Trump welcomes Charlie Kirk as an “American hero” as thousand

US President Donald Trump welcomes conservative activist Charlie Kirk as a “great American hero” and “martyr” during a speech of tens of thousands of mourners in a last service in Arizona.

Trump was the speaker of the title of the packaged event on Sunday, which saw senior officials from his administration, including Vice President JD Vance, praising Kirk’s political heritage after he was shot dead on September 10.

“He was killed because he lived boldly, he lived boldly and argued brilliantly,” Trump told the crowd of the state farm stadium near Phoenix.

Kirk’s wife, Erika, also made a tearful speech in which she said she had forgiven her husband’s alleged killer.

“My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life,” she said, adding, “I forgive him because it is what Christ did. The answer to hatred is not hatred.”

Tens of thousands of people queued for hours outside the stadium before the event, some even at night camping to secure their place. Many wore America’s great hats, other Trump branded and red, white and blue outfit items.

Inside the stadium, the mood and the atmosphere look like a tumultuous political rally or megacher service with music in advance from Christian bands, which prompted Singlongs and a prayer from the crowd of almost 100,000.

The list of speakers included members of the Kirk organization, the Turning Point USA, which focuses on conservative activism on college campuses, well -known figures in conservative movement, Trump administration officials and those who stated that they were shaped by the work of Kirk and the right Christian worldwide.

They emphasized the need to continue the activism of the 31-year-old and emphasized his deep faith throughout the five-hour service. Kirk, who discussed students at a university in Utah when he was shot, was repeatedly described as a martyr and thrown as a historical figure for the conservative movement.

Several speakers said they believe his death would revive the conservative moment in America, which is already in a powerful position, given Trump for the White House and Republican control over Congress.

“On the day Charlie died, the angels were crying, but these tears were set fire to fire in our hearts,” says Stephen Miller, deputy chief of the White House headquarters. “Our enemies cannot understand our power.”

At one stage, Elon Musk, who had a bitter and public, fell with Trump earlier this year, was sitting next to the president and the couple was shaking and talking.

Within the stands and on the stage of the State Farm Stadium, Kirk was revered as an activist for a free speech and mobilizer of the Youth Vote for Trump. “Charlie not only helped, he made the difference in victory. I promise you,” said White House Chief Susie Wills.

“We wouldn’t have been here without him,” Vice President JD Vance told the crowd, which at times broke out in an extended chanting of the US, USA.

“We have it from here,” he added as he discussed Kirk’s political heritage.

Vance was one of several key figures from the Trump administration who spoke on stage, with others, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, war secretary Pete Heget and Heath Fu Kennedy, Jr.

They were followed by Kirk’s wife, Erika, who was tearful at times as he described her relationship and swore to continue her husband’s work. She was named the new CEO of Turning Point USA after his death.

“I saw the wound that put an end to his life,” she said. “I felt everything he would expect to feel. I felt shock. I felt horror and level of heartache that I didn’t even know it existed.

“In the last 10 days after Charlie’s murder, we did not see violence. We did not see your riots. We did not see a revolution. Instead, we saw what my husband always prayed to see in this country, we saw a revival,” Kirk told the crowd.

She then said she had forgiven her husband’s alleged killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson. “This man, that young man, I forgive him.

There was a tumultuous reception when President Trump took the stage after Erica Kirk. He repeatedly praised Charlie Kirk as he sometimes turned to his usual political spoke points, including crime in American cities and his mocking predecessor Joe Biden.

“He is now a martyr about America’s freedom,” Trump told Kirk. “I know I’m talking about everyone here today when I say that none of us will ever forget Charlie. And now there is no history.”

Then the president said he did not agree with Kirk one thing. “He doesn’t hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them,” he said, prompted some laughter. “That’s where I disagree with Charlie. I hate my opponents and I don’t want what’s best for them.”

Trump also attacks what he called the “radical left” and accused the left -wing left of violence.

At the end of his address, in which he described Kirk as “Great of his generation”, Trump joined the stage by Eric Kirk and the couple hugged as the crowd applauded.

A deeply guerrilla event reflects how Kirk’s death has exposed the ultimate political divisions in America, with many being the right casting wines on the left to break into political violence.

The Trump administration seeks repression of what it calls a “radical left”, which in turn provoked accusations of government exceeding and claims that Kirk’s death was used as a pretext for invading civil freedoms.

Robinson who has been accused of killing Kirkfaces the death penalty, but the motive for the murder is yet to be disclosed by employees.

Kirk was 18 years old when he co -founded the Turning Point USA, a student organization focused on the distribution of conservative ideas in campus colleges.

He will make debates on campuses and become famous for his combat style, inviting students to proceed to the microphone and challenge their right -wing Christian worldview in front of a stunning audience.

The videos of these exchanges built him a huge studies – more than 5 million followers of X and 7M of Tiktok – who helped him mobilize the youth vote for President Trump.

As he loaded young conservatives, his remarks on issues such as race and crime also routinely encouraged an angry liberal twist. He was a strong supporter of the rights of the weapon, cruel to abortions, critical of transgender rights and encouraged false claims about Covid-19.