Megyn Kelly and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin visited Virginia Tech on Wednesday night to honor and help carry on Charlie Kirk’s Legacy. The event was a Turning Point USA-sponsored talk that had been planned before Kirk’s Sept. 10 assassination. Kelly encouraged, debated, and answered students’ questions—just as Kirk had done—echoing his belief that “when people stop talking, that’s when you get violence.”
Kirk was assassinated on the campus of Utah Valley University during a stop on Turning Point USA’s American Comeback Tour. The conservative organization that works to appeal to young people made it clear they would not be silenced and vowed to carry on the tour.
“Haters would say Charlie wasn’t there, but they couldn’t be more wrong,” said Emma Dayton, a Liberty University student and former White House intern who was at the event. “The fire that burned within Charlie now burns even brighter inside thousands in the crowd … for tens of thousands of people across the country.”
Youngkin opened the event with prayer, asking the full house of approximately 3,000 to pray as his family does and to join hands. Students reached across the aisle and prayed together, thanking God for Kirk.
Political commentator and journalist Megyn Kelly then took the stage to host Kirk’s signature “Prove Me Wrong” debate, which he had held at campuses nationwide. Kirk had said he believed that “free speech is not just saying what you want to say but it is having to hear things you don’t want to hear.” At campus events, he would invite students who disagreed with him to challenge his ideas or ask questions about his faith, political beliefs, or even which “Star Wars” movie was the best.
Students asked Kelly about faith, motherhood, in vitro fertilization, congressional term limits, and foreign relations. She even promised to help one student find a new job after the student said she received backlash at her job on campus for saying Kirk was her role model.
Most attendees were friendly supporters or civil debaters challenging Kelly’s political stance. One student, however, blamed President Donald Trump for contributing to the political rhetoric that led to Kirk’s death. He asked Kelly, “I want to know why you support a president who contributes to the rhetoric that got your friend Charlie killed.”
Kelly ended the conversation saying, “That’s a blatant lie. It’s a defamatory blaspheme and it’s inappropriate in this setting.”
Dayton asked Kelly about the revival reportedly happening in churches since Kirk’s death and how pastors should have responded. Kelly said, “I think if your pastor didn’t say anything about Charlie Kirk on the Sunday after he was killed, you need to find a new church.”
During the event, Youngkin pledged $100,000 to support new Turning Point USA chapters all over Virginia. Since Kirk’s death, Turning Point has received over 121,000 requests from high school and college students across the country to get involved or start a chapter.
Related posts:
- ‘Donald Trump Wouldn’t Be in the White House Without Charlie Kirk’
- Congressmen Reflect on Charlie Kirk’s Legacy
- Selective Outrage and Political Spin: The Charlie Kirk Fallout