Erika Kirk: The Faithful Woman Behind Charlie Kirk's Mission and Her Powerful Rise After Tragedy

[00:00] There is a name that has entered the

[00:01] political and cultural ecosphere with a

[00:04] new level of force last week. It is the

[00:06] beautiful and strong mother and wife of

[00:08] Charlie Kirk, Erica. She is a true

[00:10] example of a faithful, God-fearing

[00:12] woman. And so, in today's episode, I

[00:13] wanted to dive into her life and in her

[00:15] story because I wanted to learn all

[00:17] about her, frankly, and also because I

[00:19] have a strong feeling that in the coming

[00:20] months and years, everyone will know her

[00:23] name, her face, and her cause. So, on

[00:26] that note, let's just dive into it. for

[00:28] those of you too who maybe are not

[00:29] familiar with Turning Point prior to

[00:30] Charlie's passing. Many of us didn't get

[00:32] to meet or know her prior to that. And

[00:34] so she's just an incredible woman. She's

[00:37] been the force behind the magnanimous

[00:39] Charlie Kirk and he loved to talk about

[00:41] marriage and his wife. And so we are

[00:43] going to learn a little bit more about

[00:44] her today. In 2006, she founded a

[00:46] nonprofit called Everyday Heroes Like

[00:47] You. Then she went on to Arizona State

[00:49] University to study polyai and

[00:51] international relations. She even played

[00:53] basketball at Regis University. Then in

[00:55] 2012, she participated in the Miss

[00:57] Arizona pageant, which she won. Frankly,

[00:59] not surprising at all. And then she even

[01:01] went on to represent Arizona in the

[01:02] MissUSA pageant. Then she went on to get

[01:04] her jurist doctorate from Liberty in

[01:06] Christian Leadership. Then she founded a

[01:08] company called Proclaim Streetear. And

[01:10] their clothing is awesome and so is

[01:12] their mission. So I just wanted to go to

[01:13] their website real quick to show you

[01:14] guys. Everything's sold out

[01:15] unfortunately right now, so I couldn't

[01:16] go get any of these great merch items

[01:18] like this one. That's my favorite. They

[01:20] said Noah was a conspiracy theorist and

[01:22] then it rained. It's I mean this is it's

[01:25] such good cool high quality looking

[01:27] clothing but all of it is sold out. Even

[01:29] the whole mission behind this clothing

[01:30] company is so cool. When you shop

[01:32] Proclaim, you're helping to advance a

[01:33] mission rooted in the Bible. Proceeds

[01:35] from every purchase support Bible and

[01:37] 365, the ministry arm of Proclaim. It's

[01:39] a free global disciplehip journey that

[01:41] walks believers through the entire Bible

[01:42] in one year. It's just such a cool

[01:44] ministry and company. And again, that's

[01:46] just by her mid20s it sounds like. And

[01:50] then she met Charlie, which I wanted to

[01:52] read this one tweet because I thought

[01:53] that this was great. You have to be an

[01:54] Erica to get a Charlie.

[01:56] You have to be a Charlie to get an

[01:58] Erica. The bar has been raised. I love

[02:01] that. In fact, while Turning Point has

[02:03] this long video of both of them talking

[02:04] about their falling in love, their whole

[02:06] little love story, which is adorable,

[02:07] and I'd recommend you guys go watch it.

[02:08] I'm just going to read a quick synopsis

[02:10] of that story from a tweet, but I would

[02:11] recommend you guys go hear it in their

[02:12] own words because it is a precious love

[02:14] story. My favorite story of Charlie Kirk

[02:15] is how he courted his wife, Erica. The

[02:17] story goes, Erica was running her own

[02:19] business in New York City called

[02:20] Proclaimed Streetwear. If you buy a

[02:21] sweatshirt from them, they'll also give

[02:22] one to a homeless person on the street.

[02:24] She loved Jesus a lot and started the

[02:26] business to honor him. Charlie and Erica

[02:27] first bumped into each other while

[02:28] online at the airport. From there, they

[02:30] kept in touch. Charlie asked her if she

[02:32] was interested in a job at Turning Point

[02:33] USA. She was like, "Hm, didn't cross my

[02:35] mind, but sure, I'll interview." The

[02:36] interview entailed a one-on-one meeting

[02:38] with Charlie at a restaurant. The

[02:40] interview lasted 3 hours because after

[02:41] talking politics and strategy, they just

[02:43] talked about anything and everything.

[02:44] The restaurant was closing, so they had

[02:46] to leave. Then Charlie said, "You're

[02:47] really great, but I cannot hire you at

[02:49] TB USA." Erica was like, "Okay, no

[02:51] problem. I still have my business." Then

[02:52] Charlie said, "I cannot hire you because

[02:54] I want to date you." She was completely

[02:56] taken back. She was like, "Okay." Then

[02:58] they left the restaurant and went their

[02:59] separate ways. On her way back, Erica's

[03:01] mom called and asked her how the

[03:02] interview went. She said, "I didn't get

[03:03] the job, but I got a boyfriend." And

[03:07] it's such a good story. Again, if you

[03:08] guys listen to them tell it, it's so

[03:10] cute because Charlie basically said

[03:12] within the first 20 minutes, he knew

[03:13] that he wasn't actually talking to this

[03:14] girl about an interview because he

[03:15] wanted to just talk about her entire

[03:17] life and her story because he knew that

[03:19] he wanted to date her. And then he just

[03:20] pursued her clear as day from day one. I

[03:23] would like to date you. That's that's

[03:25] how men should be. And in so many

[03:27] examples throughout Charlie's life, he

[03:29] set the bar for men and for what women

[03:31] should look to to find a good man. Now,

[03:33] back to Erica's life and her story. So,

[03:36] they meet, they fall in love, they get

[03:37] married. She also has a podcast called

[03:39] Midweek Rise Up where she posts, I

[03:42] think, weekly. I I was kind of deep

[03:44] diving into it and there's a lot of

[03:45] videos where she just gives this kind of

[03:46] devotional series, encouragement, just

[03:48] speaking about her faith. And actually,

[03:49] in her episode last Monday, she asked a

[03:52] simple question that I wanted to share

[03:53] with you guys. She said something along

[03:54] the lines of, "Does the way that we live

[03:57] give our words weight?" But here's the

[03:59] question that I can't shake. Does the

[04:01] way we live give our words weight or do

[04:05] our words collapse under the weight of

[04:07] how we live?

[04:08] And obviously after the horrific events

[04:10] of last week and the way that Erica has

[04:14] gracefully walked through that,

[04:18] I would answer her question and say yes.

[04:21] It certainly does because her actions

[04:23] have displayed a level of power and a

[04:26] level of faith and strength that you

[04:28] rarely ever get to witness. When I was

[04:30] looking through her content over the

[04:31] last couple months and learning about

[04:32] who she was, what kind of content she

[04:34] posts, what she believed in. I saw a

[04:35] speech that she had just given at the

[04:37] Young Women's Leadership Summit for

[04:38] Turning Point USA and I wanted to play a

[04:41] couple clips from that because it really

[04:42] speaks to her character and I want to

[04:43] highlight that before I get even further

[04:45] into this. Now I watched her whole

[04:46] beautiful speech and she was often

[04:47] referring to different women in the

[04:48] Bible and how they display biblical

[04:51] womanhood and how we should do that too

[04:53] as women in the modern day which is

[04:55] again so profound considering the impact

[04:57] that she has already had on women and

[04:59] her display of faith that she has shown

[05:01] even just over the last week. At one

[05:03] part in the speech she talks about

[05:05] people going through battles and so I

[05:07] just want to share a portion of this

[05:08] for women who are starting over

[05:11] in unknown fields of life.

[05:14] Ruth is your girl.

[05:17] Read read the book of Ruth. Ruth buried

[05:20] her past and followed Naomi into foreign

[05:22] soil. She had no husband. She had no

[05:24] title. She had no plan.

[05:27] And her battle was the ache of

[05:29] rebuilding a life with no guarantee.

[05:33] She chose loyalty

[05:35] over comfort.

[05:38] And you might be a woman who stands in

[05:39] that same field.

[05:41] You might be widowed. We might be

[05:42] divorced, betrayed, or starting a whole

[05:44] new life in a world that is very

[05:47] unfamiliar. But Ruth's life whispers,

[05:50] "God

[05:52] writes redemption stories out of broken

[05:54] soil."

[05:55] Her wisdom is just on a whole other

[05:58] level. And again, now having seen how

[06:02] she's acted, which I'll continue to show

[06:04] you, just makes this so much so much

[06:07] louder, so much clearer, so much more

[06:09] profound because now she's walking it

[06:11] out. So those weren't just words, she

[06:13] believed them. And now we're watching

[06:15] that belief in a whole other

[06:17] stratosphere. Here's another clip that I

[06:19] just wanted to show. Again, this whole

[06:21] speech, I would recommend you go listen

[06:22] to it, especially young women. It's it's

[06:24] a beautiful speech. So, I'm here to say

[06:26] welcome to the spiritual war. If you're

[06:29] not aware of it, put on the armor. Stand

[06:33] your post. You're a woman of the word.

[06:35] And when you feel isolated or unseen, go

[06:37] back to that blueprint.

[06:39] Ruth, Deborah, Hannah, Esther, Mother

[06:43] Mary, any of them. Go back to the

[06:45] blueprint. Fix your eyes on Christ

[06:49] because this is not for the faint of

[06:51] hearts. this spiritual battle. It's not

[06:54] also for Coachella Christianity where

[06:56] people are like, I'm just gonna go with

[06:57] the wind of whatever the Christian flow

[07:00] is. Don't. No, no, no. This is for

[07:03] someone who is fixing their eyes on the

[07:05] Lord, who speaks truth and love because

[07:08] you are not some dainty decoration.

[07:11] You are a weapon in the hand of Almighty

[07:13] God.

[07:15] I can just listen to this whole speech

[07:17] all over again. I love how she said that

[07:18] this is not for the faint of hearts.

[07:20] Like, you have to put on your armor of

[07:21] God. She was just encouraging all those

[07:23] women. Okay, here's just one other clip

[07:24] because I just I wanted to show you guys

[07:25] all of these moments.

[07:26] So, my mission for all of you after you

[07:30] leave here,

[07:32] please

[07:33] go confuse the culture.

[07:37] Confuse the crap out of it. I don't even

[07:39] know if I'm allowed to say that, but

[07:40] confuse them. Go and confuse them. Do

[07:43] not conform to it.

[07:44] Stand.

[07:45] Let them stare at you. Let them write

[07:47] the meanest Instagram comments.

[07:50] Let them wander. Let them whisper. And

[07:53] while they're doing all of that, cuz

[07:55] that's just noise.

[07:57] Build your family.

[07:59] Go raise a family.

[08:01] Go build a life of holy defiance. Go

[08:04] love your husband. Go love your babies.

[08:08] Go teach your children how to blaze a

[08:11] trail of glory.

[08:13] Go lead in truth and go be the light.

[08:15] You don't have time for their noise.

[08:17] Don't seek their applause. It's not even

[08:19] worth it. Not even worth it. Go f Go

[08:22] fulfill your purpose cuz you just need

[08:25] Jesus.

[08:26] It's all you need.

[08:27] All you need is Jesus. Beautiful words.

[08:30] Beautiful words. Now, someone commented

[08:31] under this just a couple days ago. This

[08:32] was posted a couple months ago, though.

[08:34] It is your time, sweetheart. When you're

[08:35] ready, it is your time. We need more of

[08:37] your voice. We are holding you up now

[08:39] more than ever in prayer. The enemy has

[08:41] attacked you where it hurts most, your

[08:42] family. He knows you have something to

[08:45] say. When you're ready, please rise up

[08:47] to the occasion. May God wrap his loving

[08:49] arms around you. And then, as many of us

[08:52] saw, wearing the full armor of God,

[08:56] within a mere two days of her husband's

[08:58] assassination, she went live and spoke

[09:01] to the nation. And I want to play a

[09:03] couple clips from that because again,

[09:04] this is an embodiment of the very words

[09:06] that she was just speaking. To start, I

[09:08] just want to show this first line

[09:09] because

[09:11] it it gave me chills.

[09:17] Jesus.

[09:18] This room.

[09:24] Good evening. My name is Erica Kirk.

[09:28] Charlie Kirk is my husband.

[09:30] I just wanted to show that moment

[09:31] because the look in her eyes was so

[09:34] fierce and so intense, but the first

[09:38] word she said in her speech to the

[09:40] nation was Jesus.

[09:42] But most of all,

[09:47] Charlie loved his children

[09:50] and he loved me with all of his heart.

[09:55] And I knew that every day I knew that.

[09:58] He made sure I knew that every day.

[10:01] Every day he would ask me, "How can I

[10:02] serve you better? How can I be a better

[10:05] husband? How can I be a better father?"

[10:07] every day.

[10:08] I've heard so many clips of people

[10:09] talking about him and everyone said the

[10:11] same thing. He made me want to be a

[10:13] better man because of the way that he

[10:15] treated Erica and his family. And he was

[10:17] such a good man behind the curtains,

[10:20] behind the scenes. He still is a good

[10:22] man.

[10:24] He was the perfect father.

[10:27] He was the perfect husband.

[10:30] Charlie always believed that God's

[10:32] design for marriage in the family was

[10:34] absolutely amazing. And it is, it is.

[10:38] And it was the greatest joy of his life.

[10:41] He wanted everyone to bring heaven into

[10:43] this earth through love and joy that

[10:45] comes from raising a family.

[10:49] It's beautiful.

[10:52] Charlie always said that if he ever ran

[10:54] for office, I know a lot of you asked if

[10:56] he ever was going to, but privately he

[10:59] told me if he ever did run for office

[11:01] that his top priority would be

[11:05] to revive the American family.

[11:09] That was his priority.

[11:12] One of Charlie's favorite Bible verses

[11:14] was Ephesians 5:2.

[11:17] Husbands,

[11:20] love your wives

[11:24] as Christ loved the church

[11:28] and gave himself up for her.

[11:32] My husband laid down his life for me,

[11:36] for our nation,

[11:38] for our children.

[11:41] He showed the ultimate and true

[11:44] covenantal love. The evildoers

[11:49] responsible for my husband's

[11:50] assassination

[11:53] have no idea what they have done.

[11:58] They killed Charlie because he preached

[12:01] a message of patriotism,

[12:04] faith, and of God's merciful love.

[12:09] But they should all know this.

[12:12] If you thought that my husband's mission

[12:16] was powerful before,

[12:18] you have no idea.

[12:22] You have no idea what you just have

[12:24] unleashed across this entire country.

[12:28] In this world, you have no idea.

[12:32] You have no idea the fire that you have

[12:35] ignited within this wife.

[12:40] The cries of this widow will echo around

[12:43] the world like a battlecry.

[12:51] To everyone listening tonight across

[12:53] America, the movement my husband built

[12:55] will not die. It won't. I refuse to let

[13:00] that happen. It will not die.

[13:04] All of us will refuse to let that

[13:08] happen. No one will ever forget my

[13:11] husband's name, and I will make sure of

[13:13] it.

[13:13] I'm speechless watching her speak. So

[13:16] strong, so articulate. Every word that

[13:18] she's speaking just has so much power.

[13:20] Here's another moment right toward the

[13:22] end that I just wanted to highlight.

[13:24] Charlie loved his savior with all of his

[13:26] heart, and he wanted every one of you to

[13:29] know him, too.

[13:31] He wanted everyone to know that if they

[13:33] confess,

[13:34] if they confess the Lord Jesus Christ

[13:38] who rose from the dead, then they will

[13:40] be saved.

[13:46] Hear me when I say this. Nobody is ever

[13:48] too young to know the gospel. Nobody.

[13:52] Nobody is ever too young to get involved

[13:54] with saving this beautiful country. this

[13:56] country my husband loved and still

[13:58] loves.

[14:01] And nobody is ever too old either.

[14:04] There's no age limit.

[14:06] I don't remember the last time I slept

[14:11] and I couldn't sleep last night.

[14:13] And

[14:17] Charlie, baby,

[14:19] Charlie, I promise I will never let your

[14:22] legacy die, baby. I won't. I I promise

[14:26] I'll make Turning Point USA the biggest

[14:28] thing that this nation has ever seen. I

[14:31] promise,

[14:33] Charlie. I love you.

[14:35] I love you, baby.

[14:38] Rest in the arms of our Lord as he

[14:41] blankets you with the words I know your

[14:43] heart always strived to hear.

[14:47] Well done, my good and faithful servant.

[14:50] Why I wanted to show you guys that is

[14:52] because I wanted to ask the same

[14:54] question that I know that many of you

[14:55] are probably asking. How was that

[14:57] possible

[14:59] 2 days after that a grieving widow could

[15:02] get up in front of the nation and speak

[15:05] like that and not only speak like that

[15:06] for 15 20 minutes but also use it as a

[15:09] way to share the gospel in a moment that

[15:11] is the worst moment of her life. That

[15:14] right there what you just witnessed is a

[15:16] faithful Godfearing woman. A woman who

[15:18] has the Holy Spirit just surging through

[15:21] her. A woman who truly relies on God for

[15:25] her strength. Because even when she had

[15:27] none left, she successfully confused the

[15:31] culture as she talked about by getting

[15:33] up there and boldly and powerfully using

[15:37] a supernatural power to even speak

[15:39] because that's what the Holy Spirit can

[15:41] do. And so she had a nation asking how

[15:43] how could she do that? And she gave the

[15:45] answer Christ. Now, after that powerful

[15:47] speech where she talked to the nation,

[15:48] she's given us multiple other glimpses

[15:50] into Charlie's life as a father and as a

[15:52] husband, which here's just one of those

[15:54] reels. There's obviously so many on her

[15:56] account right now, but I think they're

[15:57] just beautiful.

[15:58] Bill's burgers in New York City. And

[16:00] right near this very table, was the

[16:03] first time dad met.

[16:06] And it started as a job interview. And I

[16:09] was asking all these questions, asking

[16:10] all these questions, philosophy,

[16:13] religion,

[16:15] Jesus. And then I realized mama was

[16:18] beautiful and smart and elegant and

[16:20] Christlike. And so I said, "Forget this

[16:23] job interview. I want to date you." And

[16:27] I said, "I have enough friends." And

[16:30] that's where your journey started.

[16:31] Because she apparently said, "Well, can

[16:33] we be friends?" And he's like, "No, I

[16:34] have enough friends. I don't need more

[16:36] friends. I need a wife. but also added

[16:39] in with those kind of posts, she

[16:42] selflessly helped a grieving nation by

[16:45] showing some of the other posts. And I

[16:46] saw a lot of people kind of compare that

[16:48] moment that she shared with the likes of

[16:51] Jackie Kennedy who kept wearing her

[16:53] famous suit after JFK's assassination.

[16:56] And she said something along the lines

[16:57] of, "Let them see what they have done."

[17:00] And I think Erica showing these

[17:02] vulnerable, intimate posts does just

[17:04] that. reminds these evil people what

[17:07] they have done. And I just wanted to go

[17:09] back and re-emphasize that quote that

[17:11] she gave before saying, you know, if if

[17:12] you thought my husband's mission was

[17:14] powerful before, you have no idea what

[17:16] you've just unleashed in this entire

[17:18] country and this world. And so while we

[17:20] as a nation continue to pray for Erica

[17:23] and for her family, there is a nation

[17:26] that is determined to keep his message

[17:28] and his spirit alive and most profoundly

[17:32] a fierce woman and wife who will never

[17:35] let it die.

[17:38] Thank you so much for watching today's

[17:40] episode. If you want more content like

[17:41] this, make sure to subscribe to this

[17:43] channel and like this video if you

[17:44] enjoyed it. For other content, you can

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[17:50] episode.