5 Big Moments from Charlie Kirk’s Memorial, Including Erika’s Forgiveness, Trump’s Tangent and RFK Jr.’s ‘Reptilian’ Comment

Tens of thousands of people filled State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday, Sept. 21, for a large memorial service honoring Charlie Kirk.

The crowd went beyond the stadium’s 63,400-seat capacity, with overflow audiences watching from nearby venues. They gathered to remember Kirk, who was shot and killed during a speaking event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. He was 31.

Many reporters noted that the memorial often felt more like a political rally than a traditional funeral. Voter registration booths were set up inside, and speeches included strong Republican themes. Supporters said that was fitting for Kirk, who had spent much of his life traveling the country to debate politics on campuses and in public forums.

Kirk’s wife, Erika, was the only family member to speak. Recently chosen as the new CEO and chairman of Turning Point USA — the conservative group Kirk co-founded at just 18 — she was joined on stage by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., White House adviser Stephen Miller, and others.

Erika Kirk’s Message of Forgiveness

Erika Kirk gave an emotional speech, telling the audience she forgives Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old charged with killing her husband.

“My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life,” she said through tears. “Our Savior said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they not know what they do.’ That young man … I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it’s what Charlie would do.”

She added, “The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”

Trump’s Message of ‘Hate’

President Trump offered his own perspective on political opponents during his remarks.

“Charlie Kirk truly was … he was a missionary with a noble spirit and a great, great purpose,” Trump said. “He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them.”

“That’s where I disagreed with Charlie,” he continued. “I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry, I am sorry, Erika. But now Erika can talk to me and the whole group and maybe they can convince me that’s not right, but I cannot stand my opponent.”

Acknowledging the sharp tone of his words, Trump added, “Charlie’s angry, looking down, he’s angry at me now.”

Stephen Miller Speaks About ‘the Storm’

White House adviser Stephen Miller framed Kirk’s death as a call to action, warning against “forces of wickedness and evil.” He referred to the stadium audience as “the storm,” which drew comparisons from critics to a 1932 speech by Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels titled The Storm Is Coming.

In his speech, Miller declared: “The day that Charlie died, the angels wept, but those tears had been turned into fire in our hearts. And that fire burns with a righteous fury that our enemies cannot comprehend or understand.”

He argued that political opponents are working to destroy the American way of life, saying: “Our lineage and our legacy hails back to Athens, to Rome, to Philadelphia, to Monticello. Our ancestors built the cities. They produced the art and architecture. They built the industry … We built the world that we inhabit now, generation by generation, and we will defend this world.”

Miller warned his critics directly: “You have nothing. You are nothing. You are wickedness. You are jealousy. You are envy. You are hatred. You are nothing. You can build nothing. You can produce nothing. You can create nothing. We are the ones who build. We are the ones who create. We are the ones who lift up humanity.”

RFK Jr.’s ‘Reptilian’ Comment

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gave a more unusual tribute. He praised Kirk’s dedication to dialogue but linked it to what he called the “reptilian core” of human nature.

“[Charlie] thought that conversation was the only way to heal our country,” Kennedy said. “And this was important, particularly important during a technological age, when we’re all hooked into social algorithms that are hacked into the reptilian cores of our brains and amplify our impulses for tribalism and for division.”

Trump also referenced one of Kennedy’s more controversial positions, saying his administration would announce “an answer” to autism on Sept. 22. The president claimed it would be “one of the biggest announcements, medically, in the history of our country.”

“I think we found an answer to autism,” Trump told the crowd, adding that his administration “won’t let it happen anymore.”

According to The Washington Post, the administration plans to link autism to Tylenol use during pregnancy, though years of research have not proven such a connection. Kennedy had previously promised to uncover the “cause” of autism by September.

Trump’s Eulogy Goes Off-Script

Trump’s eulogy lasted about 40 minutes and at times sounded more like a campaign speech than a farewell.

He highlighted his tariff policies, crime-fighting efforts in Washington, D.C., and recalled what he said was Kirk’s last request to him: to bring those anti-crime measures — such as federalizing local police and sending in the National Guard — to Chicago.

“Please, sir, save Chicago,” Trump said Kirk told him.

Trump vowed to honor that wish: “We’re gonna do that, we’re gonna save Chicago from horrible crime.”

“I’m so proud of Washington, D.C.,” he added, “and now we’re going into Memphis, and we’ll get that one straightened out fast. And then we’re going into some others, but we’re going to go do Chicago, and we’re going to have Charlie very much in mind when we go into Chicago, and we’ll get that one straight.”