Influential conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated on Wednesday during a campus speaking event in Utah. He was 31.
Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA and a married father of two, was a close ally of President Trump and a powerful surrogate and adviser to his political movement.
Trump, 79, announced Kirk’s death on Truth Social, writing: “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
Follow The Post’s live coverage of the Charlie Kirk shooting for the latest news and updates
Shortly before confirming Kirk’s death, Trump told The Post in a brief phone interview: “He was a very, very good friend of mine and he was a tremendous person.”
Trump ordered all US flags to be flown at half-mast until sundown on Sunday to honor Kirk’s memory.
Kirk was shot by a sniper shortly after noon local time while taking questions from attendees during a well-attended outdoor event on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, about 45 minutes south of Salt Lake City.
The FBI revealed Wednesday evening that a person of interest had been questioned and released, with the assassin believed to still be at large.
Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 and built the organization into a national network of more than 850 campus chapters, eclipsing traditional college Republican clubs.
Beyond TPUSA, which reported $85 million in revenue last year, he founded Turning Point Action, Turning Point Academy, Turning Point Faith, Turning Point Endowment, and hosted his own talk show called “The Charlie Kirk Show.”
He frequently stumped for Trump at rallies and other public events and also held significant sway behind the scenes, engaging with Republican leaders close to the Trump White House and having a voice in policy and staffing decisions.
He is survived by his wife Erika Frantzve Kirk, whom he married in 2021, and two young children.
On Instagram, his wife shared a more personal side of her husband, showing him as a doting father and spouse.
Seven days before his death, Erika posted a video of herself holding hands with Charlie as they walked down a wooded path with their two kids, captioning it, “What if childhood could hold eternity?”
In August, she wrote, “thank you for being the best” with a video of her spouse buying their young daughter little purple sandals.
Stay up to date on the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk
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Charlie also posted content of his family. On Aug. 23, he shared a photo of himself playing with his daughter on the beach, writing: “Happy birthday to our incredible daughter. Teaching her to know God, alongside [Erika], is the greatest privilege. Having a family will change your life in the best ways, so get married and have kids. You won’t regret it.”
‘Tremendous gratitude to Charlie Kirk’
Trump directly credited Kirk with helping boost youth support during his successful comeback campaign last year by revving up traditionally Democratic young adults, who drifted toward Republicans in swing states such as Arizona.
“I want to express my tremendous gratitude to Charlie Kirk. He’s really an amazing guy,” the then-president-elect said in December. “And his whole staff for their relentless efforts to achieve this very historic victory. It’s such a great honor. It’s not my victory. It’s a great honor. Man, we worked hard on this.”
In May, Trump said at the White House that “TikTok helped, but Charlie Kirk helped also.”
“Oh he just happens to be here,” Trump said, gesturing to Kirk. “Look at him. He loves that we mention that name, right, Charlie? He’s done great and I appreciate all the help. But with young people, we won by 37%, Charlie, and you helped but TikTok was amazing.”
TPUSA, co-founded by Kirk with Bill Montgomery, initially was funded by Republican donor Foster Friess, who died in 2021.
The youthful leader became a well-known figure during Trump’s first term as a 20-something fixture at GOP events, initially turning heads due to his age, and increasingly took on an influential informal advisory role through his close relationships with Trump and his key aides.
‘Reasonable disagreement’
Kirk was known for seeking out dialogue with ideological adversaries such as Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), with whom he appeared on an amiable podcast in March.
In one widely circulated clip of a campus engagement last April, Kirk calmly addressed a critic who demanded to know why he was at their school.
“When you stop having a human connection with someone you disagree with, it becomes a lot easier to want to commit violence against that group,” Kirk replied. “What we as a culture have to get back to is being able to have a reasonable disagreement where violence is not an option.”
Here’s the latest on the Charlie Kirk shooting in Utah
- The 31-year-old Turning Point USA creator was shot dead at Utah Valley University.
- The event was a stop on his American Comeback Tour.
- The conservative influencer had just answered a question about transgender shooters when he was shot.
- Kirk, a rising MAGA star, is survived by his wife and two young children.
- The shooter is still at large.
Kirk, for years, was one of the most sought-after conservative campus speakers, including with his “Prove Me Wrong” tour, encouraging critics to challenge his viewpoints.
Despite his frequent presence at universities, Kirk himself had dropped out of Illinois’ Harper College without a degree.
Before entering the limelight, Kirk grew up outside of Chicago and attended Wheeling High School, raised by an architect father and a mother who worked as a mental health counselor.
In a Chicago Tribune profile in 2018, he credited his future career, in part, with early experiences clashing with “aggressive” teachers on politics.
Kirk and his friends in their senior year led a successful Facebook-based protest of the cafeteria doubling prices for cookies to 50 cents, accomplishing a reduction back to their original price.
“Together we can show the establishment the power of our generation,” he wrote to Facebook group members, the Tribune reported. “Cookies are the highlight of most school days, only to be DOUBLED in price without our consultation? NO! Enough of the manipulation. We must stand together in this fight. Fight the Power!”
As an adult, he was at ease liaising with Republican leaders, donors, and journalists, frequently playing a supporting role for fellow prominent figures and managing to avoid becoming a target of jealousy or infighting.
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Kirk supporters came out in waves in support of him and his family when news first broke of the shooting, with top political leaders and young Republicans grieving for the man who played such a prominent role in shaping Trump’s younger coalition.
“I love you brother. You gave so many people the courage to speak up, and we will not ever be silenced,” Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote: “Charlie Kirk’s commitment to America’s future generations and sense of patriotism will resonate for decades to come. May the Lord bless Charlie and his family.”
“The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible,” Newsom tweeted. “In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.”
Former President Joe Biden said in a statement, “There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now. Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirk’s family and loved ones.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote: “I spoke to him only two weeks ago and invited him to Israel. Sadly, that visit will not take place. We lost an incredible human being. His boundless pride in America and his valiant belief in free speech will leave a lasting impact.”
Billionaire grocery chain and radio-station owner John Catsimatidis, whose WABC station hosted Kirk’s show for about two years, said the secret to his success at a young age was “passion.”
“He was out there to wrangle up the youth of America and to bring them back to loving America,” Catsimatidis said. “I think it’s a loss to college students because he’d go to almost every college in America… and they looked up to him.”
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