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Thousands Gather To Honor Life Of Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired September 21, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:49]
PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Pamela Brown with Boris Sanchez in Washington. And we begin this hour with the breaking news.
Tens of thousands of people are right inside State Farm Stadium, including, as you see right here, President Trump sitting with members of his family at Charlie Kirk's memorial right outside of Phoenix, Arizona. Some people started lining up as early as 2:30 this morning to try and get a seat. And people who have come to the arena have been directed to an overflow area.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Reporters at the event tell us the audience is listening intently to each speaker, adding that the mood at the service is one of resolve and not anger. Several high profile conservatives are there and d expected to speak tonight, including the president of the United States, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk.
We're going to bring you all of those speeches live. But first, I do want to share with you a moment from earlier this afternoon. This is Kirk's former chief of staff speaking to the crowd. Reports from inside the stadium say that he drew some of the loudest cheers so far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKEY MCCOY, CHARLIE KIRK'S FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF: Charlie's assassin thought that he could steal and silence his voice by putting a bullet in his neck. In the words of Soren Kierkegaard, the tyrant dies and his rule is over. The martyr dies and his rule has just begun.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: We will continue monitoring the event, of course, and bring you all the latest details as we get them. Let's take you on the ground now with CNN's Arlette Saenz, who is in Arizona for us.
Arlette, what have you been hearing from the speeches so far?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, President Trump arrived here at State Farm Stadium just moments ago. The crowd actually erupted into a round of applause and chants of USA. These tens of thousands of attendees have spent several hours now listening and engaging in these remembrances of Charlie Kirk. We have heard people speak in very personal terms about how they knew Charlie Kirk, and also touching on his deep connection with his Christian faith.
One thing that we have heard repeatedly from speakers is this description of Charlie Kirk's assassination as turning him into a martyr, a martyr for the Christian movement, but also his conservative movement that he had really championed. That is something that has been echoed by speaker after speaker, and so much -- so many of these speeches have really been grounded in resolve and not very much anger, but some of the speeches have started to take a more political tone.
There were two conservative activists who spoke about in more political nature, saying that they need to make sure that Democrats remember Charlie Kirk's name going forward. But for so many here who have gathered here at this stadium, they simply want to find ways to remember Charlie Kirk, to honor his life. President Trump is expected to speak in the coming hours, a speech that CNN has been told is expected to be personal in tone that he has worked on personally in the lead up to this speech.
There are also a host of other administration officials who have really credited Charlie Kirk with helping bring them into President Trump's MAGA movement, including Vice President J.D. Vance. There are other people who are on hand here, like Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and former member of the administration. But I think one of the speakers that people here are most looking forward to hearing from is Erika Kirk herself.
Hearing directly from Charlie Kirk's widow is expected to be a powerful moment for many people in this room, especially as she is now expected to lead on his Turning Point USA as she is serving as CEO. So this is really a watershed moment for the conservative movement as they are here to mourn someone who had a profound impact on the conservative movement, on young people as well.
Even as he never held political office himself, it's almost akin to a state funeral, the level of attention and leaders who have gathered here at this arena to memorialize him today.
[16:05:10]
So this is expected to continue for several more hours as they try to remember Charlie Kirk and his work and his commitment to his Christian faith.
SANCHEZ: Arlette Saenz from State Farm Stadium. Thank you so much.
Let's go outside the stadium now with CNN's Josh Campbell, because, Josh, obviously, given the state of political discourse in this country and the amount of notable conservatives attending this event, security is top of mind today.
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Thats right. I mean, this building behind me, the State Farm Stadium, is completely locked down. I mean, we've seen numerous resources, federal, state, local that were brought in. The Department of Homeland Security has labeled this a tier one event. That opened the floodgates for all kinds of resources coming here. We know that in addition to the physical presence, which you can actually see, it's there for a reason to serve as a deterrent, there's a lot that's happening behind the scenes as well.
We know, for example, they have now brought in anti-drone technology to survey the area here. Again, taking nothing to chance because of the high profile nature of the guests in attendance, including the president, the vice president, multiple members of the cabinet. This security posture will continue until all the tens of thousands of people here depart for the day.
Now, speaking of those people, I have been talking with some of the attendees who have come. I want you to hear from some of them. People are coming from all over the country. I met someone from Oregon, someone from the East Coast. There was someone from near my hometown in Texas, all coming in to pay their respects to Charlie Kirk. Take a listen. Here's what they told us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of his message was Christ-based. It means a lot to support him. Not just in death, but even when he was alive. A lot of his message was for the youth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just amazing to know that this massive amount of people could actually follow, follow good and righteous, and hopefully it'll hit people who have negative thoughts about just our nation. And maybe we can all come together because that's what we need to do.
CAMPBELL: Thanks for talking to us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
CAMPBELL: Thank you so much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God bless you.
CAMPBELL: Yes, you as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God bless you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMPBELL: Now, one thing that the organizers here prepared for was this stadium reaching capacity, which it did just several hours ago. What they did is they started turning people away. But that didn't mean they had to go home. They had set up various overflow areas as well. Again, I think it's about 70,000 that fit inside that stadium. The local police here tell us that they were expecting well over 200,000 people.
SANCHEZ: Josh Campbell, thank you so much.
BROWN: All right. Coming up, President Trump is at State Farm Stadium right outside Phoenix as a memorial for Charlie Kirk continues. We're going to have much more coming up.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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SANCHEZ: We're looking at live pictures now. This is President Trump at the memorial service for Charlie Kirk. A crowd of thousands upon thousands is there. And here to discuss is our panel, CNN Washington bureau chief and political director David Chalian and senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes. Also with us, CNN political commentators Xochitl Hinojosa and Shermichael Singleton.
Thank you all for being with us.
David, first to you, as we're hearing reporters in the room tell us that so far the mood is one of resolve and not anger, and that there have been virtually no mentions of the forces some conservatives claim led to the death of Charlie Kirk. What's your reaction?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: We'll see how the evening progresses. I think, to utilize this moment as a time for resolve seems wise to me. You know, as we were talking about, this is a hero of a political movement and so that seems the right tenor. We did not get that in the immediate aftermath of his assassination from the president, when J.D. Vance was hosting his podcast, filling in for Charlie Kirk on Monday from the Office of the Vice President. He was pretty rhetorically sharp and politically charged.
You know, Karl Rove, the architect for George W. Bush's political operation, wrote in the "Wall Street Journal" this week, they did not kill Charlie Kirk. He said they are not responsible for his death. And I think we should just be on the lookout for that. So the reporting that that is not the case yet, OK. And now we're going to get more and more political speakers here, and we'll see if that maintains the operation here.
But I will say the other thing Rove said is the president, the vice president, secretary of state, they're among the speakers today. What they say will reverberate. Our political system could become even more dominated by deep, dark obsessions. Sunday could be a moment where we see people of prominence remind us that our republic's continuance depends on debating important ideas with both passion and mutual respect.
That's what's happening so far. I hope to see that continue.
BROWN: We still have half way to go. On that note, Shermichael, what do you think White House officials need to say to meet this moment?
SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, I think looking at the number of people who showed up today showcases just how important Charlie Kirk was, but also the significance of Turning Point USA.
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And I've seen some folks on the other side, my Democratic friends say, man, we need our Joe Rogan. I've had some of my Democratic friends who are strategists who have said we need a version of a Charlie Kirk, recognizing the significance of Charlie, not just as a figure, but what he represented through this significant organization that he built over a decade now.
I think Republicans can use this opportunity to energize the Republican base, to say, hey, let's make sure we vote. Let's knock on doors as we heard from the executive producer and the spokesman for Turning Point USA. Let's keep the movement moving forward as Erika Kirk has continued to say any and every time she's been given an opportunity to speak about her late husband and what picking up that mantle means to her.
And so this is an opportunity to, one, sure, unite the country. I think that's important for political leaders. But two, significantly also because there was a political component to Charlie Kirk to speak directly to Republican voters, speak directly to some of those younger voters to say, we're going to keep this movement moving forward. We've got midterms coming up. We need you. That's what Charlie would want.
SANCHEZ: Xochitl, I wonder, I've spoken to a lot of Democrats this week who are wrestling with the idea that memorializing Charlie Kirk without recognizing some of the rhetoric that he espoused, a rhetoric that a lot of people find racist and offensive, does not fully acknowledge who he was.
XOCHITL HINOJOSA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Today obviously, at his memorial, I wonder what you think the response should be from Democrats, given what we saw just on Capitol Hill, the intense debate over essentially a statement of memorial for him.
HINOJOSA: Yes, I mean, I think that the statement from memorial that I think that Democrats should have voted for it. I agree, there are a lot of things that I don't agree with when it comes to Charlie Kirk and his positions he's taken and he said some very hurtful things, especially of people of color, and he, you know, I think that Democrats, fine, they should take issue with that. They can put out statements afterwards. They should have put out statements after that resolution if they voted for it, saying, I don't -- I did it, you know, because we are all speaking out against political violence. But again, I do not agree with the positions that he took.
Today I do think that we must sort of -- there needs to be respect across the board, and I hope to see that from Republicans and Democrats. And I will hold my breath. I mean, I think that we'll -- as David Chalian said, we'll see what the president said. He hasn't done that so far. It was really Barack Obama who was the first person who kind of came out and said, wait a minute, why are we blaming him? Why are we blaming one side here? This is nothing to -- this is dangerous. This type of rhetoric is dangerous. And that's, you know, the first sort of like big leader to come out
and say something like that. And so I do think that it is, you know, Charlie Kirk's assassination has ignited a political speech argument both on the left and the right. At the moment, and I think that it will be interesting to see whether or not the president stays in the lane of, you know, really paying tribute to him and have a speech of resolve, not of politics.
BROWN: Yes. And his supporters, Kristen, point to Charlie Kirk's defense of freedom of speech, no matter viewpoints, and his role as a mediator for some of these administration officials, sort of bridging the gap for them. We've noted Elon Musk is there, right? Of course, he had had beef with this White House, with Scott Bessent, with President Trump himself. He is there. And Charlie Kirk played a big role with this White House developing those relationships and bridging those gaps.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And again, you know, as we've discussed, it was Charlie Kirk was one of the people who Elon Musk listened to after he was having his back and forth with President Trump, particularly over the big beautiful bill, or so-called at one point. Now they've changed branding. But, you know, telling him it's not beneficial to the movement or the conservative movement as a whole to attack this bill.
It's better for you just to sit on the sidelines and the two of them maintain discourse throughout the back and forth between President Trump and Musk, which is always interesting because Trump world is such a divisive place, and they are used to taking sides. You know, once somebody is out, they're out. But Kirk had this unique ability of bringing people in, and I do want to, you know, we talked about this earlier, about what it meant for the political movement.
And I think one thing to point to is that the other interesting thing that Charlie Kirk did, that really neither party had fully embraced until Donald Trump was this idea of widening the tent to include people who were not traditionally Republicans. Tulsi Gabbard is an example of that. RFK is an example of that. He brought Gabbard with him to multiple college appearances. He was one of the main architects behind getting RFK on board with Donald Trump.
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And part of the reason was not necessarily that he believed in RFK's politics. He saw an opportunity for voters for Donald Trump. They were at a point where they were looking at the map and they were looking at sections of voters, and they were like, we might not be there. Where can we find voters? There's an entire movement behind RFK, if we can get him in our corner, then we might win this election with those votes.
CHALIAN: Didn't they --
HOLMES: They did.
CHALIAN: That endorsement at a Talking Point event -- HOLMES: I was at Turning Point event in Phoenix.
CHALIAN: Yes. Exactly that.
HOLMES: He dropped out of the race earlier in the day, and then he walked out on stage with Trump at a Turning Point event because Charlie was behind some of this uniting. He saw the -- but it wasn't just again, it wasn't about him agreeing with his politics. It was about the idea that he saw this MAHA movement, this health movement, and thought this could be something that will help us get over the finish line.
And that's something that, you know, I don't think even a lot of people in Donald Trump's own circle were looking at.
SINGLETON: I want to, if I can, piggyback off of what Kristen was just pointing out. When you think about elections this day and age, they're really marginal. You're looking at two, three, maybe 5 percent victories that will separate a winner from the loser. And what Charlie Kirk recognized was that for the Republican Party to be as competitive as necessary, you're going to have to reach out and target those disengaged voters.
The person who said, you know, I don't vote because no one sort of representing me. However, there is a figurehead like an RFK that I really like. He's speaking my language. I'm going to go ahead and back this person. Charlie recognized if there is somewhat a similarity of RFK voter, maybe they like the populism of Donald Trump, maybe if engaging with them continuously, we can move them over. That is so fundamentally important when you think about how close elections are. I'm thinking about midterms. That strategy is going to be essential for Republicans if we want to keep the House.
BROWN: Yes. And I think that speaks to the tremendous influence Charlie Kirk has. Right? Whether you liked him or not, he had tremendous influence. And what you're seeing here, David Chalian, just set the stage for us of how significant this is. I mean, this is akin to a state funeral. Charlie Kirk is a 31-year-old, you know, he's a private citizen, only 31 years old. But as you pointed out, a hero in the conservative movement.
CHALIAN: Yes, I am trying to think of an event like this in modern American political history, and I can't really come up with a comparison. So I do think that Charlie Kirk sort of -- is in his own realm, given how young he was, given all the success he achieved, given his power within the movement and his sort of proof points that he could deliver, and to see two planeloads of officials from Washington, president, vice president, Cabinet members, this is not, I mean, I'm not even sure at state funerals, you get all of those people.
BROWN: Right.
CHALIAN: So this is a -- this is a pretty unique political event, and it is inherently political. I don't think we should shy away from that, too, right? He was a political figure. His death was a political assassination. The politics is at the very center of this, as was Charlie's entire philosophy that with all that work that you guys are talking about, the other thing that Charlie Kirk never, ever, ever gave up on was the belief that he could persuade someone that he was right on his points, and whether that person was directly opposed to him or not, and that the debate and the persuasion, that art of persuasion was central to our politics. And that is what he committed his life's work to.
BROWN: Yes. I mean, they're even registering voters there on the ground.
SANCHEZ: Yes. And of those two planes of Cabinet officials, one of them is set to speak shortly, and that is a senior adviser to the president, Stephen Miller.
Kristen, you and the White House team have reported extensively on President Trump's sort of mulling over what his message is going to be and putting the fine points on his speech. I wonder if you've heard anything from White House sources on what we should expect from Stephen Miller.
HOLMES: Well, I think it's going to be interesting to see where he takes this, because inherently, what I've been told from people that are close to both Charlie Kirk and Stephen Miller, is that a lot of what Miller has been responding to has been completely political, and there's a reason for that. We were told that one of or the last text message that Charlie Kirk sent to Stephen Miller before he died was, we really need to start looking into these groups who are funding protesters on the left.
I think the next thing we need to do is kind of a financial review of all of this. Well, we've seen the White House going in that direction. You've heard Miller himself talking about that, and that is something that he has talked about behind the scenes, too, to a number of people. Well, that is obviously an inherently political message about going after the left, going after the finances of George Soros or whoever they're trying to target at any given moment.
That's something that, you know, it'll be interesting to see how he threads the needle if he does. He might not. He's known for his political rhetoric.
HINOJOSA: Well, and also on Miller, and there's been some reporting on this, is that he has been one of the people pushing certain investigations of the Justice Department into some of the people and organizations, et cetera.
[16:25:10]
BROWN: All right. Let's listen in.
STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF FOR POLICY: Hello, Turning Point. Hello, patriots. Hello to our fearless president, Donald J. Trump. And hello to millions of Americans all across this land who are gathered in sadness and sorrow to mourn Charlie Kirk. But also to dedicate ourselves to finishing his mission and achieving victory in his name.
(APPLAUSE)
MILLER: The day that Charlie died the angels wept. But those tears had been turned into fire in our hearts. And that fire burns with a righteous fury that our enemies cannot comprehend or understand. When I see Erika and her strength and her courage, I'm reminded of a famous expression. The storm whispers to the warrior that you cannot withstand my strength and the warrior whispers back, I am the storm.
Erika is the storm. We are the storm. And our enemies cannot comprehend our strength, our determination, our resolve, our passion. Our lineage and our legacy hails back to Athens, to Rome, to Philadelphia, to Monticello. Our ancestors built the cities. They produced the art and architecture. They built the industry.
Erika stands on the shoulders of thousands of years of warriors, of women who raised up families, raised up city, raised up industry, raised up civilization, who pulled us out of the caves and the darkness into the light. The light will defeat the dark. We will prevail over the forces of wickedness and evil. They cannot imagine what they have awakened.
They cannot conceive of the army that they have arisen in all of us because we stand for what is good, what is virtuous, what is noble. And to those trying to incite violence against us, those trying to foment hatred against us, what do you have? You have nothing. You are nothing. You are wickedness. You are jealousy. You are envy. You are hatred. You are nothing. You can build nothing. You can produce nothing. You can create nothing.
We are the ones who build. We are the ones who create. We are the ones who lift up humanity. You thought you could kill Charlie Kirk. You have made him immortal. You have immortalized Charlie Kirk. And now millions will carry on his legacy. And we will devote the rest of our lives to finishing the causes for which Charlie gave his last measure of devotion. You cannot defeat us. You cannot slow us. You cannot stop us. You cannot deter us.
We will carry Charlie and Erika in our heart every single day and fight that much harder because of what you did to us. You have no idea the dragon you have awakened. You have no idea how determined we will be to save the civilization, to save the West, to save this republic, because our children are strong and our grandchildren will be strong. And our children's children's children will be strong.
And what will you leave behind? Nothing. Nothing. To our enemies, you have nothing to give. You have nothing to offer. You have nothing to share but bitterness. We have beauty. We have light. We have goodness. We have determination. We have vision. We have strength. We built the world that we inhabit now, generation by generation.
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And we will defend this world. We will defend goodness. We will defend light. We will defend virtue. You cannot terrify us. You cannot frighten us. You cannot threaten us. Because we are on the side of goodness. We are on the side of God.
And to my friend Charlie, to my brother Charlie, I know you are looking at us right now. I know you are watching Erika right now. I know you're watching your children right now. And I promise you, my friend, I promise you, my brother, we will prove worthy of your sacrifice. We will prove worthy of your time on earth. We will make you proud. We will finish the job.
We will defeat the forces of darkness and evil. And we will stand every day for what is true, what is beautiful, what is good. And we will achieve victory for our children, for our families, for our civilization, and for every patriot who stands with us. God bless you. God bless turning point. God bless Erika. God bless the Kirk family. God bless our heroes. And God bless the United States of America. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please welcome to the stage, Susie Wiles.
SUSIE WILES, CHIEF OF STAFF, WHITE HOUSE (live): Good afternoon, and what an honor to be here with all of you. Those of you who loved Charlie and love Erika. I was blessed to work with Charlie these past few years. And I know he is looking down now, rejoicing. Because his life, his words, his courage to speak the truth about God, family and country built the most powerful youth movement in our time.
Many of you knew Charlie better than I did. And if you did, you experienced the gift of being lifted by his conviction and his joy. For Charlie, making America great again meant bringing young people to this movement and making sure they knew they belonged.
Like our President says, it's a movement of common sense. And it makes sense. Love your God. Love your family. Love your country. And help the next generation live into those values, boldly.
Through Turning Point, Charlie gave us countless young Americans who had their first turning point the moment they decided to stand up, speak out, and make America all that she could be.
When the president's 2024 campaign partnered with Turning Point, Charlie did not just promise, he delivered. Charlie and his team embraced the assigned mission completely, and they didn't meet expectations. They shattered -- shuttered -- shattered them and blew them out of the water. President Trump's victory, winning the popular vote in every swing state was powered by young people, most brand new to politics.
That was Charlie's army, and he made sure they understood the stakes. They outworked. They outhustled and outperformed everyone else. Charlie just didn't help. He made the winning difference. I promise you that.
And I believe Charlie is still urging us on, urging us not to sit back, not to be quiet, but to carry on his mission forward loudly, proudly, and with the same conviction he showed.
So, I ask you, let us honor Charlie in the best way possible by continuing his work, by building on the foundation he laid, and by making sure this generation knows that this movement is their home.
[16:35:03]
WILES: May God bless Erika and their beautiful children. And may he hold them in the palm of his hands always.
SANCHEZ: We've been listening to White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, speaking at the memorial for Charlie Kirk in Glendale, Arizona. Just moments before her, we heard from top adviser to the president, Stephen Miller.
Let's bring in David Chalian here. David, a unique blend of speeches there. You had a very energetic Stephen Miller, not explicitly going after political opponents but making remarks about a dragon being awakened by enemies.
And then, you had Susie Wiles, who's much more understated. Someone who stays out of the limelight, talking about the emotion of losing Charlie Kirk. And how he delivered for the President in 2024.
CHALIAN: And that last point, listening to Susie Wiles, who I know now is the White House Chief of Staff. But, remember, she was in charge and running the President's campaign in 2024.
And you could hear her as the campaign, like, manager in here, right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
CHALIAN: Like the metrics that were delivered upon, when she was saying, not only did he meet expectations when the campaign partnered with T.P. USA as a part of their turnout operation, he shattered them.
Talking about Charlie's army making the difference. I mean, this was somebody who, on a daily basis, was looking at every swing state, every piece of every coalition that needed to come into the fold in order to deliver.
And she, as the President did last week, is crediting this slain leader now with, really, being the difference maker in the 2024 campaign. I thought that was a really interesting perspective to hear from.
BROWN: Yes. And what about Stephen Miller? I mean, your view on that. As Boris noted, he didn't explicitly call out political rivals, but he made very clear it's us versus them. They.
HOLMES: Yes. And you hear his tone. And this is how he almost always speaks. I have done interviews, where I'm going on television with CNN and he's on Fox. And you can hear him shouting and kind of distracting because that's how he speaks, in general.
So -- but I do think it was interesting that maybe, perhaps for Stephen Miller, this was a less political speech, given that he didn't mention Democrats or the left by name. But he did, I mean, harp on this idea of our enemies. And the fact that we are on the good side and the others are on the bad side. And for Charlie, we're going to continue to shed the light on good. It was, as far again for Stephen Miller, in absence of talking about the left and Democrats was actually more notable to me than what he was saying in general. Because he is an inherently, incredibly political person. And that is how he speaks in general.
So, not doing any of the specifics there. But, again, his tone was completely different than Susie Wiles. It was completely different than a number of the speakers that we have heard. It was, obviously, more fired up, more seemingly angry.
And then, you had Susie come in and kind of ramp it back down. As her role today seems as though it's her role behind the scenes every day, when it comes to Donald Trump, as the person behind the scenes keeping things together.
But, obviously, look, we're going to see where the speeches go from here. We know Tucker Carlson is going to be up. We know, again, President Trump is going to be up. We've heard what he said before, so we'll see where this takes us.
BROWN: Yes, we have several more. Tulsi Gabbard, Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, RFK, Jr. And then, eventually, we'll get to Mrs. Erika Kirk and President Trump. So, several more speakers ahead.
Thank you both. I want to bring in Republican senator, Markwayne Mullin, from Oklahoma, who was there. Thank you for joining us, Senator.
What is your reaction to what we've seen and heard so far at Charlie Kirk memorial?
SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): Well, this is a true celebration of life. You know, I'm not one that really likes to attend funerals or memorial services. In fact, sometimes when you call it a celebration of life, it's kind of more of a sobering (?) moment.
But this is truly a celebration of life. I mean, you think about Charlie Kirk being 31 years old and the impact he made on people around the world, because he simply spoke the truth. He wasn't afraid of his Christian values, of traditional family values. He wasn't afraid to talk about the truth of what our founding fathers stood for.
And it's impacted everybody. And that's what you're seeing here. We're celebrating his life. And what an honor for me to be able to call him a friend, because one day I'm going to be able to tell my grandkids I knew this man.
It's not just something you read about in history books. It's not just something we celebrate throughout life.
[16:40:01]
MULLIN: This is someone that I knew personally and it's truly an honor. SANCHEZ: Well, Senator, I wonder, given that, so far today, we have
not heard some of the blame that we've heard in the week and days since Kirk was assassinated. If that is something you're looking for from President Trump himself, when he speaks, a more unifying message that doesn't seek to cast blame.
MULLIN: Well, it's -- the blame, we already know where that goes. Charlie Kirk was under attack to be silenced because he believed in his true Christian values. He believed in traditional values, as I said. And he believed in this country and the greatness of what it was built on.
And so, we know where that is at. What the fact -- the difference is, how do we react to it? How do we change that and move forward to carry on the message, to carry on the movement that he started?
And that's by continuing to be out there. Continuing to share our beliefs. Be able to articulate it in a way -- in a manner that doesn't bring violence, which the other side did bring. We're not burning down streets. We're not rioting in the streets. We're worshiping.
I mean, if you've been watching this, we've been praise and worship. People are raising their hands. This feels like I'm at my church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at Guts Church. I mean, that's what it feels like right now.
And this is just the beginning. I believe what happened here, when this evil individual tried to eliminate Charlie Kirk's voice, he started a revival that's going to change the generation were currently seeing and generations to come. And -- because they truly made a martyr out of him.
So, this isn't about blame. This is about moving forward with what Charlie started.
BROWN: Yes. And just to follow up, of course, investigators have not come out to specifically pinpoint a motive. I hear what you're saying there. That you believe his religious beliefs played a role. He certainly had political beliefs, according to the interviews that his family members gave to investigators, that we're more liberal.
I want to just follow up. You know, you're talking about the fact that this is led to just galvanizing of people in the conservative movement. And we've heard about the significance of Turning Point USA. We know the organization is using today as an opportunity to register voters.
What role do you expect the organization will play in the conservative movement going forward?
MULLIN: No, they're not using this as a -- as an opportunity. This is just what's happening organically because people saw what hatred led to. And it's -- and it's not saying it was politically motivated. It was ideally motivated.
Charlie's belief or his Christian values was clearly under attack here. There's no question by what was written. His political views were clearly under attack because we saw what was written on the -- on the -- on the bullets.
So, this I'm not trying to point fingers here. I'm just saying we know what happened. What's happened on right now is organically because of someone trying to silence Charlie Kirk's voice. Organically, you're seeing the world take a different view.
On September 10th, there was only 9,000 Turning you -- Turning Point USA chapters on college campuses and 1,100 chapters in high schools. Today, as we stand here, over 62,000 people have requested new Turning Point USA chapters.
There is a movement going on. And what's happening here is people, organically, are wanting to register a voice to vote, because they won't want their voices silenced. People are changing their voting registration. That said, I thought I was with one party, but I have been -- I have been -- I've been led down the wrong direction. I don't stand for this. I don't stand for the hatred. I don't stand for the speech that took place after him.
And I'm not blaming anybody. I'm saying, but after his death, there were some really harsh comments that were made. And people are saying, we -- that isn't -- that isn't -- that doesn't represent me. That's not who I -- who I want to associate with.
And, organically, people are getting involved more politically than we thought would ever be even imaginable which I think is great. That's how you save our republic, by the people's voices being heard. And that's what Charlie was all about.
BROWN: Certainly it was what he was all about. And that's why he would go on to college campuses and speak and talk to people who had different views from him. He knew also that there were threats there, and he did it anyway.
So, Senator Markwayne Mullin, thank you very much for coming on the show. We appreciate your time.
MULLIN: Thank you for having me on.
SANCHEZ: We have much more from Charlie Kirk's memorial straight ahead. President Trump, JD Vance and more cabinet officials set to speak soon. All the big moments coming your way in just minutes.
[16:44:32]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: We are closely watching the memorial service for Charlie Kirk in Glendale, Arizona. Right now, DNI director, Tulsi Gabbard, is on the stage delivering remarks to a crowd of thousands.
Our panel is back with us now. We have a slew of political minds, including Kristen Holmes, Shermichael Singleton, Xochitl Hinojosa.
Shermichael, first to you. What did you make of the speeches that we heard, first from Stephen Miller and then from Susie Wiles?
SINGLETON: Stephen, it was as good -- Stephen was an interesting speech. I'll just transition to Susie Wiles because that's what I know, politics.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Convenient, Shermichael.
SINGLETON: Susie did a wonderful job. And David Chalian hit all the points. I mean, she talked about the significance as a political operator and a strategist who day to day had to look at all the metrics. All the different variables that could swing a poll one way or the other.
And then, I thought it was really interesting how she talked about the importance and significance of continuing to move forward, because Susie is looking at midterms. She wants to make sure that the President maintains that majority in the House, so that they can continue forward with his agenda.
[16:50:00]
SINGLETON: I can guarantee you Charlie Kirk was going to be and going to play a critical role in turning out college-age voters to not only vote and register, but to also knock on doors.
Remember, when you think about that get out the vote efforts for most campaigns, Xochitl, you know this very well, it's usually younger people who are spending hours on the phones. Who are knocking on doors. Walking tons and tons, thousands of miles, months over months to get those people out. Get them registered. To get their side elected.
And she spoke to that, I think, in a very exceptional way. And hopefully it sends a message to other Republican strategists and activists out there, that it's time to put our game hats on to keep this thing moving forward.
BROWN: Xochitl, I'm curious for you, as a Democrat watching this. What does it say that we're seeing such a large turnout for a conservative activist who was just 31 years old?
HINOJOSA: Yes, it just shows how much he is -- how powerful he has been. And the conversations -- they -- the young voters he's engaged. The conversations. He's gone to college campuses, which I think that, you know, Democrats should take a page from that book.
What I will -- I just want to address Stephen Miller's speech really fast. I mean, it was -- it wasn't as dark as a normal Stephen Miller interaction. But I do think that it was very much us versus them.
And while he didn't mention Democrats, he did talk about enemies. Last I saw, when -- any reporting. There's only one enemy in this situation, and that is the shooter. And that person has been arrested. And they will be prosecuted. And hopefully they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But who else is he talking about with enemies? And I think that is my concern. My concern is that we continue down this trajectory of us versus them. It is us, and we are doing the right thing for the American people. And that it is all these other crazy people who are against you and who are part of this and responsible for the death of Charlie Kirk. That is false. And it is dangerous.
And so, I thought that Susie Wiles did an amazing job. I also thought she was like the mom of the campaign. She's the mom of the White House. She's someone who brings sort of positivity. She struck the right tone, I felt like.
It -- and I -- that's what I hope to see from the rest of this. I hope to hear about stories about Charlie. I hope to hear about the movement that he has built. All of those things. Less Stephen Miller, more Susie Wiles.
SANCHEZ: Shermichael, are you sure you don't want to talk about the dragon that has awoken?
SINGLETON: I just -- I just think -- I think if you were to ask Stephen Miller, how would he want his remarks to be received? I believe he would say to activate conservatives politically.
Now, his words can be charged. We all have stated that in various ways, but I think he recognizes this moment.
And I think that charge of saying our side is positivity, the other side is not. I would hope that that isn't to gin up anger against Democrats, but to gin up excitement about political possibilities of Republican electoral successes come midterms.
CHALIAN: I will say just -- I don't know if this is the dragon he was referring to. But in terms of what has been the awakening that has happened in the aftermath of this within the Maga movement and on the right. I know we're focused on what's happening in the stadium in Arizona right now.
But over the course of the last 11 days, across the country, and, quite frankly, globally at certain points, there have been pop up vigils with thousands of people showing up. And everywhere from like Iowa, you see it all throughout the country throughout the last 10 days.
This went beyond -- this hit a cultural moment in our society. This horrific political assassination, that really is drawing people out to -- that are a part of that political movement to convene together. I think we're seeing it on its largest scale, obviously, here at this memorial with the President and the entire cabinet.
But there's a -- there are smaller versions of this all throughout the country over the last 10 days that I think nobody saw coming.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
HOLMES: I mean, there's 200,000 people, they believe, that are there or at least close to it. Not all those people are from Phoenix. They're not all local people. They're people who felt some movement, by Charlie Kirk and by what happened, to show up.
And that, in itself, is pretty extraordinary, when you see that many people care about something or someone so much to actually get on a plane or get in a car and drive. And get in line at two in the morning and wait for this memorial, where, you know, they'll will be one of X amount of people who -- you know, in the crowd.
It shows you what, again, has been awakened in some ways. And I just want to say one thing because I was -- I asked several people close to Charlie Kirk about the various people speaking. And one of them right now is Tulsi Gabbard. And what his relationship was like. And they said that he really believed in Tulsi Gabbard.
[16:55:03]
HOLMES: But, in addition to that, that he told his followers that it was mission critical to get her confirmed. And that he personally called senators, when it looked like it was possible that her confirmation might not go through, to try and push for Tulsi Gabbard. Which is just, kind of -- again, it goes to what we've been talking about.
SANCHEZ: It appears that Director Gabbard has just finished her remarks. And we are expecting to hear now from secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who is set to take the stage at any moment. Let's go ahead and listen in.
MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE, WHITE HOUSE (live): About maybe 10 or 12 years ago, a person I knew very well had been very helpful to me in my campaigns when I was in the senate, came to me and said she had met this very impressive young man. And he was going to start this group to go on college campuses and try to convince young Americans that ours is the greatest country in the history of the world and that Marxism was bad.
And I remember thinking back then, I was -- I'm going to admit to you guys, I was a little skeptical. I said, college campuses you're going to do that? Why don't you start somewhere easier, like, for example, communist Cuba, you know.
But my skepticism was proven wrong. And place after place over the last 12, 14, 16 years, we've seen this renaissance. Understand where we were at that time in our history. Understand where we are still today in many places.
Where young Americans are actively told that everything that they were taught, that all the foundations that made our society and our civilization so grand, they were all wrong. They were all evil. That marriage is oppressive. That children are a burden. That America is a source of evil, not of good in the world. And here was this voice that inspired a movement in which young Americans were told, that is not true.
The highest calling we are called to is to be in a successful marriage and to raise productive children. And a movement that taught them that ours was not a great country, but the greatest, most exceptional nation that has ever existed in the history of all of mankind. And that it's worth fighting for. It's worth defending. It's worth preserving. And it's worth passing on to the next generation.
This was the mission and the work of Charlie Kirk. And a couple of things that stand out about him. He led this movement, but he did so with incredible knowledge. It's unbelievable how much he knew.
He came to me very recently. He said some quote, he said -- I said, who said that? He said, Marcus Aurelius. I said, what district does he represent? I kind of knew who it was. But he said back, no, it's a Roman, you know, philosopher king or emperor.
His incredible knowledge. Let me tell you that one of the last messages I had with him was just a few days before his passing, where he wrote me from overseas. I'm in South Korea. I have many concerns I want to share with you when I get back.
He was constantly expanding his horizons, but he just didn't have knowledge. He had wisdom. An uncanny amount of wisdom for a man as young as he was. Wisdom that sometimes it takes a lifetime to accumulate. He had it in just 31 years.
He was also bold. It is so easy. And, listen, I've been guilty of it. I think many of us have been guilty of this. You hide behind the walls and you surround yourself with people that agree with you. We do it as a society all the time.
Increasingly, people are moving into neighborhoods with other people that agree with them politically and isolate themselves from people that do not agree with them. But Charlie Kirk was bold. He actively sought out to engage peacefully, respectfully, those who he disagreed with.
As recently as two days ago, we learned of one of the hosts on CNN who said that one of the messages he had gotten just a few days before Charlie's passing was from him inviting him to dialog. And he did this on campuses. He did this on podcasts. He did this on radio shows. He did this on television shows.
Time and again, he sought to engage those he disagreed with because he understood that we were not created to isolate ourselves from one another but to engage. The irony in all this is that what our nation needs, one of the many things it needs, is the ability to discuss our differences openly, honestly, peacefully, respectfully.
And Charlie Kirk did that more than anyone alive in America today is doing. And Charlie Kirk was impactful. Impactful because of all the things I've said. But look around this place.
[17:00:00]
RUBIO: There's 100 something thousand people here. The president of the United States is here. His entire cabinet is here.
