Erika Kirk credits Usha Vance with comforting words after husband’s assassination at memorial

Erika Kirk described the emotional moments at Charlie Kirk’s public memorial Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Arizona, saying she turned to Usha Vance, the second lady, for comfort in the wake of her husband’s assassination. She recounted the guidance Vance offered on the plane the day after the Utah Valley University incident, when Kirk was killed during a campus debate. "You will get through these 15 minutes and the next 15 minutes after that," Erika quoted Vance as telling her, words she said were exactly what she needed to hear.

Erika described Vance as a 'precious woman' who steadied her during the long plane ride, stepping off the aircraft with Vance by her side as she kept her head down behind sunglasses. "I held her hand and told her, honestly I do not know how I am going to get through this," Erika said during her remarks. The moment, she added, reflected the support she received from the Second Lady in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy.

Before Erika’s remarks, Vance delivered his own response to the crowd. He called Kirk a "martyr" and said the nation must remember him as a hero who stood for faith and the defense of the United States. "For Charlie, we will remember that it is better to stand on our feet defending the United States of America and defending the truth than it is to die on our knees," Vance said. He credited Kirk with helping propel his own political ascent and with building an organization that reshaped the balance of American politics. "Charlie built an organization that reshaped the balance of our politics."

Vance helped carry Kirk’s casket onto Air Force Two after the memorial service, a moment that underscored the close ties within the circle of family, friends and political allies who had worked with Kirk in recent years. Erika spoke about her marriage as the best thing they ever did, a personal note amid the public grief. The casket was bound for Kirk’s home state of Arizona, with Kirk's family and supporters looking on as government and political leaders paid tribute.

Erika recalled that her late husband and Vance had formed a friendship years earlier. Vance said Kirk was among the first people he called when he decided to run for Senate in early 2021. He described how Kirk mentored him on strategy, fundraising and the grassroots of the movement, and how Kirk introduced him to donors and to figures such as Donald Trump Jr. "Like his dad, he's misunderstood. He's extremely smart, and very much on our wavelength."

President Donald Trump was among the late-afternoon speakers, praising Kirk for helping bolster the Republican cause ahead of the 2024 election. "The gun was pointed at him, but the bullet was aimed at every one of us," Trump said, joining a lineup that celebrated Kirk’s impact on the party and its activism.

Prosecutors and the Trump administration have pushed for the death penalty for the accused killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who was arrested two days after Kirk’s death and charged with capital murder. The state’s use of a firing squad for executions has been noted in relation to the case, though Erika Kirk declined to say whether she favored such a sentence, saying that she would leave the decision to government authorities to weigh in on her conscience.

Erika’s remarks also touched on forgiveness. "That man, that young man, I forgive him," she said through tears, offering a personal note amid a highly political moment that has riveted national attention.

Notes accompanying the memorial underscored Kirk’s influence within conservative circles. The two men had built a working relationship since 2017, when Vance first contemplated running for office. Kirk introduced him to donors and to key movement figures, helping to shape the course of the MAGA-aligned conservative movement in the years that followed. The memorial, attended by family, friends and political allies, framed Kirk’s life as a blend of personal devotion and political organizing.