Erika Kirk's 'Remarkable' Speech Earns Praise

Widow of Charlie Kirk forgives her husband's killer
Posted Sep 22, 2025 10:18 AM CDT
Erika Kirk Earns Praise for 'Remarkable' Speech
Erika Kirk departs after speaking at a memorial for her husband, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.   (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The editorial board of the Washington Post thinks Erika Kirk set an example for the nation at her husband's memorial service on Sunday. The widow of Charlie Kirk delivered the "most powerful eulogy" of all the speakers, the editors write. They point out that while President Trump professed hatred for his political enemies, Erika Kirk forgave her husband's killer:

  • She said her husband "wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life," those "wasting their lives on distractions, and the men consumed with resentment, anger, and hate. ... That young man. I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it's what Charlie would do." See her full speech via CNN.

  • On MSNBC: The Post wasn't the only one praising Erika Kirk. "I think what honestly I'll take away from tonight is watching the weight of a woman, a mother, lose her husband," NBC White House correspondent Vaughn Hillyard said on MSNBC afterward, per Mediaite. "One week after her husband's passing, she went in front of a crowd of 40- to 50,000 people, people watching all over the world. And she delivered remarks in which she forgave the assassin that shot her husband and killed him." Co-host Elise Jordan, added, "It was remarkable."
  • Another: In a separate piece at the Washington Post, conservative columnist Jim Geraghty writes that the biblical directive to "turn the other cheek" is one of the hardest to put into practice, but Erika Kirk "gifted the world with a spectacularly clear model" of how to do so. Geraghty adds that he hopes she can talk to Trump about all this. "Even if she can't persuade him that reveling in his hatred isn't right, just getting him to turn down the dial would be a minor miracle."

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