CHARLIE Kirk’s memorial service took place on Sunday and drew a crowd estimated in the tens of thousands.
The five-hour long service at times had the tone of a political rally, with top politicians on the list of speakers including Donald Trump, his deputy JD Vance and others.
It featured pyrotechnics, a crucifix on wheels and Christian bands who led singalongs.
Here’s everything you need to know from the Charlie Kirk memorial service…
Erika Kirk ‘forgave’ her husband’s alleged killer
Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika told the crowd that she had forgiven her husband’s alleged killer. Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged with Kirk’s murder and could face the death penalty if convicted.
Erika told those gathered at the memorial for her late husband in Glendale, Arizona. After walking on stage tearfully as pyrotechnics sparked at the front of the stage, she said: “My husband, he wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life. That man, that young man – I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it is what Charlie would do.”
But Trump didn’t…
US president Donald Trump took a different tack, telling the crowd that he did not “want the best” for his opponents.
He said: “He was a missionary with a noble spirit and a great, great purpose. He did not hate his opponents, he wanted the best for them. That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them, I’m sorry, I am sorry Erika.”
Trump: He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That's where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent and I don't want the best for them. I'm sorry pic.twitter.com/GUiW7NBb0y
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 21, 2025
Elsewhere, Trump said that America was a “nation in grief”, adding: “On that terrible day […] our greatest evangelist for American liberty became immortal, he’s a martyr now for American freedom.”
…And he claimed to have found an ‘answer’ for autism
Trump pivoted during his speech to announce that the White House had found an “answer” for autism.
Speaking on Sunday, the US president said: “Tomorrow we are going to have one of the biggest medical announcements in the history of our country. I think we've found the answer to autism.”
Many people with autism and their families reject the idea that autism should be considered as an illness to be cured.
Stephen Miller draws Nazi comparisons
White House chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller drew comparisons with chief Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels for his speech in which he claimed that Kirk’s supporters “are the storm”.
Trump: He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That's where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent and I don't want the best for them. I'm sorry pic.twitter.com/GUiW7NBb0y
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 21, 2025
Commentators sharing the speech on Twitter/X compared the speech with one given by Goebbels in 1932 during a Nazi rally in Berlin entitled “The Storm is Coming”.
In it, Goebbels said: “We think no longer in terms of class. We are not workers or middle class. We are not first of all Protestants or Catholics. We do not ask about ancestry or class. Together we share the words of the poet: ‘People, rise up, and storm, break loose!’”
Tucker Carlson’s ‘Jerusalem’ comment
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, now an independent journalist and commentator, drew comparisons with the killing of Jesus Christ.
Tucker Carlson: “I can just sort of picture the scene in a lamp-lit room with a bunch of guys sitting around eating hummus, thinking about, ‘What do we do about this guy telling the truth about us?’” Tucker isn’t even trying to hide his vile antisemitism. pic.twitter.com/nz3LEd74g3
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) September 21, 2025
Carlson said that Jesus had been killed by plotters who had been angered about him by “talking about the people in power”.
Setting the scene in Jerusalem "about 2000 years ago", he added: “I can just sort of picture the scene in a lamp-lit room with a bunch of guys sitting around eating hummus, thinking about, ‘What do we do about this guy telling the truth about us?’”
Republicans Against Trump, a campaign group, said his comments amounted to “antisemitism” because they evoked old prejudices against Jewish people rooted in the belief that they had conspired to have Jesus killed and pressured Pontius Pilate into condemning him to execution, which is drawn from the account of the Gospels. Scholars now dispute this version of events.
Fox News’ ‘spiritual awakening’
Fox News host Benny Johnson said that the memorial was a moment of “spiritual awakening” for America.
Fox just canonized Charlie Kirk as a “true Christian martyr.” Benny Johnson said his death wasn’t a funeral but a “spiritual awakening,” with his social media doubling as proof of divine hand. They’re turning a murder into a holy war. pic.twitter.com/N2sRGdhnsF
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) September 21, 2025
Sitting in front of his silent wife, who was holding their child, he said: “Charlie is a true martyr in the true Christian sense. He is advancing now the kingdom of God even in death.”
Johnson added: “They wanted a funeral, Maria and what they got was a spiritual awakening and a revival. That is the mark of a man who had the hand of God on him.”
Queen claim
Turning Point UK, the British branch of Kirk's campaigning organisation, hailed a news story which shared the dubious claim that the Queen was a "fan" of the group and Kirk's work.
It is based on comments made by tycoon John Mappin, a friend of Kirk's, in an interview with the Telegraph.
Relating a conversation he had had before the launch of Turning Point UK with Lord and Lady Plunket, aristocrats who backed the project, he claimed they had "briefed" Queen Elizabeth on it.
Mappin said Lord Plunket had "explained to her Majesty everything that Charlie was doing, which she wasn’t aware of", adding: “Prince Philip found it fascinating, while she just loved the idea that Charlie was bringing younger people back to the Church.”
A miracle?
Turning Point USA have claimed that Kirk performed a miracle in dying, claiming that his neck stopped the bullet which killed him from claiming any more lives.
Spokesperson Andrew Kolvet claimed he had spoken with a surgeon who said it was unusual for the type of bullet which killed Kirk not to have passed through his body.
"I’ve seen wounds from this caliber many times and they always just go through everything. This would have taken a moose or two," Kolvet said, quoting an unnamed surgeon he claimed to have spoken with.
"Even in death, Charlie managed to save the lives of those around him."
