President Donald Trump issued an emotional apology to Erika Kirk, widow of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, during a memorial service that drew tens of thousands to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on Sept. 10 while debating students at Utah Valley University.
His public memorial, held Sunday, featured a 45-minute eulogy delivered by Trump and tributes from Vice President JD Vance, members of the Trump administration and Kirk’s widow.
In front of a packed stadium of 60,000 mourners, with thousands more tuning in online, Trump praised Kirk’s legacy but admitted to disagreeing with a central part of his message.
“He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them,” Trump said.
“That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent, and I don’t want the best for them.”
“I’m sorry. I am sorry, Erika, but now Erika can talk to me, and the whole group, and maybe they can convince me that that’s not right, but I can’t stand my opponent.”
The crowd erupted just minutes earlier when Erika Kirk stunned the audience by publicly offering forgiveness to the man accused of assassinating her husband.
“Charlie wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life,” Erika said.
“That man, that young man, I forgive him.”
Her remarks brought the stadium to its feet in a standing ovation, as spectators wept.
Erika recalled that her husband had once quoted Isaiah 6:8—“Here I am, Lord. Send me”—in a speech two years prior, a moment that she said revealed his readiness to sacrifice everything for his faith.
“Even though Charlie died too early, he was ready to die,” she said. “Charlie died with incomplete work, but not unfinished business.”
With tears streaming, Erika described the heartbreak of seeing her husband’s body for the first time after the shooting.
“I felt shock, I felt horror,” she said. “But even in death I could see the man that I love.”
She told mourners that nothing could have been done to save him, even if he had reached a hospital operating room.
Erika added that she found peace in knowing her husband had joined Jesus Christ in paradise.
The widow also recalled the support she received from Second Lady Usha Vance in the immediate aftermath of her husband’s killing.
The day after the shooting, Vice President JD Vance transported Kirk’s casket on Air Force Two alongside Erika and their two children.
Usha Vance comforted Erika as they disembarked the plane together.
“[Usha] told me, you will get through these 15 minutes and the next 15 minutes after that,” Erika said.
“Usha, I don’t think you realized it then, but those words were exactly what I needed to hear.”
Throughout her speech, Erika reflected on their marriage, describing Charlie as a devoted husband and father who often left her love notes asking how he could better serve her.
She emphasized that he sought to encourage young men to pursue family life, marriage and faith as a way to restore values to society.
“He wanted everyone to experience that joy,” Erika said.
“When he spoke to young people, he was always eager to tell them about God’s vision for marriage.”
“And how, if they could just dare to live it out, it would enrich every part of their life, just as it enriched ours,” she continued.
More than 200,000 people attempted to attend the service, lining up before sunrise.
WATCH:
