The widow of slain Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, Erika Kirk, will attend the State of the Union as one of President Trump’s guests. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared the news on X, reposting a story from The Daily Wire. Quoting a line from the piece, Leavitt’s post read, “The president will call on Congress to ‘firmly reject political violence against our fellow citizens’ with Charlie Kirk’s widow in the chamber.”
“President Trump has been a source of strength for Erika, constantly checking in with her over the last five months, and Erika is incredibly honored to be invited by the president to attend tonight’s State of the Union,” Turning Point USA spokesman Matt Shupe told the outlet. “Erika has been thrust into an enormously important role by fate and tragedy and because Charlie chose her should the horrible moment ever come, and she has risen to the occasion with grace, dignity, and a lot of hard work.”
During her late husband’s memorial in Glendale, Arizona, Erika Kirk publicly forgave the man charged with his murder. She declared, “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.”
“The answer to hate is not hate,” she continued. “The answer—we know from the gospel—is love. Always love. Love for our enemies. Love for those who persecute us.”
Kirk was unanimously elected as the new CEO and board chair of Turning Point USA in September. The organization noted at the time that “Charlie expressed to multiple executives that this is what he wanted in the event of his death.”
