Tulsi Gabbard Honors Charlie Kirk's Legacy and Warns Against Islamist Ideology Threat to American Freedom

[00:01] Aloha. I am proud to stand here before

[00:04] you today. We're not going anywhere.

[00:06] We're here to fight for you and to fight

[00:08] for the red, white, and blue that's

[00:10] behind you. We can't do this alone. It

[00:12] will take all of us who love our country

[00:14] and who deeply cherish our freedoms to

[00:17] stand united in this fight. Every single

[00:21] day that we wake up with breath in our

[00:23] bodies, we are blessed with the

[00:26] opportunity to take advantage and make

[00:29] the very most of that day. Today is the

[00:32] day for us to stand up for all that we

[00:34] believe in. Stand up for each other,

[00:36] stand up for our country, stand up for

[00:38] our freedom, and a future that truly

[00:41] realizes the vision that our founders

[00:43] had for this great country.

[00:45] >> Please welcome Director Tulsi Jabber.

[00:49] Heat.

[01:04] Heat.

[01:25] Merry Christmas.

[01:29] I couldn't hear you in the back. Merry

[01:31] Christmas.

[01:36] You know, I'm I'm a little bit emotional

[01:38] walking out here

[01:40] because

[01:44] this is the first time we are gathered

[01:46] here for Amfest without Charlie Kirk.

[01:49] But I feel in all of your voices and

[01:52] your presence here his love.

[01:55] And that's a beautiful thing.

[02:02] You know, at all the different uh TPUSA

[02:04] events that I have been to through uh

[02:06] and to over the years, you know, Charlie

[02:09] was often the one who would uh you know,

[02:11] greet me at the door. We would go and

[02:12] kind of huddle in a corner backstage and

[02:15] start talking about, oh, hey, what's

[02:16] going on? What are you working on? What

[02:18] are you working on? and how do we tackle

[02:20] the biggest challenges that we face in

[02:24] this country with Charlie always always

[02:28] incredibly focused and full of energy

[02:31] and not just looking around okay what's

[02:33] the next thing but here's the 5 10 15

[02:36] and 20 year plan that we really have to

[02:39] keep at the forefront of all that we're

[02:42] doing

[02:44] and so while I didn't get to have that

[02:46] conversation with Charlie here I had a

[02:48] conversation with Eric America

[02:50] backstage. And I got to tell you, I

[02:52] continue

[02:54] to be in awe of this woman.

[03:02] I cannot imagine what she's been

[03:05] through, what she is going through. I am

[03:08] in awe of and grateful for her kindness

[03:12] and her strength

[03:14] and how she has opened up her heart

[03:17] during the toughest of times to the

[03:19] world and how she continues to exhibit

[03:22] the kind of courage and strength that

[03:25] you and I know can only come from God.

[03:36] We hear a lot of talk about unity. It's

[03:39] a word that is frequently used. We must

[03:41] stand united. We must come together and

[03:44] unify. But too often

[03:47] we don't actually think about what that

[03:49] means. To say we have to unite just for

[03:52] the sake of unity. What does it mean? We

[03:54] can unite around the wrong things. We

[03:57] can unite around a negative cause that

[03:59] results in a negative impact. And so

[04:01] when we talk about standing united as

[04:04] Americans,

[04:06] we have to understand what that really

[04:09] means. What is it that binds us

[04:12] together? What are the fundamental

[04:14] principles that we must stand together

[04:16] on? Whether we are Democrats or

[04:19] Republicans or people of different

[04:20] religions, people of different

[04:22] backgrounds or different views on

[04:24] certain policies. Fundamentally,

[04:27] the thing that we must unite on is our

[04:30] God-given freedoms that are enshrined in

[04:32] our Constitution and that every one of

[04:34] us as Americans must remain committed

[04:36] and dedicated to defending.

[04:46] That is our foundation. When we talk

[04:48] about America,

[04:50] >> we can look at borders, we can look at

[04:54] land, we can look at territories, but

[04:55] when we truly look at what does it mean

[04:59] to be an American and the responsibility

[05:02] that every single one of us as Americans

[05:04] carries with us. It is centered on our

[05:08] foundational principles, on that vision

[05:10] that our founders had for us. knowing

[05:14] way back then how challenging it would

[05:16] be and how there would be frequent and

[05:18] consistent attacks on our freedom and it

[05:21] would be up to us to defend them. And

[05:25] that's exactly where we are today.

[05:28] Charlie understood these threats. He saw

[05:30] them and focused

[05:33] completely

[05:34] on this defense of freedom, not just in

[05:37] words, but in action.

[05:40] He lived that truth that so many of us

[05:43] who either have worn the uniform or wear

[05:45] the uniform live by. I may disagree with

[05:49] what you say, but I will defend it to

[05:51] the death your right to say it.

[05:54] That's real.

[06:00] And Charlie lived and died by that

[06:03] principle that no matter how offensive

[06:06] or horrible or disgusting someone's

[06:09] speech is, no matter how much we

[06:12] disagree with it,

[06:15] it's up to us to stand up and protect

[06:18] and defend their right to say it. and to

[06:22] stand as Charlie did and defeat that

[06:25] weak or dark speech, that ideology with

[06:28] a superior ideology that's focused on

[06:31] freedom.

[06:40] You know, thinking about the the threats

[06:42] to our freedom in these gatherings

[06:45] across the country that TPUSA hosts, we

[06:48] often talk about the attacks on freedom

[06:50] that came from uh the Biden

[06:52] administration. How they sought to

[06:53] censor us in different ways. How they

[06:56] sought to spread disinformation to try

[06:58] to limit or control or curate what we

[07:01] saw and what we heard. how they lifted

[07:03] up certain voices and and hushed others,

[07:07] reaching into their propaganda arms and

[07:10] compelling social media companies to do

[07:12] their dirty work for them. But there is

[07:14] a threat to our freedom that is not

[07:16] often talked about enough.

[07:19] And it is the greatest near and

[07:21] long-term threat to both our freedom and

[07:24] our security. And that is the threat of

[07:26] Islamist ideology.

[07:38] It is propagated by people who not only

[07:41] do not believe in freedom, their

[07:43] fundamental ideology is antithetical to

[07:47] the foundation that we find in our

[07:49] Constitution and Bill of Rights, which

[07:51] is that our creator endowed upon us

[07:55] inable rights, the right to life,

[07:58] liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

[08:08] And Charlie focused on this quite a bit.

[08:11] He talked about it in ways that very few

[08:13] others did because he understood this

[08:16] direct threat to freedom.

[08:19] When we look back to the attack on 9/11

[08:22] that happened 24 years ago now, it

[08:26] changed so many of our lives where

[08:28] thousands of Americans were killed by

[08:29] Islamist jihadis who attacked us on that

[08:32] day. And we were confronted with the

[08:35] reality of the length that they will go

[08:39] to try to attack the foundations of who

[08:42] we are as a country. It was a day that

[08:44] changed my life. Probably like some of

[08:46] you in the room. It's what motivated me

[08:48] to enlist in the army to go out and to

[08:52] fight and to defend and defeat to defend

[08:54] our freedom and defeat those who are

[08:56] attacking us.

[09:02] But when we talk about this Islamist

[09:04] ideology, yes, it is the ideology that

[09:07] fuels terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and

[09:09] ISIS and al-Shabaab and Hamas and Boo

[09:12] Haram and others. and they must be

[09:15] defeated militarily

[09:22] as they continue to actively plot and

[09:26] try to attack us. They are a threat to

[09:28] our security and our safety. But this

[09:31] Islamist ideology is a direct threat to

[09:34] our freedom because at its core it is a

[09:36] political ideology that seeks to create

[09:39] a global caliphate that governs us here

[09:42] in America threatening Western

[09:44] civilization

[09:46] governance by Sharia law. Governance by

[09:49] what they are calling their Islamic

[09:51] principles. And if you fail to comply,

[09:55] if you fail to adhere to this ideology,

[09:58] if you dare to exercise your god-given

[10:01] right to free speech,

[10:04] censorship is not what we face.

[10:08] They will use violence or any means they

[10:11] deem as necessary to silence us.

[10:16] If we don't take action

[10:20] to identify this threat, to define it,

[10:24] to call it out for what it is,

[10:27] and take action to defeat it, then we

[10:30] will find ourselves in a place where

[10:33] many European countries and countries

[10:35] like Australia have found themselves.

[10:39] countries where you can get arrested for

[10:42] praying silently on the street corner as

[10:45] has happened in the UK.

[10:49] Countries where you can be arrested for

[10:51] putting up a social media post that

[10:53] someone finds offensive somewhere.

[10:58] The threats from this Islamist ideology

[11:01] come in many forms. As we approach

[11:03] Christmas right now in Germany, they are

[11:05] cancelling Christmas markets

[11:07] because of this threat. In places like

[11:09] Dearborn, Michigan and Minneapolis,

[11:11] Minnesota, Islamist clerics are openly

[11:13] pushing this Islamist ideology,

[11:16] trying to recruit and radicalize young

[11:19] people.

[11:20] Earlier this year, there was a

[11:22] conference that was held representing

[11:23] organizations like the Council on

[11:25] American Islamic Relations, also known

[11:28] as CARE, which issued a call to action

[11:31] to use American legal and political

[11:33] systems to implement Sharia law.

[11:37] This is already underway in places.

[11:41] This is already underway in places like

[11:43] Houston. This is not something that may

[11:45] possibly happen. It is already happening

[11:47] here within our borders. Patterson, New

[11:51] Jersey is proud to call themselves the

[11:53] first Muslim city.

[11:56] They are working to implement in their

[11:59] own governments these Islamic principles

[12:03] that are forced on people through the

[12:05] use of laws or violence. The bottom line

[12:08] is this. When we talk about the threat

[12:10] of Islamism, this political ideology,

[12:13] there is no such thing as individual

[12:15] freedom or liberty.

[12:17] As Charlie said over and over again, it

[12:19] is fundamentally incompatible

[12:22] with our nation's foundation of freedom.

[12:33] And at its core, when we understand that

[12:37] our freedom comes from God and no one

[12:40] else, we understand the seriousness of

[12:44] this Islamist ideology threat because it

[12:47] means they deny that God is the one who

[12:50] has bestowed this right to freedom in

[12:53] every one of us.

[13:04] So what do we do? We as Americans have

[13:06] to stand proudly for freedom and

[13:08] understand that a free society cannot

[13:10] survive if it refuses to defend itself.

[13:14] We don't preserve freedom of speech by

[13:17] cancelling it. We preserve free speech

[13:19] by exercising it, by using more of it,

[13:22] encouraging more speech.

[13:27] We protect our constitution by ensuring

[13:30] loyalty to the constitution.

[13:33] We protect our democratic republic by

[13:35] ensuring that we the people elect

[13:37] leaders who not only believe in American

[13:40] values but actually live them.

[13:43] Leaders who are committed to ensuring

[13:46] that we have a government of by and for

[13:48] the people and leaders who most

[13:50] importantly put freedom and the

[13:52] interests and well-being of the American

[13:54] people first.

[13:55] in every single decision that they make.

[14:04] You

[14:05] >> know, one of the things that Charlie and

[14:06] I talked most often about was peace. And

[14:08] this was the topic of the last in-person

[14:11] conversation that I had with Charlie.

[14:14] It's the topic of peace. He was a

[14:16] consistent and powerful advocate for

[14:20] peace because he understood that in

[14:22] order for us to be truly free and

[14:24] prosperous, we must be at peace.

[14:28] He understood the importance of

[14:30] President Eisenhower's farewell address

[14:32] when he warned that quote, "In the

[14:34] councils of government, we must guard

[14:36] against the acquisition of unwarranted

[14:38] influence, whether sought or unsought by

[14:41] the military industrial complex.

[14:44] The potential for the disastrous rise of

[14:46] misplaced power exists and will persist.

[14:50] We must never let the weight of this

[14:53] combination endanger our liberties or

[14:56] our democratic process.

[15:04] That warning rings as true today as it

[15:07] did back then when he said it. as a

[15:10] retired general who led during wartime

[15:13] and as a president and commander and

[15:15] chief of the United States. He

[15:17] understood then as we do now that too

[15:20] often we the American people are told we

[15:23] must choose between liberty or security.

[15:27] And which side often wins out in that

[15:29] proposition?

[15:31] Liberty loses. And the wararmongers

[15:34] claim that they are doing what they are

[15:36] doing for the sake of our security.

[15:40] It's a lie.

[15:43] >> Eisenhower issued this warning because

[15:45] he understood the power of the influence

[15:48] of the military-industrial complex and

[15:51] how those who seek to keep us in a

[15:54] persistent state of war

[15:57] deny the heavy costs that it takes in

[16:00] human lives, in taxpayer dollars, and in

[16:04] the erosion of our liberties. wars that

[16:07] have nothing to do with ensuring our

[16:09] security or our liberty.

[16:18] Now, this is something that we're we're

[16:20] dealing with right now in real time. As

[16:22] you know, President Trump has been

[16:24] persistently and relentlessly pursuing a

[16:27] peace deal to finally end the war

[16:29] between Russia and Ukraine.

[16:31] He talks frequently

[16:33] about the need to end the killing and

[16:36] the bloodshed and his teams are

[16:38] negotiating now as we gather here. But

[16:41] what I've seen over these months is that

[16:44] every time they make progress and they

[16:47] move closer and closer to that hope for

[16:50] peace,

[16:52] the wararmongers in the deep state step

[16:53] up and try to do everything they can to

[16:56] stop them. Predictably, they use the

[16:58] same old tactics that they've always

[17:00] used. The deep state within the

[17:01] intelligence community weaponizes

[17:03] intelligence to try to undermine

[17:05] progress. They leak it to their friends

[17:07] and the mainstream propaganda media to

[17:10] try to spread this and push a false

[17:13] narrative.

[17:14] They fment fear and hysteria as a way to

[17:17] justify the continuing of the war and

[17:19] their efforts to undermine President

[17:21] Trump's efforts towards peace

[17:24] and do so specifically in this case in

[17:27] order to try to pull the US military

[17:29] into a direct conflict with Russia which

[17:31] is ultimately what the EU and NATO want.

[17:37] We cannot allow this to happen. We have

[17:40] to see clearly what's happening before

[17:42] our very eyes and stand united in this

[17:45] cause of peace.

[18:00] I've served in the army now for almost

[18:02] 22 years. I've

[18:06] I'm grateful to serve. Thank you.

[18:11] I've deployed twice to the Middle East

[18:12] and once to uh East Africa as part of a

[18:16] joint special operations task force to

[18:18] go after al-Qaeda in Somalia.

[18:21] But during my first deployment to Iraq

[18:23] in 2005, I served in a medical unit in a

[18:26] base about 40 miles north of Baghdad.

[18:29] And shortly after arriving there, I was

[18:32] walking around our camp, trying to

[18:33] familiarize myself with the place, when

[18:36] I was stopped in my tracks by a sign

[18:39] that someone had put up at the gate

[18:41] where most of our security patrols went

[18:43] in and out of every single day. And this

[18:46] is inside the camp. Just before they

[18:48] left every day, they saw in big block

[18:51] letters the words, "Is today the day?"

[18:58] Is today the day?

[19:01] This everpresent reminder

[19:04] that any day could be our last.

[19:09] This was true in the the height of the

[19:12] war in Iraq, in the middle of a war

[19:15] zone. For some of my friends, for too

[19:18] many of my friends,

[19:22] their time came.

[19:25] They made that ultimate sacrifice

[19:28] and it was hard

[19:31] hard to lose those who were a part of

[19:34] our military family,

[19:37] those who I knew were willing to lay

[19:39] their lives down.

[19:41] One of my friends was named Staff

[19:43] Sergeant Thi. He was just a few days

[19:45] away from being able to go home to

[19:47] American Samoa and to see his wife and

[19:50] his kids. They were making plans for

[19:52] what they would do during his two weeks

[19:53] of RNR

[19:56] and he was killed when a roadside bomb

[19:59] exploded underneath his vehicle as they

[20:01] were approaching their return to base.

[20:05] I really

[20:07] struggled with his death. We weren't

[20:09] very close, but he was part of our

[20:11] family.

[20:14] And I prayed a lot.

[20:17] I ask God for clarity and for strength

[20:20] and for understanding and and peace and

[20:23] taking shelter in God's love and having

[20:27] faith in him was where I found that

[20:30] peace.

[20:34] Is today the day

[20:45] is today? Today the day is a reminder

[20:48] that every one of us

[20:50] has the opportunity to reflect on

[20:54] as we pray and and think about how we

[20:57] can make the most of every single day

[21:00] that we are blessed with life and breath

[21:03] in these bodies.

[21:06] We know Charlie did that. I remember

[21:09] being at a rally with him towards the

[21:11] end of President Trump's campaign. He

[21:13] was running the whole event and as the

[21:16] speakers were going through, he was

[21:18] sitting there just backstage with his

[21:19] laptop working on to the next thing, on

[21:23] to the next thing, on to the next thing,

[21:24] working tirelessly.

[21:29] The reality of this reflection is today,

[21:32] the day is just as important for us here

[21:35] as we gather and as we leave here and go

[21:37] about our daily lives as it was for

[21:39] those of us serving in a war zone. None

[21:41] of us knows how much time we have.

[21:46] But the thing that we can choose to do

[21:50] is to dedicate our every day

[21:54] to love and serve God with all that we

[21:58] have and in all that we do.

[22:11] This is the secret to living a truly

[22:15] successful life and being truly happy in

[22:19] that life. So, as we approach Christmas

[22:22] now, we have the opportunity to

[22:25] celebrate Jesus Christ and what he told

[22:28] all of us to do.

[22:34] And he said it best in response to the

[22:36] question, what is your greatest

[22:37] commandment?

[22:39] Love the Lord your God with all your

[22:41] heart, your mind, your entire being. And

[22:44] the second is like unto it. Love your

[22:46] neighbor as yourself.

[22:49] If we follow these commandments and keep

[22:51] them at the forefront of the choices

[22:54] that we make every day,

[22:58] how we treat each other, how we speak to

[23:01] others, whether they are friends or

[23:03] those who are coming at us and hurling

[23:05] insults at us

[23:08] doesn't mean we roll over or we uh allow

[23:13] them to go unanswered. we understand the

[23:15] responsibility and the opportunity that

[23:17] we have is to respond with love which is

[23:19] the most powerful force that exists and

[23:23] that love is inspired by God's

[23:25] unconditional love for every single one

[23:28] of us

[23:38] is today the day. Yes, today is the day

[23:40] when we choose to stand together, united

[23:44] with hope in our hearts that comes from

[23:46] the light of God's love shining through

[23:48] our lives and in our work.

[23:52] I have hope today inspired by God's love

[23:55] that we will share that love with others

[23:58] that we will treat each other with

[24:00] respect with aloha and that we will

[24:02] stand strong and unshakable in our

[24:05] resolve

[24:07] to defend our God-given rights and

[24:10] freedoms.

[24:11] Merry Christmas. Thank you so much. May

[24:13] God bless you all. May God bless

[24:16] America. Thank you so much.

[24:21] Thank you.