.
The Difference Between Honoring and Blindly Obeying
Kirk clarified an important distinction: honoring your parents doesn't mean blindly obeying them. If a parent ever tells you to do something sinful or that goes against God, that violates what it means to honor them. The word "honor" really means to treat them heavily—to give their position weight and respect.
Practical Advice for a Divided Household
Turning to the girl's specific situation, Kirk offered practical guidance. First, he encouraged her to find out what she believes and why she believes it. He advised her to stay close to both parents despite the difficult circumstances, acknowledging that she would grow up quicker because of the situation.
Kirk suggested she develop her own independent political views and let them be known to each parent consistently. When the girl asked how to express different views to different parents, Kirk corrected the premise: "Your view should be the same regardless of who you're talking to."
Since she's not yet old enough to vote and still forming her worldview, Kirk offered a disarming strategy: "I wouldn't even take strong political views. I would say, 'Mom and dad, I don't want to talk politics. I just want to talk the Bible. It's not a political thing, it's a biblical thing.'"
Scripture as Common Ground
Kirk's final advice was to consistently redirect political conversations back to Scripture. When either parent brings up political topics—whether supporting or opposing a political figure—she should respond: "You know what? Can we just talk things from scripture?"
"Always go back to fundamental scripture when you're talking to your parents," Kirk said. "And when you do that, it could be very disarming. And then you both have something to appeal to. You have a greater truth that then you're able to look at, appeal to, and hopefully, you know, get you through this difficult chapter."
Kirk closed the exchange with a blessing and offered the young woman a hat, met with applause from the audience.
