Tomi Lahren's Personal Tribute to Charlie Kirk: Carrying Forward the Mission After an Unthinkable Tragedy

[00:00] Like many of you, the assassination of

[00:02] Charlie Kirk hit me like a ton of

[00:04] bricks. I went from total shock and

[00:06] disbelief to a deep, heavy sorrow that's

[00:09] kind of hard to describe. In the

[00:10] immediate days after it happened, I

[00:12] didn't feel like I had all the right

[00:14] words or maybe any words I had just

[00:16] didn't feel big enough for the weight of

[00:18] the moment. What did bring me some

[00:20] comfort, at least initially, was seeing

[00:21] so many people from across the political

[00:23] spectrum express their heartbreak and

[00:26] their outrage. And it reminded me that

[00:28] at our core, we're all still human. We

[00:31] watched a 31-year-old man, a husband,

[00:34] and a father be gunned down in front of

[00:36] our eyes. He was sitting peacefully in a

[00:38] tent on a college campus, offering

[00:40] himself up for dialogue and debate. And

[00:43] if that image, that video didn't shake

[00:46] you to your core, you might need to look

[00:48] in the mirror and ask some hard

[00:49] questions about your own humanity. This

[00:52] act of evil and hate hit far too close

[00:55] to home for me for many reasons. First

[00:58] and foremost, I watched someone I knew

[01:00] and knew well be taken from this world

[01:02] and from his young family in an instant.

[01:06] Watching that video be shared,

[01:08] re-shared, tweeted, posted made me

[01:11] physically sick. But beyond the horror

[01:13] of witnessing it, this was deeply

[01:15] personal because I've known Charlie for

[01:17] over a decade. We basically started in

[01:19] this space together. We found oursel on

[01:22] the same mission, blazing a new path,

[01:24] often side by side. And I'll never

[01:26] forget that. Charlie was always my

[01:28] biggest cheerleader and I was his. And

[01:30] back when we met, TPUSA events were

[01:33] small. His vision was just beginning to

[01:35] take shape and I was lucky to be a part

[01:37] of it. Today, those events are like

[01:39] conservative rock concerts. But in the

[01:41] beginning, it was just Charlie and a few

[01:44] committed patriots with an unmatched

[01:45] passion for this country. Truly, I won't

[01:49] bore you with all the stories and

[01:50] memories I have from those early days,

[01:53] though I could go on and on. But I will

[01:54] say this, many of the people who now

[01:56] have careers and platforms in

[01:58] conservative media wouldn't be where

[02:00] they are without Charlie Kirk. He was a

[02:03] force in his own right, no doubt, but he

[02:05] was equally committed to lifting up

[02:08] others. Early on, he told me he didn't

[02:10] want to be the face of this thing. He

[02:12] just wanted to elevate those around him

[02:14] who could carry the mission forward.

[02:16] That included me, and I'll never forget

[02:18] it. He was there for me when I got fired

[02:21] from the blaze for saying I was

[02:22] pro-choice. He didn't agree with me, but

[02:25] he was there. He defended me against the

[02:27] backlash from within our own movement.

[02:29] And I'll never ever forget that either.

[02:32] Losing Charlie has left me feeling numb,

[02:35] not just because I lost a friend, but

[02:37] because I do what he did. I've stood on

[02:40] stages at college campuses and wondered

[02:42] if I'd make it home. I've looked out at

[02:44] hostile crowds and the protesters

[02:46] outside the doors and question whether

[02:48] the people who came to hear me would be

[02:50] safe. As much as I wish I could say this

[02:53] hasn't made me think twice about doing

[02:55] public events, it has because I have a

[02:58] family. I have a husband. And I'd be

[03:00] lying if I said I don't now re-evaluate

[03:02] my surroundings every single day

[03:04] wondering if I'll be next. But as shaken

[03:07] as I am, I know this. We cannot stop. We

[03:10] cannot be intimidated. We cannot be

[03:12] silenced. We must keep picking up the

[03:15] microphone, walking into the places

[03:17] where we're hated, and speaking anyway

[03:19] because that's the only way we save this

[03:22] country. So, I'll keep going and I hope

[03:24] you will, too. Whatever platform you

[03:26] have, whether it's your school, your

[03:28] city council meeting, your local school

[03:30] board, or just around your dinner table,

[03:32] I hope you keep going. And if you

[03:34] haven't started yet, if fear has kept

[03:37] you quiet or afraid of being judged or

[03:39] losing friends, I hope now is the moment

[03:42] you find your voice. Pick up the

[03:44] microphone, even if it starts with a

[03:46] whisper. Do it for Charlie. Do it for

[03:48] America. Do it for yourself.

[03:51] Another reason I haven't spoken fully on

[03:54] this until now is that I didn't want to

[03:55] speak from a place of rage. And trust

[03:57] me, that's been hard because like many

[03:59] of you, the responses I've seen on

[04:01] social media made me furious, sick,

[04:04] heartbroken, enraged. But I didn't want

[04:07] to add to the anger and the vitriel

[04:09] because there's more than enough of that

[04:10] already. That said, I do want to say

[04:13] this to every anonymous troll, every

[04:15] media figure, every elected official who

[04:18] spoke out about Charlie's and added a

[04:21] butt. Maybe it's time to log off and

[04:24] reassess your humanity. Charlie didn't

[04:26] agree with you either. He didn't like

[04:28] your rhetoric, but he didn't want to

[04:30] kill you. He wanted to debate you, and

[04:32] that was his crime. This idea that

[04:35] because someone says something you don't

[04:37] like, that somehow they deserve to die.

[04:39] Well, that's morally bankrupt and it's

[04:41] evil. And when you die, I hope no one is

[04:44] disgusting enough to say, "Well,

[04:46] condolences, but she said stuff I didn't

[04:49] like." Or, "Sorry, but he was

[04:51] offensive." So, how the hell do we get

[04:54] to a point where people, especially

[04:56] young people, genuinely believe that

[04:58] disagreeing with someone means they

[05:00] should lose their life? It's sickening.

[05:04] But I still believe that those voices,

[05:06] though loud and amplified by the

[05:07] algorithm, are not the majority. I

[05:10] choose to believe that most people are

[05:11] heartbroken by what happened to Charlie.

[05:13] I choose to believe that even many on

[05:16] the left feel the same. And I'll have

[05:18] more to say in the coming days, but for

[05:20] now, these are my thoughts. Rest in

[05:22] power, Charlie. We will carry the torch

[05:24] forward.

[05:26] [Music]