Read Online  |  September 19, 2025

 

Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

The memorial service for Charlie Kirk, 31, founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), will be held on Sunday, Sept. 21, at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

 

Kirk, who was assassinated on Sept. 10 during a speaking event at Utah Valley University, has been mourned and remembered in vigils nationwide, as the nation reacts to his violent murder in front of thousands, including his wife and two young children.

 

The service will start at 11 a.m. local time, but the doors will open at 8 a.m. According to the TPUSA site “Fight for Charlie,” the dress code is “Sunday Best—Red, White, or Blue.” Attendees are asked to register for the event.

 

The event will feature remarks by Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk, as well as President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

 

Also slated to attend are White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Director of National Security Tulsi Gabbard.

 

Other notable guests include the president’s eldest child Donald Trump Jr., political commentator Tucker Carlson, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, and director of White House personnel Sergio Gor.

The worship portion of the event will be led by Chris Tomlin, Phil Wickham, and other notable faith leaders.

 

“This event is first come, first served based on stadium capacity,” the announcement stated. “Indoor overflow will be available next door at the Desert Diamond Arena.”

According to the venue, State Farm Stadium has fixed seating for more than 63,000 attendees, and can expand to accommodate around another 10,000.

 

The website also stated that “enhanced security measures are in place,” which could result in longer wait times, and that guests will not be permitted to enter with any bag.

 

Some simulcasts have been announced, such as one at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, which will also feature a Q&A following the service for those with questions about the event or Kirk’s life’s work. The event will also be streamed on some platforms for those unable to attend in person.

 

Kirk’s murder has drawn widespread condemnation of political violence, from both his supporters and many of those who had publicly disagreed with his views.

 

The violent and unexpected nature of the political figure’s death led to memorials and vigils across the United States and internationally.

This included vigils in Salt Lake City, Washington, D.C., Houston, Phoenix, Florida, and cities around the world.

 

Kirk is survived by his wife and their two young children.

Erika Kirk made public remarks just days after her husband’s death, saying, “To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die.”

 

The Fight for Charlie site remembered his life, stating: “Charlie died doing what he loved: fighting for truth, for faith, for family, and for America. His sacrifice will endure as a guiding light for generations.

“Though our hearts are heavy, we do not grieve as those without hope.”

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

In an astounding coincidence, as the news broke that Charlie Kirk, founder and head of the enlightened traditionalist movement Turning Point USA, had been assassinated, I was sitting in the Oval Office of the White House across the Resolution desk from the President of the United States. Although I have known Mr. Trump for more than 25 years and have generally been in touch with him throughout that period, I had not seen him in person for some years. I have written approximately 2 million words about him, almost all of it reasonably or unambiguously favorable, though not uncritically so, mainly on U.S. internet sites, as well as a book that was appreciative of him, though no hagiography (“A President Like no Other”).

 

I had developed a few ideas about a couple of his programs, in emails and by telephone, and he suggested I visit him. Wednesday, Sept. 10, was the day. As I was arriving at the White House visitors’ entrance, I saw on my mobile phone that Charlie Kirk had been wounded in an assassination attempt. I did not really know him and was only generally conversant with his Turning Point movement, and from the initial wording of the bulletin I hopefully assumed that he would recover. There was no sign of alarm as I sat in the outer anteroom with a number of distinguished fellow visitors, including a prominent senator and the well-known economist Arthur Laffer, whom I had not seen in 30 years. A few friends in the administration came and went and we exchanged greetings, and the time passed pleasantly.

 

The outer anteroom for the Oval Office is rectangular and has doors on three walls, and in the middle of what I assume was a typical weekday afternoon, an astonishing number of people were constantly coming and going through all three doors, one the entrance and the other two into parallel inner anterooms to the Oval Office. The ambience is one of constant and purposeful activity in a shared and good-spirited cause. Occasionally, it happened that successive doors were simultaneously ajar, and the familiar voice of the chief occupant would be heard, good-humored but authoritative. A pleasing aesthetic aspect, as usual in Trump matters, is the presence of very capable and attractive youngish ladies on the presidential staff.

 

Although I had been to the White House a number of times before, it was in groups and in reception rooms. Here, it was possible to see how the private office functioned, and it was clear the president’s staff is devoted to him personally and that he, unlike some holders of great offices that I have known, is unfailingly polite to staff. In this he reminded me of Margaret Thatcher, who frequently beat up her cabinet ministers because she thought they could and should defend themselves if they were any good (and if they weren’t she sacked them), but never forgetting her own modest socioeconomic beginnings, she was unfailingly courteous to people in lesser positions. (More)

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