Erika Kirk on Carrying Forward Charlie Kirk's Legacy After His Assassination and Finding Strength Through Faith

[00:00] In a moment, we'll hear from Turning

[00:01] Point CEO Erica Kirk on how she's doing

[00:04] everything she can to keep her husband

[00:05] Charlie's mission alive and thriving.

[00:08] But first, Fox News correspondent Lucas

[00:10] Tomlinson takes a look at how faith is

[00:12] taking center stage in many of our

[00:14] country's biggest cultural and political

[00:15] moments.

[00:18] >> My life was saved for a reason. I was

[00:22] saved by God to make America great

[00:26] again. [applause]

[00:27] 6 months after an assassin's bullet

[00:29] nearly ended his life,

[00:31] >> Father, we thank you.

[00:32] >> President Trump returned to the White

[00:34] House, vowing to return the importance

[00:36] of faith into all aspects of American

[00:39] life. He created a White House faith

[00:41] office and elevated religious advisers

[00:43] roles within the administration. The

[00:46] president does not shy away from

[00:47] releasing images of himself praying with

[00:49] religious leaders. On the same day as

[00:52] the National Prayer Breakfast in

[00:53] February, he signed an executive order

[00:55] to address what he called anti-Christian

[00:58] bias and

[00:59] >> bring God back into our lives.

[01:02] >> In addition to strong evangelical

[01:04] support, it was also young people who

[01:06] supported the president's return to

[01:07] office.

[01:08] >> Ladies and gentlemen, you're about to

[01:09] witness history. The 45th and 47th

[01:13] president of the United States.

[01:14] >> No one more responsible than Charlie

[01:17] Kirk. Trump received 10% more of the

[01:19] youth vote in 2024 than he did four

[01:22] years prior.

[01:23] >> I want to express my tremendous

[01:25] gratitude to Charlie Kirk. He's really

[01:27] an amazing guy.

[01:31] >> Amazing guy.

[01:34] >> America's faith was tested after

[01:36] Charlie's assassination in September.

[01:38] Trump said he was killed for his beliefs

[01:40] in freedom, God, and common sense.

[01:48] of our greatest

[01:50] evangelist

[01:52] for American liberty became immortal.

[01:56] He's a model now for American freedom.

[01:59] >> Erica now at the helm of turning point

[02:02] spoke at this year's America Fest.

[02:04] >> He would say this country is still worth

[02:06] defending

[02:08] and still worth sacrificing for. So,

[02:11] like all of you, this is our turning

[02:12] point as well, especially as we move

[02:15] into 2026.

[02:16] >> Thousands of students in schools now

[02:18] want to start new turning point

[02:20] chapters. 2 days before he was killed,

[02:23] President Trump made the following

[02:24] prediction at the Museum of the Bible.

[02:26] >> When faith gets weaker, our country

[02:29] seems to get weaker. When faith gets

[02:31] stronger, as it is right now, we're

[02:33] having a very good period of time after

[02:36] some rough years. uh good things happen

[02:39] for our country.

[02:40] >> At times, President Trump has been

[02:42] candid about his faith.

[02:44] >> I'm not sure I I'm going to be able to

[02:45] make heaven, but it made life a lot

[02:48] better for a lot of people.

[02:49] >> As part of the nation's 250th birthday

[02:51] celebrations next year, Trump says it

[02:54] will include a national prayer event on

[02:56] the mall

[02:57] >> to rededicate our country as one nation

[03:00] under God. We're not changing that.

[03:02] There a lot of people would like to see

[03:04] it. It'll never happen.

[03:06] So faith is certain to play a big role

[03:08] in those festivities as well as at

[03:11] Turning Point where Erica Kirk is

[03:12] looking to carry on Charlie's legacy. I

[03:14] sat down with her in Phoenix as she was

[03:16] overseeing the organization's first

[03:18] major gathering as CEO.

[03:22] >> Wonderful to have you with us. Welcome

[03:23] to Fox News Sunday.

[03:24] >> Thank you.

[03:25] >> So just thinking back on that day, the

[03:27] memorial, I've never seen anything else

[03:29] like that.

[03:29] >> And Charlie Kirk, we found a great

[03:32] American leader. and to have the sitting

[03:34] vice president, the secretary of state,

[03:36] >> because he carried that cross, we were

[03:38] freed from the sin that separated us

[03:39] from him,

[03:40] >> basically gave what I think is one of

[03:42] the clearest, most succinct full gospel

[03:44] sermons uh of the Christian faith.

[03:47] >> Um, what did that day mean for you

[03:49] personally? Do you think something was

[03:50] sparked there or it was a continuation

[03:52] of the idea of revival?

[03:54] >> I I it was a continuation when Charlie

[03:56] was murdered. That was the spark, but

[04:00] the memorial service solidified that

[04:02] [music] spark.

[04:03] and the power that the Holy Spirit has

[04:06] been totally unleashed in a [music] way

[04:08] that I don't think any of us could have

[04:10] imagined. And to have hundreds and

[04:14] thousands of people all together singing

[04:17] hallelujah.

[04:23] >> That is a slice [music] of heaven on

[04:24] earth that I'll never you can't you

[04:28] can't even articulate that. It was so

[04:30] powerful. It's one thing to memorize

[04:33] these verses. God is close to the

[04:34] brokenhearted or he works all things for

[04:37] good for those who love him called to

[04:38] according to his purpose.

[04:40] >> Um what they meant for evil, he meant

[04:41] for good.

[04:43] >> But to live it is something totally

[04:45] different. I mean you've walked into a

[04:46] different way of experiencing those

[04:48] verses.

[04:49] >> That man,

[04:52] that young man,

[04:57] I forgive him. It's interesting because

[04:59] I keep getting the same question. How

[05:02] could you forgive him? How could you

[05:04] forgive the man who murdered your

[05:05] husband? And the answer to me is just so

[05:08] simple.

[05:10] You trust in the Lord. And when you

[05:12] trust in the Lord,

[05:14] you do it. And

[05:18] faith is so powerful when it's lived

[05:20] out. But I I don't have this massive

[05:24] in-depth answer. Um, God is good

[05:29] and world the world is evil. Don't be

[05:32] surprised when the world acts like the

[05:34] world. But I know that the Lord will use

[05:38] everything. But when you know without of

[05:41] a shadow of a doubt

[05:44] that the Lord is your refuge, the Lord

[05:48] is your strength, and you wake up every

[05:50] morning and you say, "God, give me the

[05:51] grace.

[05:53] Show me the direction I'm supposed to

[05:55] go. Use me. Just how Charlie sat on

[05:58] stage two years ago here at Amfest.

[06:00] >> Lord, use me. Here I am. Lord, use me as

[06:04] an instrument for your will.

[06:06] >> Use me. Lord, here I am. And when you

[06:09] surrender your life to that and that

[06:11] posture,

[06:13] everything around else around you is

[06:15] just irrelevant

[06:18] >> because God is so good.

[06:19] >> And you that's the second time you've

[06:21] said that that God is good. And a lot of

[06:22] people would look at a young mom, a

[06:24] young widow, and say, "How in the world

[06:26] can you say, God is good?" You've said

[06:28] that you're not angry at God. You're not

[06:30] saying, "Why? Why me? Why this

[06:32] situation?"

[06:34] >> And I know that grief is a journey and

[06:35] every minute by minute is different.

[06:37] >> But what are your conversations like

[06:39] with him now about where you're at

[06:41] >> with with God?

[06:44] >> Quite frankly, they're they're kind of

[06:46] the same.

[06:48] I've never questioned why me. I always

[06:52] knew that my life was not just to be

[06:54] lived for me. We're here for such a

[06:57] greater purpose. And Charlie and I both

[07:00] knew that. And that's why Charlie built

[07:02] what he built.

[07:05] And

[07:06] I talked to God, like I said, the same

[07:09] way. You know, God used me. God, heal my

[07:14] heart. You know my pain. You know the

[07:16] depths of my pain.

[07:18] walk through this with me. Put the

[07:21] people in my path that will help heal me

[07:23] and guide me and direct me and keep me

[07:25] in lock step with your will. I don't

[07:26] want anything outside of God's will. I

[07:28] do not anything outside of the jet

[07:30] streams of God will God's will do not I

[07:32] do will not even touch it with a 10-ft

[07:34] pole.

[07:35] >> Um but even with Charlie too, I still

[07:37] talk to him. I'll be in the kitchen

[07:39] randomly being like, "Babe, can you

[07:41] believe what happened today?" Like I

[07:43] still there's something powerful about

[07:46] communication

[07:48] and the veil is so thin and I just know

[07:51] that

[07:53] prayer doesn't have to be this,

[07:56] you know,

[07:59] heavy religious thing. It's just it's

[08:01] just communication with God. It's so

[08:04] simple.

[08:05] >> You just talk to God.

[08:06] >> Do you feel like you hear from him that

[08:08] he speaks back to you?

[08:09] >> Mhm. But it's everyone's different. Mhm.

[08:11] >> Everyone hears it in their own way. Some

[08:14] some people it's this loud booming

[08:16] voice. Some people it's something really

[08:17] soft in your heart and other people they

[08:19] get visions. I'm not going to judge how

[08:21] other people hear the Lord's voice.

[08:23] >> But I I do. And for me it's peace. When

[08:26] I when I'm talking to God and I I don't

[08:29] have a peace about something that's not

[08:30] of the Lord. But when I have peace I

[08:31] know it's him.

[08:33] >> Yeah.

[08:33] >> You mentioned recently Nehemiah.

[08:35] >> Yes.

[08:35] >> Which I thought was so interesting

[08:37] because if people

[08:39] >> Yes. I mean, it was a um a man who was a

[08:41] Jewish exile, but he had served the king

[08:43] where he was working so well that when

[08:44] he said, "I want to go back and rebuild

[08:46] Jerusalem. I want to rebuild that city."

[08:47] The king was like, "Great. You can go

[08:49] and I'm going to give you all of these

[08:50] resources." But when he got there, there

[08:52] were people were not happy about what he

[08:54] was doing. They were making fun of him,

[08:56] but it turned into something much

[08:57] different that they were like actively

[08:58] trying to sabotage him,

[09:00] >> right?

[09:00] >> But he stood strong and he accomplished

[09:02] something that couldn't have been done

[09:03] through human effort.

[09:04] >> Um, what do you draw from that story? Do

[09:06] you feel kind of like a modern day

[09:08] Nehemiah

[09:09] >> in some ways?

[09:11] Because I mean, we're carrying on

[09:12] Charlie's legacy and there is so much

[09:14] noise. I know I've said this many times

[09:16] before and there will always be noise.

[09:17] Whenever you are over the target, there

[09:19] will the enemy I mean, we're in enemy

[09:21] occupied territory. There will always be

[09:23] noise and there will always be people

[09:24] that will distract you. If myself or

[09:26] Charlie spent every single second going

[09:29] down and and responding to every

[09:31] accusation, responding to every insult,

[09:34] responding to every judgment, we would

[09:37] get nothing done. We just wouldn't. And

[09:40] at the end of, you know, Nehemiah, he

[09:43] basically was saying, "Lord, strengthen

[09:44] my hands." And so, I feel the same way.

[09:47] Like, I'm not going to ask God to remove

[09:49] those people from my life. It just makes

[09:51] me stronger. So Lord, instead of

[09:53] removing these people and this noise at

[09:56] the bottom of the hill while I'm trying

[09:57] to build, just give me stronger

[09:58] shoulders. Give me stronger stronger

[10:00] hands to keep building because that's

[10:02] always going to be there. That's the

[10:03] enemy and that's that's that's life.

[10:06] That's life.

[10:08] >> It's a lot to manage. It's a whole new

[10:09] role. There's some real struggles in

[10:11] there, I would imagine.

[10:12] >> Of course. I mean, that's life that

[10:14] you're you're But multiple things can be

[10:17] true at the same time. Yes, I am

[10:19] grieving. Yes, alongside our great team

[10:22] running Turning Point USA. Yes, I'm

[10:25] raising my babies. And you don't

[10:27] separate those into different boxes.

[10:30] They can all coexist. And so, yeah, I

[10:32] take my babies to the office. I want my

[10:35] kids to see what their father built. I

[10:37] want them to be a part of it. Maybe it's

[10:38] supposed to be something that inspires

[10:40] them and encourages them to think, okay,

[10:42] we live in the greatest country where

[10:44] you can be so many different things. You

[10:47] can be a mother. You can be an author.

[10:50] You can be a nurse. You can be a teacher

[10:53] in one full lifetime.

[10:55] You don't have to just be one thing. And

[10:57] and honestly, being a mother is one of

[10:59] the greatest honors and privileges and

[11:02] job titles you could ever have cuz

[11:05] there's something so powerful and true

[11:07] authentic

[11:09] biblical womanhood.

[11:11] And it's not something to be afraid of.

[11:13] It's not something that you have to be

[11:15] categorized as. And you don't have to

[11:17] fall into, you know, being a trad wife

[11:20] and making sourdough bread. I never fell

[11:22] in that category. Or being a boss babe

[11:24] and never being around your kids.

[11:25] There's a balance is slightly not real.

[11:30] But there's a way to cohesively blend

[11:32] your life in a way that's honoring to

[11:34] the Lord and what he's blessed you with,

[11:37] but also too what he's held you

[11:39] responsible for.

[11:40] >> And community is so important. Like you

[11:41] said,

[11:42] >> believers that you don't even know,

[11:43] there's an instant connection.

[11:46] So for you, I wonder if it was always

[11:48] tricky or if it's impossible now to

[11:51] worship in community, to actually go to

[11:52] church.

[11:53] >> It's interesting.

[11:55] I I intentionally have not since 910, I

[11:58] have intentionally not brought my

[12:01] children to a full service. I did bring

[12:04] them to um a daytime service at one

[12:07] point, but when it comes to Sunday or

[12:11] Saturday worship, when I would go to a

[12:14] physical church, I chose not to bring my

[12:16] children. I don't need the photos of my

[12:18] children. I would like to keep some

[12:20] things in my life very private. And

[12:22] Charlie and I were very intentional

[12:24] about that with our kids.

[12:26] >> Um we would always believe that it's

[12:29] important to protect what you love. And

[12:31] I don't need I want my babies to have a

[12:33] childhood. I don't need them to be

[12:35] dragged through the mud on social media.

[12:38] They're precious to me.

[12:41] >> And now to part two of our interview

[12:42] with Turning Point CEO Erica Kirk. We

[12:45] began by talking about her late

[12:46] husband's final book, Stop in the Name

[12:48] of God, which he called a quote

[12:50] manifesto against the machine of the

[12:53] modern life.

[12:56] Well, and you and Charlie did things. I

[12:57] mean, he talks about in the new book

[12:59] about being countercultural about a lot

[13:00] of things. And I love one of the things

[13:02] that he said about Shabbat envy that he

[13:04] loved looking around at people who were

[13:06] practicing the Sabbath and saying,

[13:08] >> "Man, I'd love to be able to get off

[13:09] this hamster wheel, right, and do that."

[13:11] And he outlines that in the book about

[13:12] how it's not just physically resting,

[13:14] but it's really a soul rest. It

[13:16] >> spending time with the Lord,

[13:17] regenerating there. Um, and he really

[13:20] challenges people in the book, and I

[13:21] love your Ford, where you talk about the

[13:22] tyranny of distraction because we all

[13:24] deal with that. And I think that noise

[13:26] only just gets louder and louder the

[13:28] more we have technology, the more that

[13:29] we have people in our ear.

[13:30] >> Um, so a radical step for him to say

[13:32] like,

[13:33] >> "Nope, as busy as I am, I'm going to

[13:35] shut this down for 24 hours and

[13:36] refocus." And you can make it different

[13:38] every time, but the one thing I looked

[13:40] forward to the most

[13:43] on on those days where Charlie honored

[13:46] the Sabbath was the note that he would

[13:48] write to me. And that was powerful. And

[13:52] he would always say, "How can I serve

[13:54] you? How can I be a better husband?"

[13:56] Because I was saying the same thing. It

[13:58] wasn't just one way. I we both knew that

[14:01] in order to make our marriage the most

[14:04] amazing

[14:05] covenant that it was was always asking

[14:08] one another, how can we improve? How can

[14:10] we be better? How can we serve one

[14:12] another? Because your marriage came

[14:14] first, then your kids. So when you put

[14:16] the kids in front of your marriage,

[14:18] that's where some issues start. But

[14:19] Charlie and I always put each other

[14:21] first. I mean, obviously you put God

[14:23] first. You understand my sentiment? But

[14:25] he was very good about in those letters

[14:28] at the end he would always say, "How can

[14:31] I serve you? How can I be a better

[14:32] husband?" And it's funny cuz I never

[14:34] actually took him up on that. I never

[14:36] said cuz he was just always so good.

[14:38] What do you say to people who don't get

[14:40] faith in marriage or religion in

[14:42] marriage or that the biblical guide

[14:44] where I find people will have

[14:45] misperceptions about submission and

[14:47] about a wife and what women are expected

[14:50] to do if they don't fully understand the

[14:52] scriptures. Ephesians 5 and and all of

[14:53] those things that give guidance to the

[14:55] husband and the wife. Ephesians 5 is

[14:57] beautiful. Submission is not a dirty

[14:59] word.

[15:01] It's a reflection of the bride of

[15:04] Christ.

[15:06] I was I was blessed to be able to submit

[15:12] to Charlie and it wasn't a weakness.

[15:16] I was I'm the guardian of the home. He's

[15:18] the head of the household.

[15:21] He provides the house. I make it into a

[15:23] home. We complement each other. We're

[15:26] not in competition with one another.

[15:28] >> So, what is the end goal for TPUSA?

[15:30] >> Oh my goodness. Well, aside from

[15:33] continuing the legacy and making sure

[15:35] that this machine that my husband built

[15:38] outlives all of us, it's making sure

[15:41] we're we're going to be back on campus.

[15:43] We're going to continue prove me wrongs

[15:46] on the quad. We're not afraid. We're

[15:48] going to be doing campus events at

[15:50] night. We have all of our tour stops

[15:52] with TP USA Faith with our Make Heaven

[15:54] Crowded tour that's coming up. We have,

[15:58] you know, all of our amazing chapters.

[16:01] The fact that we're having so many

[16:03] different governors partner with us for

[16:06] Club America is so humbling and

[16:10] powerful, but it's also showing the

[16:12] youth of America that your voice does

[16:14] matter and that you do matter. Because

[16:17] so long Gen Z has been looked at as

[16:20] dismissed or,

[16:23] you know, the confused generation and

[16:25] they're not. They're not. And the fact

[16:28] that we're having leadership pay

[16:30] attention and say, you know what, I get

[16:33] asked by my donors all the time, what

[16:36] are you doing for the youth? And my

[16:38] solution is Club America.

[16:41] That is humbling to hear from our

[16:44] leaders. And it's powerful to witness.

[16:47] >> Well, it's powerful to witness you

[16:49] walking forward, moving forward with the

[16:51] covering of millions of people and their

[16:53] prayers over you as well. So, thank you.

[16:55] It's been good to have you with us.

[16:56] >> Thank you.

[16:58] >> And you can watch our entire interview

[17:00] with Erica Kirk. There's much more

[17:01] there. We dive deep on faith, a lot of

[17:04] other topics, too. It's all on

[17:05] Foxnation.com,

[17:07] available for streaming after this show.

[17:10] >> Hey, it's Will Kaine. Click here to

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