Erika Kirk opened AmericaFest 2025 on Thursday night reflecting on the life of her late husband, Charlie Kirk. She said kicking off AmericaFest 2025 was a “full circle moment” for her.
“Two years ago, my husband stood on this stage and said, ‘Here I am, Lord. Use me,’” Kirk said. “And boy did he. The enemy has thrown a lot of curveballs at us today and this week and the past three months. And one of them is the fact that my entire speech has been wiped because my iPad won’t even turn on.”
Kirk shared AmericaFest stats, noting that Charlie Kirk considered AmericaFest his “Super Bowl.” At the conclusion of AmericaFest 2024, Charlie Kirk had an opportunity to get on Air Force One. He had Erika close out the festival. She was hesitant, but she did it. And now, she’s kicking off AmericaFest 2025 due to the assassination.
Erika Kirk shared a number of stats regarding AmericaFest 2025.
*80 percent of the attendees have never attended a TP USA event before.
*One-third of attendees are students.
*54 percent of attendees are women.
*All 50 states are represented in the crowd.
*25 countries are represented in the crowd.
“I have the list here,” Kirk said. “Um, don’t worry guys, Egypt is not on the list. Don’t worry about that. Um, but oh, how funny – I say Egypt and my iPad turns on. That’s fun.”
The last three months taught Erika that people will learn very quickly who is ready to go to war with you.
“You learn very quickly who thinks emotionally versus logically when you go through something as horrible that not only myself went through, but every single one of you in here that loved my husband,” she said. “You find out who stays with you, who leaves. You find out a lot. You also learn some unexpected things like the fact that Joy Reed probably needs a really, really good hug. And honestly, I’m here for it if she needs it. I got a good hug for you. I’ll even touch the back of your head.”
Erika said she’s learned most the past three months that Charlie Kirk “deeply mattered on a multitude of levels.”
“So much so that it proved even more once he was assassinated how much of a peacemaker he was and how much of a coalition builder he was because when he was assassinated we saw infighting. We’ve seen fractures. We’ve seen bridges being burned that shouldn’t be burnt. We saw a lot on full display.”
Erika Kirk said that she and Charlie were the same – if someone puts them in fight or flight mode, they’re always in fight mode.
“We don’t retreat,” she said. “Charlie would go wherever he needed to go and I’m the same exact way.”
Erika added that everyone is in attendance because they want to do something. She encouraged high school students to get involved with Club America, college students to start or get involved with their college TP USA group and for churchgoers to hold their pastors accountable for biblical citizenship.
Charlie was intentional in building TP USA in a way everyone has a role, she said.
“If Charlie listened to every single person that told him, ‘You’re too young to make a difference. You don’t have enough connections. You’re not going to do it,’ he would have let that noise consume him and he would not have built the machine that he has built,” Erika said. “So don’t you dare let anyone tell you you’re too young, you’re not smart enough and you’re not connected enough.
“As long as you’re a part of Turning Point USA, we will empower you and give whatever you need to be able to make that come to life.”
Charlie Kirk wasn’t just a speaker or political thinker, he was a bridge, Erika said.
“He was a connection point to generations. He was a pathway and connection point to communication,” she said. “And he also looked at a generation that has been mocked, that has been dismissed, that has been discouraged and told them, ‘You matter. Your ideas matter. Your decisions matter.’”
Since Kirk’s assassination, there have been more than 140,000 requests to get involved by students. The total number of students involved with TP USA is more than one million. As of Dec. 18, there are 3,082 Club America chapters and 1,432 college chapters.
She credited efforts by Oklahoma, Florida, Indiana, Texas and Tennessee for encouraging Club America groups in their high schools.
She also announced in 2026 TP USA will host a Make Heaven Crowded Tour. Turning Point has more than 8,000 church partnerships as well through TP USA Faith.
Finally, the organization will launch a “Pick Up the Mic” initiative and head to colleges for Prove Me Wrong events.
TP Action is focused on creating a “Red Wall,” she said, in states like Arizona, Nevada and New Hampshire.
“That’s going to be very important to us,” she said. “We’re going to ensure that President Trump has Congress for all four years. We are going to get my husband’s friend J.D. Vance elected.”
Charlie Kirk didn’t build TP USA for people to feel comfortable, but so people could feel brave and act.
“People could see on full display that when you stop talking to people, especially those that you disagree with, you are the one that actually becomes weaker,” Erika said. “Let that sink in. So, you may not agree with everyone on this stage this weekend, and that’s OK. Welcome to America. Charlie would have welcomed that. He believed disagreement was something not to be cancelled. It was something to confront with clarity, courage and grace. And Charlie loved truth way more than conformity.”
Erika said AmFest weekend is laced with nostalgia and hope. It’s about carrying forward what Charlie built and what he ultimately gave his life for.
“AmFest is not about echo chambers. It’s very important to know that because it’s about sharpening one another,” she said. “It’s about digging deeper into ideas instead of retreating into slogans and it’s about remembering that freedom requires responsibility and truth requires courage.”
Erika challenged the attendees to let AmFest challenge their assumptions, strengthen their convictions and make them a little uncomfortable.
“Because that’s where growth happens,” she said. “Let it be another turning point in your life, another moment where you decide not to drift, not to disengage, not to give into cynicism, but to stand up boldly, to be brave, to speak clearly because that is how we are going to honor Charlie. We are going to honor him not just with words but with action.”
