Charlie Kirk (October 14, 1993 – September 10, 2025) was a prominent American conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a nonprofit promoting limited government, free markets, and free speech on campuses. He led Turning Point Action, mobilizing the youth vote for Republican causes, including Trump’s campaigns. A key MAGA figure, Kirk hosted The Charlie Kirk Show, a top-ranked podcast and radio program on Salem News Channel, and authored books like The MAGA Doctrine. Known for campus tours and viral debates, he sparked controversy with election fraud claims and inflammatory rhetoric. Kirk, a family man with wife Erika and two children, was assassinated at a TPUSA event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, shot by a gunman during a campus tour. His death, amid rising political violence, prompted nationwide vigils. Kirk’s legacy as a conservative influencer reshaped Republican grassroots efforts and youth engagement.
Long Version
Charles James Kirk (October 14, 1993 – September 10, 2025) was an American conservative activist, author, radio personality, and media influencer. He co-founded Turning Point USA (TPUSA) in 2012, a nonprofit organization focused on promoting conservative politics, limited government, free markets, and free speech on high school and college campuses. As executive director of TPUSA and CEO of its affiliated advocacy group Turning Point Action (TPAction), Kirk became a prominent figure in Republican politics, particularly within the MAGA movement. He was a close ally of Donald Trump, mobilizing the youth vote through grassroots efforts, campus tours, and voter mobilization campaigns. Kirk hosted The Charlie Kirk Show, a daily radio and podcast program on the Salem Radio Network and Salem News Channel, which reached millions and ranked among the top news podcasts on platforms like Apple Podcasts. His work emphasized America First principles, patriotism, and combating what he described as leftist indoctrination in education and culture wars. Kirk’s influence extended to social media, where he amassed over 100 million monthly impressions, and he authored books like The MAGA Doctrine (2020) and Right Wing Revolution (2024). He was also a member of the Council for National Policy (CNP). Kirk married Erika Kirk (née Frantzve), a former Miss Arizona USA and podcaster, in 2021; they had two children, a daughter born in 2022 and a son in 2024. Tragically, Kirk was assassinated during a campus event at Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, Utah, on September 10, 2025, in an act described as political violence and senseless violence by authorities and political figures.
Early life and education
Kirk was born on October 14, 1993, in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and raised in nearby Prospect Heights. His mother worked as a mental health counselor, and his father was an architect, instilling in him values of hard work and patriotism from a middle-class upbringing. An active participant in the Boy Scouts of America, Kirk achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. He attended Wheeling High School, where he engaged in early activism, campaigning against a school cookie price hike and volunteering for Illinois Republican Senator Mark Kirk’s Senate bid.
After high school, Kirk briefly enrolled at Harper College but dropped out to pursue full-time political activism. Inspired by Tea Party mentors like Bill Montgomery, he wrote an essay on liberal bias in textbooks for Breitbart News, which brought him early media attention. Kirk’s no-holds-barred style and focus on youth mobilization set the foundation for his career in conservative politics.
Career
Founding Turning Point USA and early activism
At age 18, in 2012, Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA with Bill Montgomery following a speech at Benedictine University’s Youth Government Day. TPUSA aimed to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote fiscal responsibility, free markets, limited government, and free speech on over 3,500 high school and college campuses nationwide. The organization grew rapidly, boasting over 250,000 student members and 450 staff by the mid-2020s, backed by donors like the Publix heiress Julie Fancelli and Republican figures such as Foster Friess. Initiatives like the Professor Watchlist and School Board Watchlist spotlighted perceived biases in education, drawing both praise for combating leftist indoctrination and criticism for stifling free speech.
Kirk’s campus tours and debate series became signature events, where he engaged students in unfiltered discussions on politics, culture wars, and controversies. These viral moments on social media, including TikTok videos reaching millions, solidified his role as a right-wing influencer and social media personality. TPUSA’s presence expanded internationally, with offshoots like Turning Point UK.
Turning Point Action and political involvement
In 2019, Kirk founded Turning Point Action (TPAction), a 501(c)(4) advocacy arm allowed to engage in direct political campaigning against Democrats. TPAction acquired Students for Trump, launching efforts to recruit one million students for Trump’s 2020 re-election. The group focused on voter mobilization, election integrity, and grassroots strategies, raising tens of millions for operations in swing states like Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin. During the 2024 election, TPAction’s “Chase the Vote” program, backed by over $100 million, was credited as a force multiplier for Trump’s campaign, boosting youth turnout and securing victories in key battlegrounds.
Kirk addressed the 2016 Republican National Convention and became a key Trump ally, assisting Donald Trump Jr. with campaign logistics and promoting America First policies. He collaborated with figures like Rudy Giuliani, JD Vance, and Pentecostal pastor Rob McCoy through Turning Point Faith, founded in 2021 to mobilize religious communities on issues like traditional values and against cultural shifts. As a CNP member, Kirk influenced conservative strategy, advocating for limited government and free markets while decrying the radical left in blame narratives often invoking civil war rhetoric.
In 2022, Kirk announced the Mount Vernon Project under TPAction to purge Republican National Committee members not aligned with grassroots conservatives, cutting off funding to those who “vote incorrectly.” By 2024, TPUSA and TPAction reported combined revenues exceeding $92 million, primarily from donations.
Media presence and authorship
Kirk built a formidable media empire. From October 2020 until his death, he hosted The Charlie Kirk Show, a three-hour daily radio program on Salem Media’s “The Answer” channel and a top-ranked podcast with 500,000–750,000 daily downloads. The show delivered no-holds-barred commentary on politics, controversies, and culture wars, featuring guests like Ben Shapiro and interviews on topics from election fraud to COVID-19 misinformation. In 2025, Kirk signed with Trinity Broadcasting Network for Charlie Kirk Today, a weekday talk show. His YouTube channel amassed nearly four million subscribers and over a billion views, while Turning Point Live targeted Generation Z.
As an author, Kirk penned works like Time for a Turning Point (2016), critiqued as a marketing pitch for TPUSA; The MAGA Doctrine (2020); The College Scam (2022), arguing universities brainwash youth; and Right Wing Revolution (2024), urging conservatives to save the West. He appeared over 1,000 times on Fox News, CNBC, and FOX Business, and contributed to outlets like Newsweek, The Hill, and Breitbart.
In April 2024, Kirk launched a TikTok account, posting campus debate videos that garnered up to 50 million views, despite prior skepticism of the platform.
Political views
Kirk was a staunch Republican and Trump supporter, emphasizing MAGA ideals, patriotism, and youth vote mobilization. He advocated for limited government, free markets, and free speech, while criticizing the radical left, woke-ism, and perceived biases in education and media. Kirk promoted Christian nationalism, viewing politics as a spiritual battle, and supported the Seven Mountain Mandate to influence government, education, media, and family spheres. He opposed gun control, abortion, LGBTQ rights, vaccine mandates (calling them “medical apartheid”), and climate policies, often spreading misinformation on COVID-19 and the Great Replacement theory.
On immigration, Kirk warned of threats to the American way from Islamism and open borders, framing it as a spiritual battle. He criticized the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Martin Luther King Jr., calling the latter’s legacy a “myth” deified despite contemporary dislike. Kirk’s rhetoric on election integrity, including false claims of 2020 fraud, tied into Stop the Steal efforts.
Controversies
Kirk’s career was marked by numerous controversies. He promoted false claims of 2020 election fraud, leading Stop the Steal protests in Phoenix and organizing over 80 buses to the January 6, 2021, Capitol rally. Before the House January 6 Committee, he pleaded the Fifth but provided 8,000 pages of records; Ali Alexander blamed TPUSA for funding demonstrators. Kirk implied COVID-19 enabled voter fraud and spread vaccine misinformation, earning rebukes from fact-checkers.
Financial scrutiny arose over TPUSA’s spending, including Kirk’s $325,000+ salary and property purchases, with allegations of campaign finance violations in 2016. In 2020, TPAction paid minors to post undisclosed content on social media. Kirk faced backlash for antisemitic undertones in Great Replacement defenses, race-mongering on immigration and crime, and inflammatory tweets about Jewish, gay, and Black people. A 2023 Brookings study found his podcast had the second-highest proportion of false statements among political shows. In 2021, an audience member at his event asked about killing people over alleged election theft, which Kirk condemned but amid ongoing fraud promotion.
TPUSA drew criticism for funneling funds into student governments and promoting Kirk and Trump over conservative values, per the Dartmouth Review. Neo-Nazis appeared outside a 2022 summit, and Kirk’s Christian nationalism drew accusations of extremism.
Personal life
Kirk was a devoted family man and father-of-two. He married Erika Frantzve, a former Miss Arizona USA (2012), businesswoman, podcaster, and doctoral student in Biblical studies at Liberty University, on May 8, 2021, in Scottsdale, Arizona. They met in 2018 at a TPUSA event and shared a faith-centered life, often discussing marriage and family on The Charlie Kirk Show. The couple welcomed a daughter in August 2022 and a son in May 2024, prioritizing privacy by not sharing their children’s names or faces publicly. Kirk frequently wove traditional values into his messaging, encouraging youth to embrace marriage and children amid a “loneliness epidemic.” The family resided in Florida, balancing his activism with outings like Arizona Diamondbacks games.
Erika supported Kirk’s endeavors, hosting her own podcast Midweek Rise Up and founding the nonprofit Everyday Heroes Like You. She also worked as a real estate agent with The Corcoran Group.
Death and legacy
On September 10, 2025—the current date—Kirk was assassinated during TPUSA’s American Comeback Tour at UVU in Orem, Utah. While addressing a crowd of about 3,000 under a “Prove Me Wrong” pavilion, a gunman fired a single shot from a rooftop, striking him in the neck. Kirk was rushed to Timpanogos Regional Hospital but succumbed to his injuries. The event, the tour’s first stop, sparked chaos with screams of “Get down!” and a campus lockdown. Utah Governor Spencer Cox called it a “political assassination,” amid a spike in political violence including attempts on Trump. A manhunt for the shooter continues, with two initial detainees released; the FBI is involved.
President Trump mourned Kirk as “legendary,” ordering flags at half-staff and crediting him with understanding the youth vote. JD Vance praised his organizational role in the administration, while Donald Trump Jr. and others highlighted his Trump ties. Vigils formed nationwide, including in Arizona, with tributes emphasizing his freedom-loving patriotism and legacy in reshaping Republican mobilization.
Kirk’s death, a dark moment for America, underscores perils in polarized times. His organizations, including TPUSA and TPAction, suspended operations. Supporters hail him as a trailblazer who galvanized students against the radical left, while critics note his divisive rhetoric. Kirk leaves a legacy as a tireless activist, media powerhouse, and family man whose work influenced elections, culture wars, and conservative youth engagement.
See also
- Turning Point USA
- Turning Point Action
- Stop the Steal
- January 6 United States Capitol attack
- MAGA movement
- Christian nationalism
External links
Hashtags For Social Media
#CharlieKirk #RIPCharlieKirk #CharlieKirkAssassination #TurningPointUSA #MAGA #Trump #Conservative #Politics #YouthVote #AmericaFirst #PoliticalViolence #UtahShooting #UVU #FreeSpeech #LimitedGovernment #FreeMarkets #ChristianNationalism #StopTheSteal #January6 #RightWing #Patriot #Grassroots #CultureWar #Viral #Trending #News #BreakingNews #ConservativeActivist #MAGA2025 #RIP
Related Questions, Words, Phrases
who is charlie kirk | what did charlie kirk do | charlie kirk turning point usa | why was charlie kirk assassinated | charlie kirk political views | what is turning point usa | charlie kirk maga movement | charlie kirk podcast | the charlie kirk show | charlie kirk youth vote | charlie kirk controversies | charlie kirk election fraud claims | charlie kirk stop the steal | charlie kirk january 6 | charlie kirk assassination utah | charlie kirk utah valley university | charlie kirk shooting details | charlie kirk family | who is erika kirk | charlie kirk wife | charlie kirk children | charlie kirk conservative activist | charlie kirk social media influence | charlie kirk books | charlie kirk maga doctrine | charlie kirk christian nationalism | charlie kirk trump connection | charlie kirk campus tours | charlie kirk debate series | charlie kirk political violence | what happened to charlie kirk | charlie kirk legacy | charlie kirk turning point action | charlie kirk salem news channel | charlie kirk death 2025
