【Text by Ashley Parker, Isaac Stanley-Baker, Translation by Whale Life】
It is difficult to overstate how close Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist, was to Trump's inner circle, and even to the president himself.
Kirk had a close relationship with Vice President Vance and Donald Trump Jr., often sending messages in a small chat group with a group of young male aides and allies in the White House. He was also a regular at the White House and Mar-a-Lago Club. His organization, Turning Point USA, which is a youth conservative group in the United States, played a key role in helping Trump win the 2024 election.
Until the evening of the 10th—when bloody images of Kirk being shot in the neck at an event on a university campus in Utah were released, followed by the shocking news of his sudden death—the atmosphere in the White House inevitably dropped to a low point, like attending a funeral. In the West Wing of the White House, young assistants had red eyes or somber expressions, watching videos of their friend on the television.
At just after 5 p.m. Eastern Time, the White House press corps silently left the briefing room and went to "Pebble Beach" on the north lawn. Soon after, a gardener came out and manually lowered the American flag in front of the White House with a metal key; five minutes later, he and another staff member appeared on the roof and repeated the ceremony.
Throughout the day of the 10th, Trump was watching live TV broadcasts and talking with his assistants, occasionally making statements. He told a reporter from the New York Post on the phone: "He's in bad shape, it looks very bad." When asked about his own feelings, the president showed a vulnerable side: "Not good. He was a very good friend, a great person." Later, Trump posted a series of social media messages calling for prayers for Kirk across the country and announced his death: "He was loved and respected by everyone, especially me. And now, he's gone."
On the evening of September 10th local time, Trump expressed his "grief and anger" over Kirk's shooting in a nationwide speech and promised to take action against political violence. Screenshot from video
Donald Trump Jr. also spoke up: "I love you, brother." In another longer social media post, he wrote that Kirk "was not just a friend, he was like my brother." A person close to Donald Trump Jr. told us that he was "devastated" by Kirk's death. (Of course, it was not only people in the Trump circle and the "Make America Great Again" movement who expressed condolences; many prominent Democrats, three living former presidents, members of Congress, podcast hosts, and internet celebrities expressed grief that day and called for opposition to political violence.)
Earlier that day, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. flew on a Boeing 737 government jet to a press conference in the suburbs of Chicago. That was originally a relaxed and cheerful trip. After the plane took off on the return flight, chicken and cheese pies were distributed shortly after. At that time, news of Kirk's shooting spread online. Because the Wi-Fi signal on the plane was good, everyone could watch the live video while flying. Kennedy immediately dictated a statement, "We love you, Charlie Kirk; we pray for you," which was then sent by his assistant. After the plane landed, Bondi quickly avoided the media and left.
By the evening, the shooter remained unidentified, and the two suspects initially arrested had been released, and the real attacker might still be at large. However, in a national speech late at night, Trump directly blamed the case on "radical left-wing political violence."
Kirk was one of the most influential non-electoral political figures in the United States. He was not only a friend of the Trump family and a close friend of several cabinet members, but also had absolute influence among millions of young Americans who attended his podcast "The Charlie Kirk Show" and large rallies. For Trump supporters, he was not only a political commentator, but also an interpreter of religious beliefs and family values, akin to a new William F. Buckley in the MAGA world (William F. Buckley, an American media personality and conservative political commentator, laid the foundation for modern conservatism during the Reagan era — note).
Kirk, who received the favor of Republican big donors in his teens, was expected to "build a unified conservative youth movement." Kirk indeed exceeded the investment made in him. "Turning Point USA" gave the MAGA movement a youthful touch, broke the old stereotypes about the Republican Party, and helped regain the online public opinion ground previously occupied by Democrats. Kirk was an indefatigable "Trump preacher," believed to have helped the president gain support from many young voters, especially white males. Trump regularly attended Kirk's large events, including a meeting in Arizona after his 2024 election victory.
Trump particularly appreciated Kirk's "face-to-face" debates held on campuses across the United States, which sometimes had a fiery tone. People specifically recorded these contents and uploaded them to social media. Kirk often loudly raised issues opposed by the right wing, opposing so-called "critical race theory" and transgender rights. In a pamphlet titled "Warrior Report" written for donors on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of "Turning Point USA" in 2022, he wrote: "Over the past decade, 'Turning Point USA' has committed to playing the active serve with a sense of urgency, fighting and winning in this cultural war in America." This pamphlet introduced the "victories" Kirk mentioned—dominating social media discourse, setting the agenda for American political debates, and organizing a team of 500,000 conservative ideology campus activists and promoters across the country.
Charlie Kirk was giving a speech at Utah Valley University before being shot. Visual China
As time went on, the influence of the "Turning Point USA" organization even surpassed the establishment of the Republican Party. Without it, it would be unimaginable for the MAGA movement to help Trump win twice. From school board committees to state legislatures and the White House, every conservative seeking public office relied on the platform of "Turning Point USA."
In 2022, former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, who was the top nominee for the Justice Department in Trump's second administration, revealed that he hoped Kirk would serve as the Chairman of the Republican National Committee: "He is the most dynamic organizer in our movement." In recent years, there have been rumors that Kirk might run for governor of Arizona, where he and his wife and two children lived. But Kirk did not act, and he exerted greater influence in his current position.
Kirk grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. His father was an architect who participated in the design of the Trump Tower in Manhattan. His mother was a counselor. In the spring of 2012, at the age of 18, he warned in a speech at Benedictine University in Illinois that future youth would "be crushed by government debt." This confident and decent young man advocated for a youth movement to counter the calls of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
This speech impressed Bill Montgomery, a retired restaurant owner and Tea Party activist in the local area. Montgomery advised Kirk to give up going to college (he had just failed to apply to West Point), and instead devote himself to the conservative movement.
In his 2012 memoir, "It's Time for a Turn: Setting the Path for Free Markets and Limited Government," Kirk wrote: "It sounded like the craziest idea, but I said what anyone would say: 'Okay, let's do it.'"
In June 2012, two days after graduating from high school, Kirk founded "Turning Point USA." According to sources, this teenager and his father came up with the name of the organization, Montgomery helped rent an office, and introduced him to wealthy conservative donors. Kirk also sought funders on his own. At the stairs of the 2012 Republican National Convention, he intercepted Foster Friess, a deceased investment manager and Republican super donor.
Kirk's ideas were simple and direct, and they fit the age group: this newly established nonprofit organization would attract conservative-minded students to counter progressive grassroots groups like MoveOn (which became famous for viral media promotion). One of their early social media slogans was "Big government is terrible," and they set up a "Professor Watch List" to expose liberal teachers in American universities.
Outside Illinois, many of Kirk's early donors were rooted in Texas, supporting the state's well-known senator Ted Cruz in the 2016 Republican primary, and Kirk did the same. A former member of "Turning Point USA" revealed that the organization originally planned to establish a youth political action committee (PAC) supporting Cruz, but abandoned the plan when it became unlikely for Cruz to win the Republican nomination. The person said that at that time, although Kirk switched to the Trump camp, he canceled the plan to establish a youth political action committee because he "did not really identify with Trump."
Kirk soon changed his mind. According to Joe Walsh, a former congressman from the Chicago suburbs and an early ally of Kirk, who later split with him after supporting Trump, Kirk first met Trump at a small event arranged by a donor in Chicago. Through Texas donors (including Tom Hicks, who later became a co-chair of the Republican National Committee), Kirk met Donald Trump Jr. and his relationship with the Trump family grew closer.
In December 2024, Charlie Kirk shook hands with elected President Trump at an event hosted by "Turning Point USA"
In the final months of the 2016 U.S. election, 22-year-old Kirk temporarily put aside his work at "Turning Point USA" and joined Donald Trump Jr. for the entire campaign tour across the country.
The relationship with Trump brought Kirk fame. In 2016, "Turning Point USA" set up an office in Mesa, Arizona, and in 2018, a new national headquarters in Phoenix. The most direct indicator of the organization's development was its fundraising ability: tax documents show that it raised $85 million in 2024. Just the fundraising competition initiated by Kirk at a winter dinner at Mar-a-Lago raised millions of dollars.
Kirk attended all of Trump's presidential nominating conventions. During the 2020 election, "Turning Point USA" and affiliated groups pledged to mobilize voters for Trump in Arizona and across the country, and his loss shocked Kirk. On January 5, 2021, Kirk claimed that he was dispatching 80 "Patriot Buses" to Washington to fight for the president. However, when testifying before the congressional committee on the Capitol riot, he chose to invoke the Fifth Amendment (remain silent).
After Trump left office, the grassroots organizations of the Republican Party hoped that Kirk would continue to carry the flame of the MAGA movement. In 2022, his relationship with Trump had become so close that a local Republican organization in Illinois canceled an invitation to a dinner for then-South Dakota Governor (now Secretary of Homeland Security) Kristi Noem, because Kirk was available to attend the dinner. The head of the organization wrote in a letter (which has been obtained by The Atlantic) to Noem: "In response to your surprising and highly anticipated reply to the invitation, we have signed a contract worth $30,000 plus additional expenses to invite Charlie Kirk."
In 2024, Kirk's team once again focused on encouraging voters to vote for Trump, and this time achieved better results than four years ago. His assistants held rallies and fireworks displays in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona, and invited Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to publicly support Trump (Kennedy later served as the Secretary of Health and Human Services). When some of Trump's cabinet nominees faced obstacles, Kirk mobilized online supporters to show their support.
Trump often takes action due to accidents involving people around him. For example, the assault on a young employee of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) named "Brave Guy" in early August directly prompted the president to deploy the National Guard in Washington, D.C. It is currently unclear what kind of national reflection the killing of Kirk will trigger, or what reaction Trump will have recently. Steven Cheung, the White House Communications Director, told The Atlantic: "The current focus is on Charlie and his family, which is the only important thing."
After Kirk was assassinated, U.S. House lawmakers from both parties fell into arguments and mutual accusations after Speaker Johnson called for a moment of silence
Kirk was a regular at the White House, often offering opinions on personnel appointments, meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, and conveying the president's points to the audience. He had his own views on the MAGA political agenda, such as opposing the United States' involvement in Israel's recent war against Iran. But these views eventually yielded to the president's will. When Trump ordered air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, Kirk fell silent and said in a private chat: "That's just how it is."
Kirk never wavered in his loyalty to Trump, to the extent that this summer, when his comments on the Epstein files issue deviated from the president's stance, it caused a stir within the White House. However, after receiving a call from Trump, Kirk immediately expressed respect for the government's handling. It is precisely this attitude (even if not the firebrand remarks he made on cultural issues) that more authentically reflects the political style represented by Kirk, and it is the quality that Trump values most: loyalty to the president.
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