Erika Kirk — the widow of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk — has responded to online criticism after her warm hug with Vice President JD Vance went viral. Speaking during an event with Megyn Kelly in Arizona, Erika said her “love language is touch” and joked that she would’ve received “less hate” if she had touched his back differently.
#ErikaKirk #CharlieKirk #JDVance #MegynKelly #ViralHug #Politics #ConservativeNews
#ErikaKirk #CharlieKirk #JDVance #MegynKelly #ViralHug #Politics #ConservativeNews
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NewsTranscript
00:00:00We had to do the fire.
00:00:02Charlie loved those fireworks so much.
00:00:06He loved it. That really is for Charlie, the fire.
00:00:08That is. Anytime, that's the signature of a Turning Point USA event, more pyro.
00:00:12He would do the walkthrough and they would do the pyro and he'd be like, more.
00:00:16It's very funny. Louder. More.
00:00:18Do we do the fire after this beautiful tribute?
00:00:21People are going to be feeling emotional and like, fire it up.
00:00:23Fire it up.
00:00:24Charlie would want it.
00:00:25Same with at the memorial. Everyone got the fire. Everyone got the sparks.
00:00:32The fire makes a nice difference.
00:00:34It gets everyone in the crowd ready.
00:00:36Let me ask you a question that my friends who have lost somebody say is the right question.
00:00:41How are you doing today?
00:00:44Well, we talked about earlier this week how it was an emotional week for me.
00:00:51The firsts are always so interesting because the firsts are either like your first date,
00:00:59you know, your first kiss, your first, and then with loss it's like the first birthday,
00:01:05the first holiday.
00:01:06You know it was Erica's birthday this week.
00:01:08Yeah.
00:01:09Yeah.
00:01:10Happy birthday.
00:01:11It was yours too, wasn't it?
00:01:13Yeah.
00:01:14There you go.
00:01:15Happy birthday to you.
00:01:17This is our birthday celebration together.
00:01:18You guys are all just happening to be here while we have coffee.
00:01:25But every day is different.
00:01:28I.
00:01:29Let's sing happy birthday.
00:01:30We sang to you last night.
00:01:31I saw that.
00:01:32Yeah.
00:01:33Poso was so sweet.
00:01:34Sorry, two nights ago.
00:01:35Why don't?
00:01:36May we?
00:01:37Happy birthday to you.
00:01:39Happy birthday to you.
00:01:44Happy birthday to you.
00:01:49Happy birthday dear Erica.
00:01:54Happy birthday to you.
00:02:00Many more.
00:02:01Many more.
00:02:02Many more.
00:02:03I told myself I wasn't going to cry.
00:02:05Hard not to.
00:02:06So this was the first one.
00:02:08This, and you're right.
00:02:09The first, and we're back to go into a season at first, which is always challenging.
00:02:13And, and I know you can relate to this because you lost your father at a really young age.
00:02:17Every, every day is different.
00:02:21But I am so grateful that my husband, it was, he's hand selected the village that surrounds me now.
00:02:31You know, he built Turning Point USA.
00:02:34Yes.
00:02:35And it's a machine.
00:02:36Yes.
00:02:37But he hand picked all of the people that not only run the organization, but that were
00:02:42within our orbit, our closest orbit.
00:02:44The people that he loved and he trusted so much and that he knew without a shadow of a doubt
00:02:48if something happened to him, that they would step up and they would be filled with the Holy Spirit
00:02:54and they would do what he knew they were born to do.
00:02:59And they wouldn't be afraid.
00:03:00They wouldn't cower.
00:03:02They would take on the mission that he had instilled in them.
00:03:07And so to be able to have that chosen family in that village that he helped literally handpick,
00:03:13I could not do a fraction of a fraction.
00:03:17They've been amazing.
00:03:18Turning Point is in such good hands.
00:03:20Yes, obviously with you as the CEO, but the team that you have around you,
00:03:24all of whom I've met are good and decent and loving people who adored Charlie.
00:03:29They loved him.
00:03:30Adored.
00:03:31Loved him.
00:03:32Let's go back before we get into your relationship with him and your future to you.
00:03:38Because I think people are very curious about you.
00:03:41I think they want to know more about you.
00:03:43So I know that obviously you were Miss Arizona.
00:03:47Hello.
00:03:48Nicely done.
00:03:49Good.
00:03:50Very, very top selection.
00:03:52And that you were a businesswoman in New York when you first got interested in Turning Point.
00:03:57So what were you doing in New York?
00:03:59So to go back a little bit further, I mean, right now, first and foremost, I'm a daughter to the king.
00:04:07Daughter to the king.
00:04:08To the most high.
00:04:09That's the most important title, if you will.
00:04:14And my husband, in August, before all this happened, he had an event where he had some donors at.
00:04:27And one of the first questions they asked was, God forbid if something happens to you, what would happen next to Turning Point?
00:04:40And Charlie made a really interesting point.
00:04:42He said, companies, you know, example, Apple, Macintosh, he said, they're founder-led.
00:04:55He said, but what I have built is, well, one day if I'm not around, be vision-led.
00:05:01And he had made mention at the end, like, you know, Erica will do a great job running it.
00:05:08And when I watched that video this week, it really put into perspective my youth and what I went through growing up and what I witnessed.
00:05:20You know, my mom having her own company and being a single mother and watching her be the blueprint of, you know, I'm not afraid of raising my children alone because I saw my mom do that.
00:05:35I'm not afraid of being a CEO because I saw my mom do that.
00:05:40The only thing that I fear to be fully transparent with you is being out of the alignment of God's will because I feel like that is a very dangerous position to be in.
00:05:51And so, for me, growing up, when I was in New York, it was one of those moments where I really trusted God.
00:06:00That's where I needed to be.
00:06:01I prayed on it at first because originally I was living in L.A.
00:06:05And I said, Lord, if this is where you need me to be, make it so clear.
00:06:10Bought a one-way ticket to New York.
00:06:12One suitcase.
00:06:13My mom was like, what are you going to do when you're there?
00:06:15I was like, I'll figure it out once I get there.
00:06:17I just know that's where the Lord needs me.
00:06:19And so many people questioned that.
00:06:21They said, you're such a strong Christian.
00:06:23Why would you go to such a dark city?
00:06:26And I said, the more that you take the light out of a dark place, the darker it gets.
00:06:30So that's where I'm going.
00:06:32And I was there.
00:06:33Yeah.
00:06:34But when I moved to New York, my brother said, why would you want to move to New York?
00:06:38And I said, it's the big city of dreams.
00:06:40And he said, scary, nasty, wake up in the middle of the night screaming dreams.
00:06:45So I get it.
00:06:46Right.
00:06:47So you were working in New York for a while.
00:06:50And then you went back to Arizona to apply for the Turning Point job?
00:06:53No.
00:06:54So I was in New York.
00:06:56I was casting director.
00:06:58I was assigned with a modeling agency.
00:07:01I had just gotten my real estate license three months prior to meeting Charlie.
00:07:08And rewind a little bit.
00:07:10I went to Turning Point's office opening for their first building.
00:07:16And Tyler, he runs Turning Point Action now.
00:07:22And he said, you need to meet the CEO.
00:07:25I said, okay, great.
00:07:27Met him very quickly, shook his hand, said, hi, nice to meet you.
00:07:31Neither of us thought anything of it.
00:07:33Looking back now, he apparently sat down with Tyler and said, we need to hire her.
00:07:38Or Tyler said, we need to hire her.
00:07:39And he goes, mm-hmm.
00:07:41And he's like, where'd she live?
00:07:44And Tyler said, New York.
00:07:45He's like, okay, I'm going to have a Fox News hit.
00:07:48And then I'm going to sit down with her and interview her in New York.
00:07:53So, lo and behold, he comes to Manhattan.
00:07:56And I thought, I was so career-minded.
00:08:00My mother raised me to, and this is why I can relate a lot to the Manhattan mindset
00:08:09of a lot of young women where it's career-oriented.
00:08:13Because my mom used to tell me, don't feel like you need to rely on a man for life and work.
00:08:23And so, my mindset, my healthy marriage example was my grandparents.
00:08:30But my mindset was career, career, career.
00:08:34When I met Charlie, the only reason I sat down with him,
00:08:38because I thought it was a consulting position for work.
00:08:41I was not thinking, I did not date in Manhattan.
00:08:43I saw the pits of hell of the dating pool through my roommates.
00:08:48And I was not touching that with any longest pull you can imagine.
00:08:53I stayed far away from the dating pool in Manhattan.
00:08:56So, I viewed it as, obviously, the job interview that it was supposed to be.
00:09:01And the Lord knew.
00:09:04I just, Charlie, in some way, similar to how he sees things in a lot of people,
00:09:12in some way, beautifully saved me from a huge mistake of putting career over family
00:09:21and career over husband.
00:09:24Because it's easy to do when, as a female, when you see bright lights, big city.
00:09:30But he, the Lord used him.
00:09:33The Lord used him for me.
00:09:35How long did it take you to fall in love with him?
00:09:37He, that's the funny thing, is it was, it's so interesting.
00:09:44Because when we were sitting there, I fell in love with how brilliant he was
00:09:51to be able to articulate what he believed in.
00:09:54And when he said, I'm not going to hire you, I'm going to date you.
00:09:59I knew that was the Lord because there were so many times where I said,
00:10:06my future husband that's out there, he will literally, it will be,
00:10:11the only reason why I look up is because the Lord says to look up.
00:10:14And that was something to look up to when someone's like, I'm going to date you.
00:10:18And so, I just, but honestly, it was the constant consistency of, I'm here for you.
00:10:26You know, the little texts in the morning.
00:10:29And then it just continued to grow in a beautiful way.
00:10:32So, yes, love at first sight, yes, obviously.
00:10:35But I, again, my mindset wasn't there.
00:10:37His was.
00:10:38So, you think of it, you're in an interview, you have to totally do a 180 of a mindset.
00:10:42But I, honestly, where like the depths of the love started was when we were playing
00:10:48basketball together at the gym, just shooting around together.
00:10:52By the time we saw that video where he introduced you as his fiancee,
00:10:56and the two of you were staring at each other.
00:10:59Oh, I was obsessed.
00:11:00I'm still obsessed with him.
00:11:01Not break your gaze.
00:11:02I mean, that, that's, I think as the kids would say, hashtag goals.
00:11:06Yeah.
00:11:07For virtually everybody who wants love in their life.
00:11:09So, you, you did get married.
00:11:11Yes.
00:11:12You have two kids.
00:11:13Two precious babies.
00:11:14And you told me this in private, but how many kids did you guys want to have?
00:11:20We wanted to have four.
00:11:23Yeah.
00:11:25And I was praying to God that I was pregnant when he got murdered.
00:11:31Oh, wow.
00:11:32I thought of that once.
00:11:35Just like whether it was meant to be or whether we'd, we'd get news like that.
00:11:39I was like, oh, goodness, that would be the ultimate blessing out of this catastrophe.
00:11:45Um, so now when I see young couples, I tell them, please, like, don't put it off.
00:11:54Especially if you're a young woman, don't put it off.
00:11:57You can always have a career.
00:11:59You can always, you know, go back to work.
00:12:04You can never just go back to having children.
00:12:07And they grow so fast and so quickly, but I just, I was praying.
00:12:13Both of us were.
00:12:14We were really excited to just expand our family.
00:12:17Thank God you have the two.
00:12:18I know.
00:12:19Thank God.
00:12:20Boy and girl.
00:12:21I know.
00:12:22One day they'll find out.
00:12:23Right now they're just, you know, little loves.
00:12:25I know.
00:12:26And one day they'll find out that they're Charlie Kirk's children.
00:12:29And they'll know what that means.
00:12:39So, I wanted to ask you, Erica, because you are so faithful, whether you had any premonition
00:12:48that something was going to happen to Charlie.
00:12:50Because I really do see you as connected more so than the average, than the rest of us,
00:12:56to God.
00:12:57And I just wondered, did you have any sort of a feeling?
00:13:01We always, we, see the thing is, is that I guess we just operate differently.
00:13:06We always knew there were threats.
00:13:08We always knew that there were people out there that hated us with deep, deep passion
00:13:16of hate.
00:13:17But it didn't scare us.
00:13:19Never, he was never afraid of that.
00:13:22Neither was I.
00:13:23Obviously we protect our children.
00:13:25You know, we don't show their faces on the internet, so that's very intentional.
00:13:30But I think we lived our life in such a way where if that was our last day, it was our
00:13:38last day.
00:13:39Like we always lived as if it was the last day.
00:13:41That's why Charlie's speeches were so good.
00:13:44Because he didn't know if that was going to be his last speech.
00:13:48And he was so intentional about every word.
00:13:55Every word had a meaning.
00:13:58And every speech had a connection point for the students and for whoever he was speaking
00:14:04to.
00:14:05And that's why he never missed the opportunity to weave the gospel into what he was saying.
00:14:08Yes, that's what made him so much more powerful than the rest of us.
00:14:12If you see the difference between Charlie Kirk and many of the right wing pundits or commentators,
00:14:17it's that he supercharged the message that the rest of us were saying with biblical references,
00:14:23with faith based wisdom, which made it ten times more powerful.
00:14:28And people knew it.
00:14:29You know, it's one of the things we're all missing right now.
00:14:32But to answer your question, you know, we always knew there were threats.
00:14:38We always knew that that could be a possibility.
00:14:41But obviously, you know, but we never lived in fear of when that day would be.
00:14:50We just trusted the Lord every day.
00:14:53You know, now, of course, in the wake of Charlie's death, many are living under threat.
00:14:59I mean, the nutcases have gotten very loud and emboldened.
00:15:04And I just wonder whether it was the kind of threat, like, environment that you needed
00:15:09to actually worry that something could happen.
00:15:11Or was it just the din of, like, there are haters out there.
00:15:14You get these nutcase letters sometimes, you know?
00:15:17Was it something like, no, it's actually getting really serious and we need to worry?
00:15:21Or was it just the din of, like, hmm?
00:15:24No.
00:15:25I think you would see, obviously, leading up to that, there was several shootings.
00:15:29There were several individuals with guns on campus.
00:15:32So you knew that the threat was there and things were starting to heat up.
00:15:37But, again, it wasn't anything that, you know, you would think any different.
00:15:43Nothing acute.
00:15:44No, no.
00:15:45I know that the morning he died, he went back into your room.
00:15:48He had slept in your daughter's room because he got up in the middle of the night
00:15:51and she got up in the middle of the night and there was a switcheroo.
00:15:53They all got snacks.
00:15:54We've all been there.
00:15:55Yeah.
00:15:56But he came back into your room and he got his necklace
00:15:58and he got his wedding ring, right?
00:15:59The morning.
00:16:00And his necklace had a cross on it and it had St. Michael's medal.
00:16:04Yeah.
00:16:05I wear it every day.
00:16:06That's right.
00:16:07Yeah.
00:16:08Wow.
00:16:09Oh, it's so beautiful.
00:16:10Yeah.
00:16:11And Erica, help me understand.
00:16:13I genuinely don't understand.
00:16:15I've asked Frank Turek this.
00:16:16I've asked everyone I can ask this question.
00:16:18I don't understand how you can be wearing your cross and your St. Michael's medal
00:16:23and be shot to death.
00:16:25I feel, as Charlie felt, that that's armor.
00:16:29You know, we wear that to protect us and we believe God will protect us.
00:16:33How have you squared that?
00:16:37The Lord is so powerful and we're not meant to understand all of his ways.
00:16:50But there's mercy in that.
00:16:54Knowing that God uses evil for good.
00:16:57I don't know what exactly that is.
00:17:02But I do know that the Lord will use it.
00:17:06And if that means revival, the Lord, I told people, I said, I have never found more comfort
00:17:18in the statement, Thy will be done.
00:17:20Explain that.
00:17:21Why?
00:17:22Because it shows that control is an absolute illusion.
00:17:29The Lord knows the number of hairs on our head and He knows the number of our days.
00:17:37And that's why Charlie was so intentional of making sure everyone knew that their role in life was so important.
00:17:45And that you guys are all the missing puzzle piece to this whole story.
00:17:52And we used to explain it when we would have dinner sometimes about how when you look at a tapestry, on one side you see all of these hanging threads.
00:18:03And it doesn't make any sense.
00:18:05They're all different colored threads all over the place.
00:18:08But when you turn that tapestry around, you see how beautifully woven together and how intentional every thread is to that tapestry.
00:18:20And, yes, I fully believe that you put on the full armor of God every single day.
00:18:27I mean, henceforth, all of my bracelets and rings, like, everything has meaning to me.
00:18:32And that's why I always wear my bracelets, always wear my rings, always wear my necklaces.
00:18:38And it's one of those things where we will never understand God's ways fully.
00:18:46We're not meant to.
00:18:47We wouldn't be, our mortal brains would not be able to even compute what he has designed and put together.
00:18:59But what I do know is that the Lord spoke through Charlie in so many ways.
00:19:12And I still feel so deeply connected to him.
00:19:17Yeah.
00:19:18And I know that the Lord used such evil to bring about something that will eventually come to good.
00:19:27It's already started.
00:19:29We've seen it.
00:19:32I am a big believer in signs.
00:19:39You know, I think when you lose somebody, if you ask for a sign, do you guys believe in the signs?
00:19:44Have you gotten any from him?
00:19:47You know, it's so interesting.
00:19:49When we first started dating, this is personal, but I share it only because maybe it'll be a sign for you to know that Charlie's with you in something.
00:20:00When we first started dating, we would walk.
00:20:04We were walking to dinner one night and this happened a lot.
00:20:07The lights would start to flicker.
00:20:09And he'd look up at the light and be like, you know, it's so weird.
00:20:12This happens to me a lot.
00:20:13And I was like, really?
00:20:14And he's like, yeah.
00:20:15So our whole dating and whole marriage, anytime we'd be a room and a light started to flicker, he would just look at me and wink.
00:20:22It was like our little thing.
00:20:24It was power.
00:20:25It's a total frequency thing.
00:20:29And so the night everything happened when we were in Utah, I was in a hotel room by myself in the bedroom portion by myself.
00:20:40And the bathroom light was on and it just was a strobe light all night.
00:20:46And I was like, part of me couldn't sleep because it was a strobe light.
00:20:50The other part of me couldn't sleep because of how just my world has just crumbled and the other part of me couldn't sleep because it was like, baby, I feel you.
00:20:56I know you're here.
00:20:57So that was, you know, some signs.
00:21:01But another sign, too, is just my daughter, you know, just saying little things and like, okay, I see you.
00:21:09Is she starting to get it?
00:21:12Um, I, yes and no.
00:21:18I, we talk, I make, I, we talk about heaven.
00:21:22I make it really exciting.
00:21:24Um, I tell her daddy had so much fun today.
00:21:28Everyone who has written letters and sent gifts to my children, thank you.
00:21:33I tell her, my son, he's only a year and a half, but I tell both of them, um, daddy is telling all of his friends to send you gifts and letters.
00:21:44And, you know, daddy is orchestrating from heaven to make sure that you always feel so loved.
00:21:50And the other day she was like, tell me about daddy's day in heaven.
00:21:54So just, we talk about that at night.
00:21:57And then sometimes I'll say, well, tell me what you think he did in heaven today.
00:22:01And, um, we just, I just try to make it exciting because it is, it is, heaven is, heaven's our home.
00:22:11And so I just want her to know that daddy is having so much fun and building a place for her and our family in heaven.
00:22:21How do you, yeah.
00:22:30I know that you haven't watched the video and you shouldn't watch the video and you don't.
00:22:33We'll never watch that video.
00:22:34And you don't want the kids to watch the video.
00:22:36Yeah.
00:22:37But how do you, how are you going to handle it when they get older, Erica, and they start to learn about the haters?
00:22:42Right?
00:22:43Because there does have to come a time where that needs to be put in the proper perspective.
00:22:47Charlie was so tough.
00:22:49He, it was hard to get him rattled about these attacks.
00:22:54But, and I can speak to this, having, having my own children, two of whom are backstage.
00:23:00You know, there comes a time where you have to sort of help your kids understand the terrible negative messages.
00:23:07That are out there about someone they deeply love.
00:23:10How, have you thought about that at all?
00:23:12Like how you're going to walk them into that?
00:23:15You know, it's, I first and foremost want my children to have a childhood.
00:23:20So that's another reason why I don't put them on the internet.
00:23:22It's another reason why I don't expose them to certain screen time.
00:23:26Um, I've said it before, some of the shows, the only shows I would watch is Charlie, uh, Bob Ross, cause he has a very nap inducing voice.
00:23:37And then, uh, you know, every now and then it would be some of Charlie's events.
00:23:43Um, but I want them to be children first.
00:23:47And I want to teach them so much about God and Jesus so that when they do get older and they do see the hate, they also understand how much good is still out there.
00:24:01And they also understand that they could be the antidote to the evil, um, and they can pray for those people and not be afraid.
00:24:11I'd never want them to be afraid.
00:24:13But I want them to also see that that evil is because they or their parents or their loved ones is actually doing something to make a difference.
00:24:25Because if, if you're not getting attacked or slandered or whatever else out there, you're just looking a lot like the rest of the world.
00:24:35And I would want them to know that that's okay.
00:24:39You know, I, I have been called so many names.
00:24:43I have been slandered and none of that means anything to me.
00:24:50It's all just noise.
00:24:51It's really been crazy.
00:24:53No, it's unbelievable.
00:24:54Watching people turn on you has been one of the most unexpected, strange, terrible things since you died.
00:25:02And you know what, Megan?
00:25:03And I know you get this cause you have a very, you have a thick skin and a soft heart.
00:25:07And the thing is, is that the more that people, and it gets outlandish more and more crazy as time goes on because there's just a void that apparently needs to be filled.
00:25:17But I'm okay with the world not understanding me.
00:25:21I'm okay with that.
00:25:23I'm okay with, with they, you know, I, I don't want to look like the world.
00:25:31We're, we're, as Christians, we're called to be in the world, not of it.
00:25:35And if they could understand me, then I'm not doing something right.
00:25:39That's well said.
00:25:41Forgive me.
00:25:42Did you see people didn't understand the hug that you and JD had?
00:25:49They, they went to the weirdest places, Erica.
00:25:51Oh my gosh.
00:25:52You guys.
00:25:53Please.
00:25:54So for those of you who know me, I never, I, I'm a very, I love, I hug is like.
00:25:58Yes, you're an intense hugger.
00:25:59It's awesome.
00:26:00Whoever is like hating on a hug needs a hug themselves.
00:26:07I will give you a free hug.
00:26:09Anytime you want a hug.
00:26:11My love language is touch if you will, but seriously that hug.
00:26:15So I will give you a play by play.
00:26:17Like walking.
00:26:18They just played the emotional video.
00:26:21I'm walking over.
00:26:22He's walking over.
00:26:23I'm starting to cry.
00:26:25He says, he's so proud of you.
00:26:28And I say, God bless you.
00:26:30And I touched the back of his head.
00:26:31Anyone who have, I've hugged that I have touched the back of your head.
00:26:35When I hug you, I always say, God bless you.
00:26:38That's just me.
00:26:40If you want to take that out of context, go right ahead.
00:26:42Again, that to me shows that you need a hug more than anyone else.
00:26:45So if anyone, they were acting like you touched the back of his ass.
00:26:51I feel like I wouldn't get as much hate if I did that versus, but no, seriously.
00:26:57So now when I go and hug people, I'll bring them back in and be like, I obviously didn't give you the right hug.
00:27:02Like, come let me touch the back of your head.
00:27:04Where do the hands go?
00:27:05I don't know what to do with my hands.
00:27:06Can't touch the head.
00:27:07What can I touch?
00:27:08I know.
00:27:09Not me.
00:27:10I'm always like, if you touch the back of my head, I'm like, oh, she's feeling the extensions.
00:27:13Damn.
00:27:15Damn.
00:27:16That's another thing.
00:27:17People think my hair is fake.
00:27:18It is very real.
00:27:19My hairstylist told me your hair is real.
00:27:21She was like, oh, no, that's all real.
00:27:22This is real.
00:27:23I've had some women.
00:27:24How is it real?
00:27:25They like come and touch the back of my head.
00:27:27I'm like, what are you doing?
00:27:28They're feeling for the weave.
00:27:29It's not coming out.
00:27:30Yeah.
00:27:31They're patting the weave.
00:27:32I know.
00:27:33But anyway, so.
00:27:34How is that real?
00:27:35Have you just been growing it out your whole life?
00:27:36We want to know.
00:27:39My mother, okay, so I was, I loved sports growing up.
00:27:46I was the, my, I started playing basketball when I was five.
00:27:50My first coach, he was Charles Barkley of all people, which is amazing to have as your
00:27:57five-year-old YMCA coach.
00:27:59Good to see you with your little Charles Barkley doll.
00:28:02No, it was great.
00:28:03He's an awesome man.
00:28:04His daughter was, was a dear friend.
00:28:07And so I loved sports.
00:28:09And my mom, I was swimming all the time.
00:28:12I was always super active.
00:28:13And since my mom worked, I was always at the Boys and Girls Club.
00:28:19Always.
00:28:20And I was the last kid to get picked up from the Boys and Girls Club every single day.
00:28:25And the poor counselor or whatever you want to call him that had to stand with me
00:28:28and waiting for my mom to pick me up every day.
00:28:31I, I loved sports.
00:28:33I loved basketball so much.
00:28:35It was such a good escape for me as a, as a child.
00:28:38And, and I remember my hair from swimming was so ratted because I have very coarse hair.
00:28:46And my mom hated combing my hair.
00:28:48And so her solution was a bowl cut.
00:28:52Oh boy.
00:28:53Straight across.
00:28:54Traumatizing.
00:28:56To this point, my hairdresser knows when we get a trim, it is literally like a fraction of my hair.
00:29:05I will never have hair shorter than my shoulders.
00:29:08Charlie loved my hair though.
00:29:09He, he just, he loved how long it was.
00:29:12So what you're saying is you have long, thick, coarse hair that takes you a while to grow out and take care of.
00:29:18And you're not black or named Michelle Obama.
00:29:21Which is fascinating.
00:29:23That can happen.
00:29:24With all the conspiracy theories out there, I'm not going to touch that one either.
00:29:27Like there's just.
00:29:28But.
00:29:29Hopefully you haven't been paying too much attention to the news cycle.
00:29:31No.
00:29:32But they know what I'm talking about.
00:29:33Yeah.
00:29:34No.
00:29:35But the, the, my hair to get back to that is something that I just, I'm, it was, I'm not going to cut it.
00:29:43I'm not going to, you know.
00:29:44Charlie liked it long.
00:29:45He liked it.
00:29:46He liked it long.
00:29:47And here we are.
00:29:48Yeah.
00:29:49But my mom, if you ask my mom, she'll tell you.
00:29:52It's when you, she grew up from the standpoint of a Lebanese Italian background.
00:29:58And you're supposed to shave your kid's head when they're two.
00:30:01And then it's supposed to grow back really thick after that.
00:30:04I was a product of the shaved head.
00:30:06So if you would like to try that on your two year old, unsolicited advice.
00:30:10Does it work on the 55 year old?
00:30:12I have no idea.
00:30:13You guys tell me.
00:30:14I don't know.
00:30:15Am I going to try?
00:30:16You know, you raised the issue of the girls.
00:30:18If you see a shaved head by December, you know why.
00:30:21Oh yeah.
00:30:22We all look like Britney Spears.
00:30:23The headline, well, they went full skinhead.
00:30:25Right.
00:30:26Yeah.
00:30:27And are listening to Nick Quentin.
00:30:28That's the last thing.
00:30:29That'll be.
00:30:30It's a no.
00:30:31Yeah.
00:30:32While we're on the subject, because you really were a very strong female athlete.
00:30:37Can I ask you your position on that?
00:30:39Because.
00:30:40Oh yeah.
00:30:41Totally.
00:30:42Like because this is obviously a dominant thing.
00:30:43We had Megan Rapinoe in the news just this week saying people are, they don't really mean
00:30:46it.
00:30:47They don't actually have an objection to men playing in women's sports.
00:30:49They're just using it like as an issue.
00:30:51She made all her money.
00:30:52She's sitting pretty.
00:30:53But she wants your daughter to play against boys.
00:30:56Your thoughts on it.
00:30:58So.
00:30:59Well, you can take this as a two fold.
00:31:04So if you're looking at it from the sports angle where you're playing up against men.
00:31:12I mean, I know this has been said before, but then what's the point of female sports?
00:31:19Yeah.
00:31:20But to me being an addict, I played in college.
00:31:24I worked so hard for that scholarship.
00:31:29I knew my strengths as a point guard.
00:31:31I hated driving the lane.
00:31:33Always.
00:31:34I always shot the three.
00:31:35That was like my thing.
00:31:36I'm not driving to have someone who's like six, seven, just pat, just not happening.
00:31:41Oh!
00:31:42She said it.
00:31:45So, for me, sports has a very special place in my heart.
00:31:51But as a mom now and watching my daughter compete, it's just, I know they say, you know,
00:32:02life isn't fair.
00:32:04I get that.
00:32:05Life's not fair.
00:32:07But there's certain things that are really special.
00:32:13And women's sports is one of them.
00:32:15And it's really, some people look down on it.
00:32:18Some people think it's not.
00:32:19But you know, those girls have worked so hard for their position.
00:32:22And to have it taken away from them by someone who couldn't rank in their own sport and field.
00:32:32It's demoralizing.
00:32:33And it also weighs on the whole topic of being a woman, being proud to be a woman, being proud to be a strong female athlete.
00:32:45And I wouldn't want that taken away from anybody.
00:32:47That's right.
00:32:48Having the glorious chance of accomplishment.
00:32:49I mean, we'll never win if we're playing against biological boys.
00:32:53We'll never have that glorious feeling of crossing the finish line first or being the one who has the game winning shot.
00:32:59Because it's always going to go to a man.
00:33:01It's just one of the basic things.
00:33:02They always talk about the unfairness of it and the safety of it.
00:33:04But just think about that, like the glorious feeling of winning, which I never had because I wasn't an athlete.
00:33:10But you had it.
00:33:11I don't know.
00:33:12I feel like politics somewhat is form of an athletic feat.
00:33:15So it's...
00:33:17You know, I had it like when Don Lemon got fired.
00:33:21It depends.
00:33:22That was your moment.
00:33:23Yeah.
00:33:24You know, we all look for our moments.
00:33:27Yeah.
00:33:28I want to ask you about the book that you're holding in your hands.
00:33:30Yes.
00:33:31Charlie's book.
00:33:32I took the dust cover off because I carry his book everywhere.
00:33:35Stop in the Name of God.
00:33:36It's coming out soon.
00:33:37Charlie's coming out with a book.
00:33:38Yeah.
00:33:39He's coming out with a book.
00:33:41Stop in the Name of God, which is a great title.
00:33:44Stop in the Name of God.
00:33:45And what is it about?
00:33:46Took him a year and a half to write it.
00:33:48And this book, I mean, when I'm reading it, I'm like, I did not even know you knew that.
00:33:55It is so powerful.
00:33:58Overarching theme of it is the power of honoring the Sabbath and the importance of rest.
00:34:05And reading this, and I even brought one of his journals with me to read out of it,
00:34:10because the thing that's so interesting about reading this book and reading this journal,
00:34:15and I know a lot of you that are Christians will understand this.
00:34:18They tell you that when you read the Bible, it's the living Word of God, and it is.
00:34:23And you see the Lord in technicolor when you read the Bible, and you actually understand
00:34:30those words.
00:34:32And so for me, reading Charlie's journals and reading this book, it's like he's, I mean,
00:34:42he's still, he's present with the Lord, but it feels like he's still fully here.
00:34:48And that's what's so powerful about this book.
00:34:51And I watched him as a wife completely transform into an already, I mean, he was already amazing
00:35:00and incredible, but it totally elevated him when he was honoring the Sabbath and when he
00:35:05really took that seriously, that time to rest seriously.
00:35:09And I just can't help but think, like everything, and to go to your point of signs, I don't think anything
00:35:18is by coincidence, but to have this be his last book, and to him totally master what it means to rest
00:35:28with the Lord, it's all full circle now.
00:35:31Because it's the ultimate Sabbath where he is right now in heaven.
00:35:34When did you get to read it?
00:35:35When?
00:35:36Yeah.
00:35:37As much as I can, driving into the office or...
00:35:39No, but I mean, was it written in its entirety before Charlie died?
00:35:43Yes.
00:35:44It was.
00:35:45Yes, it was.
00:35:46He finished writing this, I believe, in June or July of this year.
00:35:50Okay.
00:35:51So you had read it?
00:35:52But to read it in a book format and not an email format that he would send me is...
00:35:57Something.
00:35:58Night and day difference, yeah.
00:35:59What are the pages that are folded over?
00:36:01The one that I...
00:36:02Well, all of them are amazing, but the one that I wanted to read was the part about sleeping,
00:36:08because Charlie, his adrenaline was always going, and it was very hard for him to turn his brain
00:36:14off at night, henceforth snacks at like 2 a.m.
00:36:17And so...
00:36:18Didn't you tell me olives and bananas?
00:36:20Not together, not together, but you know.
00:36:23But he was like even snacking in a healthy manner.
00:36:25He was snacking.
00:36:26Almonds, yeah.
00:36:27Also, we do have to discuss the fact that you said he only had mint chocolate chip ice cream
00:36:32once a year.
00:36:33Twice.
00:36:34His birthday and fourth of July.
00:36:35Fourth of July and his birthday, right?
00:36:36And no ice cream any other day?
00:36:39His self-control and self-discipline was phenomenal.
00:36:43And to the point, too, where when I was pregnant, 70% of the reason why no one saw me when I was
00:36:49pregnant was because of this situation.
00:36:51The other 30% was because I just was with my babies.
00:36:55But 70% of it was, I'm really hungry.
00:36:59I think I, should I have a milkshake?
00:37:01Baby, get that milkshake.
00:37:02But I don't know if I should have that milkshake.
00:37:04You need the milkshake.
00:37:05I'm going to go and get you that milkshake.
00:37:07Do you want a hot fudge sundae, too?
00:37:08I'm going to get the In-N-Out burger.
00:37:10No questions.
00:37:11I'll be right back.
00:37:12Animal style.
00:37:13So he'd come home.
00:37:14He loved it because he loved driving around at night.
00:37:17So he'd come home with the In-N-Out burger, animal style, protein style, whatever, mixed
00:37:21in with the hot fudge sundae, the chocolate shake.
00:37:24And he would be so excited to give it to me and watch me eat it.
00:37:27But that was because he was living vicariously through me.
00:37:30So no joke, I got to like 190 pounds.
00:37:34I was like, I am literally going to weigh more than you by the end of this pregnancy.
00:37:38And he'd be like, baby, you look great.
00:37:39You look, don't worry about that.
00:37:41That's just baby weight.
00:37:42I mean, granted, it does go away.
00:37:43It takes a lot of work.
00:37:44He's sitting there eating his olives?
00:37:45No, no.
00:37:46He's just watching me.
00:37:47And I'm like, I will enjoy this hot fudge sundae while you wish that you could have.
00:37:52But he was so self-disciplined and he was so good about eating.
00:37:55He was, biohacking was his love language of being healthy.
00:37:59Eating clean.
00:38:00He could not operate on fast food the way that he was in general.
00:38:05Like that's why he never drank.
00:38:06That's why he never.
00:38:07It wasn't from, you know, a motive of I'm better than whoever.
00:38:12It was from the motive of I need to operate as if I'm going to war every single day.
00:38:17And I can't operate on this type of food.
00:38:21And speaking of the sleep, that's very.
00:38:23Right.
00:38:24So the sleep was important because I was like, he loved his sleep.
00:38:27And something that I was very intentional about was when he came home, I would always let
00:38:33him sleep in always on the weekends.
00:38:35I would take the kids, go for a walk, whatever it took.
00:38:38And I would want him to wake up when it was time to wake up because I knew how important
00:38:42rest was for him.
00:38:43And so when I read this in the book, I just, it was on my heart to share it with you.
00:38:48Um, cause it, the title of it says, Jesus slept, Elijah slept.
00:38:53And so can you.
00:38:54And he said, so start tonight, close the laptop, power down the phone, let the dishes wait,
00:39:03pull the shades, dim the lights and give your body permission to do what it was created
00:39:08to do to rest.
00:39:10Let your bed become an altar of trust.
00:39:12As your head touches the pillow and whisper to God, I release it all to you.
00:39:18You don't need to check one more email.
00:39:20You don't need to prove anything.
00:39:21You don't need to carry the weight of the world.
00:39:23It already has a savior and it's not you.
00:39:27Sleep is not a distraction from your purpose.
00:39:29It is part of your purpose.
00:39:31It is a sacred rhythm that restores your mind, heals your body and quiets your soul.
00:39:37The Sabbath is your weekly reminder that you are not a machine.
00:39:41You are a beloved child and children sleep well when they know their father is near.
00:39:47So go ahead, embrace the gift.
00:39:50Make your Sabbath a day, not just of rest, but of sleep, deep, joyful and replenishing sleep.
00:39:57You're allowed and more than that, you're invited.
00:40:00Rest isn't weakness, it's worship.
00:40:03And tomorrow will be better because you trusted God enough to rest today.
00:40:07Wow.
00:40:09He was keeping the Sabbath.
00:40:11He was.
00:40:13So with that, since today is his Sabbath, I wanted to read to you from his journal.
00:40:21Oh wow, is that it right there?
00:40:23Yeah.
00:40:24Wow.
00:40:25That's his handwriting.
00:40:26A note that he wrote to himself to honor the Sabbath.
00:40:32He said, Dear Lord, thank you for a wonderful week.
00:40:38Thank you for your endless protection and provision.
00:40:42Father God, thank you for your mercy and grace.
00:40:46Lord, I did better this week despite the challenges of travel.
00:40:50I miss my wife.
00:40:52It's hard to be away from her for a few days.
00:40:55Thank you for giving us a roadmap of what it means to be obedient and put Christ first.
00:41:01Lord, I have realized the following.
00:41:04The battle against the mind is Satan's playground.
00:41:07The battle against the mind is Satan's playground.
00:41:09He dwells and prowls to destroy.
00:41:11The more in alignment we walk in your command and teachings, the more joy and blessing we experience.
00:41:19Lord, thank you for showing us the way, the truth, and the life.
00:41:26Thank you for blessing our organization.
00:41:30I pray for resolution amongst the divides that Satan is attempting.
00:41:35Lord, we pray for blessing for the people who feel they have been wronged.
00:41:39Father God, we ask for your guidance, wisdom, and direction, your comfort and your healing.
00:41:52We love you, Lord.
00:41:54Thank you for another Sabbath.
00:41:56CK.
00:41:59Wow.
00:42:00Erika, I know you touched on it earlier.
00:42:11But I, one of the reactions I have to hearing that is like I get angry.
00:42:19How can that man have been taken?
00:42:22How, he was all goodness.
00:42:25The left who are bastardizing his memory have no idea what they're talking about.
00:42:29Charlie was all goodness.
00:42:32I know we can't understand God's plan, but have you had bouts of anger?
00:42:37You know, I think about what the kids are going to miss, what you got gypped out of,
00:42:41what poor Charlie now is going to miss.
00:42:44And I feel angry.
00:42:46Sadness, of course, obviously, but yes, against the accused shooter.
00:42:50But just, I know you don't ever feel angry against God, but I kind of do.
00:42:56I understand.
00:42:57How do you make sense of that?
00:42:59And do you, do you have any anger when you think about it?
00:43:02Not towards the Lord, but in general?
00:43:05The enemy would love for me to be angry.
00:43:09He would love it.
00:43:11Because it would distract me from building what Charlie entrusted to me.
00:43:23Raising our babies.
00:43:27Turning point.
00:43:30Being there for the team.
00:43:32Being there for what the future holds.
00:43:35And if I had any amount of anger in my heart and spirit, the Lord would not be able to use me.
00:43:40And every single day, just how Charlie did, stood on stage, he would say, here I am, Lord, use me.
00:43:47And if I had that anger in my heart, that foothold from the enemy, he wouldn't be able to.
00:43:55I know, at Charlie's Memorial, right across the way here, there was that extraordinary moment where you forgave his accused killer.
00:44:08And, I mean, I looked and I said, that's the most powerful, strongest thing I've ever seen anybody do in my life.
00:44:14And then somebody helped me understand because I thought I could never do it.
00:44:18I could never do it.
00:44:19And somebody said to me, forgiveness is an action, not an emotion.
00:44:23And I was like, okay, that's getting me closer to feeling like I could do it.
00:44:27If I don't actually have to feel loving in my heart toward the person.
00:44:31But I wonder, like, how do you, if you could say something to him, if you could, like, if you would say something to his parents, like, what would it be?
00:44:42Would it be anger?
00:44:44Would it be sympathy?
00:44:45What would it be?
00:44:46That's a good question.
00:44:48It wouldn't be, it wouldn't be, it wouldn't be sympathy.
00:44:54It wouldn't be anger.
00:44:55How do you put this?
00:45:11Anything that I could ever wish upon him or that family would pale in comparison of the justice of God.
00:45:30And so I would look at them almost like, I'm so glad I'm not you.
00:45:45And I pray that, you know, you figure out a way to be right with the Lord, but our God is sovereign, but he's also very just.
00:46:02We serve a very just-filled God.
00:46:05That's right.
00:46:07So, I really have nothing to say to any of them.
00:46:13Yeah.
00:46:14Nor do you need to.
00:46:16I never.
00:46:17You mentioned in your remarks at Charlie's funeral that, you know, you pointed out the irony that the accused shooter is exactly the kind of person who Charlie meant to help.
00:46:26Yes.
00:46:27And that's kind of what he dedicated his life to doing.
00:46:29He did.
00:46:30Is trying to reach disaffected young men who had been forgotten by a system or worse than forgotten, remembered and told that they're terrible and to blame for everything.
00:46:39Right.
00:46:40And those messages for years now have really materially seriously affected the health and mental well-being of a generation of young men.
00:46:47Yeah.
00:46:48Who need turning point.
00:46:50Yeah.
00:46:51And so, that's a huge responsibility for you.
00:46:55Like, it's not just, oh, we have a great political organization and it's a really big thing and people love it.
00:47:00You actually have to go about the business of saving an entire generation, in particular of young men, but young women too.
00:47:07Mm-hmm.
00:47:08How are you going to do that?
00:47:11I mean, I think everybody wants to know without Charlie, how are you going to do that?
00:47:18A few things.
00:47:21First, Charlie would say, I want to save the Lost Boys of the West.
00:47:28That was on his, he had a to-do list and that was on the top point of the to-do list.
00:47:37That he had, he has that piece of paper still on his desk at his office.
00:47:43But what's so powerful about all of this is that Charlie was so focused on the family.
00:47:51He didn't believe that it was up to the government to raise your kids.
00:47:56He wanted to not only empower the students, but also the parents.
00:48:03And something that you've done so beautifully, Megan, is that your children, you've raised them with the truth and understanding the importance of loving this country.
00:48:14You might not agree with everything that the government does, that's life, it's the government, but you still love this country.
00:48:23And so your babies even started Turning Point chapters.
00:48:28But it's also because you as a parent saw how important that was.
00:48:32And I think that's what's so special about Turning Point USA is that when we have these events, especially America Fest, it is so family oriented.
00:48:42We're not out there trying to raise your kid.
00:48:45We're trying to reaffirm what you've been telling them this whole time.
00:48:48We're trying to reaffirm to them that there is a space for you.
00:48:53We are here for the civil discourse.
00:48:55We are here for the debates.
00:48:56We are here for the dialogue.
00:48:57We are here for the freedom of speech.
00:49:00That's our, that's our role.
00:49:03Save Western civilization.
00:49:06But what Charlie loved and him being a parent also was that he wanted to inspire the parents to show his, their kids what true north is.
00:49:17And then say, you have a home at Turning Point that will help fuel that even more.
00:49:22And so that's how I view us being able to help.
00:49:26Charlie spoke very frankly to young men.
00:49:29He did it on my show many times.
00:49:31And one of my favorite clips of him is the dating advice one.
00:49:34Right?
00:49:35Do you know the clip I mean?
00:49:36Where he said, you got to pay on the first date to the guys.
00:49:39When you are courting a woman.
00:49:41He said, when you are courting.
00:49:42Yes.
00:49:43He was very sweet to those guys.
00:49:45He seemed like nice guys, but it's absolutely ridiculous that you're talking about not paying.
00:49:48Right.
00:49:49So let me ask you the other side of it.
00:49:51What's your advice to young women who get asked out by young men?
00:49:55Well, stay away from hookup culture.
00:49:59Don't just date to date.
00:50:01If a guy wants to take you to drinks instead of dinner, that's a huge red flag.
00:50:06If they don't want to go to church with you and have brunch afterwards, another huge red flag.
00:50:11Don't introduce them to your family until you know without a shadow of a doubt that might be the man that you're going to marry.
00:50:19And don't treat your boyfriend like your husband.
00:50:23Don't treat your boyfriend like your fiance.
00:50:26Treat them like your boyfriend.
00:50:28Treat your fiance like your fiance and your husband like your husband.
00:50:32And I think that when you stay focused on the Lord and the lane that he has you in, which is a stream of significance, keep swimming in that.
00:50:43The man that's supposed to be with you will not detract you from the Lord.
00:50:47He'll enhance your focus on the Lord.
00:50:50And he will help be there to build with you, to love on you, to be there for your family.
00:50:56He won't tear you away from your family.
00:50:58He won't challenge your beliefs in a way that makes you question the Lord and what you know in your heart to be true.
00:51:08He'll love you so well, just like my Charlie did.
00:51:11And he'll be a compliment to you in such a beautiful way.
00:51:15And you'll be equally yoked where you're not having to compete and you're not having to strive.
00:51:23The two of you are in lockstep and you're building something beautiful for the kingdom.
00:51:28And it's powerful.
00:51:30If I could just a quick addendum, don't be a slut.
00:51:37Right.
00:51:38That too.
00:51:39Note to self.
00:51:40Note to self.
00:51:41Right.
00:51:42All right.
00:51:43Now, in the time we have left, I've got to ask you this.
00:51:48Turning Point played a massive role in the past election, in the presidential election.
00:51:55Massive role.
00:51:56I know.
00:51:57And so we have to talk about what Turning Point may or may not do in 26 and most importantly in 28.
00:52:03And why is it get behind J.D. Vance?
00:52:09Let's start with midterms first before we start jumping to 28.
00:52:13And let's enjoy the fact that we do have Donald Trump in office and we worked really hard.
00:52:17Yes, let's enjoy that fact.
00:52:18We worked really hard to make that happen.
00:52:20My husband did.
00:52:22So I just want to enjoy that for a minute before we start jumping ahead.
00:52:26But my husband, like I said, built a machine.
00:52:32And some of the secret sauce within that was that he loved the students.
00:52:42But also, he loved empowering them to know that they could make a difference and how important voting was.
00:52:49And when you see these pictures of him when he first started Turning Point USA, he was so bought into his own mission.
00:52:57He wasn't, you know, in an office cubicle while the students were out in an event.
00:53:03He was there wearing his lanyard with his little name tag and a big Gov sucks button and socialism sucks button.
00:53:12And he believed in the mission so much.
00:53:17And for a lack of better term, he knew that the unsexy work was what it took to save elections, which is tennis shoes and clipboards.
00:53:31And speaking to your neighbors, knocking on doors, being involved with your community, not being afraid to explain to people why you believe what you believe.
00:53:40And nothing is changing at Turning Point USA or Turning Point Action.
00:53:44If anything, it's just continuing to grow.
00:53:46I mean, you've seen the numbers of how many chapters and churches and it's been phenomenal.
00:53:52And yes, there is a structure of quality over quantity.
00:53:57But the 26 midterms obviously will be focusing heavily on Arizona.
00:54:03It's our home state.
00:54:05But the thing I love the most, especially about, and if you guys have ever been to our campus, if you have not, I really suggest you come by.
00:54:17We have a building that's specifically for the Turning Point Action building.
00:54:21And it is one of my favorite buildings to go into because I feel the heartbeat of Charlie in there from a strategy standpoint.
00:54:27Because it's a literal, it's like a war room in there.
00:54:29They have the polling and they have the, the, the strategy laid out and they have the door knockers.
00:54:35It's really, really powerful to witness.
00:54:38And I can just see Charlie being like, knock on that one, one more door.
00:54:45One more door.
00:54:46Talk to that neighbor one more time.
00:54:48And so we are thrilled to be able to still make massive impacts and inroads with the upcoming elections.
00:54:56And the team that Charlie built, I tell you what, I, I would, I would bet on them any day.
00:55:02Bet on them.
00:55:03Always.
00:55:04You mentioned, I mentioned JD.
00:55:05You mentioned Trump.
00:55:06Can you just give us a minute on them?
00:55:08Because from afar it has looked like they've been so there for you.
00:55:13Yes.
00:55:14And you know, I don't think most people were surprised to see JD do it.
00:55:18But everyone says Trump has no empathy.
00:55:21He's a nasty guy.
00:55:23You know, you know, he's a, he's a mean guy.
00:55:25He's a Nazi.
00:55:26Pick your term.
00:55:27I saw him with you at the Presidential Medal of Freedom when he awarded it to Charlie posthumously.
00:55:33Can you just tell us a little bit about how they've been behind the scenes in this whole thing?
00:55:37Charlie and President Trump had a really special relationship.
00:55:42It was one that some people would understand, others wouldn't.
00:55:49At some times it was fatherly son.
00:55:51But at other times it was this mutual deep respect of being, being able to build in a
00:55:59way where Trump understood building in Manhattan and building, you know, across the country and
00:56:05across the world architecturally.
00:56:08And he also, Charlie understood building with Turning Point USA and his ability to see things
00:56:18that other people couldn't really see, especially in other people.
00:56:22But what Charlie really appreciated about President Trump is that no matter what anyone says about
00:56:29him, he is so mission focused.
00:56:33He's so laser focused.
00:56:35And Charlie was the same way.
00:56:37And he admired so much the President's tenacity to keep going, especially after January 6th when
00:56:46no one wanted anything to do with him.
00:56:49Charlie said, I got your back.
00:56:51And he meant it.
00:56:53And moments like that really put into perspective the human aspect of politics.
00:57:00You can go down the rabbit hole of slandering someone, but at the end of the day when it's
00:57:06all said and done, the most important thing is that you realize that we're all just doing
00:57:11our best here with our one life that we have.
00:57:16And the President was so good to Charlie from the standpoint of, he didn't look down to Charlie.
00:57:23He appreciated his ability to be able to mobilize the youth, but also to share the message of
00:57:32how amazing the country we live in.
00:57:34Yes, we have faults.
00:57:36Anything with humans have faults, we're all sinful.
00:57:39But he appreciated that Charlie was always there for him and he was always there for Charlie.
00:57:43And the President has always had a very soft spot in my heart because I got to witness that
00:57:49he wasn't just the President to my husband, he was a friend.
00:57:53And I'll never forget that.
00:57:54Yeah.
00:57:55And J.D. and Usha have been incredibly supportive.
00:57:58It's been really nice to see.
00:58:00And I look forward to you guys throwing the full weight of turning point behind them
00:58:05in about three years.
00:58:07Am I being subtle?
00:58:08No, it's, don't worry, it's already, you know, it's in the works.
00:58:12But that was the thing that my husband was very direct about.
00:58:17It was interesting enough, one of the last few conversations we had was how intentional
00:58:22he was about supporting J.D. for 28.
00:58:24Yeah.
00:58:25He was totally behind J.D.
00:58:27And he was largely responsible for Trump picking J.D.
00:58:30Mm-hmm.
00:58:31It's true.
00:58:32Okay, here's another one.
00:58:33Charlie said on the record, Erica is way more conservative than I am.
00:58:39Way more.
00:58:40How so?
00:58:42Well, first and foremost, we were always very in alignment with obviously a lot of things.
00:58:54But there were certain things where we made sure that I, a little, in the beginning, and
00:59:01Andrew Colvec can attest to this, it was an immigration side of things that I had a different
00:59:07viewpoint on.
00:59:08And then he was like, I see that point.
00:59:10It was a long, it was a long time ago with student visa related topics.
00:59:14And, but other than that, we were in alignment with a lot of things.
00:59:19I was just a little bit more direct behind the scenes about it.
00:59:22But we, we were always in lockstep with, with one another.
00:59:26But.
00:59:27So people hoping for a turning point to go conservative light.
00:59:32Now that.
00:59:33That's not happening.
00:59:34Okay.
00:59:35No, we are not.
00:59:36Turning Point USA is now becoming feminized.
00:59:38Let me tell you that.
00:59:39That is not going to happen.
00:59:40Awesome.
00:59:41Never.
00:59:42No, we are, we have a great team.
00:59:44Um, we have, you know, a phenomenal group of people that are, that's so, that's, you
00:59:51know, that's what's so amazing too about Turning Point is that after all this happened, we
00:59:56didn't have mass firing.
00:59:59We didn't have mass exodus.
01:00:01We didn't have any issues internally.
01:00:04Everyone, we grieved, but we were able to pull off an unbelievable memorial service.
01:00:13It was incredible.
01:00:14And, but that just is a testament to the team.
01:00:17I mean, that's not normal.
01:00:19Um, that is, that is the Holy Spirit moving within the organization.
01:00:24And now more than ever, I see the strength of the organization because people aren't just
01:00:32there to write emails.
01:00:35And that's why the age of the individuals that work at the office, everyone's so young.
01:00:41Charlie didn't care if you went to college.
01:00:43He actually preferred that you didn't and he would hire you right out of high school.
01:00:46Yeah.
01:00:47But the organization itself is so healthy and the culture is so healthy and our chapters
01:00:56and the students and the field program and the Charlie Kirk show and the events team and
01:01:03everyone that is a part of the organization goes back to that tapestry of, you know, there's
01:01:09a bunch of threads, but woven together, the organization is phenomenal.
01:01:13So, no, we are not weakening at all.
01:01:16We are not becoming feminized at all.
01:01:18If anything, we're being more emboldened and we will carry on my husband's legacy in
01:01:22a way that no one could even have imagined and we'll make it everything he could have
01:01:26ever dreamed of and more.
01:01:27Amen.
01:01:28Amen.
01:01:29God bless you.
01:01:32God bless your children.
01:01:34God bless Turning Point USA.
01:01:36And you let all of us know if you need anything.
01:01:39Prayers.
01:01:40Prayers would mean everything.
01:01:42You got it.
01:01:43Wisdom and discernment and protection.
01:01:46And just pray for our country.
01:01:47Pray for our leaders.
01:01:49Pray for people that you don't agree with.
01:01:52You don't have to like them, but just pray for them.
01:01:56Pray that the Lord softens their heart.
01:01:58Pray that the Lord has his will be done and justice always prevails.
01:02:02And just pray that we're on it.
01:02:06Yeah.
01:02:07We love you.
01:02:08I love you.
01:02:09Don't we love Erika?
01:02:11Don't forget to buy the book, Stop in the Name of God.
01:02:15You can get it now.
01:02:17Thank you so much.
01:02:18I know I love you.
01:02:19Thank you so much.
01:02:20I know I love you.
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