America is in a state of mourning. We need our leaders to step up and try to unite the country.
And the House Speaker said one thing about the Kirk assassination that everyone has been waiting to hear.
In a powerful show of unity, top Republicans and everyday patriots packed the Kennedy Center Sunday night for an emotional vigil honoring the late conservative powerhouse Charlie Kirk, whose life was cut short by a senseless act of violence.
The hall brimmed with over 85 members of Congress, key White House figures, cabinet leaders, fired-up activists from coast to coast, eager students, and local folks in D.C., all coming together in prayer and heartfelt remembrance of the Turning Point USA founder and his unbreakable spirit.
“It’s as if a dark shadow was cast over our country and certainly here, even on Capitol Hill, the leaders of the nation have been shaken,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said, capturing the raw grief over Kirk’s assassination.
Yet, Johnson rallied the crowd, insisting that despair had no place here. “In spite of that, we remember that our dear friend Charlie would never want us to be overcome by despair; he would want exactly the opposite,” he emphasized, praising Kirk for molding a new wave of “happy warriors” ready to fight for America’s values.
“I think Charlie Kirk offered more productive content [in] the free marketplace of ideas than anyone in his generation and arguably in the last 100 years of US history,” Johnson continued. “That message and that truth will go more boldly now than it did while he was here.”
Kirk launched Turning Point USA back in 2012, dedicating the next 13 years to firing up conservative voices nationwide and taking the battle straight to liberal strongholds on college campuses through no-holds-barred debates.
Inside the massive Concert Hall, built to hold 2,500 souls, Kirk’s massive footprint was impossible to ignore. Supporters sported shirts screaming “Freedom”—a direct nod to the tee Kirk had on when he was gunned down last Wednesday—along with bold declarations like “We are Charlie Kirk now,” turning personal loss into a collective call to arms.
One by one, speakers stepped up to share how Kirk’s fire had shaped their paths, turning the vigil into a testament of his mentorship and unyielding drive.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t hold back, crediting Kirk for her own rise. “I would not be in this position if not for the heroic efforts of Charlie Kirk, who turned the political tide among young people in this country and helped usher in President Trump’s historic victory,” she declared.
Leavitt shared a personal story of Kirk’s faith in her when few others dared, backing her bold run for Congress in New Hampshire at the tender age of 23 in 2022.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), another Kirk protégé, painted a vivid picture of how one phone call from him derailed her plans for medical school and launched her into the political arena.
“I was literally preparing to go to medical school, bags packed, and I kid you not, 24 hours prior, I got a call that changed my life. Hey, Anna, it’s Charlie Kirk from Turning Point USA, and I’d like to offer you a job as our National Hispanic outreach director,” she recalled. “Charlie Kirk will go down in history as one of the biggest political minds and activists of our lifetime,” Luna said. “His impact places him alongside transformative figures like Dr Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, and Robert Kennedy.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hailed Kirk as the mastermind behind his alliance with President Trump last year, even sharing a touching family anecdote about his niece packing a Bible for her European college stint, inspired to “be like Charlie Kirk.”
“I had a conversation once with Charlie. We were talking about the danger that we were both challenging entrenched interests, and he asked if I was scared of dying. And I said, ‘There’s a lot worse things than dying,’” Kennedy revealed, before adding: with Kirk gone, “it’s our job” to “win this battle for our country.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard shared a gut-wrenching exchange from a distraught friend texting her right after the tragedy: “What do we do now? I know the answer should be love, the answer should be peace, but Charlie tried that, and it didn’t work.”
Gabbard’s reply cut to the core: “No, it did work. That’s why they k*lled him,” flipping the narrative to show how Kirk’s success made him a target.
But Kari Lake, the fierce Arizona fighter who battled for governor and Senate seats, couldn’t stay silent on the rage fueling such hatred. “We can’t let this go on. This violence has got to stop. Our side isn’t perfect, but d*mnit, this is coming from the other side. How has the 22-year-old become so filled with hate?” she said.
“I am making a plea to mothers out there, do not send your children into these indoctrination camps,” Lake stated, slamming colleges and universities to roaring approval from the crowd.
