The Charlie Kirk Show - Charlie Kirk Forever: Honoring a Martyr, One Year Later

0:00Charlie Kirk's running the White House folks. He just doesn't have the ego to tell you that. I want to thank my great friend, Charlie Kirk. He's done something that is just incredible for somebody really of his age. You need tremendous talent to do what he's done. Building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever created, Turning Point USA, and I want to thank you really Charlie, incredible Jack. I'm the greatest job in the world. I couldn't be happier every day. I feel as if what I'm saying what I'm doing is making a difference, giving people meaning. Charlie, you should have emotion. This is a moment. You totally reform the GOP and look what you guys have done. I hear some words here from you Charlie. You put all this together by man.

1:00I am just humbled by God. That's great. It's all God. It's all God. God alone. Done. We did not earn this. This is God's mercy on our country. Yes. You're on the Lord's side. I'm sick. I'm people stealing my stick. I've been here for years to debate random college kids. Has now been so important that it gets prominent prime time placement on company. I think the whole thing is just awesome. I'm just finding out how honest you are Charlie, and so far, I think you're doing good. And I hope I'm doing good with you. Matt Walker's through the decades-long journey from 2015 to today. On the public opinion battle. Pete, you're doing a phenomenal job. I just want to say that from the American people that you don't get the credit that you deserve.

2:02Obviously in the mainstream media. Michael, why are people going back to church? People going back to church because the atheism ran out of steam. Bobby Kennedy. Welcome back to the program. Charlie, thanks for having me. Ben, thank you for taking the time. I was moved by your podcast on Monday. I'm going to show you a special hour episode for you today. My wife joins us, Erica Kirk, the beautiful legendary Erica. I love you so much. Welcome to the Charlie Kirk. Last week, we welcomed our beautiful daughter into the world. Most important thing that one can do except giving your life to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. We, Erica and I and our family were celebrating the birth of our son. Our father has radicalized me in the best way possible by the way. And it's made me, first of all, understand that what I'm fighting for is beyond even yourself. It's so important. It also makes me very fired up at anybody, any institution, any movement that would dare try to corrupt our children.

3:04It's a source of immense joy and meaning and beauty. And it's also a source of motivation and purpose. I encourage more young people to get married and have kids. It will be happier because of them. My wife is the best person ever and she's a patriot and she's a believer. And we don't want to have to be accountable to God when this life passes. And he asks, why didn't you not trust in me and not fight evil? Because we, as Christians, are called the fight evil. It's one of the lesser known scriptures Psalm 97-10. For those of you that love God, you must hate evil. My call is to fight evil and to proclaim truth. That's it. I do when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. The most important question that you can answer in your life is the question who is Jesus Christ. Was he an act of fiction?

4:04Was he a fable? I believe what many people here believe, the savior of the world. You are commanded to go do something productive with your life. Wow. That you are not commanded to go sit idly by and just receive. You are commanded to go give and to produce and to risk and to then go so into other people. That is a biblical idea that has made the world a profound and better place. If everything completely goes away, how do you want to be remembered? I want to be remembered for courage for my faith. That would be the most important thing. Most important thing is my faith in my life. Buckle up. Here we go. Welcome everybody around the country. The really tough day.

5:07Tougher than I was anticipating actually. Don't get me crying for 30 seconds in this injury. They did that intro. It was beautiful. Jake did a great job. It kind of got me going. I'm going to read some scriptures we get started off. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. Who comforts us in all of our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort which produces any patient endurance. And the same sufferings we suffer and our hope for you is firm because we know that just as you share in our suffering, so also you share in our comfort. We are joined by Graham Allen and Blake Neff in studio here. It has already been a wild morning I will tell you.

6:09We will announce in advance we have been saying the devil wants to get his pound of flesh out of this or something. We have had internet issues all morning so if there is sound issues or anything like that, that is why. Bear with us because apparently like an eighth of Phoenix their internet went down today. So because of you know, no easy days. It is almost, but you know it is kind of fitting because I think Charlie would want to stop and we are coming. Everybody scrambling around because we have had many days like that with Charlie. It is a really amazing show because everybody wanted to be a part of today's show with us including the vice president himself. He is going to be calling in at about four minutes. At least we think his schedule is always in flux a little bit. We have Don Jr. also an hour one who two of those two men were Charlie's dearest, some of Charlie's dearest closest friends. I think people think about politics as transactional they think about it as getting stuff done and it is all those things. Behind that are deep dear friendships and of course we have Graham here, Jack Pasobix coming.

7:15We have Riley Gaines, Savannah Hernandez and Officer Tatum. Many more come to pay their respects to the most remarkable man I have ever met. And the hardest working man, the most decent man who was a happy warrior in every single way right up until the end who gave his life to Jesus. He wanted to be remembered for courage for his faith and we remember him for that. And we remember all the ways that inspired his life and guided his life and shaped his life. He was an amazing husband, a great father, a great manager of people, a great builder, a great statesman, a great preacher. I believe that he spoke prophetically to a nation that needed his voice exactly when he came onto this earth. And so send us your emails. We have been getting them all week, we've been getting them all morning. We're going very long to make sure that we can get to a lot of them.

8:22And it sounds like without further ado we have the vice president of the United States, JD Vance joining us now. Mr. Vice President, thank you for making the time I know how busy you are and how you wedge this in. You were Charlie's dearest friend probably in all politics. I'll just be really blunt about it. What does this one year mean to you? Well, first of all, man, it just doesn't feel like one year. That's the conversation I've had. So with so many private friends in group chat and so forth is, man, it's just hard to believe that he's been gone for a year. I mean, Charlie was obviously a very dear friend. I mean, I've kept in close contact and Usha has with Erica and with the kids. I always just, first and foremost, think of this as a human tragedy. You think about the kids, you think about as a young father myself, what memories will the kids have of Charlie? I think about selfishly the ways in which I wish he was around for my own selfish reasons.

9:24I think about, I just really wish I could call Charlie and get his advice on this. I really wish I could call Charlie and get his help on this. You slowly over time realize that first, you pick up the phone and your dial is number and then you hang out before he answers. You get to this year mark, you realize he's just not there anymore. It's one of these things where I think everybody agrees differently and everybody responds to it differently. But the way that I constantly, almost obsessively come back to it is this was a guy who just had so much life to live. He had so many people who loved him and so many people who were lied upon him, who depended upon him, and were all in our own way. In some ways big and small obviously the biggest holes for Eric and the kids. But all of us, I think, have this whole that we're all trying to fill or all trying to at least find some way of making sure that we carry on in Charlie's absence. Yeah, I think the personal side is obviously for all of us here is always the hardest.

10:25But he also is a man that now belongs to history and that's something that I personally have to wrestle with because I knew him as a friend, as a brother, as a colleague. But I realized that he belongs to everybody now and we've seen his void in the movement and that has been another struggle over the last year. And I think you've put it so beautifully sometimes when you've asked about this, how do you replace Charlie Kirk, which I think is a terrible question to ask. And you talk about this and I'd love for you to share it again how that's the wrong question to ask. The question is how do we all do our small part and maybe just share those kind of insights that you've shared with me before Mr. Vice President. Yeah, yeah, I mean it's the wrong question, unfortunately, man, because there's just no answer to it. There's no way to replace Charlie Kirk. To your point, I heard you when I was sort of coming on and doing the mic check that he was a great manager of people. You know, one of the skills, not skills, but I would say virtues that Charlie had, that I always try to emulate is that he was like constitutionally incapable of envy.

11:31And I remember, you know, this is very personal for me in a lot of ways, of course, because I'm given this big speech at the Republican Midterm Convention tonight. And I remember the first time I gave a speech like this, of course, was at the convention for the general election in 2024 and Charlie was down there, like looking up at me cheering for me. You know, sometimes in politics, obviously people have big egos and there were people who are like, oh, this guy's barely been in politics for a couple of years. And now he's the vice presidential candidate. There's like a little bit of jealousy. Charlie just never had that. Charlie was always just the biggest fan of everybody. He didn't care where they were going, whether it was a big ambition or a small ambition. He was always rooting for you. And I think that's an amazing testament to the kind of man that God made. And unfortunately, you just can't replace that. And, you know, whether it was as a cheerleader for the people that he loved, whether it was as a political operative, he was just an incredibly skilled person at navigating the trade-offs and the compromises. He was amazing at getting what he wanted out of the political process within the realm of the possible.

12:34He was also just, of course, a great organization builder. He was a great spokesperson. He was a great evangelist. I think that's one of the hidden and underappreciated elements of Charlie's life is this is a guy who was evangelizing the Christian faith, was constantly talking about his faith, but in a way that was appealing to people who didn't necessarily come from a Christian background. So what you can't do is replace Charlie. What all of us can do in our own little way is try to fill some of the gaps that he left behind. You know, I try to talk, of course, to a lot of young audiences, young conservatives, young Christians. I think you guys are obviously carrying on with the radio program. Ericka is trying to ensure that TPUSA continues to be a light out there for the young high school and college students all across America. So we're all, I think, trying to pick up some of the burden in our own unique and distinct ways. But let's be honest, man. Charlie is irreplaceable. He left a giant hole. And the best we can ever hope for is just to, you know, make things a little bit better, carry on a little bit of Charlie's legacy.

13:36Mr. Vice President, I remember at the RNC when Charlie dropped everything. I remember I was right next to him. And he's like, I gotta go JD's about to speak. And we made a B line for that floor. And I also remember as, I don't know if you know this vice president, Vance, but I remember as, as you were speaking, I think he turned to us and he basically said, like, this is it I've peaked. And that was, we love the election night as well. But that he was so proud of the work. As you said, he was so incapable of envy. He wanted to help people. He had his message. His little sign in his office. How do I help someone today? How do I add value to the world today? How do I honor God today? And he was always looking to do all three of those things. And you played a central role in that Mr. Vice President. Because Mr. Vice President, people don't remember Charlie endorsed you. I think when you had three, you were at 3% in the Ohio Senate. I think you got three supporters. Charlie was one of them. If that, if that, I mean, look Charlie, you know, it was like my mom, my sister, my dog, and then Charlie Kirk. I think it was the fourth person to ever support me. And that and that Senate race.

14:50I mean, so you guys know the back story and I've told this a little bit, but you know, how I got the note Charlie is. I was doing a fox hit on Tucker Carlson's nightly show on Fox and I don't know, this is 2018, 2019, maybe even earlier. And I get this message from Charlie Kirk. And I didn't, you know, I followed Charlie a little bit. I knew who he was, but I wasn't like a person who was super engaged in the work of TPUSA. And it was like not just a very supportive message, but it was also extremely insightful. You know, and this is the thing that Charlie like had these very deeply held views. He had this very distinct perspective on what the Republican Party needed to become that to sort of do the best work and to be the best version of itself. And I just immediately recognize like this is a guy who sees the world in the same way that I do. This is a guy who recognizes that, you know, the purpose of a political party is to make people's lives better. It's not to serve these abstractions. It's not to sort of repeat slogans that have been repeated for 40 years as much as we might agree with the underlying substance of some of those cliches.

15:54It's to make people's lives better and to build the kind of country where young men can become, you know, virtuous husbands and fathers and raised good families and where young women can become, you know, virtuous wives and mothers and also raise good families. Like this is like there's a purpose here. And, you know, anybody who sort of knows or is thought about like classical philosophy, there's this term, telos, the end, the purpose. So what is the thing that we're trying to do here? And Charlie was always focused on that North Star. We're trying to build a better society. That is the purpose. That's the telos of this political movement that we're all engaged in. And because of that, again, he was remarkably smart and skillful at navigating in this world because he never lost that North Star. And that's, you know, one of the things I try to take away from Charlie guys is, you know, politics is inherently like you don't get everything that you want. You have to make compromises, whether it's with the moderate Democrats or the moderate Republicans, like you just don't get what you want all the time. But so long as you have that North Star, this is what I'm trying to accomplish.

17:00You may not always make the wisest decisions, but you don't lose yourself in the process. And I think they're sort of two separate like sins or two separate flaws that I see in American politics. You have the people who are just so focused on playing the game that they lose sight of what they're trying to accomplish and they lose themselves in the process. And then you have the people who are so dedicated to a particular principle admirably so, but they're unable to actually get anything done. Charlie was the perfect fusion of practical and prudential, but principled. And man, we need more of it. But I think that is the great lesson of Charlie's life for people who care about politics. I think the greatest lesson for Charlie's life is for human beings writ large is, as he always said, be a good husband, be a good father, invest in the things, invest your time in the things that actually will bring you meaning. That's the most important thing. But you know, for the political junkies, of course, we've got the R&C convention, get involved in politics. Don't lose yourself, don't lose your principles, but don't be the kind of person who can make a really good argument, but not get anything done.

18:04Charlie could make a really good argument. He had his principles, but man, he was better at getting things done than anybody I knew. Frankly, I would not be vice president, weren't not for Charlie and his ability to get things done. Yeah, it's an amazing testament to him and how much he believed in you and how much we still believe in you, Mr. Vice President. I want to, I'm reminded as you're talking about this moment at the memorial, and I was actually backstage watching the teleprompter of your speech. And it was a beautiful speech. And I remember you went off script. And it was that truly powerful moment where you said, I've talked about God and my relationship with Jesus more in the last two weeks and I haven't my entire public life. And I thought that that was one of the more profound moments of that entire experience. Tell us about that and what possessed you in that moment to say those words and what Charlie has kind of injected into your faith journey as well. Yeah, yeah. So, you know, you guys know sort of my faith journey, race Christian, when atheist and kind of came back to my faith. And I don't know if it's just the kind of person that I am or whether it's that particular journey, but I haven't always been a little uncomfortable talking about my faith publicly.

19:19It's not something that comes naturally to me at all, but it I don't know if it ever came naturally to Charlie either, but there was just no way to talk about Charlie's legacy. Like if I was going to be honest to my friend, to his contribution to my life, to what he meant to the country, to what he meant to the country's Christians, there was just no way to talk about Charlie Kirk without talking about his relationship with Christ and how it really influenced everything that he did. I mean, I think that it was CS Lewis and I'm going to butcher this quote, but it's that Christianity is not like my religion. It's not this perspective that I have. It is the filter by which I see everything else in the world. And that was very much true of Charlie. And so almost because I was forced to, like to be honest about Charlie's legacy, I had to talk about my own faith, talk about his faith too. It sort of ripped this bandaid off for me. And certainly, you know, if you see a speech that I gave six months ago versus that I gave six years ago, you will see a lot more open discussion of faith because now that that bandaid is ripped off, it just, you can't go back.

20:27And it's a natural way. And that is, I think an important takeaway of Charlie's life for me is you've got to talk about the whole person. And, you know, I thought a lot about this because I grew up in an evangelical background. And I've seen a lot of different ways of people proselytizing their faith. I've, you know, walked around my neighborhood, knocking on doors, trying to get people to sit, to read the saving prayer. I've seen the way in which example really, really affects people. And I think every person sort of has their own pathway to Jesus. But for me, the thing that always was the most impactful and the most powerful is the way that Christians lived their life. That witness, that showing as opposed to telling was always the most powerful Christian witness to me. And that's certainly what I try to do. I certainly talk about my faith a lot. But I also try to be the kind of person that a human being might be curious and say, oh, well, why did you do that instead of that? And is that because of your faith? And I found that that way of sort of talking about or living by example, the Christian faith is again something I very much took from Charlie.

21:34He could be, of course, a very good proselytizer. I mean, I could see Charlie going door to door knocking on people's doors and saying, if you want to talk about Jesus, he probably did that. He certainly did that through his speeches. But his most profound, I think, faith witness was just the way that he lived his life. And that's how it was with me. I didn't, you know, ever feel like Charlie was preaching to me. I felt like Charlie did things that made me curious about his relationship with God. And that led to conversations between the two of us that was ultimately very impactful in my own return to my faith. Yeah, amen. He that's what one of the most special parts about being able to talk about Charlie is is that we saw him up close and we can attest that his life that he lived mirrored his faith. So it was a super power. It was a superpower as the vice president was alluding to this. A lot of people who are Christians or claim a Christian mantle. But Charlie more than anyone was the person where you could tell that his faith branched into every dimension of his life that he was not a political actor who happens to have religious faith that he was a person who said, I do each of these things as a direct consequence of what I believe about the Bible about Jesus Christ about God.

22:53I totally agree. And we all got to see it in the honor of our lives actually. Mr. Vice President, I just want to give a moment to remember that the Erica rode a beautiful op-ed in the New York Times and she quoted your wife, Usha, on that plane ride that I was on. Many of us were on you took Charlie's body back to Phoenix. And in that grief, your wife looked at Erica and said, just 15 minutes at a time. You can do it 15 minutes at a time. And that was probably one of the more poignant moments in that op-ed. And I give you a moment because you were sitting there when that that discussion happened. Yeah, I mean, I actually, I didn't hear exactly what Usha said. I believe that Usha said that to Erica either ride on the plane or right after we got off and we were on the tarmac together. But I mean, look, man, you guys are all married. It's very proud when you see your wife be the person that you know that she is. And in that moment, I was just very proud of Usha because I know that Usha is caring and strong and wise.

24:02But I think a whole country saw it in that moment and certainly Erica saw it in that moment where she was sort of able to be strong enough for Erica to lean on her and offer those words of wisdom. I think that, you know, there are so many things about that day that I returned to. I've talked to Usha a lot about this. I think probably this moment had more of an impact on me than it did on Usha. But when Erica looked at us and she was crying and upset and you know, this is one of the first conversations I had with her after Charlie's death and she said, I wish that we had had more babies together. And that hit me like a ton of bricks, man. I was like, well, you know, that's not a decision that you ever, you know, one, you never regret it having another kid. And two, it's not something you can really go back on. You know, if we get to the point where we're 50, 60 and those years have passed us by, I'm never going to be able to go back in time and make a different decision. And I think at least for me is a big part of the reason why I was so enthusiastic about having another kid. And so, you know, now we hold little Alec who's six weeks old. And I can't help but think of that connection to that moment. Man, there's just, there's so much from that day that I hate this term silver lining because, look, there's no silver lining to Charlie's death.

25:14It's a tragedy. It's terrible. It bleth a massive hole in the country. It left a massive hole in my heart and my personal life. But there are these little rays of sunshine, man, where I think God is speaking to us. And I think that moment of Usha's strength for Erica. I think that what Erica said to me, I think, you know, just talking to Charlie's dad who in that moment you could tell he was trying, I'm getting emotional thinking about it, he was trying not to break down because, you know, he's got his daughter in law. He's got his wife and he's got his daughter that he's trying to be strong for. You just see all these little moments of people being the best version of themselves in grief. And I'm, you know, I'll be honest with you, man, I'm pissed off that Charlie's dead a year on. Sometimes I find myself talking to God and saying, why the hell did you do this? Why did you how did you leave this big gap for all of us? But I also remember that there are there is a purpose to it. And if I'm really following Charlie's example, which I try to do, you got to have a little bit of humility about the ways in which God is speaking to us in these moments.

26:17And I try to remind myself of that is pissed off as I still am, as heartbroken as I still am. There is very much a purpose to this. We don't fully understand it. But we got to have a little humility and try to understand that purpose and live by that purpose as best we can. God bless you, Vice President JD Vance. I know how busy your day is. Thank you so much for making the time to honor Charlie and to remember him. He, I'll say it again, he believed in you in an incredible way and almost completely and you were one of his dearest friends. So thank you again for honoring him today. God bless you. God bless you guys. God bless Charlie. We love you, man. We miss you. Amen. Vice President of the United States. That's the kind of guy Charlie was that the Vice President would make time. I mean, I, when I tell you his schedule, that this was nearly impossible to get done today of all days. I really mean it. And you know, same thing with Don Jr. Don Jr. schedule today is like insane.

27:19I believe he is we're getting him set up, probably right about now and he's going to be joining us. But Charlie believed in JD's talents before just about anybody before anybody. I just love that story. They were so excited. They said they were going to endorse him and then turning point was so excited. They blasted out the announcement more Charlie could talk to any of the people in Ohio, any of the donors he had to talk to. Oh, but he was very proud of it after the fact and he loved telling that story. He loved telling the story of, you know, the maneuvers to try to get JD over the hump to be the vice presidential nod. Oh man, the back story is there. There could be a whole book written about the behind the scenes moves. You can you know some of these stories? Yeah, there could be multiple books for it. But it's just it's such a testament as we said to as the vice president said to he was always the one looking to boost other people.

28:20Yeah, other people. And that is why he had so many friends allies because he was the giving mindset. He was one of his oldest friends in the political space, but really it's beyond politics in so many ways. And that is Don Jr. when Charlie's longtime friends he joins us now. I don't know how Don pulled this off either to be candid Don. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm just talking about the personal stories. So much has been made of when you and Charlie first started working together. Maybe that's just the place to start. He's just kind of have to do it. Yeah, it was a story about when you first started because it was a reluctant reluctant meeting. You know, it's like 2015. We're on the campaign trail. And you know, literally no one knows what's going on. We don't even know what we're doing. Right. We're just sort of fake it till you make it. A couple of buddies of mine from Texas come up to me and they're like, Hey, man, you got to meet this guy. He knows everything about politics. He knows that. Yeah, I'm like, oh, wow, that's great. We need some of that. And then they're like, tell me some more. They're like, well, you know, he's 18 years old or I guess you just heard 19.

29:29I'm not saying like relax. So if there's one thing we had no shortage of, it's guys that don't know what the hell they're doing. I didn't we didn't need more of that. And I was like, you know, 18, 19 years old. I'm like, give me a break. And, you know, they were pretty persuasive. And, you know, got me to actually sit down with Charlie. And in five minutes, I'm like, oh, God, this guy's the man. Like we, you know, as congratulations. You're basically on my team. And he spent the rest of that campaign. You know, just traveling, traveling with me is just part of my team, you know, just an intimate member of that. And we did anything and everything. And that was what was great about Charlie, despite having all the connections and having the knowledge that he had. I mean, you know, he could go from fundraising, you know, making calls to billionaires to literally being a bad guy and just carrying stuff around. Because like we literally had no infrastructure. We had no, no anything. It was just, you know, for me initially as a one or two man show.

30:29And I was like, you know, I was like, I'm going to be a big fan of the team. You know, the second or third man on that and pushed us to do college campus events. And all the things we weren't supposed to do is Republicans and as conservatives, you know, really got us out of our comfort zone to the point where it, you know, those places actually became our comfort zone. And so that was just the beginning of a really long friendship. And still can't believe it. I mean, it's, you know, I guess what, like about an hour or two, it's going to be, you know, exactly a year. And I remember getting that phone call. And to a lot of people, you know, I was like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like, I'm like like, I'm like, I'm like, hey, that's not really a story. You know, I am I'm like, how do you do that, and I know you don't really know that very honestly. I know I don't really know what to do Xiao change. I know my family members are like different than their friends. And I know that I like to talk to kids. There's a lot of fun going on all over the world as reaction. the great joys. He loved telling that story. He loved it because he loved you so much. And I remember election day, you know, 16. And that's what it was. It was like, you know,

31:34again, we just, we got to go all out. I think I did, you know, some like 40 radio interview. It was just, you know, that afternoon as I sort of the clock was ticking. You know, polls would close on the east coast. And then you'd have, you know, the panhandle of Florida was still on the other things. So you had another half an hour. You could still make phone calls for Florida. And I mean, we have a picture of me. And I'm just literally on one radio show, other one on a whole. And Charlie is just on my desktop, just, you know, banging out, you know, social media at the same time from my office, you know, in New York on that last day. You know, he was there for all of that. There for the, you know, the win there with us at, you know, three o'clock in the morning when it finally happened. You know, it's, and really, you know, so much of the win in 24 is because of the work that, you know, Charlie did. And really, you know, you guys and all of turning point, I mean, they really just, uh, the evolution of that and how much they grew and you all collectively grew along with me, uh, was amazing. You know, you, um, when I say your friendship went beyond just politics and transactional and I meant the same for JD,

32:38uh, of course, we have this great clip I'm going to play because it was a great moment. But, you know, you guys were kind of in the, in an interesting way, you're very different people, you know, Charlie was a little bit like uptight and you, you guys love razzling him because he was, you know, like a little brother, but, you know, you guys had such different energies and yet it just became like something that was so dear to both of you and it was so fun to watch. Like, almost polar opposites. You got Midwestern uptight a little, and I mean, that's an endearing way, Charlie, like New York man hat night down junior. You know, it was just, it was a crazy thing to watch, and I think this clip is just, uh, we're gonna play it some, it's a little over a minute long, I apologize, but you'll enjoy it done. Uh, let's go ahead and play, uh, cut 55. Joseph Poto, guys. No, not the photo, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, give some sense. put up the photo. No, no, no, no. I haven't even seen him gaze upon it.

33:38Put it up. Put it up. Do we have it? We're going to need to see him in a major internet conversation. We zoom in here. I don't know if they can zoom it in. It's a context matter, see guys. No context shall be allowed. He's at an Oregon duck's game. And if you zoom in there, if you gaze at his, what would be his left ear at the right end of the photo? Is that your ear, Charlie? Your plug within his ear to conceal himself from the true authentic side. A very simple question for Don. Do you ever wear ear protection when you shoot? When I shoot, yes. Okay, well it's the same dust. Oh, yeah, you have to do when you shoot. No, no, no, no, no. You're the same dust. Oh, the studio is shooting. I got the Apple TV. I have taken like my daughter to like one of these concerts when we're sitting for a row, at a concert or something where it's just so loud. I'm like, and I hate the music. I will. I have done that. But at a football game. I was like, it's not a, Charlie, this is not a, this is not a, you are. I think Charlie just, we're coming in as done as I'm.

34:39This is not a normal stadium, guys. Charlie, are you a Democrat? Are you, are you, are you been eating a lot of soy? There's some things you were either just lose your hearing for. It's like, it's worth it. It's just, you got it. You got to eat the main card. It's like, it's, it's loud. It's like a gunshot. It's a hundred and twenty seven decibels, which is louder than a music concert. It's not a normal stadium. That was like, it was just a session in sight to the way you would razzle all the time. And he just would smile. He just loved it. He never got upset about it. I, I, I, oh, yeah, it was funny with Charlie, you know, again, you're, you're right. I mean, for, I mean, I, I think we spoke every day for ten years, you know, it was something pretty amazing. But you're, the personalities are, you know, very different. I mean, on stage, perhaps not. But behind the scenes, it's like, you know, I remember having sort of conversations with you. I mean, I remember having sort of conversations. I'm like, oh, yeah, I got to stop. Like this, this is not a conversation for a Charlie. You know, I got, I got to, I got to watch my language. I can't talk about, you know, you know, let's call it locker room talk.

35:41I think someone very wise once coined that term. I'm personally, especially because you could just see him get like, visibly uncomfortable with the conversation that most guys have had with every guy buddy they've ever known. But with Charlie, it was just like, okay, no, I got to remember. Like I got to talk like I'm talking to my, you know, 12-year-old. It was a little different. You know, but that's interesting. You know, we, I wasn't planning on bringing this up, but, you know, Don, Charlie's impact on all of our lives. He did make us better. He made us better people. And he demanded better from everybody around him. And I remember the memorial. And I was just telling JD, you know, you ad libbed your speech to talk about Jesus. And one of, being backstage, you remember when you came off from the memorial at the memorial and you talked about Jesus. And everyone was like, wow, God, you know, you really went for it. That was probably the first. Yeah. And I think it kind of, it took some people of, you know, it was a, it was a beautiful moment though, Don.

36:41And I think it was such a testament to Charlie's character. And what we all witnessed firsthand about the way he lived his life that you went there in that moment. And it was almost like, it felt like you had to feel in the room the moment. And what Charlie's legacy meant. Maybe, maybe talk about that a little bit. Yeah, listen, I think Charlie ultimately, I mean, he probably made everyone a better person who's been around him. But he made you actually want to be a better person. He made you want to think about those things that perhaps, you, you don't always think about. So, you know, I know he opened that up, you know, a lot to me, you know, you can get kind of preoccupied in the nonsense. But you know, he had a great way of sort of just bringing everything back to sort of a grounded place. And, you know, that, that was great. You know, when, you know, I always joke, you know, with me, even, you know, Charlie was sort of, you know, he's sitting there, whether it's online or in a speech. I'm like, hey, this is what I want to go here. Like, that's going to be a banger. And he's like, okay, relax a little bit.

37:42You know, sort of put you, because sometimes like, you know, 90% Don is better than 110% Don, right? It's just like, you know, it's all about time and place. And so Charlie was always that grounding voice. You kind of, you know, sometimes you just get mad. You want to do it. You just, you know, in full fight mode. And it's like, okay, but like, I get it. But, you know, you got to think bigger picture here. And so, you know, that grounding was always really important. I think you see that, you know, I think you saw that then. I think, frankly, you know, across the board. Sometimes you see, you know, some of the absence of that now. You know, even in, you know, the people, you know, not, not just me, but definitely me too. But, you know, others, honestly, even sometimes with my father and stuff like that. He was the guy that could call, you know, and talk through an issue and, you know, sort of break through, you know, the, whether it's, you know, if you're stuck in DC and you have the establishment voices in your ear. You know, he was the guy that could do that in a lot of things. And so I don't know that anyone really fully appreciated.

38:42You know, Charlie's just unique ability to do that to be, you know, the, the whisperer of all things that, you know, we actually believe. But to do so in a messaging capacity. That, that always hits better than perhaps a lot of people's natural instincts. And so, you know, he was truly, truly a generational talent. I mean, there's no doubt in my mind, you know, he would have been president of the United States one day. And he would have deserved to have done it. And he would have done an incredible job. And, you know, that's why they, that's why they took him away from us. It wasn't, it wasn't that he was this extremist. You know, he was probably the, the furthest thing from it. Certainly relative to the, you know, the guys that we hung out with. But he was, he was just so effective across the board, right? He didn't just speak to the vacuum of the people in our ecosystem. He could speak to everyone and have that same impact. And that's, you know, that's why he was the threat that he was to the other side. Hey, Don, this is, this is Graham. It's just hearing you talk about from the beginning.

39:44And I remember me and you first starting to get to know each other around the same time. And I'd see, I'd see you. And then I'd see Charlie right behind you. And Charlie would kind of like nudge me to kind of meet you for the first time and things like that. Yeah. My question for you is this, because you brought it up. And, and naturally we're all here because of what happened a year ago. Charlie's legacy, I believe he's a once in a, not, not a generation of once in a lifetime person that has, that has, that has graced our world. What are you seeing? I'm curious what you see on the more political back inside with your father and everything like that. When it comes to young men, young women that are stepping up, we just talked about it that Charlie, Charlie made all of us want to be better. Charlie made all of us realize we could work a little bit harder than than we are working. I'm just curious what you guys are seeing leading into these midterms leading into these new challenges that we're facing.

40:49What, what are you from your perspective, see Charlie's lasting impact being in that regard? Well, I really hope that it's, you know, that, that next young generation opens their eyes, sees through, you know, the indoctrination and the brainwashing. That we see on a daily basis, he was that guy and that's why I said it was like, you know, when they're like, oh, he's an extremist. I'm like, yeah, it's such, he's such an extremist that he literally opened up one of the largest platforms anywhere in the world to his biggest detractors on an almost daily basis, you know, that's really extreme. You know, I remember even in the days after his assassination, you're talking with people, it's like, well, you know, who can, who can really take the mantle and do this? I mean, there's no, I mean, there's not 10 people that could do 10% to get to the cumulative 100 and replace Charlie, he was unique. I just, I hope that that that is legacy is that enough young people and, you know, God knows there's enough footage out there, but that, you know, that his message can still carry on.

41:51You know, I think, you know, in DC, a lot of that stuff, you know, often gets lost, I get myself into trouble for saying that, but I think, you know, that's 100% accurate. And, you know, when he was there, he was able to influence that a lot more. I don't know that there is someone that has the same ability, you know, gravitas, you know, to move the needle to talk about the messaging about things that actually matter to those groups. You know, they don't feel ostracized and forgotten. I think, you know, right now, there's probably, you know, media is never going to talk about all the good things, and I think there's plenty of them. But, you know, I think we do have to address some of the things that still need to be fixed, you know, more assertively. And, you know, I'm hoping we're able to do that. But, you know, a loss of a Charlie in that conversation, really hamstrings it. And so, you know, I am concerned that all those games. And so, you know, we don't, you know, seriously address the issues and answer to the needs of what, you know, those people who put such faith in us want that, you know, you know, in an election cycle or two or three or four or six.

42:57You know, that that's not ever squandered. It was such a unique opportunity to be able to talk to that generation. I mean, obviously his focus was on the youth, but, you know, he mobilized so many other people as well. I just hope we don't squander that opportunity and that, you know, we remember that the people who got us here, you know, are those people, they do have their needs, they're going to actually be dealing with, you know, they fall out both good and bad of any decision we make today for, you know, far longer than I will. You know, these are, these are my kids, you know, my, that's what we're doing all of this for. You know, I see that, you know, in all of my five children and, you know, who's the messenger that can talk to them to, you know, not just talk to them and, you know, you know, complain about what's lacking, but also have the ability to drive, you know, the initiative to actually create real change for them so that they do have a reason to get up and vote that they do have a reason to get out there.

43:58I think clearly that, you know, the Democrats have done an amazing job of, you know, giving enough people excuses of like why this would be a really bad idea to go with what they're going for right now, but to messenger that effectively to where it moves the needle where it drives voter turn out, et cetera. You know, we still have to do that. I mean, you listen to them and they're insane and I think a lot of the youth of America seem that, but you know, without a voice like Charlie, it's a lot harder to do it because he was so effective at what he did. Well, and Don, I mean, not to put the pressure on you. I know you got a lot going on, but I know Charlie believed you were one of those voices that could reach young people. And I know that you're a little bit older than some of them, but you speak directly to them. You speak their language. And, you know, I know Charlie would be encouraging you to use, you know, your voice, your platform and the trust and the credibility that you have to do that. So, you know, the invite is always before you don't, if you ever want to speak to some colleagues.

45:02Let me know. I'm always happy to help him. He was a sort of unique guy and that he could do that messaging. He'd bring out, you know, whether it's me or others, he could bring out the best in them because, you know, we all sort of intrinsically think a lot of these things, but actually, you know, getting it out there, you know, putting it, putting it into the way that, you know, everyone gets it, you know, turning that into not just effective messaging, but effective policy was really what you do. It was really what he did so well. And so, you know, like I said, I'd love to be able to say I had his talents with those things. And I don't know that anyone does. And so hopefully we can collectively do that and keep that legacy alive. Don't sell yourself too short. They're done. And I know you got to, I know you got a jet. So last question. This, kind of putting you on the spot there. What would be your message to young people right now? We got midterms. We're looking at 2028. A lot of cynicism setting in a lot of nihilism people checking out. What's your message to young people right now? Listen, I think, you know, apathy is what's going to destroy us. We have to get out there. You have to understand what the other side is doing.

46:03You know, the promises that they're making that, you know, these are designed to get their vote, to get power. And then we see what they do with it every time. You see where the Democrat party is going in every election cycle. Since, you know, way before I ever met Charlie, but certainly since I met Charlie, you know, getting further, you know, radical. More away from the rugged individualism that makes Americans Americans. You know, I think we know we were saying it for a while. And maybe it was hyperbole when we first started, you know, maybe it wasn't kind of full blown communism. But like now the thought leaders of the Democrat party, these are DSA people. These are communist like. So yeah, they want your vote. They'll promise you this then the other and at the expense of your freedom, I can assure you in the long term, the trade is not worth it. And so, you know, I'll actually, well, if I can make it to Dallas, my flight's been delayed by two and a half hours. So that's going to be a little problematic. You know, I'll talk about that in my speech tonight. And, you know, it's making sure those guys understand, you know, you may not be thrilled with 100% of everything going on on our side. And that's unfortunately life, right?

47:07It's that's business. That's this. You don't get 100% of what you want. But there have been so many wins. Most of which, you know, have not been message defective, believe largely, because we don't control the media. So they only talk about the negative. But, you know, really think about the alternative. You know, that that alternative that the other side is proposing the words that are actually coming out of their mouth, the things that they're. Not just saying, you know, in back rooms, but they're saying out loud right now, that that future is very dystopian. It's very grim. And you have to understand that. And, you know, you have to get out and vote. And, you know, sometimes, you know, again, you may not be thrilled with everything that's going on right now. But the alternative is so much worse that if you give them a chance, they're just going to chip away in a road, the basic freedoms that we hold so dear. And, you know, they've proven that they want to do that time and time again. And so we are certainly there right now. And, you know, we can't go into this midterm cycle, you know, dejected because we didn't get 100% of what we wanted just yet.

48:08But think of what happens if the other side controls things where we actually end up in two years or four years or eight years, whatever it may be. You know, when when the youth of America, they truly spent so much time talking to you know, when they have their kids, if you have this continued degradation, where are you when, you know, where are they when they're your age now. And that's a scary place to be and it's not just an America, just look to the rest of the world who's been on this steady decline for so long. And that to me is scary. That to me should be, you know, the ultimate motivator, you know, to get out there and to continue to fight for what's right. Amen. Yeah, I mean, Blake always likes to point to like the UK. You know, we were basically had the same amount of earning, you know, relative to earnings per capita real, real wages to the UK about what 15 years ago, 20 years ago. Now we're about double the UK, maybe not quite. We have so many advantages over other people and I love Don that you when you asked what was your message, it was no apathy because

49:11that was probably I bet Sloth was Charlie's least favorite sin of the seven deadly ones. You want to watch Charlie's get a little fired up little angry. Yeah, be lazy or wastey. You know, he's easy waste time. Don't care. He fought against a lot of things, but one of the biggest things he thought was just the attitude of nihilism, the attitude of not caring. He, he cared so intensely about so many things and that was the root of why he was so effective and why so many people loved him because they could tell he cared. Yeah. And the UK is a great example. I mean, you know, they literally have migrant rape gangs running around the country and the people who tweet about it and say, it's really bad. We should stop this. They're the ones getting thrown in jail, not that people actually committing rape. You know, if you want to look at an extreme view, you know, that's it. But it's not extreme, you know, for the sake of extremism. I mean, it's extreme because it's actually happening and you know, everyone's quiet about it. And you know, if we think we're immune from that nonsense, we haven't followed history closely because we're certainly not. We just may be a little bit, you know, further on in the bell curve.

50:19You know, in that decline, but we do have the ability to stop it. But we're not going to stop it by saying, well, you know, I don't love this or that. And therefore, I'm just going to sit back and let's see what the Democrats do. I mean, they've made their points very clear what they actually want to do. They're not going to message that and the media is going to make sure to cover up as we've seen. In some of these radical extremists that are running for various, you know, house and senate seats and governorships around the country, you know, they're going to cover that part up and pretend like it didn't exist. Just like they covered up, Joe Biden saying, oh, yeah, no, we would never, you know, we'd never get rid of the keystone pipeline. Even though it was like executive order number one. You know, they're going to run cover because you know, the media knows that that would be a bad messaging. So you'll never hear about it. So we got to pay attention. We got to stay engaged. We got to stay informed. We got to know what's actually happening. And we got to vote accordingly. And so, you know, I guess my final message would be just, you know, don't squander that ability because once you give up those rights, once you give up those freedoms, you don't ever get them back. They don't just come back to you. And, you know, we got to stay in that fight. Amen.

51:21Don Jr. won a Charlie's long time dear friends. And as you said, you spoke with Charlie just about every day for 10 years. And I know it's, we're all kind of going through our own personal loss. Those emotions today. I know you are as well done. And I know Charlie would be encouraging you to give a great speech tonight. Leave it all out on the, on the stage. And so we'll tune in for that. Don, but God bless you, man. Thank you for making the time. I know it's a busy travel day and a lot going on. So thank you for honoring Charlie and honoring all of us and turning point for, for carving out a little bit of your day. Of course, guys, look forward to seeing you soon. Sounds good. Well, get you back out on campus soon, Don. That's what Charlie would be literally texting him. I got a pressuring him to get back. I got a Clemson event if he wants to tag along. Yeah, and on junior on Clemsons campus. That'd be pretty good. You could do Clemsons. This is Charlie at all times. I kind of think what was Charlie doing when he was off screen from my life. And apparently based on why I've heard from everyone is he was just endlessly texting everyone.

52:23Yes, you should do this. You should do this. You need to get on campus. JD, do this. Mr. President. I love we meant we were talking about Charlie taking his sabbatical to go carry bags during the election. And that that was his habit throughout. So what did he do after the 24 election? Some of us didn't see him for about two months because he moved to Mara Lago to not Mara Lott. Well, yes, he moved to South Florida for two, two and a half months just to because he saw that in 2016 personnel was policy. How critical that piece of the, you know, moving the agenda forward was. And so yeah, he moved to Florida. I was doing a show out of the Real America's voice studio in West Palm Beach. Thank you Parker and Rob Sig, by the way, for opening your world up to Charlie. And so when the show wrapped, he could. And if there's real there's a lot of people who would just love to be in in the Kings Court as it were hanging out to be singing, but no, I heard endlessly from other people. Charlie was going through all these resumes, right? I'm doing these interviews, doing really.

53:30And that was servant leadership at its finest. And he was always looking to do that. I remember there was a like hit pieces on him at the time where they they were like they're making them do loyalty tests. That was not what it was. Charlie was just like, are you actually conservative? Like do you actually believe these things or you can get in there and knife the president in the back and the policy in the back that he ran on. There's not the obvious stuff. Loyal T test for new admin. Oh man. So we've got a couple minutes left in this hour. We're going to take a quick short break. Are we going to take this break? Or sorry. Let's go a little bit over. And then we'll take a quick short break. And then we're going to have officer Tatum, Poso and others an hour to here in studio, which is going to be great. Then we have all this stuff going on at campus today. So on top of having dozens of staff and students at the RNC, the midterm RNC, we've got the UVU event. The whole campus here is transformed into basically a big like we've closed off the street and there's food. We just unveiled a bronze statue of Charlie, which is beautiful, beautiful.

54:41Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. We're doing worship music out front. People are going to be sharing their testimonies and a bunch of the teams teams family members are going to be around. So it's a beautiful, beautiful way to celebrate. I think Mark, otherwise tragic sort of day in a way that would honor Charlie. And so all that's great. I thought it would be really fun to go around the corner here in this last few minutes and just say, what was the first time you remember meeting Charlie? What was the first, if you had to, because I mean, it goes back pretty far for Graham actually. Yeah. Do you remember? Well, am I in the current room? Am I the oldest one that met him? I think you knew before me. Okay. I met him at a SaaS event originally, but the first time I actually, they were like at the, you know, the holiday in. Yeah, like a mile from Mar-a-Lago there in the hotel. But the first time I actually got to talk to Charlie classic Charlie met him an SaaS event.

55:42Hey, I like you. Hey, I think you're doing a great job. Blub, blah, blah, blah. About two weeks later, I get a, you want to come to Phoenix? Sure. Never been to Phoenix ever. And I, you know, it was way before this building was here. It was just that first building in the front. Charlie didn't even have an office. Charlie would just take over other people's offices when he needed it. And it was pretty much a, hey, I think you're doing good work. I think that we could do good work together. Do you want to do this thing? Very, very, very Charlie Kirk. And then that same day, it's funny that Brandon's coming in later because that, that same day we had that conversation. It went with A to Joel's point. Hey, I'm going to ASU to debate people who hate me. You want to tag along. And, you know, I'm not going to, I'm not going to be cowarded out in the moment. I had never debated anyone publicly ever at this point. I was like, sure, it sounds like a great time. Let's go do that. And I'll never forget sitting up there on that stage. ASU. It was me, Charlie and Brandon, who's going to be here in a little bit.

56:48I'm curious if he remembers this. And I remember the first kid to ask a question. It was the most intelligent young man I've ever seen in my life. What do you guys feel about the difference of geo political structure around fossil fuels in the UK versus America? And I remember thinking, I have no idea with this kid even just said, I have no idea. Please, please don't make me have to answer this question. Charlie just kind of puts his hand on me like this. He's like, I got it. And I watched Charlie just rip for like five, six minutes straight. And that was my introduction to Charlie. And it was, it was onward from there. And then Andrew, I met you. I think officially for the first time at the University of Florida. When me, you Erica was there. My wife was there. And I remember it feeling potentially heavy that day. Do you remember this? And we all just were kind of in the back just saying, Hey, I think we need to pray over this event. You know, and that was, you know, again, just the, the furthering as it went. And I know you didn't ask this, but I have to, I have to say it.

57:56The last time I physically, not the last time I spoke to Charlie, but the last time I was physically in the same room with Charlie, I came here. And I don't know if you remember this. He was sick that day. And like super sick. And yet Charlie still took the time to meet with me and talk to me about things that I was, I was going back and forth in my mind. And then classic Charlie's like, Hey, we got to do a show. You want to come on the show? You know, and now I realize it's probably because Charlie didn't feel the best in that moment. And let you take somebody to take some of the things. But, but that was Charlie. That was Charlie. And so anyway, I'll shut up now. But that's how I met Charlie. That's great. Blake, I met him. I was talking about this the other day. I met him at for the first time in person at Amfest 2022. And I remember he would have one of those isolated rooms for his like very brief personal breaks. And he was always going so high intensity. So he needed those, those IVs that he would get. That was, I was, I was, I was like, VTV is like, Blake, great to meet you.

58:56Do you want an IV? No, I'm fine Charlie. He got me into those. I never got, I never got, he's like, you should go and play. They're like $85 dollars. No, whatever. And that's also where I met Eric. I can't remember if Eric. I got an IV to or not. No, I don't think that was it. That was my first encounter. My first encounter of any kind. I remember was I pretty much just dropped into the show like a doing a cannonball off a diving border. Whatever. And he joins that chat. And he doesn't, he didn't have Charlie as his name. He just had the American flag. And it took me a while to wait. Who is this? Why does he do that? And I had that so many times in the first few months. I just remember raising my eyebrow and going, who exactly is this guy? I remember when Blake first met Charlie. He really didn't know what to make of him at first. And then I remember you, like, I think it was like a year in. You ended up saying like something really, really sweet about Charlie on air. And it was, I think we all were taking a bag like, wow, Blake gets it.

59:59And so it was, it was pretty fun to watch that, that dynamic between the two of you play out. I first met Charlie in at a hotel in 2017 in Los Angeles. And we had dinner. And I just remember how tall he was and how he kept looking all around the room. He had this ability to just like look at you. But then you could tell he was observing. There was always somewhere else. Yeah, there was always while also being completely on you at the same time. It was an amazing, amazing ability to multitask. Remember, you saw it in the show where he would answer your guys's emails during the show while he was hosting a radio show. So truly, truly, the most remarkable man that I've ever met. And I think probably all of us would agree. And we are joined on set. We have one more join in us. And that is the officer Tatum, Brandon Tatum. Thanks for coming, man. Thanks for making it a priority. Man, it is a pleasure to be here. It's a heavy day. You know, they say grief comes and waves. And man, is that true? I was doing just fine yesterday. Really, I was steady. Everybody kept calling me worried about me.

1:01:08And then on the drive here and then Jake doing this. And we've been having tech problems like again, eighth of the internet in Phoenix went out at one eighth of the whole town. I have no idea why it's just this massive outage. And the team put whipped up the star links. I mean, there's people all over the school. So thank you, Elon Musk, one of Charlie's favorites was Elon Musk. We would not have a show today without him. We'd be host. We really totally host. Brandon, since you're just joining us, why don't you tell about. I've been doing this to everybody. So I started to put you on the spot. But the first time you met Charlie, the first memory you have with Charlie Graham was theorizing that maybe you were part of that first meet. I don't know if it was the first for you or whatever, but I was just curious if you remembered the first time that we met. But go ahead. And then we'll go. What were your impressions of when you met him? Yeah, first of all, my memory is terrible. I think it's too many head injuries, but you know, I met Charlie. I had left the organization called liftable media. That's when I left the police department to work for them. They almost went out of business.

1:02:17And they let me go, which was, which was a blessing to be quite honest. And turning point was on the map. I had heard about Charlie. I was introduced to Charlie. And I remember the spot opened up to be the urban engagement director. And I remember when I first met him, you know, I'm not going to lie. He was a little corny, man. I did. That's what's so special about him is if you're nine out of 10 corny, it's bad. If you're 10 out of 10, you're your earn when you're that earnest when you're that much self-confident. But man, he was, but you know, the more I got to know him, the more I realized, oh, this guy is brilliant. Let's do this like in his 20s, starting an entire organization that is changing the world. And he's none stop. I remember the one of the first times I actually hung out with him. We went to eat at a restaurant. We were speaking somewhere. I can't remember. And I remember he had a garment bag with him and the garment bag. You know, you know, he's supposed to have maybe a suit in there. He had literally a wardrobe in his garment bag because he's just going from place to place to place to event to speaking.

1:03:23And I have never seen anybody in my life with that much energy. And him being that young inspired me. Right. I was like, I can't let this young dude out do me. You know, I need to step my game up. So. And then, you know, I'm going to be honest, you know, Charlie ball stuck when he met Erica to be quite honest. And he got him right. It's something it's something about these women, you know, when you get married to a good woman, they'll boss you up. So, you know, over time, Charlie began to get his swag up. And he just was so impressive. I mean, year after year, he just kept getting better. Turning point kept growing. He's on major scenes and speaking all around the world. And so Charlie was was a pretty prominent influence in my life. And I have to admit that I don't think I would be here today if it hadn't been for Charlie in turn to point USA. That was my start. That was my first speeches. I remember Charlie put me on a spot a few times because he couldn't speak at certain things because he's busy. And he says, Tatum, can you can you come do this event for me? And a new poor beach. It was a women's conservative women's group.

1:04:25I had never spoken before. Never wrote a speech. It last minute. He go, can you do this for me? I can't make it. Can you go speak there? And because how much I appreciate Charlie and how much I respect him, I never said no. And I showed up to that event. And it was a really good turnout. I remember it was another one in Florida. And I was in California at the time. And he said, hey, man, can you go to Florida tomorrow? I got to go to Fish Island to do a like a fundraising speech. And I'm like, in my mind, I'm like, dude, that's tomorrow. I got fly across the country. I never been to a donor event. I don't know what to say. I haven't prepared anything. But you know, with Charlie being a man, he is, you know, I said, you know, I do it, dude. I got you. And that ended up being a great event. So he really inspired others to be incredible. And Charlie would be missed, but his legacy lives on. That's so Charlie, by the way, Charlie would just throw you into the deep end time and time again. I mean, we've all probably got stories like that where it was just like, oh, okay. And you just kind of had to rise to the occasion.

1:05:28I think it was his way of figuring out if you had it or not. Right? Like, could you do it? And, you know, just throwing you there, no prep time, no nothing. I almost kind of feel like it was one of Charlie's ways to see if you were who you seem to be kind of deal because so many of us, I was telling them before you came on, the first time I met you was Charlie through me into yours and his ASU event. And we went over and did ASU and I had never, ever spoken anywhere. And so it was you and him together. So the crowd was gigantic already and all of this. And all these kids were asking questions way over my head because I wasn't ready at all. So I was scared to death. But then Charlie would make it a point, you know, because you would already been doing your thing for a while. So you were used to it. I wasn't and Charlie would make it a point. Graham, why don't you take this one and he would just sit back, you know, and just kind of see. So too many of us have those similar stories. I almost feel now that was kind of like one of Charlie's ways, like to figure out.

1:06:35Are you what you say you are? Yeah, and his confidence is what got me to say yes to. I'm like, that he must be really confident in me. You know, like maybe he believed in me and I don't even think I can do it. And it pushes you to get out of the box and make it happen. And obviously I think he can see the talent in people. And so he give you an opportunity. And that was, that really changed a lot for me, man, being able to speak the way I do now is all because of Charlie put me on the spot, put me out there. And I had to build confidence during the campus events. I mean, I went to 20 some universities. I think the first year I was returning point the first year and a half. And it just made me such a better person on campus debating and with his temperament. You know, I like to go. I want to go off on these people because they crazy. But Charlie had it had this way about him. Obviously because he was a Christian and he was, you know, faithful to Christ for real. It wasn't a joke. And so he had that that mannerism where he wouldn't get overly, you know, excitable with people. He would just hit him with the facts.

1:07:36I remember one time when Antifa came up on you. It's just great. I wish we had. I just thought of it. They were thrown at the bike and him and said, he grabs. Tatum grabs the bike. I thought you were like, I bet Tatum's about to get. They're going to file charges. But they did. I mean, they harassed broke down our event. I tell you what, I was going to run through the whole Antifa crowd one by one. But I thought about Charlie. I said, what would Charlie want me to do? You showed restraint. I show more than I wanted to. But and like I said, it's because of Charlie. I didn't want to make Charlie and turn the point look bad. Right. I'm like, if I'm throwing haymakers out here and people doing a sleep on campus, I may not be able to go back. But, you know, Charlie with like the first time he got attacked, you know, they threw eggs on him. I forget it was in an event. They read a coffee place in the morning. They threw eggs and put water on him and Charlie was just composed. I think it was it was like early on, man. It's like one of the first major events that he had went to and I admired it. I'm a different breed, but I admire him, you know, taking it.

1:08:37You know, it's like Mark Luther King did. You know, it's some of the activists in the Civil Rights Movement. They just, you know, it was passive resistance or whatever you want to call it where they, you know, allowed them the other side to look foolish while they kept their composure and it kind of made people, you know, realize who was at fault. Well, you're kind of talking about the students and you're talking about the the core outreach that turning point did. And we have these videos from some of our students. I think it's probably a good time to play them. They submitted these in the team put them together. So I want to play them. It's not 35. Charlie wasn't just an activist. He was someone who made a real difference in the lives of so many people, including me. He used his voice to stand up for what he believed in and he gave me the courage to do the same. His fearlessness and strong faith inspired me to grow in my own faith and reminded me that we shouldn't be afraid to stand up for what we believe in. What I admired most about Charlie was how much he cared about making every student feel welcomed, valued and safe. He worked to create a community where everyone felt like they belonged and that is something I will always remember.

1:09:48Charlie's legacy will live on through everyone he inspired and the lives he's touched. I'm incredibly grateful for the impact he had on me and he will forever be missed. And that's a club of Americans, America students. That's a high schooler. Hayden Wimbledt. And we've got as we have a bunch of them apparently we were loading them up right when our internet went down, but we have this one to stop 34. When I think about Charlie Kirk and his legacy, I think about the person he's challenged me to become. One thing I always admired about Charlie was that he never separated his faith from his beliefs. He showed me that the two can go hand in hand. Charlie made me believe that I could make a difference. And when he died, that belief turned into responsibility. I didn't want to be someone who just said they were inspired by Charlie, but to be someone who took action. So I started a chapter. That decision completely changed my life. And looking back, I realized it's because one person took the time to tell a generation that their voice matters. So when I think about Charlie and his legacy, I don't just think about him or his accolades. I think about the thousands of students he's inspired and encouraged.

1:10:59I'm a part of Charlie's legacy. And so is every other turning point student that chooses to walk in boldness every day. Thank you Charlie. Isn't that cool? It's another high school student. Yeah, it's probably a million of those videos that people make. The people of lives that he changed. And he made a difference. Even people that don't speak up. I mean, he's made a difference in so many people's lives. Even people who were haters. They became, you know, and the funny thing is or the ironic thing is I remember even right after Charlie's passing somebody in my family was like he never followed Charlie character, not even in politics. And we went to a fight together. It was my cousin. And he got tats on his neck and all this. And he's he was like, and you know that Charlie guy. You know, I went back and watched this stuff. Man, he'd be keeping it real man. He need to I agree with everything he said. And it is funny because when people have an opportunity to actually listen to what Charlie said.

1:12:00And you know, listen to the facts that he presented in the way he presented it. You cannot help but be changed unless you just don't want to change and you just want to be ignorant your whole life. But if you were a genuine person that want to understand the truth, you want to understand Christ. Charlie was the perfect person to listen to. Maybe talk to that because you know, it was interesting. There was a big guardian piece that was just released on Charlie. It was a whole big thing. And it kind of explains it from the left wing point of view that you know they did a lot of liberals think of Charlie as being a hater and saying hateful things. Some of the stuff he said about black pilots, for example. And the way that the piece described it was, you know, these some of these things were ugly and cannot be easily explained. And it's like we literally did a whole episode. It's a fun thing. It's so easy to do. They don't want to know. Did you write this with an AI? Yeah, exactly. But but it is funny that that is the liberal world view. I remember right in the aftermath, Ezra Klein at the New York Times wrote a piece that said Charlie did politics the right way.

1:13:02Ezra Klein got absolutely attacked for just standing up for the decency of Charlie. But you know, you have a unique vantage point, right? And your family talking about Charlie kept it real. He really did. He just spoke the truth in an era when you're not really supposed to and you're not really allowed to. They don't hate the liars, by the way. Culture in the world will not hate the liars. They hate the truth. Tell it. Yeah, and the interesting thing is that these people on the left are mentally ill. And I'm being honest. I think they don't have the mental capacity to receive information that challenges them. And that's the reason why they didn't like what he said. There's nothing that Charlie said that was hateful. The truth is not hateful. You just don't like the truth. People are just right. Right. Right. And when you are a man of God and you live like Christ, people are going to hate you like they did Christ. And they're going to hate the truth and they're going to hate being challenged and hate getting out of their their own way of destruction. And so, you know, I often find myself being very upset, but I have to learn to get over it. When people try to say Charlie was a bad person and that he was a racist.

1:14:10That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life. And you put them on the spot and you go, what did he say? There was racist. They bring up the airplane thing. And when you explain it and you listen to what he said, that's not racist. Just because you you can make an evaluation about DEI as a white man and then I be racist. But to be honest, they don't really care about what he said. They don't care about the truth. They are challenged in a way in which they cannot respond to. So their first word to use is he's a racist and try to negate his legacy and what he did. Most people with common sense, no Charlie was an honest man. He spoke very intentional and I don't believe there's I don't know for a fact there's no racist bone in his body. But I don't even believe there's anything questionable that Charlie Kirk has ever said if you actually listen to him. I agree. Although this feels like a fun time to play Charlie Kirk on Michael Jordan. It's not 25. I define greatness based on pressure, right? Okay. How many NBA finals that Jordan lose?

1:15:12He lost. He didn't lose. Six and no. Jordan redefined the game. He brought the NBA from irrelevant seats to the most popular phenomenon in every country around the world. Jordan had competition that no one else had. Jordan played against magic Johnson. Jordan played against Isaiah Thomas. Jordan played against Charles Barkley. Jordan played against Stockton. Jordan and he never lost the final. Do you know how you are the goat? You're the goat. Well, you don't have to keep on playing to your 40 and get your kid some sort of, you know, special job just because you're a billionaire. That's how you know you're the goat. The goat knows he's the greatest and he doesn't have to keep on playing to prove it. He had multiple Jordan agree with Ron debates, which is funny. Right. And he was 100% accurate on that. And you know, it's funny. Steven A Smith. I was talking. I had to interview him and he said the exact same thing about how Jordan is the goat. Yeah. And so what would anybody say about, you know, Charlie saying it. Nothing. He's factual. Jordan is the goat in his character. You know, Jordan characters. Well, I don't know how he is. His teammate. People said he was really mean to people or whatever as a teammate. But as a man and as a discipline man, very similar to Charlie, he had, he was, he was focused. He was disciplined. He was consistent. And that's why he was great.

1:16:27No one that has ever achieved any semblance of true greatness of any kind. So to your point, the micratured thing. What's the documentary called the last dance? The last dance Charlie loved. Yeah. So that was a great. So, you know, Jordan just straight up says like, you know, hey, was I mean sometimes did I get into people sometimes? Absolutely. Because we were there to do something nobody else. Yeah. People that achieve greatness are not normal people by society standards. They are different. They are disciplined. They do not tolerate certain things. They do not tolerate less than. And so yeah, I could see why Charlie looked at Jordan that way. But also Charlie was that way. Charlie Charlie, you know, on the outside looking in, you'd probably be like, man, you know, I don't know how normal this is. We were even talking about getting IVs in between like, like, like, podcast interviews and things that speeches and speeches in this normal people don't understand that. They're like, wait a minute. What? You know, kind of thing. But but Charlie operated.

1:17:28He had a motor within him. And I know all of us have said this over the past year. He had a motor inside of him that none of us could match and that none of us could keep up with. And you know, and Andrew, I think you're the one who said this. It all bleeds together. But you know, God gave him that because God knew Charlie how much time he had. And and God knew that Charlie had a lot to do. And so Charlie, Charlie wasn't normal. Charlie didn't live his life normal. And that's what makes him. Well, it's a matter of fact, one of the things that Eric and I always say to each other because Charlie used to always say to us is he would look around and kind of have. There was these moments where he would give himself like one just small little moment to kind of acknowledge like how crazy his life was. And he would look and he go, this isn't normal. This is normal. This is normal. And and you know, this is why we make statues to the man. I guess we just unveiled this right out front of the HQ right now. I think it's like a nine foot statue.

1:18:33Wow. It's just beautiful. Bronze statue of Charlie throwing the hats into the crowd, which is, you know, how I always want to remember him anyways. Wow. It just yeah, he deserved a statue in DC to. Yeah. I think they're doing one. I think they're in valent one and in Times Square as well today. And they're doing it at 1223. And I want to say to everybody watching in the audience. We're going to be observing a moment of silence at 1223 mountain time, which would be 223 Eastern, 223 Eastern. So we're going to be on the on the air still with real America's voice. Jack is graciously. He's going to be joining us during that hour, but we're going to be keeping on the Charlie Kirk show on real America's voice and streaming. And yeah, so beautiful testament. Oh, it is Tyler joining us. Talk about the statue. I mean, I don't know what you have what we'd have to do a hot swap here. Tyler, if you want to come on and tell about the statue, maybe Graham could. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

1:19:36So this was Tyler's baby. And it came out beautiful, man. It really did. I'll just pop in and Graham can pop back in, but I don't go anywhere, Graham. We need you back. Yeah, no, it's it's incredible. I think a great testament. The artist is actually here. He's here today. Wow. Young man from Utah. So in his early 20s, super great. Exactly. Yeah, that's a 20 year old artist. So he's incredible Quentin McCann and he did a bust of Charlie that was the greatest like this. And we're like, yeah, you're the guy and work together closely with Erica with the team here and developed what is incredible. What Erica refers to is Jordan moment, which is on campus. We just talked about. I knew it was, you know, sometimes God works in mysterious ways. We were just talking about Charlie's love of Michael Jordan. So yeah, so there was a lot of different things that we could pick that we could choose from.

1:20:36Yeah, there's a great picture of Charlie that we've seen painted over and over again. That one. With his fist up in the air from the great valley. Yeah. But Erica thought the Jordan moment was, which is this is where he lived and died. Where he was murdered. Doing the work they loved, converting the hearts of young souls across America. And there's some really cool things that are in this statue. So you'll notice it's kind of the final motion of him throwing the hat. So his hand pointed towards God, which is intentional. On the on if you actually go up to the statue, you'll see some very specific things. So you'll see his wedding ring. That's on his left hand. It's it's it's clear there. It's behind you can see it on the hat. You can down to the logo of the turning point logo is on the hat. So it's not just any mega hat. It's the turning point mega hat, which Charlie loved and produced. We produced hundreds of thousands of thousands. So you see those those seas of red at college campuses. They're all turning point. Yeah, there's a little turning point logo.

1:21:38So if you got one of those hats hold on to it. And then lastly, the cross that he was wearing, they wore every single day outside of shirt. And you'll see in the pictures that it would pop out of a shirt when he was throwing. Right. And so you'll see it loosely falling out of a shirt. And then across obviously the freedom shirt across his chest. And then wearing his joggers that he loved to wear every single day. And in his actual Jordan S. You know, vibe. So you can't open the pockets. But if you were able to, you'd find the throat. The lozenges are in the pocket. That is not that was so funny. So when he was, I forgot about this. By the way, we did a best of thought crime, which is our Thursday night streaming show that we managed to wedge into Charlie's schedule somehow. And he was so faithful to it. And the audience loves that one. I always tell people it's like it's amazing. Even today, it does like 20% more downloads on the podcast. When we put it up there. And it was always the audience. It was always an audience favorite. But he was reflecting back on the Cartman as Charlie Kirk, you know, South Park episode. And he was like, they did a really good job. Even the water. He said they forgot the lozenges. They didn't get the lozenges. And then he did that to save his throat because he just smokes so much. So awesome. Yeah, it's all they were all. It was, was it peak 24 where he we were on the campaign trail. And his voice does totally out. Yeah, it's always doing all show. Yeah, no, yeah. I had to help him with the Megan Kelley Kelly interview one day. And then Jack had to go to Penn State because he completely lost his voice.

1:23:07And luckily the whole event ended up getting canceled. We got a great like promo video out of it with all the red hats and thousands of students showed up. But he couldn't speak at all. And the campus actually took away the amplification system from us anyway. So it kind of worked out. But you know, it's what's crazy about that day. And I was just thinking about it with the freedom shirt on the bronze statue. And Daisy could probably tell the whole story. I only know bits and pieces of it. But like Charlie, because he's usually sitting in the sun. So he's sitting there hot, you know, underneath that 10 for three hours. So he always wanted dark shirts. You know, because you know, you're getting all sweaty and all of a sudden the dark hit it really well. It was the first time ever that we did a white shirt. And Charlie requested the white right white shirt. It was the only time. Yeah, you'll see in all the former ones. He's almost always wearing a black shirt. Yeah, black or dark blue or something. And it was the only time that he ever did a freedom shirt and the white. And it was the only time we ever did freedom on the on the front of it. And really. Yeah. And it's like, it's one of those weird things where you kind of just it was almost like God adorned him, you know, white and now that shirt is like basically we're talking about is like the mega hat 2.0 is you know, we have the freedom hat all over

1:24:19everywhere. People still wear them all over. I just I mean, I just wanted to put a pen. We're so grateful for Quentin, the statue. You mentioned it belongs in DC Brandon. So we fully expect that this this was intended to ultimately end up in the US capital. So we've talked about this before. We believe Charlie. Yeah, he is such an iconic American figure. Yeah, he belongs in the US capital. The speaker of the house has the ability to do it. We think that this will happen. So this is just a a stopover point right now where we're at with the with the statue. But it will be hopefully in the capital. Yeah, probably here in two places here in the capital. But I think that's that's where all across. So if you go to the US capital, there's statues everywhere. Statuary hall mostly is statues that are appointed. So each state gets to yeah, like by by law in the US capital. But then there's other statues that can be placed by the speaker.

1:25:25If you if you go through, you'll see them. There's there's like a Hungarian revolutionary from the 1800s. There's like random people that really shouldn't be in the US capital. Yeah, there's a bunch of including including some, you know, non-states like DC shouldn't really have statues and the and and it's that you're a bit of but I tell you what they better make it happen. You know Republicans need to make sure they make this happen. I think they are we're in power. They better make this. I think they will. I think they will. I think they will. I think they will. I did a tour with Speaker Johnson not too long ago and I forget about it until this moment. But he brought it up to me. He's like, hey, you know, we have a we have a nice spot picked out. Let's say we're measuring the drapes. I hadn't I hadn't seen. That's actually yet. You were kind of keeping this very close to the vest here for a while. And the reason is is because this was Erica. Erica was the one. So she had made so some of the pieces to this. She made some adjustments like and again, getting a statue right is really hard to do. Like if you've seen the ones they put out in front of like Danny Miami of Dwayne Wade.

1:26:28Uh, after the Hall of Fame, the Kobe Bryant one is outside like some of them are really bad. And they're really and again, I'm not trying to attack artists there out there. It's tough. It's tough where I can never do it. But the the inspiration from Quentin to get so much right and then Erica's involvement with she. I mean, she we the test sculptures we had in her office and I mean, she had like on some of the point of just like touching his face and just like making sure everything works. And and his eyes like little little small things like I knew Charlie really well. You knew Charlie really well. And the things that she was pointing out was like, oh, yeah, that's like just how his eyes down turn a little bit more. And you know, even with him, he had he had gone laced it. He had says eyes were not so sometimes like with glass. And when he had his glasses, actually, there's actually a whole trove of episodes where Charlie had glasses on. And it was what he got. Yeah, I don't know if it was at lay sick or something. Well, he got a contact and then he used to work contacts. But he would when he didn't have his contacts.

1:27:31And he had to wear glasses. Yeah, yeah. And then he got laced sick and then he didn't have to wear them anymore. But even just how his eyes function when he's looking at things or he was focusing on things is a little bit different. And Quentin got just about every little detail just right. That's great. And made him look in the statues. I didn't realize this in the process. You have a little bit of Greek features to it. Like that what they do is like they give you the best version of yourself, which everybody wants, right? Like everybody wants it. So, but you know, I yeah, Charlie was a physically fit guy, especially up until his until his biohacker to the end. He literally was always I mean, his hands are just just right. And there's like he's again, the sneakers are just right. The how is joggers fall like it's really special. So I hope everyone can come see it. It was a labor love. I know I know it because it takes, it takes like a year to get something like this done. And it was just in time for today. And so we're really, really grateful to Quentin. He's in it totally, truly inspired individual.

1:28:34We will have a few of these, but then there's also a bust version that's just of his of his face that he's done his head. And we actually will be producing a very special 31 of those for match the 31 years that he lived. That will be in special hands across America. So look out for that. It's great. I love it. I love that we have an opportunity to just keep his legacy going. You know, I was thinking about this other day and I was using Charlie's name in past tense. I said he was. He wasn't and it done. No, man. It's like, no, no. Charlie is still alive and well in the world. You can go on right now. Look at his YouTube channel. You can hear him just as well as he's almost like sitting here. You can still hear his words. He still lives in so many people that are testimony, their stories. It doesn't end. The body is gone. But Charlie's legacy is just continuing. And I think he talked about evergreen issues. You know, so like those videos, you talk about the videos, they'll, they'll always be important.

1:29:37I mean, hundreds of years from now, they will be important. We've seen, we've seen a lot of that already, just with the course of last year. And again, we, we remissed to say that today he should be speaking at the R&C convention. He would, he lived for that. He lived to influence particularly the, the, what we call the establishment to go the right direction. He lived for that. That is the establishment. That is the group, right? That's the, that's the, the heartbeat of the Republican party. And he liked to be influential with those, with those people. And he was. Right. It, it, it, I'm reaching young people. He wanted the conservative, the machine of the conservative apparatus to be more like its voters constantly. Thank you, Tyler Boyer. This was awesome. We're going to do. I'm going to play a video of Charlie talking about the start of TPSA. And then Blake's going to read your emails because you've been sending hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of emails.

1:30:38We're going to get to some of those in just a second. We'll do a hot swap with, with grandma. So let's go ahead and play. So 26 June 5th, 2012. I was wrestling on kind of what we're going to call this organization. And my dad came up with a list of names and all of a sudden he said, turning point. I said, that's the one. Spoke at a Tea Party rally out in Rockford. And the journey started. No money, no connections and no idea what I was doing. Started the barnstorm Illinois and in the Midwest, speaking at every possible Tea Party rally I could. That was the garage that we literally started in Lamont, Illinois. I had burning desire, looking back at it. I wanted to grow this thing more than anything imaginable. I poured every part of my being into this. As Napoleon Hill would say, can Steve believe work achieved CBWA was the daily mantra that I would have? Steve believe work achieved.

1:31:43Well, I mean, so much somebody places we could go here, but Blake, why don't you read some of these emails from? They've been flooding in my. We've got been getting them all week. I've been trying to flag as many as I can. This is one on this day. We remember what Charlie stood for in honor of Charlie for his courage instead of fast faith. Our family will remember him today and always through the name of our son. And I won't reveal the full name, but their baby's middle name has Charlie and it was born back in March. So thank you very much from Brittany. Exactly one year ago today, this is from William. I was departing my cancer treatment at 2.30 p.m. As I was driving home, the president was on our local radio station announcing that Charlie had been shot and had died. I was so taken aback. I ran off the road and into a ditch. I am haunted to this day over Charlie's death and his transfer into the arms of our savior.

1:32:43This is from Jan. Not one day has passed since Charlie was assassinated that I haven't thought about him and all that he did for America. As I watched Erica at the RNC convention last night, I could viscerally feel her broken heart. I cannot imagine the strength of Charlie's family and all of you at Turning Point, USA. You must have to continue to make Charlie proud every single day. But I do believe it must come from your faith in God. Your work is so very important. Bethany, I am sure you're getting bombarded with emails about how much Charlie meant to so many people. I'm just one more, but I wanted to share. I had a six-month-old when Charlie was assassinated. His death affected me as it did so many others. I went back and I listened to old Charlie clips. He and Erica spoke about the importance of family and children and this radically changed my perspective. On being a mother to my baby. My husband and I are now expecting our second and I can honestly say it's because of Charlie's advice.

1:33:45To have more kids, then you can afford. I actually didn't even know that was going to come out of this one because we actually got a separate email from someone who also said, let me get it here. I wonder how many babies there are. I genuinely wonder because I think that's the fifth. JD and Usher literally has another kid. Exactly. Because of Charlie. This is another one. This is the other one we got today that I've seen and I haven't even looked at all of them. One year without Charlie is hard for all of us to believe. I just wish I could thank him for the biggest blessing in the world. Because of him, me and my husband decided to start trying for a baby. Our baby girl was born on the 4th of July of this year. That's cool. We will always remember Charlie and we will teach our daughter who he was and his message, praying for you all. That is so beautiful. I remember the day one year without an amazing man who gave us all. I was watching Steve Gruber that day who told us Charlie had been shot. My husband and I went to our knees praying he would be all right. Knowing that he was a messenger from God, we hoped he would be okay, but that did not happen.

1:34:50I got one. I got one. I got one. My barber told me they literally had their baby on a year ago today. He said that he loved Charlie and thought it was great. He said his, unfortunately for him too, is that he don't even remember a lot of the birth because he was so destroyed over what happened to Charlie. He couldn't stop thinking about it. It happened to be that the birth of his baby was the same day that Charlie was assassinated. It's a sad and also a beautiful day. As Christians, we kind of get so worldly we forget what the transition looks like. You got a young man that dedicated his life to Christ. I'm pretty sure Charlie had a prayer one day and said, God use me anyway you want. Whatever you need for me, let me be your servant. He prayed that all the time. And God honored that and gave Charlie a tremendous influence in platform even after his death.

1:35:52But then Charlie goes on in my opinion, I think that Charlie went to heaven, which is doing the greatest accomplishments you can ever accomplish at the end of his life. And so there's a bitter part of it, which is what we experience in the natural. And then there's a celebratory part of it, which is what you experience in the spiritual. And I'm glad that Charlie was consistently faithful. He was a good man. He kept God first to the very end. It wouldn't have been the same if Charlie would have went off the reservation and started being crazy and doing this. But Charlie stuck by his message of Christ. And I hope that he inspired some of these pastors out here to do the same and to stick with Christ and to make every political ideology you have rooted in your faith and not separate to. The problem with society today is people are two cowards and they want to separate the two. There's no such thing in my opinion as politics outside of your faith.

1:36:54I agree. You know, go ahead. No, no, no, no, you go ahead. I'm just reading Mikey McCoy's sub-stack. It's Mikey McCoy 1776 as sub-stack and he's talking about one year without Charlie. And this was funny because some of my favorite moments with Charlie were on a plane. And he says, I remember one flight in particular. Charlie and I were flying into Brackett Field Airport in California on a small twin-prop Maryland. When we found ourselves in the middle of an intense storm, the turbulence became so violent that the plane was being thrown back and forth through the air and the lights in the cabin were flickering in and out. Lightning was striking all around us. Charlie and I were the only two people in the cabin. I remember being terrified looking across at him and yelling, we're going to die. Oh, good. They're wondering how unearthed he was so relaxed. Charlie looked back at me, completely calm with a big smile and said, don't worry, we're not going to die yet. We haven't suffered enough. Yeah. And it's funny because it was such a Charlie thing to say, Mike. He says, in the moment, he was contemplated whether we're about to fall out of the sky.

1:37:55He somehow managed to create a laughable and teachable moment. And it's funny. I was on a plane during the 2024 campaign with Charlie as well. We were flying into Atlanta and we flew through Wake turbulence. I don't know if you guys have ever experienced Wake turbulence. The whole plane just goes like sideways. Like we're doing a 90 degree angle like this. I'm not a good flyer anyways. And I'm sitting there going like what just I mean, it was smooth as butter and all of a sudden the plane just gets dropped violently multiple times. And I look at Charlie and go, you know, I'm about like, I'm not okay. And I look at Charlie and he turns around and smiles at me and smirks. He goes, having fun yet. And I just, he was just calm as a cucumber in those moments. It was like unbelievable. And it's a great piece. I recommend everybody read it. Mikey McCoy 1776 at substack.com. It's just beautifully. Mike, Mikey has a way with words. It's, you know, it's a, it's whole family and he's been around Charlie.

1:38:56It's just a beautiful piece. But since we're reading something, do you guys buy it? Yeah, please. I read something. So I'll try to do a better job than I did in my show this morning. It turned into into a blubbering fest this morning. Right after Charlie was taken from us. I wrote, I wrote just a short, just a short little note. And, you know, it basically said, you know, dear Charlie. And just basically that I promised that I would do my best to live by the example that he left for us. And I would do my best. I think I ended something along the lines of, I'd do my best to fight. The best way I could, the evil that took him from us. And so this morning I wrote my dear Charlie a year later, type of thing. So I'm going to try to get through it. So it's not that long, I promise.

1:39:57I think we all kind of agree that this year has gone in many ways. Some that we probably thought and then others that we probably never could have imagined that it went. And so I just wrote, and I'm going to read it. So I don't mess it up. So I apologize. And I just wrote, dear Charlie, as you're looking over us right there. It's been one year since you were taken from us. And I'm not going to lie. It's been a rough one. I miss your call words. I miss your wisdom in times of chaos as you were just talking about. I miss your leadership and I miss your friendship. I promised you that I would keep fighting. And I've tried to keep that promise. I could have done more. I'm sure. But I've tried to do it the way that I think you would have

1:40:58wanted me to. Erica's doing a great job. She is so strong. She's stronger than all of us. And I know you see everything. And I know you know all the bad. But I also know God is using all of this for his good. It's been 365 days since the world stopped on 910. We miss you, Charlie, but we're going to keep on working for what's right. Keep looking down on us, my brother. And we'll keep up the fight from here. Um, beautiful. Thank you. It's been a rough, it's been a rough year. Um, and you look back and you ask, you know, did I do enough? Could I have done more? Did I fight the right way? Did I?

1:42:00Did I do it like Charlie would have done it? And I know I know that I didn't. And Charlie was always the one branded to your point that would call me down. Yeah. But you just sit here and you reflect on the past year and everything that's happened. And all I know is to say that, you know, we miss you, Charlie. We miss you. And it's, uh, it's been, uh, it's been a, it's been a long year, been a tough year. Yeah. Sorry, I mean, the devil, the devil. Yeah. No, I mean, it's, it's a real emotional feel. We all feel the same way, you know, I tell you what, I'm, I tried my best not to, and may be fun in me online crying, man. So I'm trying not to tear up, but can't wait to see the videos from this morning. Yeah. But you know, that's a real emotion from real man from, you know, someone respect to a good man. He wasn't a good man. We wouldn't be crying, you know, and wouldn't be sad. And he wouldn't be as missed. But, you know, he's left a tremendous impact on all of our lives.

1:43:04And, um, this year has been really crazy. And, and I, I have to say, I'm proud of all you guys that are here of, of standing up for Charlie, man. When, when some people have turned their back on him and went crazy and off a cliff, but it's, people like us and others who continue to fight and continue to stand up for him and continue to speak out, against people who are trying to tame his legacy. And, you know, Erica has been absolutely tremendous. I was at the trial with you for 30 hours of testimony and I think you guys may have went to the, yeah, the final. I did the bind over here. Yeah. And, um, so, but, but Erica being stronger in those moments and, you know, showing true raw emotion and his parents have been strong and hanging in there. And, um, I'm sure Charlie is looking down. He's very proud of Erica. And she hadn't gotten in the, she hadn't got her hands dirty in the mess with these people that are just out here saying the craziest things ever.

1:44:05She just keep her composure. She keep believing in God. And she, and she's steady. You know, she's a steady example of a quality woman in this, the reason why Charlie married her. And so I'm very proud of Erica. I don't, I'm gonna get a chance to say it enough, but my goodness, he, he, Charlie picked right. Yes. You know, she's been, she's been great for him, even, even in his death. She's been a great example for the kids and for everybody in America. She's been a warrior. You know, I, I obviously have gotten to know Erica a lot more than I did back when Charlie was still here. Obviously, I talked to Charlie all the time. I didn't talk to Erica all the time. And, you know, and my wife is out there right now. And, you know, I know all of us have seen the moments of shattered with Erica behind the scenes. And it, and it's so hard because all I can see in those moments is my wife in those moments. And it makes it so difficult. And I think is men, we, you know, we want to do something, but there's nothing that we can do.

1:45:09And then to see her pick herself back up literally, quite literally off the floor. Yeah. And then to walk out there, either into that courtroom and, and, you know, we won't get into all of the things there. But, but to look into that courtroom or to get in front of a camera and deliver what she needs to deliver and say in those moments, it's been, it's been, yeah, you're right. Charlie knew Charlie picked right 100% and it's been an inspiration to see. I'm sitting here tearing up and compared to what Erica is. And door is nothing. It's not even in the same stratosphere. And yet we all, we all kind of look to Erica, you know, like, and it's, Charlie knew, Charlie picked right, Charlie, Charlie knew, and so. You know, I think we're going to end up taking a quick little break here in just just a minute. And we're going to have our three today again.

1:46:10Jack Pasovic was gracious enough to allow us to keep going and Rob and Parker. There's a lot going on. The RNC, all the stuff, but they made it a priority to have our show on her Charlie. And I'm, I'm just struck right now just thinking about literally a year ago right now. Life was just how it always was. I think right now Blake and I were having a group chat with Charlie as he was in the car to the venue at UVU. And why monogamy was great talking about Mary's societal advanced, my emotional tech. Why was monogamy that sound just like Charlie? Yeah, he was beefing up on monogamy, I guess, because he was going to Utah, but it was like our last group chat was probably literally right now. And, and everything was just normal. And in about 26 minutes, everything will change. Everything is about to change. If we want to, if we want to do a break here, the White House posted a two-minute tribute.

1:47:11Yeah, let's play that on the out. And then we'll bring Poso in. We've also got Riley Gaines and Savannah Hernandez. And thank you, Officer Tatum. Oh, I appreciate you. Thank you, you guys have me. It's an honor. Thank you for making it a priority. Yeah, let's go ahead and play that on the out and we'll be back in just a minute. That terrible day, September 10th, 2025, our greatest evangelist for American Liberty became immortal. He's a martyr now for American freedom. Do you know you are part of something bigger than yourself? You know that you are part of the most exciting, diverse, powerful movement in the history of this country. This movement is about the citizens versus the oligarchs. This movement is about we the people versus the ruling class.

1:48:11This movement is about America versus the globalists. This movement is about all of us against them. One of my favorites saying to the Bible, in Hebrew it is my name. Here I am. It means Lord Usen. What are my marching orders? Abraham at the binding of Isaiah. He said Lord, here I am. Moses at the burning bush. Lord, here I am. Samuel Isaiah. Here I am. It means give me the orders. Here I am, Lord. I tell a lot of people who call for the one. He transformed the face of the conservatism and in doing so he changed the course of American history. You still live in the greatest nation ever to exist in the history of the world. There is still so much to be hopeful and to be thankful for.

1:49:14Have that posture here I am. I can't wait to see how this course for me plays out. The states are hot. We are only begun to fight. All right. Welcome back everybody. Our three is just beginning. Thank you again to Real America's voice to Jack for letting the Charlie Kirk show be on in this hour. This is in what is it? I guess 18 minutes is the moment we are going to do a moment of silence and we are going to invite the team here. It is a part of the show to come join us on set and just observe that moment of silence. Thank you, Saf for joining us now. Charlie always loved him from Savannah Hernandez. He always had your back and believed in your talents and abilities.

1:50:18So thanks for joining us here too. Don't make me cry already. I have already been so hard. He is going to mess the whole show. I will be the whole audience. He could play in the match real often. I am holding it together. I am holding it together. But not as much as he can play the dog Andrew. Well, I guess we have Mike Lee also trying to join. I mean this is live TV. It is just happening on the fly here. Jack this is normally your hour in the Real America's voice network. Why don't you just today what does it mean to you? What is going through your mind right now? We know it goes through my mind I think is the mission. And I just keep thinking about how Charlie was always mission first. Whether that whatever the mission was, if the mission was we are going to campus and we are going to have a debate then that was the mission. If the mission was going to win election and harvest ballots and chase and noctaurs that was the mission and the mission was all. I am going to memorize this chapter of the Bible and know it by heart word from word.

1:51:21That was the mission. And as you know he would not stop until it was done. Or I am going to read this book and I am going to read every single page of the book etc. And so it and people keep you know there is that sort of perennial question this time of you know when things like this come up. Oh what do you think he would say? I am like I put words in his mouth. But I imagine he would be mission focused. I just imagine that it would be that and you know coming from Dallas last night with where I was just incredible seeing Erica there and that moment really for me when the entire crowd a year later on the eve was up on their feet. Every single person was on their feet chanting Charlie Charlie Charlie Charlie. And it was it was a moment that showed that no matter what the left thought they achieved that day that they completely failed because the mission does continue. And unfortunately for them they did inspire so many people to get on board and give more people

1:52:25a Y. And you know one other thing that I wanted to do when I was here so this is the first time I've been back to Phoenix since I was at the CPAC in the UK. And Blake you remember when Charlie went to Oxford and Cambridge and he was so excited and just you know just just actually excited to really just be in honor to be able to be speaking there in the vein of so many people who had come before and so many of the great the writers and Burke and and and Locke and Smith and there was a moment at the Gala that we held there where CPAC UK wanted to give out they started this new award and they called it the Winston Churchill Courage Award and of course for the inaugural award they wanted to award it to Charlie and of course Charlie wasn't able to be there and they asked if I would be able to bring it back and to give it to Erica and so I actually have it right here this is the inaugural Winston

1:53:29Churchill Courage Award and I told them that I told them that well Charlie and Churchill right in the studio. We'll put that next to the other Churchill. Yeah, we'll put it right next to where Churchill already is. He loved Churchill and just was one of his absolute inspirations and I don't even think they knew that actually about Charlie. I said what I mean this is one of his his absolute role models and how he was stalwart in his defense of the nation's stalwart and defense of freedom. It was his model for defending America. 100% you know we're we're beset on all sides the odds are against us the the enemy is coming upon our shores and we're just going to fight like hell. Never surrender never never surrender never so I said well the next time I'm back I'll show you to carry it with me and thank you Jake we'll put that if if you're offering we're going to put it up here. Hey it's not mine. You talked about his mission focus a lot of a lot of people say they want to change the world but what set Charlie part is he had that goal but he was

1:54:34so skilled at reducing that to what is the thing I can do today. Yeah, that over time will change the world and so yeah it might be memorize that argument about the Bible. I've mentioned this a few times that when he needed to learn something he'd say, play give me the four talking points right don't give me 10. I won't remember 10. If you sent me four I will memorize them and he followed through on that he would and then you do that one day and then the next day and another day and you do that for 31 years straight and you are Charlie Kirk and I was I was speaking to the ASU chapter of turning point because they were holding a vigil last night and I was telling them that that is one of the most valuable lessons you can take from Charlie that we played that Michael Jordan Clipperly or a thing about Michael Jordan if you wanted to be Michael Jordan will will too bad you're not six foot eight and you probably can't shoot a bass whatever whatever Michael Jordan was and you can't probably shoot a basketball as well as he did even if you tried for 10,000 hours but actually all of us have the capacity within us to do the daily disciplines that Charlie did

1:55:41yeah nice his talents were the talents that are available to everyone and I think that should inspire us and I think I remember him saying once somebody asked him you know how did you start all this and he said I got a table and a chair and I went on to a campus that's it a table a chair showing up is 90 percent of the battle yes yes yes that's what you do yeah yeah you know as you show us every day even when sometimes we wish you wouldn't because you go by yourself into some I know I know you know this last entire week I have not been able to focus and I couldn't understand why and I realized that it is because of the underlying feelings about what this memorial means for not only myself but the entire country and so it's been a really really difficult week but it's been really great to see how everybody has carried Charlie's legacy on over truly this last year and you know knowing that I was going to come on the show today I was like okay what do I want to talk about

1:56:41and what I did want to highlight I think the most important thing that Charlie did for all of us was he helped grant so many of us our American dream I'm a homeowner for the first time because of Charlie Kirk Charlie hired me on to do front lines he let me card my own pap here and I feel like I am one of many many many young people that Charlie believed in and gave a chance to and he always met us where we were at he always gave us the platform he always picked up the mic and he showed up and he was there and I'm so grateful because Charlie gave us such a beautiful blueprint for how to achieve our own American dream right get married start a family tell the truth do things even when their heart be courageous by the country exactly and so his legacy is still so strongly felt and Andrew when I was outside and the statue is being unveiled as they pulled the the cloth off the top and we saw it for the first time it was kind of an insane moment because the American flag immediately started waving it wasn't waving prior and it immediately started waving as soon as it was

1:57:46unveiled and it was just such a beautiful moment and I just feel like Charlie spirit is of course here with us today it's here with us with us always and this legacy of courage and telling the truth is so strong and prevalent now more than ever still a very hard week though yeah I agree I am the first to admit I didn't I didn't know how I was going to be this morning but it's been harder than I anticipated and so it's the perfect time to send should throw over to senator Mike Lee who's one of Charlie's best friends Charlie little secret Charlie didn't always have a whole lot of love or nice things to say about elected officials that was not at all true about Mike Lee Charlie loved Mike love Charlie and he's with us now he's traveling with his family and here he is willing to to to come on with us senator we're about nine minutes out from the moment and everything changed in nine minutes one year ago today your thoughts no I was supposed to be with him that day Charlie

1:58:51had called me a few weeks before the UVU event they called me during August and said Mike I'm going to be at UTell Valley University on September the 10th and I want you right there with me I was planning to be there with him and I told them at the time I'll be there if it's humanly possible there's a chance there'll be those that day in Washington that I can't miss and if that's the case I'll have the ticker rain check it turned out I was not able to be there but I was texting with him and talking to him on the phone in the days and hours leading up to the event the last text message I got from him was shortly after he landed in Utah and he somewhat pressurately said you know I think today's event is going to be huge you know he was right but not in the way that we had imagined not in the way that we had hoped and you know to this day I had 365 days later I can't believe he's gone I he's one who I have expected like top-sori or to show up to his own funeral it

1:59:52Charlie is someone who who was taken to us from us far too young and but he made a profound impact on this world and his influence lives on his legacy lives on I think what happened when the when the left killed him and then celebrated his death the left created millions of aspiring new Charlie Kirk's and I think nothing nothing that is sort of living and being able to continue his earthly mission would have made Charlie Prouder or happier from that so well said if I made Senator senator I just wanted to say thank you personally as well because you did show up at that preliminary hearing a couple of you know back in July I guess it was two months and of course you being from the area obviously with your legal background it and of course your relationship with Charlie it it it meant so much to have someone there who was a familiar face but also who could

2:00:56kind of walk us through that terrain in a way that really really only you could and and I remember there were there were a few moments during that hearing where there was frustration with the process frustration with the emotion of the event and I know you arriving what really meant so much not I mean I'm not just talking about myself but I remember with Charlie's family there with with Erica with his mother and father you being there really meant a lot and I just wanted to say thank you for that you've been tremendous senator you have been just and I see all the tweets the whole team does and it means so much to us and we hear all the ways that you defend him and keep his legacy alive so to echo Jack's point thank you senator thank you I appreciate that and Jack it was it was an honor and a privilege to be there especially getting to sit next to you and just behind Erica and Charlie's parents at that event and we saw and heard some evidence that day it was it was hard to take in it's hard to see that stuff these are things that no one should have to see but sometimes people have to bear witness two hard things in order to warn against them

2:02:02happening in the future so we are grateful for so many good things that have happened since Charlie's death and all of them because of what Charlie did while he was alive well we miss him every day and it really is awful but in a broader sense he has brought about a movement that will not be squelched that will not go away and it's only going to get bigger we're seeing the tip of the tip of the iceberg right now and and you all are such a huge part of propelling that legacy forward and I thank you for that we're coming up on the exact one year mark which means a year ago right now Charlie was witnessing to the gospel for the last time because you might remember the the first question first question you knew was a guy who was arguing over whether I think it was more minister versus evangelicalism but it was Charlie always loved every opportunity to witness to that

2:03:02and yeah I'm glad that was the last full yeah the answer he was able to give to something you know and I was appreciated how he approached my faith I as a lifelong Latter-day saint and devout Latter-day saint I get the fact that some folks struggle with our beliefs some folks in regards to some of our beliefs is heretical Charlie never spiked the ball on us uh Charlie always praised what was what what he could praise and and brought out the best in everyone including Latter-day Saints and we saw that right up to his last moment and I remember this moment exactly a year ago right now uh because I couldn't be there I was keeping tabs on what was happening I was asking my staff in between meetings in between votes and meetings and hearings for a play by play on what was happening on the ground and when I got the the unfathomable news that there had been a shooting I couldn't think about anything else until I found out what happened

2:04:03and it it took several hours before I could find out what had occurred I actually had to call the president of the United States to get the final word as to whether he had made it and uh uh uh yeah it was it was tearful but that I I couldn't believe it at the time still can't believe it now that that he's gone but we're so grateful for what he did we are three minutes away and um we're going to do something here with the team feel free to to stay with us senator um I want to bring all the team that's a part of this show and new Charlie behind the scenes and we're going to start gathering around the back of this set just come on in guys and um we're going to get ready for the moment of silence as we you know it's just wild because you know everything was going on just as we always expected it to and as we always had and in three minutes everything changes I was uh I was on air

2:05:05I was in an interview with your colleague senator brown johnson couldn't couldn't even tell you what we were talking about and you know I just had the show the live chat up you know as they usually do and it was like something shifted and suddenly every comment Charlie Charlie Charlie Charlie Charlie and I was hoping it was a hoax originally and I remember in the senator of course we you know he kept kept going and I just couldn't even hear a word he's saying because I was trying to figure out hey what's what's going on I just you know I've got producers in the year trying to figure it out and we were in Europe and never forget that because for front lines we were expanding our coverage we were in Europe yeah we were in Europe and we were expanding our coverage Charlie wanted us to go in a highlight you know again not only the illegal immigration crisis and migration crisis here in the United States but also abroad and so I just remember that trip being very pivotal because

2:06:09it was a shift for the front lines team for how much we were growing um more minute yeah just right behind yeah come on in guys bring it in bring it in bring it all in come on in guys just pilot it doesn't matter to you on the backside 30 seconds yeah one year ago this moment of the world lost a great saint and a great martyr you can go to the wide shot guys and we'll just do it all together it was a sacrifice all right five seconds so we're going to take a moment of science and pray for the Kirk family pray for TPSA and pray for the country and remember Charlie

2:07:57so it's now 11 24 local um thank you guys appreciate it our father sure let's do it god wait a sec our father who are in heaven how do you think i name like you can come that will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us lead us not into temptation but to live on us from being divine is the kingdom of the power and the glory of yours now forever forever

2:08:57Amen the reason i say sacrifice is because and Charlie knew there was a threat obviously he had this security but he knew that any day any given day out there on campus something had happened but it was because he had this vision in his heart inspiration from god that he still had to go out there to fight the fight to go on that field and not let any threat get in his way and the sacrifice because he wasn't doing it for himself it's because he was doing it for his family for his country and ultimately like he did all things for god and that's the the purest definition of a sacrifice it's right throw you an image

2:10:04this is Charlie in 2013 he said good men must die 176 good men must die but death can't kill their names I'm going to let the team here clear out but let's play cut 29 and just uh yeah play play cut 29 I want to honor god and all that I do I want to be a great husband a great father I want to serve this country I want to try to continue to lead this movement and to speak truth then to never lie to stop thinking about yourself all the time and said think about what you should do to help other people and to defend this country above yourself I am so inspired this army of freedom fighters we're going to be around for next hundred 200 years because we know in the end our ideas will win god should be the most important thing in your life but then beyond that it's getting mayor having children building

2:11:05families my kids my most important my wife and my kids my relationship with god the top three things and the more often that you choose the deep the difficult but the right path over the easy path is one that will reward you your family and this beautiful nation well here I am lord send me it's what he believed yeah he wanted to be remembered for courage for his faith and he that's how we remember him and we have two more friends and this was so amazing about today actually you know you've got a whole thing going on at Dallas and we have our our friends that came to Phoenix because of Charlie and that is of course Riley Gaines turning point contributor and joe bob one of the opening acts for Charlie for so many campus tours campus stops and now you're doing big things and

2:12:11you're growing your audience is growing you have a show on real america's voice and Charlie would be so proud of what you've accomplished in the last year to joe bob um I listen sometimes a show is you know there's no words for how to navigate a show and um so I guess Riley I'll start with you you know in this moment what are you what's going through your mind and what does this day kind of mean to you yes you know you have no words to navigate the show but I feel like I've had no words to navigate the past year um it's really heavy being here on the ground at headquarters and of course being able to spend time with the turning point family but to see all these beautiful memoirs and and you know reminders of Charlie everywhere looking at this seat in person I think people handle grief and obviously the the traumatic circumstances the horrific graphic circumstances of of course nine ten last year and everything that has ensued since

2:13:16I think people handle that in different ways and I will say for me I don't know I've been relatively like I don't know a good way to put it maybe emotionally avoidant like anytime Charlie has popped up on my screen um I don't know if this is like an immature way of coping but I've just been so quick to scroll by like it feels like a punch to the gut even still to to see his face and to listen to his voice and to hear his message um because I think with with confronting it and realizing that you're not going to get any more videos new content made by Charlie it makes it all the more real and so I feel like the past year um maybe as immature as it sounds I have been emotionally avoidant and so being here in person and seeing this for me um it just makes it all the more real and heavy of course today but even understanding what tomorrow is nine eleven like it's a a pretty dark week and in a world covered and surrounded by darkness Charlie was not just a light he was the brightest

2:14:16lights um he was the best of us um and so to know that that he's gone um it's pretty deep pretty devastating being here but nonetheless just be surrounded by family that word gets thrown around but it's it's real um just when we've been through what we've all been through um you see so many comments online of people who feel like they knew Charlie personally even though they've just seen them on you know reels and clips and tiktoks um the people in this building did know him personally um so that word family yeah it's it's the literal sense we asked other people to jump up how did you first encounter oh man so I wish I was able to get a so I first encountered him working as a videographer at an event that he was speaking at in 2019 and maybe I'll get you guys the clip to play a real poster or something but I when you're working in productions right you don't really want to ask for a photo because that's that's like not cool and literally yesterday I I had gone through a bunch of the photos from that day but I there was some b-roll and I found a

2:15:20piece of b-roll of Charlie he was talking to Larry Elder and I got in the back of the photo just to see if I could get a picture with him not actually asking because that's that's like that cool and we've all kind of been there like you don't ask for a photo uh because that you know you're working my first picture is photo bombing lady Larry Elder and Charlie and this is I was a big fan but this is you know three four years before I started doing anything with turning point and I was thinking about it and that kind of mentality kind of carried through my my entire time here at turning point and uh we never actually got a posed photo together until one of the last stops on the spring tour of 2025 when Mikey found me and said hey hey Charlie wants a photo with you and I was like I didn't believe him because Mikey will pull your leg all the time but uh he said no no he's serious Ed Ed so we have uh from the from the first encounter with Charlie way back when

2:16:22I was a fan and I was working behind the camera and kind of sneaking in a photo bomb to that one photo that we have that's posed and we're both mean muggin and it's I don't know it was he was always a larger than life figure even while working with him and I I don't know if this is this is the same for a bunch of other people there's just hours of footage of just content talking me and him and several other people but it what I find myself going back to is the the small moments that some people might see as insignificant off camera where he'd just say something or something would pop up he this is a this is a right a couple months after we started doing the show on real America's voice I get an email at like 45 minutes into the show and it the the headlines says Charlie Kirk the the name on it and all it says it's just the subject that says big fan

2:17:25nothing in the box like again so somebody just changed their like you know thing and then I clicked the email and it's freedom at Charlie Kirk dot com and then so I started asking people hey did are you messing with me are you are you joking this what is this and no it's Charlie come to find out it was actually Charlie who e-mailed the show and it's those little moments that you know I can go back and watch all the footage and I have but it's those those small moments that weren't captured on camera of you know passing by in a comment that he'd make that are the ones that really have been jumping to mind over the last year I feel the same I remember the little private moments the most you know um Charlie and I did a campus together it was at San Francisco State University I remember that and there was a girl who got up to the microphone and asked a question about abortion it was that was that was that's the campus that you got locked in and that was you guys going back it was the return to San Francisco's date it was the return yes but this girl gets up to the microphone and you know the very angry presumably leftist and she asked a question

2:18:26about abortion and Charlie I don't remember what the question was but he's like okay I'll entertain you let's take Riley here let's pretend she's 20 weeks pregnant I was 20 weeks pregnant and I hadn't told anyone like I had until the only people who knew were of course my husband and like my immediate family and maybe some of my closest friends but no one in the turning point orbit knew that I was pregnant I was able to like you know my bump wasn't that big I could conceal it for a while and so I'm sitting there I couldn't even focus on like the whole rest of the time on the the prove me wrong because I was like he knows and there was a part of me that was so fearful to tell him because I think you know internally you you're of the mind that of course with pregnancy and with delivery comes returning to leave and with turning point being an employer there was a part of me that was fearful and telling him because I was like he's going to get mad at me because I'm not going to be able to travel and to go on the road and so there was again totally I placed that fear in that worry on myself internally and so after the fact after the prove me wrong I would have to look like Charlie you know how you answered that question he said let's take Riley and pretend

2:19:27she's 20 weeks pregnant he was like yes he's like tell me your pregnant I was like I'm 20 weeks pregnant and of course he said Riley there is nothing more fruitful or purposeful or rewarding or satisfactory or fulfilling that you can do as a woman than bear children he said I am so happy for you once you have this baby have many more babies we're here for you we support you don't worry about you know making this this quick rush to return back we're just happy to of course that you're a part of the team that you're bringing life into this world that you're engaging in the act of creation our nation so desperately needs it in the way that Charlie of course you would imagine that he would respond and so then I I felt so silly for ever thinking of the you know he would have another stance on it but it it was rare what he said so that's when I was like no he's a prophet how does he know that yeah he was a prophet he was a prophet and I've said it before I'll say it again you know I always thought that we were just doing campus events you know and

2:20:28then I remembered tent revivals there's a tent they were literal tent revivals and the young people would flock to him by the thousands to hear him preach and proclaim truth and it was it was almost like God had to revamp the format so that this generation didn't immediately you know write it off because they if you said hey this is a tent revival they wouldn't have come but a campus debate they would and he still preached the gospel he still proclaimed the truth and lives were changed and I kind of think about you know in in the scriptures where it says some of you will do even greater things than these and I'm not I'm not saying Charlie was greater or than Jesus no Charlie was just a man Jesus is Jesus Charlie worship Jesus but you think about the era of social media and the billions of views and the billions of views and the millions of lives changed he was a prophet even in death it's been amazing to see some of the comments from people

2:21:30online on TikTok on social media who say you know I never knew Charlie but either his time on this earth radicalized them in a positive way and and brought them to the Lord or brought them you know maybe they became a first time conservative voter because of Charlie but I think especially in death and maybe it was Charlie himself and they're getting to to go back and you know get beyond just the headlines and the little clips that are taken totally out of context and they're they're watching these debates and they're realizing wait Charlie is unusually kind he's unusually compassionate and decent and genuine and honest and effective that's not what I was told you know that's not what I thought to be true and so you're seeing people who or either that or it's the response of the left again you're seeing healthcare workers schoolteachers government employees who are celebrating his assassination maybe that's what radicalized them don't know of what the deal is with nurses and schoolteachers is it scary you think these are the people who are interested with educating the youth or saving your life you're on a journey at a Lindsey Clancy tribe it's crazy

2:22:37it's crazy yeah yeah why do you have to make sure because Charlie would you know he would he would that's one definitely one of the five stories where you just you think how would he have reacted to this he would have been losing his mind he would have I can just imagine every weird development we would have posted one of those videos of the jurors saying something baffling and he would just reply OMG or possibly I quit I was or his two exasperated telegram responses to bizarre things man I want to play something like uplifting though because you know we play a clip all the time but it really as we're getting to the end of our our third hour here you know and again thank you to Real America's Voice for taking it I know we've blown all the breaks Michael talking to you Michael and thank you for being so gracious to to us we've played this clip a lot but it really is as we're nearing the end of our stream here that this was the culmination of so much of his political activities and this is of course election night 2024 I know you love it as much as we do and I

2:23:42don't ever get tired of seeing it so here it is slot 23 box news decides Donald Trump is present of the United States we've got our Republic back folks let's go there it is everybody should remember this moment look I'm gonna I'm gonna echo Charlie from earlier remember where you were when this happened remember where you were when you realized that the unit party and all these you know just the establishment you said it's time to actually participate and look what you guys have done and if anyone deserves to get tears in his eyes it's Charlie I think we all agree think Erica is just one of the money into something in the break room no one is more harder than Charlie we got we got to hear some words here from you Charlie you put all this together my man let's hear it I am just humbled like I it's all got it's all got got along got along

2:24:49decision desk has it central rain yet it's done it's beginning you know a lot about a guy by you know what comes out of his mouth in a moment like that and it's such a testament to Charlie's faith that that was the first thing that he said you know it humbled by God it it it it feels so when you're when you're close to something right when when you've been here when you've been doing something sometimes you miss or at least I'll speak for myself the explosiveness of the moment and I've been I've been doing these college events for with Charlie for three years and after that moment and obviously the entire all the moments leading up to that moment I think people really understood what Charlie was all about and turning point has always been a first foot forward on offense organization and Charlie's always

2:25:52been a first foot forward on offense organization but something happened in the culture and we've all seen it over the last couple years to where people are looking for something and at that time at the moment Charlie was the thing that they could go after and say this guy's being honest with me he might not agree with everything he says but this guy's being genuine and honest and I say that to say the the crowds just just grew without I didn't recognize it we're the last the last American comeback event tour was was the biggest he'd ever done and it caught me entirely by surprise because we were doing these rooms you know 800,000 people 1500 people big and then Texas A&M happened and I think we've all seen the video of the students there Texas A&M that's crazy and there were there's 3,500 people or whatever the capacity of that building was that was after a huge event during the day that was after an event during the day and it was

2:26:52packed and for me because you know you're you're close to it you kind of don't realize what's going on the outside I walked out on that stage and went oh my gosh like he has built something so massive and so instrumental honestly simply by being a guy who says what he believes unashamedly and people right now in our depraved culture are looking for anybody who will be honest with them and Charlie was that guy I remember the moment where I really hit me what he was becoming and it was either it was either late 23 or early 24 but I believe it was San Diego State and so we're going to public college in a pretty blue state in a blue city and we'd been to a few events and he was getting hundreds of people shot and suddenly we walk in at San Diego State were you at that one as well yeah and it's way bigger they've completely filled this huge room thousands of people he's this gigantic celebrity yeah I just remember thinking wait what happened something has happened over the past few months what do you think it was do you think it was like the usage of social media

2:27:59at that point he that was around the time frankly he started using tiktok he gave it another shot and I think the alcohol took the talk was was because they kept banning him yeah I was gonna say and Ryan kept telling us to take another shot hey Ryan Ryan gets a shout out here they were who were denied truth on tiktok I can tell you how many times my count was censored or banned or suspended and I think it's probably just like it's like when you were in middle school and you did that experiment on like bacteria doubling in a petri dish and you know if it takes for it'll take it doubles in the last thing and so I think it really was that he just grew and grew and he he became more and more formidable as a debater as a Christian and he finally just got that point where suddenly it could it could double in a few months and then it doubled again and so you go from a few hundred people at your event in fall of 23 to one of the most probably the most famous you could say the most famous non the most famous lay Christian in the world by the summer of 2025

2:29:04do you remember so that event was actually and I wonder if that was when he started to recognize it too because I remember so we were in the in the back area right so it was a ballroom so there's like a hallway and Charlie was behind the door and he comes out says hello and he's just kind of looking at how he's looking numbers looking good and it was it was and he's like okay cool I'm gonna go meditate for a little bit and then he left for about 15 seconds and came back and it's like all right cool how we got he was like we're ready to go it's like the moment now the moment I yeah the moment I realized that what he was becoming was it was Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and it was out on the like that it was just an outdoor kind of tabling event and it was all these young men all these students all of a sudden they just start singing the national anthem all like impromptu Charlie didn't even tell them to they just started doing it and I brought like tears to his eyes it was amazing we posted all over social and it was just like we went from years of being outnumbered on campus of being put upon by protesters and in Tief and all this stuff and

2:30:07in this moment it was like uh-uh we we got numbers now and it was just we talk powerful powerful talk a lot about faith but I do think a secondary but still very beautiful thing about Charlie is the degree to which he loved America in I sometimes say it's like he if you read about Americans in the 1800s their level of patriotism even to us who love America it can make you raise an eyebrow the way these people really do it's it's like if someone disrespects the American flag they will snap and try to beat you up or you read about the civil war Lincoln comes out and he's like they fired upon the American flag and hundreds of thousands of people sign up to fight in the union army in response to that and that's Charlie's level of patriotism yeah he just he absolutely loved America in this uncompromising straightforward intensely prideful way he loved this country he thought it was the greatest thing to have ever happened on this earth after the incarnation and

2:31:12it it's that earnestness that he brought to things that I think won so many people over you I'm just thinking back because you know what was striking about when you first met Charlie's how much he cared about things and I think that like had this ability to inject optimism into everybody around him and I'm remembering as you're sitting next to me Riley when you first like that San Francisco State thing happened it was like you had I don't know how many followers but all of a sudden with it overnight it was like you had a half a million and then it was like a million and I remember we were talking to you during that whole phase and like Charlie was talking to you I was talking to you and we've asked this about everybody like you're first your first memory of talking to Charlie or meeting Charlie was it around that time or was it did you have to been around that time maybe yeah I mean it was it was right around then either before or after but it was some of my first memories I mean Jabob used the phrase like larger than life and maybe like a

2:32:12metaphorical sense but in a literal sense for me I just remember thinking like dang he's tall I think so many people who are like online or otherwise like pretty small and short and funny guys and Charlie was a large physical presence and so that was one of the first like you know observations I had but the thing that like you kind of said it actually was the thing that really drew me into to Charlie was that he believed in me when he really had no reason to he had no reason to believe in me I knew nothing about our government our government's structure about you know the I knew we had three branches and I didn't really know what they did and I still don't really know what they do and I don't even know if they know what they do half the time you just upset that you know I was just a college-aged girl who who knew what I experienced was wrong yeah but Charlie saw that and he believed in me and it was almost like a transfer of confidence you know him believing in me allowed me to believe in myself and I'll never forget following the election of course in 2024 we're at Mar-a-Lago and it's like this like who's who of who everyone is there

2:33:19all the cabinet secretaries who were not yet cabinet secretaries were there and someone was running late and Charlie's like Riley I need you to get on stage and speak and I'm like Charlie I'm not you like I need to prepare for these things I need to jot down some bullet points like I'm and just not that girl who can get up on stage and like occupy five to ten to fifteen minutes temporary speaking and he looked at me and he said Riley you've got this I wouldn't call on you if I didn't think you could do it and it was that was all I needed to hear like I he was someone who I mean I genuinely would have followed into war and so him saying that to me it was like you know what he believes in me I can believe in myself and you get up there and it was one of the most I mean we just saw that clip like consequential moments in this country's history where present Trump is in the Oval Office for the second time and you it just came out with like it was it was a breeze sitting on that stage you know what I remember when I realized what you had become was at the RFK event when RFK endorsed President Trump it was here in Phoenix and we we did that

2:34:26big event and you gave one of the the speeches in the lead up to it and I remember it was first of all pitch perfect it was had so much energy and the crowd was wrapped by the things that you were saying and I remember kind of going whoa I remember Charlie told me he was like look you have like seven minutes whatever it was I had an allotted amount of time and I remember thinking to myself like I hope I say and I told me if you don't like the music it's gonna cue and like you're basically gonna get pushed off and so I'm standing there and I'm giving you know I'm just talking and I wasn't really keeping up with time and I looked down and I had so much left to say and I like I was in the negative and so I'm like oh gosh the music is gonna go but I just keep talking and I'm like once the music goes I'll wrap it up then and so finally I finished I probably went like more than double the allotted time and I get off stage and I was like I'm so sorry I went over he was like you know what if it weren't so powerful I would have cut you but everyone was loving what you were saying it was amazing and I just remember thinking like oh I'm so embarrassed you listen the

2:35:27opposite of DEI it was all merit you were he would have given you the yank you know that that rally was one of the most I don't know like in understanding what the conservative party had become and what Charlie had really built I don't think a lot of people realize like just how much of a behind the scenes player he was and who President Trump even still currently has closest to him in those cabinet positions and and otherwise he was really a coalition builder and so that to me when you saw the likes of RFK and Tulsi Gabbard coming out and supporting and getting behind President Trump it showed me how we really were the party of unity and that was something that Charlie was dedicated to to building and to fostering and to growing the other side for so long they had claimed to be the ones that were inclusive and diverse and and we're all accepting and welcoming and blah blah blah all the buzzwords but in that moment it was like the left isn't any of those things they don't embrace diversity because they don't embrace diverse thought here we have Charlie who has really

2:36:29fostered RFK junior I mean a Kennedy to be with President Trump it was a perfect symbol of the umbrella of unity that that Charlie was was really dedicated to creating yeah that's well said I we're just getting to the end of hour three here as we celebrate well he's gonna celebrate we mark one year without Charlie and I wanted to bring on Quentin who is the the sculptor the artist who made that beautiful beautiful statue that is now temporarily outside all right go over here Quentin the statue is beautiful yeah and I want to just thank you and take a moment to thank throw up that image just as Tyler and Quentin right next to the statue 181 right now it's in front of turning points HQ here in Phoenix Arizona probably just temporarily according to Tyler Quentin tell us about your journey making this it's a lot of work

2:37:34that goes into this yeah it's a lot of work um make sure you get close to Mike there yeah yeah I started it a year ago today I started sculpting his portrait a year ago today wow um after that event I just had to do something I started sculpting his portrait I stayed after work I told my wife I wasn't coming home she gonna I just listened to videos on loop from Charlie and started that portrait and it took me a few months to kind of get his likeness and then my dad's cousin saw what I was working on and he got me connected with Tyler and then Tyler called me and asked if I wanted to make a monument and it was the greatest honor I could have ever received is to use my skill and what I love to do to honor Charlie it's so cool how you say you know I knew I had to do something because I think that's that's how so many people felt especially in the immediate is you knew you had to do something but there was like what do we do we just witness one of the most horrific things so to to hear you say

2:38:38like you used your skill set that God gave you to honor him in this way is really beautiful in the statue itself of course is is amazing yeah um what does it I don't know to hear that it might end up in statue statuery hall at the US Capitol eventually I mean it sounds like Tyler's gonna pull all the strings so let's just assume it happens yeah that's unbelievable let's hope he does and it looks like it will um I did not expect something like that early in my career I'm kind of an emerging sculptor I've worked on some large monuments as an assistant and done smaller things on my own and how working towards 35 yeah that's like baby for step for sculptors yeah uh there's not too many sculptors out there yeah first one who are well known or older than me yeah I'm more established and I'm working my way in that direction well man thank you for honoring Charlie the way you did I think that's such a good point you made by the way is that Quentin's story is the story people tell ask me all the time they're like what is Charlie's like

2:39:41I see what is Charlie's like I'm like you will not know the depth and breadth and scope and all the ripples that have that are gonna emerge and emanate from Charlie's life for 40 50 years because somewhere out there is a 12 year old that wants to be like Charlie Kirk and wants to live a life like Charlie's and I think the impact that they're gonna have on future generations and the fact that everybody had this collective response of what can I do what can I do to do more to be better to be a better husband to be a better father to be a better student be a better activist um I just I think it's a tremendous tremendous insight and I think it's just more proof that I'm right about this that we won't know for 40 or 50 years and from there we saw the slogans of course have pick up the mic and we are all Charlie Kirk and it gave people again that that sense of security and confidence that while Charlie of course is one of one and saying we are all Charlie Kirk that's not saying that we were looking for some you know replacement in the

2:40:41immediate of who could fill this void no Charlie had the belief that this is a country we're saving and if all of us as as individual average people could could have a small part in that to do what we can as just one person to to contribute to make this country worth saving uh to especially for the next generation um then we're not gonna do have bad so amen thank you guys for joining thank you Quentin for honoring Charlie it's such a beautiful way we're very touched by it genuinely I want to remind you all that uh we're gonna start streaming again at 430 Pacific so I guess 730 Eastern ahead of the UVU event tonight remembering Charlie and um so join us for that and we're gonna wrap it up in another tribute to the one and only Charlie Kirk we miss you brother we hope you felt honored today

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