Topline
Charlie Kirk, 31, the right-wing activist shot and killed while speaking on stage in front of hundreds of Utah college students Wednesday, was a prominent MAGA influencer closely aligned with President Donald Trump who rose to prominence appealing to young people as an anti-liberal culture wars figure.
Kirk founded Turning Point USA, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting conservative ideology on college campuses, at the age of 18 in 2012, growing the organization into a political action committee with early backing from Donald Trump Jr. and Republican donor Foster Friess.
Trump called him “Great, and even Legendary” in a Truth Social post confirming he had died after he was shot in the neck while speaking at Utah Valley University for his “America Comeback Tour.”
His podcast, The Charlie Kirk Show, is broadcast daily nationally by the conservative network Salem Media Group, and it is among Apple’s top 10 news podcasts.
Kirk was a prominent ally to Trump, who spoke at multiple Turning Point conferences and frequently retweeted him, while Kirk also spoke at the Republican National Convention in 2020 and 2024 and Turning Point hosted and inaugural gala for Trump in Washington in January.
Turning Point sponsored bus transportation for hundreds to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, 2021, and its PAC backed a $100 million pro-Trump outreach campaign to appeal to young voters in swing states ahead of the 2024 election.
Kirk was married to Erika Frantzve, and the couple have a three-year-old daughter and one-year-old son.
“He was a very, very good friend of mine and he was a tremendous person,” Trump told the New York Post after Kirk was shot.
Trump praised Kirk—who worked as an adviser for his 2016 campaign—for helping build support among young voters in his most recent campaign, writing on Truth Social in the wake of his death “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.” In May, Trump said “Charlie Kirk will tell you, TikTok helped, but Charlie Kirk helped also,” speaking about winning over youth voters in the 2024 election, when Trump lost 18-29 year olds by 13 points less than he did in 2020.
In his most recent podcast episode, aired earlier Wednesday, Kirk spoke about the state of “American manhood” and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweep in Chicago dubbed the “Midway Blitz” operation. Kirk’s last tweet was about the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte, North Carolina: “If we want things to change, it’s 100% necessary to politicize the senseless murder of Iryna Zarutska,” he wrote, echoing Trump and his allies who have used the killing to bolster his case for crime crackdowns in major cities.
Trump in a Truth Social post at 4:40 p.m. EDT that Kirk had died after he was shot while speaking on stage at Utah Valley University at 2:10 p.m. EDT on Wednesday afternoon, according to the school. FBI Director Kash Patel announced hours later a “subject” was in custody, while Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said authorities had identified a “person of interest.” Trump ordered all American flags to fly at half-mast until Sunday evening at 6 p.m. in the wake of Kirk’s death, and White House flags were lowered. While Kirk was a polarizing figure, who drew ire for his controversial statements on topics including diversity, equity and inclusion, gender ideology and the role of women in society, his death garnered bipartisan sympathy and calls for an end to political violence, including from former president Barack Obama and Biden.
Charlie Kirk Dead After Shooting At Utah College Event, Trump Says (Forbes)