Politics
Erika Kirk Urges Parents to ‘Step Up’: ‘Do You Want Your Kid to Be a Thought Leader or an Assassin?’
Erika Kirk, the widow of late right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, has a pointed message for parents after her husband was assassinated in broad daylight in September.
The Turning Point USA CEO, 37, spoke at a town hall hosted by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss that will air on Saturday, December 13, and said her husband was “a victim” of political violence.
“I will never agree with political violence,” she said, according to People’s exclusive preview. “I’m a victim of it. But what I’m trying to say here is that we can blame everyone else. We have to look in the mirror. When you become a father, when you become a mother, how are you raising your kids?”
The businesswoman’s world dramatically changed after her husband was shot and killed on September 10 at age 31 while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, as part of his American Comeback Tour.
The alleged shooter, Tyler James Robinson, is facing multiple charges, including one count of aggravated murder. The 22-year-old made his first in-person court appearance on Thursday, December 11, but he has not yet entered a plea.
Per People, Erika said that parents need to “step up” and take “responsibility” when it comes to paying attention to the type of media their child is consuming.
Instead of allowing children to “go down that rabbit hole” on an electronic device, Erika urged parents to be more present.
She demanded a “call to action,” asking parents: “Do you want your kid to be a thought leader or an assassin?”
Erika — who shares two young children with her late husband — has spoken out numerous times following the death of the Stop, in the Name of God author. She even recalled what it was like seeing him in the hospital before he was pronounced dead that afternoon.
“He had this smirk on his face,” she said. “That smirk to me is that look of ‘you thought you could stop what I’ve built. You thought that you could end this vision, this movement, this revival, you thought you could do that by murdering me. You got my body, you didn’t get my soul.’”
A Town Hall With Erika Kirk will air December 13 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
