Building a Legacy: Remembering Charlie Kirk | 2025 Recap

[00:00:01] God bless all of you for coming here [00:00:04] from all over the world to honor and [00:00:07] celebrate my Charlie. After Charlie's [00:00:10] assassination, we didn't see violence. [00:00:13] We didn't see rioting. [00:00:20] We didn't see revolution. [00:00:24] Instead, we saw what my husband always [00:00:26] prayed. We saw revival. [00:00:31] The tyrant dies and his rule is over. [00:00:34] The martyr dies and his rule has just [00:00:37] begun. [00:00:41] I know I speak for everyone here today [00:00:43] when I say that none of us will ever [00:00:46] forget Charlie Kirk and neither now will [00:00:50] history. [00:01:00] The thing about Charlie's message, I [00:01:01] thought a lot about it and I'm trying [00:01:03] not to be emotional because in addition [00:01:05] to everything else, he was a wonderful [00:01:07] man and a decent man and one of those [00:01:08] rare people you meet who you just groove [00:01:10] with in conversation and have these very [00:01:12] intense conversations that you don't [00:01:14] stop thinking about, which is my [00:01:15] experience with him. But the main thing [00:01:17] about Charlie and his message, he was [00:01:21] bringing the gospel to the country. He [00:01:24] was doing the thing that the people in [00:01:26] charge hate most, which is calling for [00:01:29] them to repent. [00:01:32] So, how is Charlie's message different? [00:01:35] And Charlie was a political person who [00:01:38] was deeply interested in coalition [00:01:41] building and in getting the right people [00:01:42] in office because he knew that vast [00:01:46] improvements are possible politically. [00:01:48] But he also knew that politics is not [00:01:51] the final answer. can't answer the [00:01:53] deepest questions actually that the only [00:01:57] real solution is Jesus. [00:02:01] And the reason it's really simple [00:02:05] politics at its core is a process of [00:02:10] critiquing other people and getting them [00:02:12] to change. Christianity, the gospel [00:02:15] message, the message of Jesus begins [00:02:18] with repentance. [00:02:21] Christianity calls upon you to change. [00:02:26] Our core prayer given to us by Jesus, [00:02:29] the Lord's prayer, [00:02:33] demands that we forgive other people. [00:02:34] But preceding that is a request for our [00:02:38] forgiveness. In other words, forgive us [00:02:40] our sins. Meditate on what we've done [00:02:43] wrong, how we've fallen short, and then [00:02:45] it becomes possible to forgive other [00:02:47] people. [00:02:49] That is a call to change our hearts from [00:02:52] Jesus. And that is the only way forward [00:02:56] in this country. That is the only [00:02:57] solution to where we all know we're [00:02:59] going. And Charlie knew where we were [00:03:01] going without that. When Charlie was [00:03:04] asked in an interview how he'd want to [00:03:06] be remembered, he said, "I want to be [00:03:09] remembered for my courage, for my [00:03:11] faith." And let me tell you guys, those [00:03:14] were not empty words. [00:03:18] Last week, Charlie joined a long line of [00:03:20] courageous men and women who were [00:03:23] martyed for what they believe. [00:03:30] According to the book of Acts, [00:03:33] the first martyr in the early Christian [00:03:35] church was Steven who was stoned to [00:03:38] death. And as Steven was being killed, [00:03:41] he said, "Behold, [00:03:44] I see the heavens opened and the Son of [00:03:46] Man standing, standing at the right hand [00:03:50] of God." [00:03:52] Now, there are many times in the Bible [00:03:54] where Jesus is seated at the right hand [00:03:56] of God, but this is the only time he's [00:04:00] seen standing. [00:04:02] And while the Bible isn't explicit about [00:04:05] this, I like to think Jesus was standing [00:04:09] to welcome Stephen, the courageous [00:04:12] martyr, into heaven. [00:04:20] And today, [00:04:22] today that gives me great comfort [00:04:25] because 11 days ago, as a cowardly [00:04:29] assassin crawled on his stomach to end [00:04:31] Charlie's life on Earth, [00:04:34] I'm betting Charlie saw the son of God [00:04:37] standing tall to welcome him home [00:04:44] by trying to silence Charlie. His [00:04:48] voice is now louder than ever. [00:04:54] His message [00:04:57] is more powerful and impactful than [00:05:00] ever. The truths that he spoke have [00:05:03] spread hundfold. [00:05:06] As Charlie was fearless, but where did [00:05:07] his fearlessness come from? The answer [00:05:10] lies in Corinth Corinthians. Therefore, [00:05:13] be always of good courage and know that [00:05:16] while we are at home in the body, we are [00:05:18] absent from the Lord. We are of good [00:05:21] courage, I say, and prefer to be absent [00:05:24] from the body and at home with the Lord. [00:05:28] Therefore, we have as our ambition, [00:05:32] whether at home or absent, to be [00:05:34] pleasing to him. [00:05:38] So, our call to action is now. Every one [00:05:40] of us needs to be a warrior like Charlie [00:05:44] to take shelter in God. To draw strength [00:05:47] and fearlessness from the Lord who sits [00:05:49] within every one of our hearts to stand [00:05:51] together. Continue the mission that [00:05:54] Charlie dedicated his life to. To [00:05:55] sharpen our weapons of truth, common [00:05:59] sense, and reason to train, to study, [00:06:04] learn, and to speak. exercise our [00:06:06] God-given right to speak and carry that [00:06:09] torch that shines brightly because of [00:06:12] God's love. [00:06:15] So right now, [00:06:19] if you feel [00:06:21] afraid or lost, confused, not sure [00:06:25] exactly what to do, [00:06:28] don't be. [00:06:30] God says, "Don't be afraid. [00:06:33] I am with you. [00:06:35] I will strengthen you and help you. And [00:06:39] he is with us. He sits within every one [00:06:42] of our hearts just waiting for us to [00:06:44] choose him. Charlie Kirk, [00:06:49] a patriot, a conservative, a leader, a [00:06:52] builder, an advocate, an author, a lover [00:06:56] of freedom, [00:06:58] a husband, a father, a Christian, [00:07:02] and a warrior. You see, Charlie Kirk was [00:07:06] a true believer for the cause of [00:07:08] freedom, for the power of young people, [00:07:11] belief in our republic and our founding [00:07:13] principles in America first and make [00:07:16] America great again. [00:07:20] But more importantly, [00:07:22] he was a true believer. [00:07:26] Only Christ is king, our Lord and [00:07:30] Savior. [00:07:32] Our [00:07:38] sins are washed away by the blood of [00:07:41] Jesus. Fear God and fear no man. [00:07:49] That was Charlie Kirk. [00:07:52] You see, Charlie Kirk started Turning [00:07:54] Point USA to change our politics. That's [00:07:57] when I first met him over a decade ago. [00:08:00] He was building a movement and nobody [00:08:02] worked harder at it. Bringing people to [00:08:05] political small truth. [00:08:09] I still have the sticker. Big government [00:08:13] sucks. [00:08:25] And he pursued that truth with more [00:08:27] vigor than anyone I've ever met. But [00:08:29] over time, he realized, like so many of [00:08:31] us have, that this is not a political [00:08:33] war. It's not even a cultural war. It's [00:08:37] a spiritual war. [00:08:40] Faith and family first. There is a God. [00:08:43] And as Charlie would say, it is not us. [00:08:47] We're sinners saved only by grace in [00:08:50] need of the gospel. [00:08:53] You see, we always did need less [00:08:55] government. But what Charlie understood [00:08:57] and infused into his movement is we also [00:09:00] needed a lot more God. [00:09:03] Charlie [00:09:05] had big plans, [00:09:07] but God had even bigger plans. [00:09:12] A few years ago, my brother David died. [00:09:17] And I asked my mother, "Does the hole [00:09:20] that they leave in you when they die, [00:09:23] does it ever get any smaller? [00:09:26] And she said to me, "It never gets any [00:09:28] smaller, but our job is to grow [00:09:30] ourselves bigger around the whole." And [00:09:33] we do that by taking the best qualities, [00:09:36] the best most admirable character traits [00:09:39] of the person that died and integrate [00:09:42] them with restraint, with discipline, [00:09:44] with practice into our own character. [00:09:47] And in doing that, we make ourselves [00:09:50] larger and the whole gets proportionally [00:09:52] smaller. But we also give a kind of [00:09:55] immortality to the person who left us [00:09:58] because their work continues through us. [00:10:02] A couple of days ago, my niece or my [00:10:05] granddaughter left for college in [00:10:09] Europe. Her mother noticed that she [00:10:11] packed a Bible. When her mother asked [00:10:14] her why she made that choice, she said, [00:10:16] "I want to live more like Charlie." And [00:10:19] it's [00:10:28] In one of my first conversations with [00:10:30] Charlie in July of 2021, [00:10:33] we were talking about the risk that all [00:10:35] of us take when we challenge and trans [00:10:37] interest, the physical risk. And he [00:10:39] asked me if I was scared of dying. And I [00:10:42] said to him, there's a lot worse things [00:10:44] than death. And one of those things is [00:10:48] if we lost our constitutional rights in [00:10:50] this country and that our children were [00:10:53] raised as slaves. [00:10:55] And [00:11:03] I said to Charlie, I said, "Sometimes [00:11:06] the best consolation we can hope for is [00:11:09] that we get to die with our boots on." [00:11:12] Well, Charlie died with his boots on. [00:11:15] And he died so to as to make sure that [00:11:18] we didn't have to undergo those fates [00:11:22] that are worse than death. [00:11:24] Oh, let's remember Charlie. He was a he [00:11:28] was for those of us who were friends [00:11:31] with Charlie. We don't need any more [00:11:34] evidence of the love of God because the [00:11:38] evidence, the friendship is the best [00:11:42] evidence that God loves us all. He led [00:11:44] this movement, but he did so with [00:11:46] incredible knowledge. It's unbelievable [00:11:49] how much he knew. [00:11:51] He came to me very recently. He said [00:11:53] some quote. He said, I said, "Who said [00:11:54] that?" He said, "Marcus Aurelius." I [00:11:57] said, "What district does he represent?" [00:12:02] I kind of knew who it was, but uh he [00:12:04] said back, "No, it's a Roman, you know, [00:12:06] philosopher king or emperor." His [00:12:09] incredible knowledge. And let me tell [00:12:10] you that one of the last messages I had [00:12:12] with him was just a few days before his [00:12:14] passing where he wrote me from overseas. [00:12:17] I'm in South Korea. I have many concerns [00:12:19] I want to share with you when I get [00:12:21] back. He was constantly expanding his [00:12:23] horizons. But he just didn't have [00:12:25] knowledge. He had wisdom. An uncanny [00:12:28] amount of wisdom for a man as young as [00:12:30] he was. Wisdom that sometimes it takes a [00:12:33] lifetime to accumulate. He had it in [00:12:35] just 31 years. [00:12:39] He was also bold. [00:12:42] It is so easy. And listen, I've been [00:12:44] guilty of it. I think many of us have [00:12:46] been guilty of this. You hide behind the [00:12:48] walls and you surround yourself with [00:12:50] people that agree with you. We do it as [00:12:52] a society all the time. Increasingly, [00:12:54] people are moving into neighborhoods [00:12:56] with other people that agree with them [00:12:57] politically and isolate themselves from [00:13:00] people that do not agree with them. But [00:13:03] Charlie Kirk was bold. He actively [00:13:05] sought out to engage peacefully, [00:13:07] respectfully those who he disagreed [00:13:09] with. As recently as two days ago, we [00:13:12] learned of one of the hosts on CNN who [00:13:15] said that one of the messages he had [00:13:16] gotten just a few days before Charlie's [00:13:18] passing was from him inviting him to [00:13:20] dialogue. And he did this on campuses. [00:13:22] He did this on podcasts. He did this on [00:13:25] radio shows. He did this on television [00:13:26] shows. Time and again, he sought to [00:13:28] engage those he disagreed with because [00:13:30] he understood that we were not created [00:13:32] to isolate ourselves from one another, [00:13:34] but to engage. The irony in all this is [00:13:38] that what our nation needs, one of the [00:13:39] many things it needs is the ability to [00:13:41] discuss our differences openly, [00:13:43] honestly, peacefully, respectfully. And [00:13:46] Charlie Kirk did that more than anyone [00:13:48] alive in America today is doing. [00:13:55] You know, I can't help but think [00:13:58] that they tried to silence my friend [00:14:01] Charlie Kirk. They tried to silence our [00:14:04] dear friend Charlie Kirk. And today, [00:14:07] tonight, we speak with Charlie and for [00:14:11] Charlie louder than ever. [00:14:22] The evil murderer who took Charlie from [00:14:24] us expected us to have a funeral today. [00:14:28] And instead, my friends, we have had a [00:14:31] revival in celebration of Charlie Kirk [00:14:34] and of his Lord Jesus Christ. [00:14:43] We gather here in this stadium [00:14:47] in the hot Arizona sun shielded [00:14:50] in a great shining city our fathers [00:14:53] raised out of the desert. And from this [00:14:57] desert, Charlie Kirk built a movement. [00:15:02] He transformed the face of conservatism [00:15:04] in our own time. And in doing so, he [00:15:07] changed the course of American history. [00:15:11] To rising generations across this [00:15:13] country, [00:15:15] Charlie exemplified kindness, courage, [00:15:18] and a commitment to open debate. And he [00:15:22] was a great debater and we loved him for [00:15:24] it. But Charlie loved debate not because [00:15:27] he excelled at it, but because it was [00:15:30] the vehicle for bringing the light of [00:15:32] truth to dark places. And Charlie Kirk [00:15:35] brought many truths in his life. [00:15:43] Charlie brought the truth that young [00:15:46] people deserved a stake in the future [00:15:48] and that they deserved to have a voice. [00:15:52] He brought the truth that marriage and [00:15:55] family were the highest callings far [00:15:57] more important than any job or [00:15:59] educational credential. He brought the [00:16:03] truth [00:16:05] that our nation would fade unless it [00:16:08] brought order to its neighborhoods and [00:16:10] prosperity to its people. He brought the [00:16:14] truth that life was precious and we must [00:16:17] fight to protect it at all stages and at [00:16:20] all times. [00:16:29] But most of all, Charlie brought the [00:16:32] truth that Jesus Christ was the King of [00:16:34] Kings and that all truth flowed from [00:16:37] this first and most important one. [00:16:39] >> God's love was revealed to me on the [00:16:42] very day my husband was murdered. [00:16:46] On the afternoon of September 10th, I [00:16:50] arrived at a Utah hospital to do the [00:16:52] unthinkable, [00:16:54] to look directly [00:16:57] at my husband's murdered body. [00:17:01] I saw the wound that ended his life. [00:17:06] I felt everything you would expect to [00:17:08] feel. [00:17:11] I felt shock. [00:17:13] I felt horror. [00:17:16] and a level of heartache [00:17:21] that I didn't even know existed. [00:17:26] But there was something else, too. [00:17:30] Even in death, I could see the man that [00:17:33] I love. [00:17:38] I saw the one single gray hair [00:17:43] on the side of his head, which I never [00:17:45] told him about. [00:17:47] Now he knows. Sorry, baby. I'm telling [00:17:50] you now. But never told him. Didn't want [00:17:53] to. [00:17:56] I also saw this. [00:18:00] I also saw on his lips [00:18:03] the faintest smile [00:18:07] and that told me something important. [00:18:12] It revealed to me a great mercy from God [00:18:15] in this tragedy. [00:18:18] When I saw that, it told me [00:18:22] Charlie didn't suffer. [00:18:24] Even the doctor told me [00:18:27] it was something so instant that even [00:18:31] even if Charlie had been shot in the [00:18:32] operating room it itself, [00:18:36] nothing could have been done. [00:18:39] There was no fame. [00:18:41] There was no fear, [00:18:43] no agony. One moment, Charlie was doing [00:18:45] what he loved, [00:18:48] arguing and debating on campus, [00:18:52] fighting for the gospel [00:18:55] and truth [00:18:58] in front of a big crowd. [00:19:00] And then he blinked. [00:19:03] He blinked [00:19:06] and saw his savior in paradise. [00:19:22] and all the heavenly mysteries were [00:19:24] revealed to him. [00:19:25] >> Our country was robbed of one of the [00:19:27] brightest lights of our times, a giant [00:19:31] of his generation, and above all, a [00:19:33] devoted husband, father, son, Christian, [00:19:37] and patriot. [00:19:40] Charles James Kirk [00:19:43] was heinously murdered by a radicalized [00:19:46] cold-blooded monster for speaking the [00:19:49] truth. [00:19:50] That was in his heart. [00:19:53] He was violently killed because he spoke [00:19:55] for freedom and justice, for God, [00:19:58] country, for reason and for common [00:20:01] sense. [00:20:03] He was assassinated because he lived [00:20:06] bravely. [00:20:07] He led boldly and he argued brilliantly [00:20:11] without apology. [00:20:14] He did what was right for our nation. [00:20:18] And so on that terrible day, September [00:20:21] 10th, 2025, our greatest [00:20:24] evangelist [00:20:26] for American liberty became immortal. [00:20:29] He's a model now for American freedom. [00:20:35] I know I speak for everyone here today [00:20:37] when I say that none of us will ever [00:20:39] forget Charlie Kirk [00:20:43] and neither now will history. [00:20:54] Because while Charlie has been reunited [00:20:58] with his creator in heaven, his voice on [00:21:01] earth will echo through the generations [00:21:05] and his name will live forever in the [00:21:08] eternal chronicle of America's greatest [00:21:10] patriots. He will live forever.