Conservative Influencers Mourn the Loss of Charlie Kirk

The Turning Point USA founder, remembered for his frequent debates, was assassinated on Sept. 10.

Charlie Kirk, founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, speaks at the High School Leadership Summit, at George Washington University in Washington on July 26, 2018. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

One day after the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, tributes and condolences are pouring in from his colleagues on social media.

“I can’t process this,” liberal-turned-conservative Candace Owens posted on X, with a broken heart emoji. She and Kirk were longtime friends who rose to prominence together in the conservative movement. The pair engaged in a wide-ranging interview in 2022, where they reminisced over 10 years on the job together and their lives as new parents.

Conservative talk show host Ben Shapiro posted a video of himself reciting Psalm 23 shortly after it was announced that Kirk had succumbed to his injury.

“Charlie will dwell in the house of the Lord. Charlie belongs to history now,” Shapiro said after the prayer.

Kirk, 31, was killed by a gunshot while engaging in a public debate at Utah Valley University. He is survived by his wife, Erika, and their two young children.

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday morning that he would posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Kirk founded Turning Point USA, a conservative advocacy nonprofit, at the age of 18. The organization focuses on high school and college-aged youth and hosts numerous annual conferences, such as AmericaFest and the Young Black Leadership Summit.

Kirk, who made frequent appearances at college campuses to discuss “culture war” issues, is remembered for his willingness to debate anyone.

“The Rubin Report” host Dave Rubin and his “sparring partner” Kirk had differing views on subjects like same-sex marriage—Rubin is gay while Kirk was an Evangelical Christian—but found common ground in other areas.

“I will miss you my friend, and I look forward to debating whatever little we still disagreed on when we meet on the other side,” Rubin posted on X.

Daily Wire host Michael Knowles remembered Kirk as “six-foot-five slouching,” noting Kirk had joked about being “descended from the Nephilim—the giant ‘fallen ones’ of the Old Testament.”

He also mourned the young man’s political future, cut short.

“Charlie Kirk would have been president,” he said on X. “His friends knew it. His admirers knew it. And his enemies knew it.”

Knowles said Kirk’s admirers were drawn to his “manifest virtue.”

Dennis Prager, founder of conservative advocacy group PragerU, said on X that he lost a “very close friend” who regularly visited him in the hospital over the past year as he suffered ill health.

“As an American, as a Jew, and as Dennis, I am devastated at the assassination of Charlie Kirk,” he said.

“The truth is, as I write these words, I can’t believe I am writing them. I am in the denial stage of mourning.”