Erika Kirk Opens AmFest 2025 Honoring Charlie Kirk's Legacy and Mission for America's Future

[00:00] Heat.

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[00:14] [music] Heat.

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[00:22] Heat

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[00:37] up

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[00:48] here.

[00:50] >> [cheering]

[00:54] [applause]

[00:59] >> This is a full circle moment for me.

[01:04] Um, two years ago,

[01:07] my husband

[01:09] stood on this stage

[01:12] and said, "Here I am, Lord.

[01:16] Use me."

[01:18] And boy did he.

[01:23] [cheering]

[01:24] [applause]

[01:26] You know, it's really interesting.

[01:30] The enemy has thrown a lot of curveballs

[01:35] at us today and this week and the past

[01:38] three months. And one of them is the

[01:39] fact that my entire speech has been

[01:42] wiped because my iPad won't even turn

[01:44] on. So that's a fun technical difficulty

[01:46] that we can figure out.

[01:49] So, we're just going to wing it.

[01:52] [cheering]

[01:52] >> We're just going to wing it.

[01:54] [applause]

[01:57] I was going to share with you stats. I

[02:00] was going to share with you

[02:02] all of the things that we have going on

[02:04] building. So, I'm going to just start it

[02:05] off with this. So, last year,

[02:10] Charlie,

[02:13] I'll rewind. Afest is Charlie's Super

[02:16] Bowl. Thank you. These are the stats. I

[02:19] got the stats, no speech. So again,

[02:21] we're going to wing it.

[02:24] [cheering]

[02:24] So AMFest last year, Charlie reminded

[02:28] me, but this was his Super Bowl.

[02:31] And for those of you who are sitting in

[02:33] the back, my husband was very

[02:35] intentional about making sure he was in

[02:37] the back because he wanted to sit in

[02:39] what he considered maybe the worst seat

[02:41] in the arena. and he made it a point to

[02:45] listen to the whole intro video, every

[02:48] speaker video, and he would tell the

[02:51] team, "Louder, more bass,

[02:54] more noise." He would say, "There's a

[02:56] treble and a bass knob. Turn the ones to

[03:00] make it right." So, even if you feel

[03:02] like you're in the worst seat in the

[03:03] house, you're not cuz Charlie's sitting

[03:05] one of those. So, you're in you're in

[03:07] good company up there.

[03:11] >> [applause]

[03:13] >> But what's also very interesting

[03:16] is that when Charlie first and the team

[03:18] first came up with, since I don't have a

[03:20] speech, I might as well just walk

[03:21] around. When Charlie first came up with

[03:24] Amfest, he thought to himself,

[03:27] who would not love to celebrate America?

[03:31] So, we're going to name it Amfest.

[03:34] And that's what he did.

[03:37] And I'll never forget last year we were

[03:41] blessed to have President Trump come and

[03:44] speak.

[03:47] And afterwards,

[03:50] Charlie turns to me,

[03:54] starts running like, "Where are you

[03:56] going?" He's like, "I'm about to go on

[03:58] Air Force One." I'm in heels trying to

[04:01] chase him to figure out what is going

[04:03] on. He goes, "Okay, so I got to get on

[04:05] Air Force One." I was like, "Good for

[04:06] you, baby." He's like, "Okay, so I need

[04:08] you to close out Ampfest and I need you

[04:11] to do the the staff meeting afterwards."

[04:13] And I was like, "Excuse me?" He's like,

[04:15] "Yeah, you're closing out Amfest." And I

[04:17] was like, "I am not closing out Amfest."

[04:19] He's like, "Yes, you are." And I said,

[04:21] "What am I supposed to say?" And he

[04:24] goes, "You'll figure it out. That's why

[04:25] I married you." I was like, "You always

[04:28] say that to me whenever we're in a

[04:29] position where we won't like there's no

[04:32] script. There's nothing." thing. He's

[04:33] like, "Baby, you'll figure it out. It's

[04:34] why I married you." So, again, here we

[04:36] are.

[04:39] And so, right. So, now we're opening

[04:40] Amfest.

[04:44] But what's so interesting and what I

[04:46] have learned so much um within these

[04:50] past three months, again, the enemy, but

[04:55] he will never win. We know we're on the

[04:56] winning side. God is so good.

[05:00] So Charlie loved to share Amfest Amfest

[05:04] stats. So that's what we're going to do

[05:05] really quick. He would love for you guys

[05:08] to know that 80% of the attendees have

[05:11] never attended a Teusa event before. So

[05:15] thank you for everyone who is new.

[05:16] Welcome home. Turning Point USA is your

[05:19] home and we're loving that you're here.

[05:22] Onethird of the attendees are students.

[05:26] 50. Yeah, [cheering]

[05:29] we love our students.

[05:31] 54%

[05:33] are female attendees. [cheering]

[05:38] Okay,

[05:41] we have 40 breakout sessions, 178

[05:44] sponsors, all 50 states represented.

[05:50] [cheering]

[05:52] >> [applause]

[05:52] >> We have 25 countries represented plus

[05:56] Puerto Rico. But I have the list here.

[05:58] Um, don't worry guys, Egypt is not on

[06:01] the list.

[06:03] Don't worry about that. Um,

[06:07] but oh, how funny. I say Egypt and my

[06:11] iPad turns on.

[06:15] That's fun.

[06:17] Where were we? Okay.

[06:20] So, anyways, the past 3 months I have

[06:22] learned a lot.

[06:26] You learn very quickly who is ready to

[06:28] go to war with you. You learn very

[06:31] quickly who thinks emotionally versus

[06:34] logically when you go through something

[06:37] as horrible

[06:40] that not only myself went through, but

[06:42] every single one of you in here that

[06:44] loved my husband.

[06:47] You find out who stays with you, who

[06:50] leaves.

[06:53] You find out a lot. You find out who's

[06:54] going to pray with you when they there's

[06:55] no words left.

[06:59] And you also learn some unexpected

[07:02] things like the fact that Joy Reed

[07:04] probably needs a really, really good

[07:06] hug. And honestly, I'm here for it if

[07:09] she needs it. I got a good hug for you.

[07:13] Good hug for you. I'll even touch the

[07:16] back of your head.

[07:20] [applause and cheering]

[07:26] But I love you guys. But here's what

[07:29] I've learned the most in these past

[07:31] three months

[07:34] is that my husband,

[07:37] he deeply mattered on a multitude of

[07:39] levels.

[07:41] So much so that it proved even more once

[07:43] he was assassinated how much of a

[07:45] peacemaker he was

[07:48] and how much of a coalition builder he

[07:51] was

[07:52] because when he was assassinated

[07:55] we saw infighting.

[07:58] We've seen fractures.

[08:01] We've seen bridges being burned that

[08:04] shouldn't be burnt.

[08:07] We saw a lot on full display.

[08:11] And

[08:13] what I knew as a wife and I'm the same

[08:16] exact way as him. If you are trying to

[08:21] put up fight orflight mode, we're always

[08:23] fight mode. We don't retreat. Charlie

[08:26] would go wherever he needed to go. And

[08:28] I'm the same exact way. Same exact way.

[08:31] And you'll learn that. You'll learn that

[08:34] about me the more that you get to know

[08:36] me. I know I'm new here. I'm new here.

[08:38] But you you'll learn you'll learn him

[08:42] and I were not afraid of that.

[08:45] And that's also why the past several

[08:50] months, several weeks, I honored my

[08:53] husband by completing all of his

[08:55] pre-planned

[08:57] fall media tour hits for his book, his

[09:02] any commitment he had. I wanted to honor

[09:05] that for him.

[09:07] I wasn't going on a media tour myself.

[09:10] This was for my husband because in our

[09:12] household, our word is our bond. And

[09:15] when you give it, you uphold it. So, I

[09:18] honored my husband that way.

[09:19] [clears throat]

[09:21] And so, what I'm inspired by is the fact

[09:23] that Charlie and I again will go

[09:27] wherever we need to go, but so will you.

[09:30] That's why you guys are here.

[09:33] All of you are here because you know

[09:35] that you're sitting saying, "I want to

[09:37] do something." So that's why you came

[09:39] here. You came here to meet other people

[09:42] to know that you're not in this fight

[09:44] alone.

[09:46] You're here for a purpose. God made you

[09:48] for a purpose. Students, raise your

[09:50] hands.

[09:51] >> Out of those students, drop your hands

[09:54] if put your hand up if you're in high

[09:56] school. Okay. All of you.

[10:00] [cheering]

[10:02] I love it. I love my high schoolers.

[10:05] [applause]

[10:07] Charlie had a very special place in his

[10:09] heart for Club America. He's like, "How

[10:12] could you not love Club America?" All of

[10:14] you, again, going where you need to go.

[10:18] If your Club America is not set up or

[10:20] you want to set one up, step right into

[10:23] your admin's office. College students,

[10:25] raise your hands.

[10:27] Got a lot of them. [applause]

[10:33] So, where you got to be willing to go is

[10:35] on your campus. That means either

[10:38] starting a chapter, joining a chapter,

[10:39] maybe even one day putting up a tent in

[10:42] the quad.

[10:45] We're not afraid.

[10:47] For churchgoers,

[10:50] hold your pastor accountable for

[10:51] biblical cit citizenship.

[10:54] Okay?

[10:57] There are so many ways to get involved.

[10:59] That's why Charlie built Turning Point

[11:00] USA the way he did. He didn't care your

[11:03] race, your age, your background. If

[11:05] Charlie listened to every single person

[11:08] that told him, "You're too young to make

[11:10] a difference. You don't have enough

[11:13] connections. You're not going to do it."

[11:16] He would have let that noise consume him

[11:18] and he would not have built the machine

[11:21] that he has built today. So, don't you

[11:23] dare let anyone tell you you're too

[11:25] young, you're not smart enough, and

[11:27] you're not connected enough. As long as

[11:29] you're a part of Turning Point USA, we

[11:31] will empower you and give whatever you

[11:33] need to be able to make that come to

[11:35] life. Okay?

[11:38] [applause]

[11:43] Charlie wasn't just a speaker. He wasn't

[11:45] just a political thinker. He wasn't just

[11:46] a thought leader. Again, he was a

[11:49] bridge. He was a pathway. He was a

[11:52] connection point to generations. He was

[11:56] a pathway and connection point to

[11:57] communication, to inner politics.

[12:01] And he also looked at a generation that

[12:04] has been mocked, that has been

[12:05] dismissed,

[12:08] that has been discouraged and told them,

[12:11] "You matter.

[12:13] Your ideas matter.

[12:16] Your decisions matter."

[12:19] and he would say this country is still

[12:21] worth defending

[12:23] and still worth sacrificing for.

[12:27] So like all of you, this is our turning

[12:29] point as well, especially as we move

[12:32] into 2026. And I want to share with you

[12:36] off this paper. I'm not going to wing at

[12:38] this one because I want all of you guys

[12:39] to absorb the the magnitude of these

[12:42] numbers.

[12:44] The number of student requests to get

[12:46] involved since 910,

[12:49] 140,000

[12:51] plus get involved requests have been

[12:54] submitted since 910.

[12:57] 140,000.

[12:59] [applause]

[13:02] Total number of students involved.

[13:05] This is involved within Turning Point

[13:07] USA. 1 million plus students involved in

[13:10] Turning Point USA. [cheering]

[13:13] >> [applause]

[13:17] >> Current chapter numbers as of December

[13:21] 18th, 2025,

[13:24] 3,082

[13:26] Club America chapters,

[13:29] [cheering]

[13:30] [applause]

[13:31] 1,432

[13:34] college chapters.

[13:36] [applause]

[13:38] So that leaves 4,514

[13:41] total chapters as of today and we are

[13:43] starting 50 chapters per day at Turning

[13:47] Point USA. [applause and cheering] It's

[13:49] amazing.

[13:54] Something I also love right now is how

[13:57] we are getting some amazing state

[13:59] partnerships with Club America. We I

[14:02] want to give a huge shout out to

[14:04] Oklahoma.

[14:06] Oklahoma's in the house. Florida.

[14:10] Okay. Indiana,

[14:13] [cheering]

[14:14] Texas,

[14:16] of course,

[14:18] and Tennessee.

[14:23] Another turning point for us for 2026 is

[14:26] the Make Heaven Crowded Tour. Something

[14:28] I'm very excited about. For those of you

[14:31] who attended the memorial service, that

[14:34] revival is a slice of heaven that I'm

[14:37] going to make sure we take around this

[14:39] whole entire country. So, we have

[14:41] different tour stops that are going to

[14:43] be coming up that I want you guys to be

[14:44] aware of. Uh, feel free to take a

[14:46] picture whenever they put it up there.

[14:48] But, if you're in any of these cities,

[14:51] we are bringing that to you. It's going

[14:54] to be amazing. God is so good.

[14:58] God is so good.

[15:02] I also want to note that our church

[15:04] partnership since 910, we have over

[15:08] 8,000 church partnerships and counting.

[15:11] [applause and cheering]

[15:18] This one's very special to me. Charlie's

[15:21] love for debate will always be

[15:25] the DNA of Turning Point USA.

[15:29] We believe in debate because we believe

[15:31] in truth and we believe in civil

[15:34] discourse because we believe that truth

[15:36] can withstand scrutiny.

[15:39] So that is why we will be launching the

[15:42] pick up the mic initiative

[15:45] and getting back on campus for prove me

[15:48] wrongs and campus tour events this

[15:51] spring and fall of 2026.

[15:55] [applause]

[15:59] >> [applause]

[16:01] >> I'm also really excited about everything

[16:03] that we're doing at Turning Point

[16:05] Action. We are locked in and mission

[16:09] focused for both 2026 and 2028.

[16:13] We're investing in states and not just

[16:16] in races. So what I mean by that is we

[16:19] are building the red wall. Arizona,

[16:22] Nevada, New Hampshire.

[16:24] That's going to be very important to us.

[16:26] We're going to ensure that President

[16:27] Trump has Congress for all four years.

[16:33] [applause]

[16:35] We are going to get my husband's friend

[16:38] JD Vance elected for 48 and the most

[16:42] resounding [cheering] way possible.

[16:48] >> [applause]

[16:50] >> And for our hometown Arizona folks, are

[16:53] you guys in the house? Arizona,

[16:57] go bigs or go home is where we're at

[16:59] right now mentally.

[17:03] But my husband didn't build this

[17:04] movement so people could feel

[17:06] comfortable.

[17:08] He built this movement so people could

[17:10] feel brave and to be brave with action.

[17:15] So people could see on full display that

[17:17] when you stop talking to people,

[17:20] especially those that you disagree with,

[17:22] you are the one that actually becomes

[17:25] weaker.

[17:26] Let that sink in.

[17:31] So you may not agree with everyone on

[17:33] this stage

[17:36] this weekend, and that's okay. Welcome

[17:40] to America.

[17:42] [cheering]

[17:44] >> [applause]

[17:46] >> Charlie would have welcomed that.

[17:49] He believed disagreement was something

[17:53] not to be cancelled.

[17:56] It was something to confront with

[17:58] clarity, courage, and grace. And Charlie

[18:01] loved truth way more than conformity.

[18:06] So this weekend for me personally is

[18:08] laced with nostalgia and it's laced with

[18:11] hope.

[18:12] But deeper than that, it's about

[18:14] carrying forward what Charlie built and

[18:18] ultimately what he gave his life for.

[18:21] And I've said it before and I'll say it

[18:22] again. The mission didn't end with

[18:26] Charlie's life.

[18:28] It's being lived out through each and

[18:30] every one of you in your own way. Again,

[18:34] it doesn't matter your age, doesn't

[18:36] matter your race, doesn't matter your

[18:38] background.

[18:41] Amefest is not about echo chambers.

[18:46] It's very important to know that because

[18:48] it's about sharpening one another.

[18:51] It's it's about digging deeper into

[18:53] ideas instead of retreating into slogans

[18:57] and it's about remembering that freedom

[18:59] requires responsibility

[19:01] and truth requires courage.

[19:05] So my challenge to you this weekend is

[19:07] very simple.

[19:10] Don't just attend Amfest.

[19:15] Let it mark you.

[19:18] Let it stretch you.

[19:20] Let it challenge assumptions,

[19:23] strengthen convictions,

[19:26] and maybe even make you a little

[19:29] uncomfortable because that's where

[19:31] growth happens

[19:33] in those moments.

[19:36] Let it be another turning point in your

[19:38] life.

[19:40] Another moment where you decide not to

[19:43] drift, not to disengage,

[19:46] not to give into cynic cynicism, but to

[19:48] stand up boldly, to be brave, to speak

[19:52] clearly

[19:54] because that is how we are going to

[19:57] honor Charlie.

[19:59] We are going to honor him not just with

[20:02] words

[20:04] but with action. So with that, welcome

[20:07] to Amfest.

[20:10] [cheering]

[20:15] God bless you guys.

[20:26] Heat. Heat.