The entire leadership of Trumpism, starting with President Donald Trump and his Vice President JD Vance, will gather on Sunday for the memorial ceremony of assassinated ultraconservative influencer Charlie Kirk, in a stadium of more than 60,000 seats in Arizona.
Charlie Kirk, 31, was assassinated on September 10 by a gunshot to the neck while hosting a debate on a university campus in Utah, in the western United States—an event that reignited America’s deep political fractures.
His alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, 22, told those close to him that he acted out of “hatred” for what he described as the rhetoric spread by Charlie Kirk, according to local authorities.
A prominent figure of the MAGA (“Make America Great Again”) right, Charlie Kirk used his millions of social media followers and appearances on college campuses to defend Donald Trump and promote nationalist, Christian, and traditionalist ideas among young people.
Even before the identification or arrest of the alleged killer, the U.S. president, who credited Charlie Kirk with playing a role in his November 2024 election, called him a “martyr for truth and freedom” and blamed the rhetoric of the “radical left.”
The American president, his vice president—who was very close to Charlie Kirk—as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of the president, and ultraconservative commentator Tucker Carlson are all expected to speak at the tribute, which is set to begin at 11 a.m. (6 p.m. GMT) on Sunday.
His widow, Erika Kirk, who is taking up the mantle at the head of his youth organization Turning Point USA, will also address the crowd at State Farm Stadium in Glendale (southwest), which has a capacity of 63,000 seats, expandable to more than 73,000.
“We will have two planes filled with White House staff. This shows how many people Charlie Kirk touched at the highest level of our government,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said on Saturday.
In Phoenix, outside the headquarters of Turning Point USA, the youth organization founded by Charlie Kirk, hundreds of people gathered on Saturday to lay flowers, American flags, and red, white, and blue balloons.
For nearly a hundred meters, the sidewalk was covered with tributes to the 31-year-old influencer, depicted in photos alongside the slogan “Faith, Family, Freedom.”
“He was an extraordinary young man, taken from us far too soon,” Patti Peteque told AFP. She had driven more than five hours from Los Angeles to honor his memory.
Wearing a red “Make America Great Again” cap, the 53-year-old retired police officer hopes Donald Trump will deliver a message of unity during Sunday’s ceremony at the stadium in the Glendale suburbs.
“I just hope some good will come out of all this—that people will be more tolerant and more willing to accept dialogue, debate, and discussion,” the Republican voter explained.
But when asked about the suspension of comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s show, after he accused the American right of politically exploiting Mr. Kirk’s death, she retorted: “The left is just getting a taste of its own medicine. Who said anything when we felt censored?”
The White House this week expressed its intention to crack down on what it calls “left-wing domestic terrorism” in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Donald Trump then announced he would designate the “Antifa” movement—a loose coalition of far-left groups claiming antifascism—as a “terrorist organization,” without explaining the legal consequences of that decision.
The gathering will be held under tight security. Organizers have warned participants that they will not be allowed to enter with bags. They are also asking attendees to dress in one of the three colors of the American flag—red, white, or blue.
Instead of bringing flowers, they are invited to make a donation to Turning Point USA.
With AFP
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