September 22, 2025 • 33 mins
Main Themes:
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Grief & Tribute – We mourn the loss of Charlie Kirk, describing him as a friend, husband, and father taken too soon.
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Revival & Faith – The event was more than a funeral, but rather a catalyst for spiritual revival. Speakers repeatedly stress how millions heard the Gospel and were moved.
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Forgiveness & Strength – A centerpiece of the document is Erica Kirk’s speech, especially her public forgiveness of her husband’s killer, which is framed as a Christ-like act of grace.
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Unity & Legacy – The memorial is described as unifying political leaders, religious communities, and ordinary people. Mentions of figures like Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Van Jones illustrate broad reach and impact.
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Hope for America – The writers conclude that Charlie’s death and the memorial may inspire a generational shift toward faith, civility, and spiritual renewal.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
My husband, Charlie. He wanted to save young men just
like the one who took his life. Young man on
the cross. Our Savior said, Father, forgive them, for they
not know what they do.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Man, forgive me.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
This is a forty seven Morning Update special edition with
Ben ferguson.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Good Monday morning. It is nice to have you with
us on the forty seven Morning Update, and this morning
is going to be a little different than normal. I
have just gotten back from Charlie Kirk's memorial service. I
went with Senator Cruz and was there to be a
part of it. I was also there to talk about
Charlie Kirk's legacy on Fox News Channel. Many of you
(00:47):
may have seen those multiple appearances on Fox before the funeral,
and I just wanted to take you guys there so
that you know what happened, what we saw, what we witnessed.
I think it's going to go down in history as
one of the most important days for spreading the gospel
that has nothing to do with politics. I think it's
(01:09):
going to go down in history as one of the
most incredible days for what Charlie Cook believed in, what
he wanted for this country and people that are going
to have their lives forever change because the words that
were spoken at his memorial service. The entire political world
was there, but I can tell you what was really
(01:30):
there was the Holy Spirit. What I can tell you
was really there was an incredible amount of love and
people that were coming together to worship. So we're going
to have a little different show this morning than normal,
but I want you to hear Sinata Cruz and I
reflect on on a day where both of us. So
with that, it's the forty seven Morning Update and it
(01:53):
starts right now. Today was I think maybe one of
the most incredible things I've ever witnessed in my life.
And I'm saying that going to memorial service. But Centata,
I think you probably feel the exact same way that
I do that this was a day where I feel blessed.
I feel honored that we were able to be there
to be a part of it. I feel like I
(02:14):
am watching a revival take place that is so much
bigger than politics, and I think what we've witnessed today
was the start of something that could transform this country.
They're now saying over a hundred million was the number
of streams coming out of this event, and well, over
two hundred thousand people showed up, the majority of them
(02:36):
without a ticket to go to the memorial service. It
was incredible.
Speaker 5 (02:41):
It was extraordinary.
Speaker 6 (02:42):
Man.
Speaker 5 (02:43):
It is right now, twelve nineteen am, Sunday night, early
Monday morning. You and I spent the entire day in
Arizona at the memorial service for Charlie Kirk, and I
got to say, this was a powerful day. It was powerful.
Number one, we were grieving our friend. Both you and
I knew Charlie really well. I talked to him not
(03:04):
many weeks ago. You know, I met him when he
was eighteen years old. And the last two weeks have
been a hard week. You and I both watched our
friend murdered on live video online, and the agony we
felt was felt that without ipurbole, by millions of Americans
(03:28):
who Charlie had touched. So there was grief, there was grieving,
But I got to tell you, as much as there
was grief and then, there were certainly tears. There were
tears for Erica. There were tears for his two children
that will never know their daddy. But today the atmosphere,
more than anything, was one of celebration. It was one
(03:49):
of celebrating a life well lived. It was one of
celebrating a legacy an example. You know. I got to say,
none of us know when.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
We will go.
Speaker 5 (04:00):
We don't know if we'll be here tomorrow. We don't
know if we'll be here in ten years and twenty years,
in fifty years. But I will tell you there's not
a one of us who wouldn't hope to be remembered
the way Charlie was today.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:15):
I mean, what a life well lived and what a celebration.
And you mentioned revival. That was a term that was
used over and over and over again by speakers today,
and there was a feel of revival. There was a feel,
you know. I saw the Babylon Bee had a story
today about the devil saying, uh oh, I went too far,
(04:40):
And I gotta say it is amazing. You know. Earlier today,
Charlie Kirk's producer of his podcast sent out a tweet
and the tweet said, I was just told that we
have more press interest Sunday celebration of Charlie Kirk's life
(05:02):
and legacy than there is for the Super Bowl. The
Gospel of Jesus Christ is about to be proclaimed to
the largest audience in the history of humanity. To God
be the glory. And I got to say. A friend
of mine who's a pastor, he texted that to me
and I just said, Amen, God is sovereign and God
(05:23):
is good. And look, none of us know why God
allowed this deranged killer to take Charlie's life, to take
it too early, to take it at just age thirty one.
But I have to say it is breath taking number one.
I think it is very likely that in the last
(05:44):
two weeks more people have listened to Charlie Kirk than
listened in his entire life. It has been amazing, the
penetration and this was it did. It felt like a
Billy Graham revival. And the degree to which you know,
I'll tell you Friday night, I was at a youth
(06:05):
summit in Texas and two to three thousand young people
came out to it. The attendance more than doubled what
it typically was, and it ended up being just a
remembrance of Charlie Kirk. And I spoke at it. I'll
tell you. At the beginning, a pastor preached and about
(06:28):
two hundred young people gave their lives to Christ at
a gathering.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Incredible.
Speaker 5 (06:32):
It's incredible in Texas on a Friday night, and that
it was staggering. This you know, this was in the
football stadium in Phoenix, Arizona. It's a huge stadium. People
started showing up at four and four point thirty in
the morning to line up to get in. And if
you were there, I ran into people who were there
(06:54):
by eight am. They didn't get in. The program started
at eleven. If you showed up at eight, you didn't
make it in. And and and the over one hundred
million views is astonishing and powerful and and I think transformational.
Speaker 6 (07:14):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (07:14):
The Gospel was proclaimed to millions today. And I think
a lot of people in the United States and across
the world are are listening to what is said, and
and and and are are moved. And you know, I'm
reminded of of Jesus in the New Testament. Gives the
parallel of the parable, and gives the parable of sowing seeds,
(07:35):
and sowing seeds is spreading the gospel. And some of
the seeds fall on rocky soil. Uh, some of the
seeds are eaten by birds. But some of the seeds
fall in fertile ground, and and and they take root
and they bear fruit. And and not everyone who watched
(07:55):
and listened to the service today is going to have
their life transformed. But about I think and astonishing number
are and I pray and I think you do too,
that that that revival comes from this, that that that
Charlie's death becomes a moment, particularly for young people, for
young people to say, you know what what he had?
I want my life to I want that kind of peace.
(08:18):
I want that satisfaction. I want the joy of getting
married and having kids and having a life where I'm
a husband and a father and I know that that
that that God loves me and I have a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ, and I think Charlie's life was
a powerful testament to that. But I think Charlie's death
(08:40):
may have been an even more powerful testament to that.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
No doubt. And I want to paint a picture for
people that weren't there, so you understand that many of you,
we know, I'm sure, watched online, as we know from
the number of streams. It's just incredible. But from the
moment that I left Houston, you and I flew separately,
and I was flying in uh To. When we touched
down in Arizona, amazing grace broke out on the plane
(09:08):
and I was able to.
Speaker 5 (09:09):
Play that video because that video is beautiful, to describe it,
paint the scene and then play the video.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
Yeah, we landed, and it was an organic moment that
just a flight United. Yeah, this is not Southwest is
the best way I can describe it. This is a
United flight, This is not normal on a United flight.
And it just started and and I'm going to play
it for you because you're gonna hear the very end
(09:36):
of what I what what I was able to witness,
which was just incredible, And I grabbed my phone out
because I was I wanted to just share it. And
it was as we landed and it was just people singing,
amazing grace on a United flight number one. What a
testimony to to everyone. Incredible testimony from just a standpoint
(09:58):
of the flight attendants and the and the the there
was there was I think it was pretty clear. There
was tears in the eyes of one of the pilots
when we were walking off the plane and the people
were singing, and I want to play it for you,
and it went viral yesterday and then Fox News played
it this morning when I was on They put it
up on Fox News dot Com and it's hit millions
and millions of views, and that just tells the power
(10:20):
I think of of Charlie's legacy. But but listen to
this on the plane. It was amazing for Charlie. I mean,
(10:48):
you can hear it there, and it was it was
a moment that I'm thankful I was able to capture
on video. But that was the mood. And I think
the other thing. You got up early this morning and
you went to the stadium to do Maria's show. I
got up early as well and was going to go
do Fox beforehand. The number of people that were at
(11:10):
the stadium without a ticket, that just on blind faith,
because they felt like they just needed to be there.
They just went and they were in a.
Speaker 5 (11:22):
Stadium at six in the morning, and there was a
line of people. It wasn't one or two, It was
a steady line. And you know what, it looked like
the Super Bowl. It looked like the Final Four or
if you know, any major sporting event, except this was
at six in the morning and it was a constant
line of people just walking to the stadium. They wanted
(11:43):
to pay their respects to Charlie. They wanted to honor
his legacy. They wanted to give thanks, give thanks for
a life well lived, and and and that that that
was incredibly impactful. And I will say we heard a
lot of really powerful remarks, a lineup of one after
the other after the other. I will say, by far,
(12:07):
the most impactful speech was from Erica Kirk, Charlie's widow.
And you and I were sitting next to each other
in the memorial and we both looked at each other
and said the same thing. When she finished, we just
said wow.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Like it was. It was.
Speaker 5 (12:27):
It actually reminded me of years ago. If you remember
Ben Carson's speech at the National Prayer Breakfast that he
gave a speech or the Obama presidency and it went
viral nationally and it launched Ben Carson and it made
him a national superstar. Erica's speech had had that power,
(12:48):
and I think for a lot of people who had
never seen her before that they were turning on their TV,
they were opening their phone to their computer. The strength
it took to give that speech less than two weeks
after you've lost your husband, less than two weeks after
you've lost the father of your kids, It boggles the
(13:11):
mind and You could see her before she went up,
just stopping and just just praying, God give me the
strength to make it through this, and and and and
she was so openly relying on on on God's strength.
That's that's part of what made it so unbelievably powerful.
I'll tell you at the beginning, she made a really
important point, a point distinguishing what the reaction was across America,
(13:37):
across the world to Charlie's murder compared to something like
like George Floyd being killed and and the riots and
everything that played out. Give a listen to what Erica
Kirk said on this point.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Most of all, God's mercy and God's love have been
real revealed to me these past ten days after Charlie's assassination.
We didn't see violin, we didn't see rioting, we didn't
(14:18):
see revolution. Instead, we saw what my husband always prayed
he would see in this country. We saw revival.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
You know when she walked up there, I was choked up,
you were, and I think everyone their eyes, Yeah, it
was how is she going to do this? You and
I had the conversation, I don't know if I could
have done that. And we do this for a living,
I mean you and I speak a lot. Yeah, that's
(14:54):
part of I think, just watching God work in that room.
I walked to that room earlier in the day, you
and I you came back after Maria and I left
early because we knew it was just there were so
many people there. I abandoned the car and walked a
mile and a half just trying to get into the
stadium and seeing all the people that weren't going to
get in, and they were joyful, they weren't angry, they
(15:14):
were praying. I saw groups holding hand.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
There's a whole second stadium filled with people watching it
that we're just watching it on TV.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Yeah, And I walked in. I finally got inside and
was meeting one of the Fox producers to get down
to the risers, and they were singing the worship music
that you and I hear at church when we go
on Sundays before the pastor speaks. I literally on Fox,
and I'm not a crier, but like talking about now
it's even because this has been an incredible and a
(15:43):
sad but amazing day. I told them on air, I
was like, I've never felt in my life the Holy
Spirit's presence and the way that I felt it today, ever,
and I'm forty three and I've been to some pretty cool,
amazing Christian events, promise keepers and different things that you've
(16:03):
been to. It was a feeling I will never forget.
And it was very clear that God's presence were there.
And if you were in that room, and I hope
if you were watching it on TV, you felt it too,
because what she was able to do was by the
grace of God, who gave her the power and the
strength to do it, because on your own, no one
could do that. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:25):
Absolutely, there was one portion of her speech that I
think will go down as the most memorable, the most consequential,
and the most profound. And I want you to just
just to listen to it, because, to be honest, if
you heard nothing else that happened today at Charlie Kirk's
memorial service, hear these two minutes, because this was the
(16:49):
entirety of the service boiled down in two minutes.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
My husband, Charlie. He wanted to save young men just
like the one who took his life, that young man,
(17:30):
that young.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Man on the cross.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Our Savior said, Father, forgive them, for they not know
what they do.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
That man, that young man I forgive him.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
I forgive him because it was what Christ did and
is what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is
not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is
love and always love, love for our enemies, and love
(19:05):
for those who persecute us.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
You and I were there on the second row watching
those words, and you and I talked about it afterwards.
I don't know if I could have done that that quickly.
I know God says that we're supposed to forgive those
who have wronged us, But you want to talk about
a ministry to the world in that moment. If you
(19:33):
are not a Christian, you have to be asking yourself
a question, what is it that she has that I
don't How could she forgive in this moment? And why
would Charlie want her to forgive after what happened to Charlie.
It doesn't mean that we don't want justice, but wow.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
Look when she said that, I had tears in my eyes,
you had tears in your eyes. Every one of us
one hundred thousand people tears in her eyes. And when
she started on that, when she referenced Jesus on the cross,
I knew where it was going. And I knew what
she was planning to say, and she was holding my
(20:13):
breath for because look, you just you and I both
had this conversation spontaneously walking out. To be honest, I
don't think I could say that. I would want to,
it would.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Be the right thing to do.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
I like, I cannot imagine being in the situation she
is in and getting those words out, not just breaking down,
not breaking down with rage, breaking down with tears, and
in it. It was the Holy Spirit that helped her
get that out, because there's no there is not a
(20:47):
human strength that can say that. And one of the
amazing things. I mean, we talked a minute ago about
this being one of, if not the largest presentation of
the Gospel in history. What you just said, you and
I talked about there are millions of people who watch
this who are not Christians who have to have said,
(21:08):
where did that come from? I don't understand why would
you forgive someone who murdered your husband? And that I
hope and pray and believe that it caused many people
to say, you know, maybe I should ask a few
more questions about about Jesus. Maybe I should go read
the Bible. Maybe did Jesus really say on the cross, Father,
(21:31):
forgive them, for they know not what they do. Why
would he say that when they were murdering him. That's
what Jesus said as he was nailed to the cross,
as he was hanging there dying. Yeah, Jesus asked God
to forgive the people who killed him. And it was
you know, I'll tell you. I saw on Twitter a
(21:53):
tweet from a woman named Sanna Ibrahimi, and I don't
know her, but this tweet struck struck me. I'm just
going to read it to you. I retweeted it. I
listened to Erica Kirk's full speech at the memorial, and
I want to share a few thoughts that came to
me while live streaming the event. This is not political. First,
(22:14):
I should say that I grew up as a Muslim
in a Muslim country. I don't know enough about Christianity
to say if what I witnessed is rooted in faith
or culture. But what struck me most is how, even
though death is heavy and this was by nature a
sad occasion, the entire event carried a celebratory spirit that
(22:35):
honored life. That contrast hit me deeply. In Islam, even
though we believe that good people go to heaven. The
relationship with God is taught through fear. Funerals are overwhelmingly sad,
often filled with warnings of the terrifying first night in
the grave. Growing up hearing that and then witnessing people's
(22:56):
celebrate life, speak of God's love and remember someone through
the impact he had on others, it felt so refreshing
and positive. Second, I was profoundly moved by Erica Kirk's words.
I cannot fathom the strength it takes to stand and
deliver such a meaningful speech after losing the love of
(23:17):
your life, but even more than that, the grace it
takes to forgive the very person who destroyed your world.
I cannot imagine myself standing on a stage sending love
to those who cheered your husband's murder, or inviting others
to spread God's love in response, because, as she said,
(23:41):
we do not respond to hate with hate. That is
powerful beyond words. Again, I am ignorant when it comes
to Christianity, but if this is what it truly embodies,
then I am envious of those who get to experience
that feeling. I think this young lady is not alone,
(24:04):
and I think that message touched millions, and I got
to say it was an incredible privilege to be there
and witness it firsthand and be part of I think,
what is a significant moment in the history of America
and maybe the history of the world.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
One of the things I think that is so cool
that came out of this that is just something that
no one could have planned, is how many people are
now sharing their own faith and sharing the gospel. You
and I have talked more about our faith on this
podcast in the last two weeks than we have ever before.
(24:44):
And it's not that we're afraid to talk about our faith,
but we talk a lot about what's happening in the
world in politics. JD Vance said.
Speaker 5 (24:52):
Yeah, that was something really profound. JD said as he
said that he often felt uncomfortable talking about faith, and
he made the same comment that he talked more about
faith in the last two weeks than he has probably
in his entire life.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
And I mean even this morning. I had two times
I was on Fox this morning before the before it started,
and the entire conversation was not about politics. The entire
conversation was about faith. Yeah, that his life being taken
has given the opportunity for all of us to share faith,
and I think in a more bold way, in a
(25:26):
more proud way, and a more I'm not afraid to
share my faith. I think sometimes I think I'm in
the world of politics, and that's maybe not my place
to be doing that as much. I'm going to change
my mentality on that, I think forever moving forward.
Speaker 5 (25:39):
And I can think of a very few sentiments that
would make Charlie happier than that.
Speaker 4 (25:43):
Yeah, and it was the whole time, it was about faith.
If you look at today, I also think one of
the most incredible things was you and I were sitting
there with the most powerful people in the world, certainly
in the conservative movement, where we're all in the political world,
and the entire thing was about God. I've never seen
that before. I've never been a part of that before.
Speaker 5 (26:05):
No, and and and at the very end, President Trump
spoke and and and he gave I think, very good remarks.
But I want you to listen to what he said,
in particular about Erica and her testimony. Here here give
a listen.
Speaker 6 (26:19):
To Charlie's incredible and beautiful widow, Erica. We know the
weight of this monumental loss is almost unbearable. But even
in the midst of heartache, pain too great to even fathom,
you have somehow found the strength and deep faith to
(26:40):
be a comfort to millions and millions of people. And
thank you very much, Erica, thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (26:52):
You and I have seen Donald Trump give a lot
of speeches. This was one of the most I think, somber,
yeah since and one of the most incredible speeches I
think by Donald Trump that had nothing to really do
with him.
Speaker 5 (27:06):
Well, and President Trump knew Charlie Well, Charlie has.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
Spent a lot at rattled by it.
Speaker 5 (27:12):
Charlie Charlie in the twenty sixteen campaign was Don Junior's
body man. He traveled with Don Junior all over the
country and Charlie helped mobilize young people for the twenty
sixteen election. He helped mobilize young people for the twenty twenty election.
He played a really, really integral part in the victory
(27:34):
in twenty twenty four. And President Trump has spent a
lot of time with Charlie Kirk. Just about everyone in
the White House has. I mean, it was one of
the things the entire White House has shaken. This is
not some distant person. They don't know this touched. Almost
everyone who works in the Trump administration had connected to Charlie,
(28:00):
had personal connections, and they were shaken by it. And
you know one of the bits of news that broke
this week that I thought it was a small snippet,
but it encapsulated who Charlie was well. And Van Jones,
you and I both know well. He's very much a
man of the left, maybe even far left. He's not
(28:22):
someone who you would typically envision saying nice things about
Charlie Kirk. But I want you to listen to what
he said in the last few days about his last
interaction with Charlie Kirk.
Speaker 7 (28:33):
Charlie Kirk and I were not friends at all. In fact,
the last week of his life, we were beef and hard,
beefing online, beefing on air. But the day before he died,
he did something that shocked me. He sent me a
personal message calling for a personal dialogue. Wanted me to
come on the show. He said we could be gentlemen together.
(28:54):
He said we could deal with our disagreements agreeably. And
in the past week and a half, just watching people
talk about civil wars and censorship and all this stuff
coming out of his death, I just thought it was
important to let people know, don't put that on Charlie Kirk,
because the last day of his life he was reaching
(29:16):
out to have not more censorship, more conversation, more dialogue
with somebody who honestly was one of his adversaries. Me
and I just want to share that with the world,
and I hope that maybe it might help somebody on
both sides deal with issues more like you did.
Speaker 4 (29:38):
Van putting that out there immediately brought me to today.
You and I were sitting there and we looked over
to the right of us, and you leaned over and
you said, there's Elon. And several weeks or months ago,
Charlie had said that he wanted Donald Trump and Elon
to make up.
Speaker 6 (29:57):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
We then a few minutes later see Elon in the
box with President Trump. They hugged the President, patted him
on the chest, and he tweeted out a picture Elon
did of them talking, and all it said was for Charlie,
I mean, you want to talk about bringing people back together.
That's incredible.
Speaker 5 (30:19):
I will say I respect Van Jones for putting that out.
You know Van better than I do. But he didn't
have to put that out. He didn't have to say that,
and I do think it reflects who Charlie was, and
I think the entire memorial today reflected. It was a
(30:40):
celebration of his life, and it was a proclamation of
the Gospel and that I'm really grateful to have been
friends with Charlie. I'm really grateful to have a chance
to be there for the celebration because I think it
is going to have really profound impacts on our co I.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
Think we're going to end up finding out down the
road that today was one of the biggest days, not
in politics with the biggest people in politics in a room,
but one of the biggest days for young men and
women excepting Christ and learning about the Lord from this
horrific moment in our history. And I think you look
at that bring all these people together, the way that
(31:23):
he was doing it. I think it's going to change
the way we have dialogue and conversation. I think my
demeanor's probably gonna be different. I'm still going to fight
the good fight, and I'm still going to fight hard,
but I want to have better conversations while doing it.
I think everybody's temperature is going to change a little bit,
and how we interact the way that Charlie did it.
And I left there today, and I don't know. I
(31:46):
want to ask you this as we wrap. I left
there today more hopeful for the future of this country, yes,
than I have been in decades, and more hopeful for
the younger generation in this country that they're going to
see the light, because I've been very worried for quite
(32:06):
some time. It's part of the reason why I do
this is that we have lost an entire generation to
the radical left. I think we are seeing a very
quick pendulum shift that only God could create and put
people in a place to do it.
Speaker 5 (32:24):
Absolutely. You know. I'm reminded of the Scripture Second Chronicles
seven fourteen. If my people, who are called by my
name will humble themselves in pray and seek my face
and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear
from heaven, and I will forgive their sins, and I
(32:46):
will heal their land. That has been my prayer for
a long time, and I think today was in a
very real sense a great many people in America calling
out for God to hear our prayer and to heal
(33:08):
our land. And I pray that that is the outcome.
The path we are on that we see revival our
country us.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Thank you for listening to the forty seven Morning Update
with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever
you're listening to this podcast right now and for more
in depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast
and we will see you back here tomorrow
My husband, Charlie. He wanted to save young men just
like the one who took his life. Young man on
the cross. Our Savior said, Father, forgive them, for they
not know what they do.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Man, forgive me.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
This is a forty seven Morning Update special edition with
Ben ferguson.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Good Monday morning. It is nice to have you with
us on the forty seven Morning Update, and this morning
is going to be a little different than normal. I
have just gotten back from Charlie Kirk's memorial service. I
went with Senator Cruz and was there to be a
part of it. I was also there to talk about
Charlie Kirk's legacy on Fox News Channel. Many of you
(00:47):
may have seen those multiple appearances on Fox before the funeral,
and I just wanted to take you guys there so
that you know what happened, what we saw, what we witnessed.
I think it's going to go down in history as
one of the most important days for spreading the gospel
that has nothing to do with politics. I think it's
(01:09):
going to go down in history as one of the
most incredible days for what Charlie Cook believed in, what
he wanted for this country and people that are going
to have their lives forever change because the words that
were spoken at his memorial service. The entire political world
was there, but I can tell you what was really
(01:30):
there was the Holy Spirit. What I can tell you
was really there was an incredible amount of love and
people that were coming together to worship. So we're going
to have a little different show this morning than normal,
but I want you to hear Sinata Cruz and I
reflect on on a day where both of us. So
with that, it's the forty seven Morning Update and it
(01:53):
starts right now. Today was I think maybe one of
the most incredible things I've ever witnessed in my life.
And I'm saying that going to memorial service. But Centata,
I think you probably feel the exact same way that
I do that this was a day where I feel blessed.
I feel honored that we were able to be there
to be a part of it. I feel like I
(02:14):
am watching a revival take place that is so much
bigger than politics, and I think what we've witnessed today
was the start of something that could transform this country.
They're now saying over a hundred million was the number
of streams coming out of this event, and well, over
two hundred thousand people showed up, the majority of them
(02:36):
without a ticket to go to the memorial service. It
was incredible.
Speaker 5 (02:41):
It was extraordinary.
Speaker 6 (02:42):
Man.
Speaker 5 (02:43):
It is right now, twelve nineteen am, Sunday night, early
Monday morning. You and I spent the entire day in
Arizona at the memorial service for Charlie Kirk, and I
got to say, this was a powerful day. It was powerful.
Number one, we were grieving our friend. Both you and
I knew Charlie really well. I talked to him not
(03:04):
many weeks ago. You know, I met him when he
was eighteen years old. And the last two weeks have
been a hard week. You and I both watched our
friend murdered on live video online, and the agony we
felt was felt that without ipurbole, by millions of Americans
(03:28):
who Charlie had touched. So there was grief, there was grieving,
But I got to tell you, as much as there
was grief and then, there were certainly tears. There were
tears for Erica. There were tears for his two children
that will never know their daddy. But today the atmosphere,
more than anything, was one of celebration. It was one
(03:49):
of celebrating a life well lived. It was one of
celebrating a legacy an example. You know. I got to say,
none of us know when.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
We will go.
Speaker 5 (04:00):
We don't know if we'll be here tomorrow. We don't
know if we'll be here in ten years and twenty years,
in fifty years. But I will tell you there's not
a one of us who wouldn't hope to be remembered
the way Charlie was today.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:15):
I mean, what a life well lived and what a celebration.
And you mentioned revival. That was a term that was
used over and over and over again by speakers today,
and there was a feel of revival. There was a feel,
you know. I saw the Babylon Bee had a story
today about the devil saying, uh oh, I went too far,
(04:40):
And I gotta say it is amazing. You know. Earlier today,
Charlie Kirk's producer of his podcast sent out a tweet
and the tweet said, I was just told that we
have more press interest Sunday celebration of Charlie Kirk's life
(05:02):
and legacy than there is for the Super Bowl. The
Gospel of Jesus Christ is about to be proclaimed to
the largest audience in the history of humanity. To God
be the glory. And I got to say. A friend
of mine who's a pastor, he texted that to me
and I just said, Amen, God is sovereign and God
(05:23):
is good. And look, none of us know why God
allowed this deranged killer to take Charlie's life, to take
it too early, to take it at just age thirty one.
But I have to say it is breath taking number one.
I think it is very likely that in the last
(05:44):
two weeks more people have listened to Charlie Kirk than
listened in his entire life. It has been amazing, the
penetration and this was it did. It felt like a
Billy Graham revival. And the degree to which you know,
I'll tell you Friday night, I was at a youth
(06:05):
summit in Texas and two to three thousand young people
came out to it. The attendance more than doubled what
it typically was, and it ended up being just a
remembrance of Charlie Kirk. And I spoke at it. I'll
tell you. At the beginning, a pastor preached and about
(06:28):
two hundred young people gave their lives to Christ at
a gathering.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Incredible.
Speaker 5 (06:32):
It's incredible in Texas on a Friday night, and that
it was staggering. This you know, this was in the
football stadium in Phoenix, Arizona. It's a huge stadium. People
started showing up at four and four point thirty in
the morning to line up to get in. And if
you were there, I ran into people who were there
(06:54):
by eight am. They didn't get in. The program started
at eleven. If you showed up at eight, you didn't
make it in. And and and the over one hundred
million views is astonishing and powerful and and I think transformational.
Speaker 6 (07:14):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (07:14):
The Gospel was proclaimed to millions today. And I think
a lot of people in the United States and across
the world are are listening to what is said, and
and and and are are moved. And you know, I'm
reminded of of Jesus in the New Testament. Gives the
parallel of the parable, and gives the parable of sowing seeds,
(07:35):
and sowing seeds is spreading the gospel. And some of
the seeds fall on rocky soil. Uh, some of the
seeds are eaten by birds. But some of the seeds
fall in fertile ground, and and and they take root
and they bear fruit. And and not everyone who watched
(07:55):
and listened to the service today is going to have
their life transformed. But about I think and astonishing number
are and I pray and I think you do too,
that that that revival comes from this, that that that
Charlie's death becomes a moment, particularly for young people, for
young people to say, you know what what he had?
I want my life to I want that kind of peace.
(08:18):
I want that satisfaction. I want the joy of getting
married and having kids and having a life where I'm
a husband and a father and I know that that
that that God loves me and I have a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ, and I think Charlie's life was
a powerful testament to that. But I think Charlie's death
(08:40):
may have been an even more powerful testament to that.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
No doubt. And I want to paint a picture for
people that weren't there, so you understand that many of you,
we know, I'm sure, watched online, as we know from
the number of streams. It's just incredible. But from the
moment that I left Houston, you and I flew separately,
and I was flying in uh To. When we touched
down in Arizona, amazing grace broke out on the plane
(09:08):
and I was able to.
Speaker 5 (09:09):
Play that video because that video is beautiful, to describe it,
paint the scene and then play the video.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
Yeah, we landed, and it was an organic moment that
just a flight United. Yeah, this is not Southwest is
the best way I can describe it. This is a
United flight, This is not normal on a United flight.
And it just started and and I'm going to play
it for you because you're gonna hear the very end
(09:36):
of what I what what I was able to witness,
which was just incredible, And I grabbed my phone out
because I was I wanted to just share it. And
it was as we landed and it was just people singing,
amazing grace on a United flight number one. What a
testimony to to everyone. Incredible testimony from just a standpoint
(09:58):
of the flight attendants and the and the the there
was there was I think it was pretty clear. There
was tears in the eyes of one of the pilots
when we were walking off the plane and the people
were singing, and I want to play it for you,
and it went viral yesterday and then Fox News played
it this morning when I was on They put it
up on Fox News dot Com and it's hit millions
and millions of views, and that just tells the power
(10:20):
I think of of Charlie's legacy. But but listen to
this on the plane. It was amazing for Charlie. I mean,
(10:48):
you can hear it there, and it was it was
a moment that I'm thankful I was able to capture
on video. But that was the mood. And I think
the other thing. You got up early this morning and
you went to the stadium to do Maria's show. I
got up early as well and was going to go
do Fox beforehand. The number of people that were at
(11:10):
the stadium without a ticket, that just on blind faith,
because they felt like they just needed to be there.
They just went and they were in a.
Speaker 5 (11:22):
Stadium at six in the morning, and there was a
line of people. It wasn't one or two, It was
a steady line. And you know what, it looked like
the Super Bowl. It looked like the Final Four or
if you know, any major sporting event, except this was
at six in the morning and it was a constant
line of people just walking to the stadium. They wanted
(11:43):
to pay their respects to Charlie. They wanted to honor
his legacy. They wanted to give thanks, give thanks for
a life well lived, and and and that that that
was incredibly impactful. And I will say we heard a
lot of really powerful remarks, a lineup of one after
the other after the other. I will say, by far,
(12:07):
the most impactful speech was from Erica Kirk, Charlie's widow.
And you and I were sitting next to each other
in the memorial and we both looked at each other
and said the same thing. When she finished, we just
said wow.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Like it was. It was.
Speaker 5 (12:27):
It actually reminded me of years ago. If you remember
Ben Carson's speech at the National Prayer Breakfast that he
gave a speech or the Obama presidency and it went
viral nationally and it launched Ben Carson and it made
him a national superstar. Erica's speech had had that power,
(12:48):
and I think for a lot of people who had
never seen her before that they were turning on their TV,
they were opening their phone to their computer. The strength
it took to give that speech less than two weeks
after you've lost your husband, less than two weeks after
you've lost the father of your kids, It boggles the
(13:11):
mind and You could see her before she went up,
just stopping and just just praying, God give me the
strength to make it through this, and and and and
she was so openly relying on on on God's strength.
That's that's part of what made it so unbelievably powerful.
I'll tell you at the beginning, she made a really
important point, a point distinguishing what the reaction was across America,
(13:37):
across the world to Charlie's murder compared to something like
like George Floyd being killed and and the riots and
everything that played out. Give a listen to what Erica
Kirk said on this point.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Most of all, God's mercy and God's love have been
real revealed to me these past ten days after Charlie's assassination.
We didn't see violin, we didn't see rioting, we didn't
(14:18):
see revolution. Instead, we saw what my husband always prayed
he would see in this country. We saw revival.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
You know when she walked up there, I was choked up,
you were, and I think everyone their eyes, Yeah, it
was how is she going to do this? You and
I had the conversation, I don't know if I could
have done that. And we do this for a living,
I mean you and I speak a lot. Yeah, that's
(14:54):
part of I think, just watching God work in that room.
I walked to that room earlier in the day, you
and I you came back after Maria and I left
early because we knew it was just there were so
many people there. I abandoned the car and walked a
mile and a half just trying to get into the
stadium and seeing all the people that weren't going to
get in, and they were joyful, they weren't angry, they
(15:14):
were praying. I saw groups holding hand.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
There's a whole second stadium filled with people watching it
that we're just watching it on TV.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Yeah, And I walked in. I finally got inside and
was meeting one of the Fox producers to get down
to the risers, and they were singing the worship music
that you and I hear at church when we go
on Sundays before the pastor speaks. I literally on Fox,
and I'm not a crier, but like talking about now
it's even because this has been an incredible and a
(15:43):
sad but amazing day. I told them on air, I
was like, I've never felt in my life the Holy
Spirit's presence and the way that I felt it today, ever,
and I'm forty three and I've been to some pretty cool,
amazing Christian events, promise keepers and different things that you've
(16:03):
been to. It was a feeling I will never forget.
And it was very clear that God's presence were there.
And if you were in that room, and I hope
if you were watching it on TV, you felt it too,
because what she was able to do was by the
grace of God, who gave her the power and the
strength to do it, because on your own, no one
could do that. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:25):
Absolutely, there was one portion of her speech that I
think will go down as the most memorable, the most consequential,
and the most profound. And I want you to just
just to listen to it, because, to be honest, if
you heard nothing else that happened today at Charlie Kirk's
memorial service, hear these two minutes, because this was the
(16:49):
entirety of the service boiled down in two minutes.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
My husband, Charlie. He wanted to save young men just
like the one who took his life, that young man,
(17:30):
that young.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Man on the cross.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Our Savior said, Father, forgive them, for they not know
what they do.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
That man, that young man I forgive him.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
I forgive him because it was what Christ did and
is what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is
not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is
love and always love, love for our enemies, and love
(19:05):
for those who persecute us.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
You and I were there on the second row watching
those words, and you and I talked about it afterwards.
I don't know if I could have done that that quickly.
I know God says that we're supposed to forgive those
who have wronged us, But you want to talk about
a ministry to the world in that moment. If you
(19:33):
are not a Christian, you have to be asking yourself
a question, what is it that she has that I
don't How could she forgive in this moment? And why
would Charlie want her to forgive after what happened to Charlie.
It doesn't mean that we don't want justice, but wow.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
Look when she said that, I had tears in my eyes,
you had tears in your eyes. Every one of us
one hundred thousand people tears in her eyes. And when
she started on that, when she referenced Jesus on the cross,
I knew where it was going. And I knew what
she was planning to say, and she was holding my
(20:13):
breath for because look, you just you and I both
had this conversation spontaneously walking out. To be honest, I
don't think I could say that. I would want to,
it would.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Be the right thing to do.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
I like, I cannot imagine being in the situation she
is in and getting those words out, not just breaking down,
not breaking down with rage, breaking down with tears, and
in it. It was the Holy Spirit that helped her
get that out, because there's no there is not a
(20:47):
human strength that can say that. And one of the
amazing things. I mean, we talked a minute ago about
this being one of, if not the largest presentation of
the Gospel in history. What you just said, you and
I talked about there are millions of people who watch
this who are not Christians who have to have said,
(21:08):
where did that come from? I don't understand why would
you forgive someone who murdered your husband? And that I
hope and pray and believe that it caused many people
to say, you know, maybe I should ask a few
more questions about about Jesus. Maybe I should go read
the Bible. Maybe did Jesus really say on the cross, Father,
(21:31):
forgive them, for they know not what they do. Why
would he say that when they were murdering him. That's
what Jesus said as he was nailed to the cross,
as he was hanging there dying. Yeah, Jesus asked God
to forgive the people who killed him. And it was
you know, I'll tell you. I saw on Twitter a
(21:53):
tweet from a woman named Sanna Ibrahimi, and I don't
know her, but this tweet struck struck me. I'm just
going to read it to you. I retweeted it. I
listened to Erica Kirk's full speech at the memorial, and
I want to share a few thoughts that came to
me while live streaming the event. This is not political. First,
(22:14):
I should say that I grew up as a Muslim
in a Muslim country. I don't know enough about Christianity
to say if what I witnessed is rooted in faith
or culture. But what struck me most is how, even
though death is heavy and this was by nature a
sad occasion, the entire event carried a celebratory spirit that
(22:35):
honored life. That contrast hit me deeply. In Islam, even
though we believe that good people go to heaven. The
relationship with God is taught through fear. Funerals are overwhelmingly sad,
often filled with warnings of the terrifying first night in
the grave. Growing up hearing that and then witnessing people's
(22:56):
celebrate life, speak of God's love and remember someone through
the impact he had on others, it felt so refreshing
and positive. Second, I was profoundly moved by Erica Kirk's words.
I cannot fathom the strength it takes to stand and
deliver such a meaningful speech after losing the love of
(23:17):
your life, but even more than that, the grace it
takes to forgive the very person who destroyed your world.
I cannot imagine myself standing on a stage sending love
to those who cheered your husband's murder, or inviting others
to spread God's love in response, because, as she said,
(23:41):
we do not respond to hate with hate. That is
powerful beyond words. Again, I am ignorant when it comes
to Christianity, but if this is what it truly embodies,
then I am envious of those who get to experience
that feeling. I think this young lady is not alone,
(24:04):
and I think that message touched millions, and I got
to say it was an incredible privilege to be there
and witness it firsthand and be part of I think,
what is a significant moment in the history of America
and maybe the history of the world.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
One of the things I think that is so cool
that came out of this that is just something that
no one could have planned, is how many people are
now sharing their own faith and sharing the gospel. You
and I have talked more about our faith on this
podcast in the last two weeks than we have ever before.
(24:44):
And it's not that we're afraid to talk about our faith,
but we talk a lot about what's happening in the
world in politics. JD Vance said.
Speaker 5 (24:52):
Yeah, that was something really profound. JD said as he
said that he often felt uncomfortable talking about faith, and
he made the same comment that he talked more about
faith in the last two weeks than he has probably
in his entire life.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
And I mean even this morning. I had two times
I was on Fox this morning before the before it started,
and the entire conversation was not about politics. The entire
conversation was about faith. Yeah, that his life being taken
has given the opportunity for all of us to share faith,
and I think in a more bold way, in a
(25:26):
more proud way, and a more I'm not afraid to
share my faith. I think sometimes I think I'm in
the world of politics, and that's maybe not my place
to be doing that as much. I'm going to change
my mentality on that, I think forever moving forward.
Speaker 5 (25:39):
And I can think of a very few sentiments that
would make Charlie happier than that.
Speaker 4 (25:43):
Yeah, and it was the whole time, it was about faith.
If you look at today, I also think one of
the most incredible things was you and I were sitting
there with the most powerful people in the world, certainly
in the conservative movement, where we're all in the political world,
and the entire thing was about God. I've never seen
that before. I've never been a part of that before.
Speaker 5 (26:05):
No, and and and at the very end, President Trump
spoke and and and he gave I think, very good remarks.
But I want you to listen to what he said,
in particular about Erica and her testimony. Here here give
a listen.
Speaker 6 (26:19):
To Charlie's incredible and beautiful widow, Erica. We know the
weight of this monumental loss is almost unbearable. But even
in the midst of heartache, pain too great to even fathom,
you have somehow found the strength and deep faith to
(26:40):
be a comfort to millions and millions of people. And
thank you very much, Erica, thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (26:52):
You and I have seen Donald Trump give a lot
of speeches. This was one of the most I think, somber,
yeah since and one of the most incredible speeches I
think by Donald Trump that had nothing to really do
with him.
Speaker 5 (27:06):
Well, and President Trump knew Charlie Well, Charlie has.
Speaker 4 (27:09):
Spent a lot at rattled by it.
Speaker 5 (27:12):
Charlie Charlie in the twenty sixteen campaign was Don Junior's
body man. He traveled with Don Junior all over the
country and Charlie helped mobilize young people for the twenty
sixteen election. He helped mobilize young people for the twenty twenty election.
He played a really, really integral part in the victory
(27:34):
in twenty twenty four. And President Trump has spent a
lot of time with Charlie Kirk. Just about everyone in
the White House has. I mean, it was one of
the things the entire White House has shaken. This is
not some distant person. They don't know this touched. Almost
everyone who works in the Trump administration had connected to Charlie,
(28:00):
had personal connections, and they were shaken by it. And
you know one of the bits of news that broke
this week that I thought it was a small snippet,
but it encapsulated who Charlie was well. And Van Jones,
you and I both know well. He's very much a
man of the left, maybe even far left. He's not
(28:22):
someone who you would typically envision saying nice things about
Charlie Kirk. But I want you to listen to what
he said in the last few days about his last
interaction with Charlie Kirk.
Speaker 7 (28:33):
Charlie Kirk and I were not friends at all. In fact,
the last week of his life, we were beef and hard,
beefing online, beefing on air. But the day before he died,
he did something that shocked me. He sent me a
personal message calling for a personal dialogue. Wanted me to
come on the show. He said we could be gentlemen together.
(28:54):
He said we could deal with our disagreements agreeably. And
in the past week and a half, just watching people
talk about civil wars and censorship and all this stuff
coming out of his death, I just thought it was
important to let people know, don't put that on Charlie Kirk,
because the last day of his life he was reaching
(29:16):
out to have not more censorship, more conversation, more dialogue
with somebody who honestly was one of his adversaries. Me
and I just want to share that with the world,
and I hope that maybe it might help somebody on
both sides deal with issues more like you did.
Speaker 4 (29:38):
Van putting that out there immediately brought me to today.
You and I were sitting there and we looked over
to the right of us, and you leaned over and
you said, there's Elon. And several weeks or months ago,
Charlie had said that he wanted Donald Trump and Elon
to make up.
Speaker 6 (29:57):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
We then a few minutes later see Elon in the
box with President Trump. They hugged the President, patted him
on the chest, and he tweeted out a picture Elon
did of them talking, and all it said was for Charlie,
I mean, you want to talk about bringing people back together.
That's incredible.
Speaker 5 (30:19):
I will say I respect Van Jones for putting that out.
You know Van better than I do. But he didn't
have to put that out. He didn't have to say that,
and I do think it reflects who Charlie was, and
I think the entire memorial today reflected. It was a
(30:40):
celebration of his life, and it was a proclamation of
the Gospel and that I'm really grateful to have been
friends with Charlie. I'm really grateful to have a chance
to be there for the celebration because I think it
is going to have really profound impacts on our co I.
Speaker 4 (31:00):
Think we're going to end up finding out down the
road that today was one of the biggest days, not
in politics with the biggest people in politics in a room,
but one of the biggest days for young men and
women excepting Christ and learning about the Lord from this
horrific moment in our history. And I think you look
at that bring all these people together, the way that
(31:23):
he was doing it. I think it's going to change
the way we have dialogue and conversation. I think my
demeanor's probably gonna be different. I'm still going to fight
the good fight, and I'm still going to fight hard,
but I want to have better conversations while doing it.
I think everybody's temperature is going to change a little bit,
and how we interact the way that Charlie did it.
And I left there today, and I don't know. I
(31:46):
want to ask you this as we wrap. I left
there today more hopeful for the future of this country, yes,
than I have been in decades, and more hopeful for
the younger generation in this country that they're going to
see the light, because I've been very worried for quite
(32:06):
some time. It's part of the reason why I do
this is that we have lost an entire generation to
the radical left. I think we are seeing a very
quick pendulum shift that only God could create and put
people in a place to do it.
Speaker 5 (32:24):
Absolutely. You know. I'm reminded of the Scripture Second Chronicles
seven fourteen. If my people, who are called by my
name will humble themselves in pray and seek my face
and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear
from heaven, and I will forgive their sins, and I
(32:46):
will heal their land. That has been my prayer for
a long time, and I think today was in a
very real sense a great many people in America calling
out for God to hear our prayer and to heal
(33:08):
our land. And I pray that that is the outcome.
The path we are on that we see revival our
country us.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Thank you for listening to the forty seven Morning Update
with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever
you're listening to this podcast right now and for more
in depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast
and we will see you back here tomorrow
Host
Ben Ferguson
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.