OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
9:14 AM – Thursday, September 18, 2025
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance are slated to speak at conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s memorial service in Arizona.
Kirk, the 31-year-old co-founder and CEO of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), was fatally shot at an open-microphone event at Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, Utah, last Wednesday. The event was the first stop on the organization’s “The American Comeback Tour,” where students were invited to ask questions and engage in open dialogue and debate. The suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was taken into custody on Friday after a 33-hour manhunt.
TPUSA announced last week that the memorial service would be held on Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, will also eulogize her husband at the memorial, marking her second public address since his passing.
Vance, a friend of Kirk’s since the first Trump administration, has made several statements honoring the slain activist in the past week, including a nearly 1,000-word X post and a special episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show” podcast. He also canceled a visit to Ground Zero for 9/11 to fly Kirk’s casket home on his Air Force Two plane.
The list of speakers to deliver remarks includes:
- Mother of two, Erika Kirk
- President Trump
- Vice President JD Vance
- White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio
- Health and Human Services Secretary Robert K. Kennedy, Jr.
- Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth
- Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard
- Donald Trump Jr.
- Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson
- Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller
- Ambassador to India nominee Sergio Gor
The official website says that more names will be announced.
Additionally, Christian music artists are slated to lead worship at the service, including Chris Tomlin, Brandon Lake, Phil Wickham, Kari Jobe Carnes and Cody Carnes.
Doors will open at 8:00 a.m. and the funeral will begin at 11:00 a.m. The program website lists the dress code as “Sunday Best—Red, White, or Blue.”
On Monday, Trump told reporters at the White House that he expects the stadium, which has a capacity exceeding 63,000, to be “packed” for the memorial.
“I knew him very well. He was an amazing guy. He was an amazing guy. He was all about young people, getting them started right. He was like a magnet for young people,” Trump said of Kirk.
“Charlie’s life was short, but it was full,” the website reads. “It was defined by truth, anchored in faith, and devoted to the country he loved. His legacy will endure for generations. And now he hears the words of Matthew 25:23 from his Lord and Savior: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”
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