Who was Charlie Kirk, the MAGA activist shot dead?
Originally from the Chicago suburbs, a Christian and gun rights advocate, this right-wing influencer and father of two founded the largest conservative youth group in the United States.
Charlie Kirk was a 32-year-old who attracted hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of young voters to Trumpism and had become very close to the US president and his family. This Wednesday, the pro-MAGA (Make America Great Again) activist was shot in the neck during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania .
Originally from the Chicago suburbs , a Christian and gun rights advocate, this right-wing influencer and father of two founded the largest conservative youth group in the United States. Promoting a traditionalist view of the family and relationships between men and women, he was a key supporter of Donald Trump among young male voters last year.
Kirk had achieved enormous influence on both social media and Republican politics. With more than 7.5 million followers on Instagram and 7 million on TikTok, he established himself as a conservative influencer capable of mobilizing crowds. His murder marks a turning point in American politics, as many viewed him as a potential presidential candidate.
In 2012, he founded Turning Point USA , an organization that became a focal point for young conservatives and now serves some 250,000 college and high school students. His success has translated into a significant personal fortune thanks to his podcasts, conferences, and books such as “The MAGA Doctrine.” In 2023, the organization raised $92 million in donations, funds that Kirk allocated to key states, including his hometown of Arizona, in support of Trump’s reelection.
His closeness to the former president and Donald Trump Jr. was notable. At the Turning Point gala during Trump’s inauguration, the former president’s son called him “one of the true stars of our movement.” Vice President JD Vance also included him on international tours, including a trip to Greenland, and Kirk advised Trump on the formation of his cabinet after the presidential transition, based for months in Florida, near the president’s residence, with his wife, Erika, a former Miss Arizona, and their two young children.
While he occasionally criticized hardline Republicans, he always sided with Trump’s decisions. During the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee , Kirk asserted that “Republicans have found their Kennedys” and warned about the influence of new platforms on politics: “These are the elections of TikTok and podcasts. Young people are consuming less traditional media, and I think conservatives are leading the way.”
His provocative and controversial style earned him both admirers and detractors. At his university events, such as the one held this week in Utah under the title “Prove Me Wrong,” he fostered debates about immigration and abortion with students of all stripes. These confrontations, widely reported on social media, made him popular, but also led to constant threats. In Utah, for example, more than 6,800 people signed a petition against him to prevent his participation.
Kirk’s murder leaves a void in the Republican Party’s digital and youth strategy, and raises questions about the future of a movement in which he emerged as one of the most influential voices.
The MAGA movement finds its “martyr”
Leading figures in the MAGA movement, inspired by Donald Trump, have called Charlie Kirk a “martyr” who fell in defense of conservative and Christian values.
“The movement started by Charlie Kirk will never end,” declared Jack Posobiec , another far-right influencer, in a conversation with Steve Bannon , a figure in the ultraconservative movement. “We must have an iron will. Charlie Kirk fell on the front lines,” Bannon declared on Real America’s Voice, the channel where the young conservative podcaster hosted a show.
“Charlie Kirk is an American martyr,” wrote Benny Johnson , another podcaster closely followed by Trump supporters, on X.
Kevin Roberts , president of the Heritage Foundation, a think tank whose ideas have been widely shared by the US president, has used similar terminology. “His martyrdom should be a turning point for our country,” he declared in a press release, borrowing the name of the youth mobilization movement led by Charlie Kirk: “Turning Point.”
Charlie Kirk “died a martyr. Many will rise to replace him,” predicted Jonathan Lucroy , a former professional baseball player and ardent supporter of Donald Trump.
The most devout have not waited for the first elements of the investigation to be revealed to blame the “left,” despite the fact that many Democratic leaders quickly and unequivocally condemned the attack.
“The left couldn’t win the debates, so they killed him,” said Clay Travis, a host and commentator who promotes Trumpist ideas.
“The left is the party of murder,” Elon Musk declared on X.
“The left provokes violence. (…) It’s evil. They’re guilty,” evangelical pastor Mark Driscoll attacked on the same platform.
Political violence “is hardwired into the political code of progressives,” said Dave Rubin, a radical right podcaster. “We’re not radicals. But if they thought they were going to silence the movement, they’re in for a big disappointment. They woke us up!” said conservative host Greg Gutfeld on Fox News, the preferred channel of the American right. Progressive figure Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez feared that Charlie Kirk’s death would unleash a wave of “political chaos and violence.”
