By Divya Verma
Copyright inquisitr
Charlie Kirk, a well-known conservative podcaster who was a huge Donald Trump supporter, was fatally shot in a public debate at Utah Valley University. The 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA was honored on Sunday in a memorial service at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
The memorial service was packed with his followers and mourners. Coincidentally, while everyone there was a huge supporter of 2nd amendment rights, guns were banned from the service.
The Department of Homeland Security marked the event as a Special Event Assessment Rating Level 1. This designation is usually reserved for nationally significant events that demand high security.
This even drew thousands and included several nationally significant conservative figures, almost all of the Trump’s administration, and major MAGA media personalities.
However, the event soon turned into a rally or a show, which probably was not the organizers’ initial intent. It moved on from Charlie Kirk’s memorial to Trump’s event just as President Trump stated he would go off script, ranting about his own policies and tariffs.
What a somber and understated entrance for Trump at the Charlie Kirk funeral pic.twitter.com/Wqx73Em496
— st. vincent-st. marys grad (@PuckFupett69) September 21, 2025
The mourning ceremony became anything but that and was all about politics. One could say it was Trump’s way of launching into the 2026 midterm campaign.
President Trump delivered a 40-minute speech. It began with a sincere tribute to Kirk in which Trump hailed the podcaster as “our greatest evangelist for American liberty.”
He praised Kirk and called him a “missionary with a noble spirit” who “did not hate his opponent,” and that’s when it all began to go bizarre. Trump then grinned and said, “That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent, and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry.” It caused the crowd to break into laughter.
From there, the event became Trump’s rally. He veered off into different topics, like touting his record on tariffs, how he is making other countries pay, and that his economic policies were better than anyone else’s. They would “make us rich again.”
🚨 At Charlie Kirk’s funeral, Trump announced the “biggest medical breakthrough in U.S. history” and claimed they “found an answer to autism.”
Bro, its a funeral 💀
This wasn’t a eulogy. It was a campaign teaser. Even in death, it’s still all about him. pic.twitter.com/YamqWweEUd
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) September 21, 2025
He used the stage to announce that the White House would make a big announcement about autism on Monday.
It would not be a Donald Trump rally if he did not target his opponents, and that’s what he did, targeting several people like Joe Biden. He also suggested that he might straighten out Chicago next.
The President called the attack on Kirk an attack on the country itself.
“That was a horrible attack on the United States of America. The gun was pointed at him, but the bullet was aimed at all of us,” he declared, which caused crowds to break into applause.
He also called the alleged shooter, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, “a radicalized, cold-blooded monster.” However, authorities have found no link between Tyler and any left-wing radical group, and this attack is more likely his own single act of violence.
BEAUTIFUL: President Trump and Erika Kirk just had an emotional moment on stage, singing America The Beautiful, while pointing at Charlie in heaven
— Debasis Chakraborty 𝕏 (@XDebasisChakr01) September 21, 2025
However, all this was well expected from the event. What drew the attention of the crowd most was when “America the Beautiful” played. Donald Trump invited Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, onto the stage. She has recently taken over the leadership of Turning Point USA.
They both stood together as they swayed to the music, and Erika even threw the “I love you” sign in American Sign Language, which was the biggest irony of all since Kirk himself found sign languages distracting during events.
She spoke to the crowd briefly before embracing Donald Trump.
Nothing to see here, just #Trump doing a funny little dance next to a grieving wife at his funeral who is forced to laugh through tears. Completely normal.
As you were! pic.twitter.com/A4uL48sKPg
— Kiera 🦋 (@KieraGorden) September 22, 2025
Critics on social media called the moment “strange” for a funeral. Others found it to be more of a closing scene from a Donald Trump rally with all the music and dancing.
Erika Kirk, however, had toned down Trump’s hateful rhetoric, saying that she forgave the shooter.
“The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love,” she said.