Charlie Kirk was only 31 years old and a college dropout, but in a little over a decade, he had transformed the nation’s university campuses. A conservative shepherd who managed to galvanize millions of aimless campus conservatives, Kirk’s nonprofit organization, Turning Point USA, transcended his generation. By the time he had helped Donald Trump clinch his second term as president, Kirk had become both one of Trump’s most influential advisers, achieving the level of cultural ubiquity almost unknown these days. Just one month ago, South Park lampooned Kirk without explaining the political celebrity to its audiences, a caricature that Kirk found so hysterical that he briefly adopted South Park’s fictionalization of him as his social media profile picture.
That was Charlie Kirk, the striving young man who loved to roam across the country to disagree agreeably with college students. And at Utah Valley University, he was executed for it.
Political figures ranging from Trump himself to top Democrats, such as Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and former Vice President Kamala Harris, have lambasted the political assassination of Kirk. A 3-year-old girl and a 1-year-old baby boy will grow up never knowing their father. His wife, a bubbly blonde podcaster who posts about her love of Christ and her family, is now a 36-year-old widow. Hundreds of employees who work in jobs that Kirk created, and millions of fans, will mourn his loss.
CHARLIE KIRK DEAD AFTER BEING SHOT AT UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY EVENT
The worst irony about the appalling event that is Kirk’s murder is that he had dedicated his last months on Earth to warning us all that this societal conflagration of political violence was ratcheting up. Back in April, Kirk took to X to share a study showing that 49% of Americans identifying left-of-center said it was at least partially justified to murder Elon Musk, with the majority saying it was at least partially justified to murder Trump. Kirk spent the better part of the last week championing the slain Ukrainian Iryna Zarutska to applaud Trump’s recent attempt to crack down on violence and crime on the streets of America’s cities.
The only thing Kirk advertised more passionately than Trump and the conservative cause was that of Jesus. A Christian who deliberately tried to speak to Gen Z Americans, who comprise our loneliest generation, Kirk was an evangelist in the most explicit of ways.
Kirk lived his life like he didn’t have enough time to build a $100 billion nonprofit organization, help Trump win the White House twice, and galvanize millions of young people as he began his own family. While some could quibble with the substance of his arguments, there’s no question that in his core mission, to win the war of public persuasion politely, Kirk won in spades.
HOUSE FLOOR ERUPTS IN CHAOS AFTER MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR CHARLIE KIRK
And that is why Kirk died as he lived. He was too successful for his own good. While it’s too soon to say who the shooter was, there’s no question that the killer felt Kirk would continue to win if he was allowed to keep speaking.
We all pray that Kirk is now in his eternal peace with Christ. I can only speculate, but I suspect that given the choice all over again, Kirk would still choose to die standing than live his life on his knees. May we all live in his courage and refuse to let him die in vain.