September 22, 2025 • 32 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 podcast 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 speakers conclude that Charlie’s death and the memorial may inspire a generational shift toward faith, civility, and spiritual renewal.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
It is Verdict with Center Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with
you and Senator Cruz and I. We just returned after
the funeral of Charlie Kirk. 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
(00:21):
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 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
(00:44):
was the number of streams coming out of this event,
and well over two hundred thousand people showed up, the
majority of them without a ticket to go to the
memorial service. It was incredible.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
It was extraordinary.
Speaker 4 (00:56):
Man.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
It is right now, twelve nineteen a 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
(01:19):
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 without ipurbole, by millions of Americans who
(01:42):
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, the tears for his two children that
will never know their daddy. But today, the the atmosphere,
more than anything, was one of celebration. It was one
(02:03):
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 we will go. 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
(02:24):
one of us who wouldn't hope to be remembered the
way Charlie was today. Yeah, 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
(02:47):
saw the Babylon Bee had a story today about the
devil saying, uh oh, I went too far. And I
gotta say it is amazing.
Speaker 5 (03:00):
You know.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
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 in sunday celebration of
Charlie Kirk's life and legacy than there is for the
Super Bowl. The gospel of Jesus Christ is about to
(03:24):
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 is good. And look, none of us know
why God allowed this deranged killer to take Charlie's life,
(03:47):
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 two weeks more people have listened
to Charlie Kirk then listened in his entire life. It
has been amazing, the penetration and and and this was
(04:09):
it did It felt like a Billy Graham revival. And
and and the degree to which you know, I'll tell
you Friday night, I was at a youth summit in
Texas and two to three thousand young people came out
to it. The attendance more than doubled what it typically was,
(04:31):
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 two hundred young people gave
their lives to Christ at a gathering.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Incredible.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
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 thirty in the
morning to line up to get in. And if you
were there, I ran into people who were there by
(05:08):
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 the over one hundred million views is astonishing and
powerful and I think transformational. The Gospel was proclaimed to
(05:31):
millions today, and I think a lot of people in
the United States and across the world are listening to
what is said 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, and sowing seeds is spreading the gospel. And
(05:53):
some of the seeds fall on rocky soil, 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
and listened to the service today is going to have
their life transformed, but about I think an astonishing number
(06:15):
are And 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 piece.
I want that satisfaction. I want the joy of getting
(06:36):
married and having kids and having a life where I'm
a husband and a father and and and I know
that that that that God loves me, and 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 may have been an even more powerful
testament to.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
That, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
And I want to paint a picture for people that
weren't there, so you understand. Many of you, we know,
I'm sure watched online, as we know from the number
of streams.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
It's just incredible.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
But from the moment that I left Houston, you and
I flew separately, and I was flying in to when
we touched down in Arizona, amazing grace broke out on
the plane and I was able.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
To play that video because that video is beautiful, to
describe it, paint the scene, and then play the video.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Yeah, we landed, and it was a organic moment that
You're a United flight.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
United.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
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 I'm going to play it for you because you're
going to hear the very end of what what what
I was able to witness, which was just incredible, And
I grabbed my phone out because I was I wanted
(07:58):
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 of the flight attendants
and in the in the the there was there was
I think it was pretty clear there was tears in
(08:18):
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 you the power I think of
of Charlie's legacy. But but listen to this on the plane.
(08:38):
It was amazing.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
For Charley.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
I mean, you can.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Hear it there and it was it was a moment
that I'm thankful I was able to capture on video.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
But that was the mood. And I think the other thing.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
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 the stadium without
a ticket, that just on blind faith, because they felt
like they just needed to be there.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
They just went and they were going.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
To get idium 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.
(09:57):
They wanted 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,
(10:20):
by far, the most impactful speech was from Erica Kirk,
Charlie's widow, And and you and I we 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, like it was.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
It was.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
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 it launched Ben Carson and it
it made him a national superstar. Erica's speech had had
that power. And I think for a lot of people
(11:04):
who had never seen her before that they were turning
on their TV, they were opening their phone or 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
(11:25):
boggles the 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
(11:50):
was across American across the world to Charlie's murder compared
to something like like George Floyd being killed and and
and the riots and everything that played out. Give a
listen to what Erica Kirk said on this point.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
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 violence, we didn't see rioting, we didn't
(12:32):
see revolution. Instead, we saw what my husband always prayed
he would see in this country. We saw revival.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
You know when she walked up there, I was choked up. Yeah,
you were, and I think.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
Everyone the tears in their eyes.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
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.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
I mean, you and I speak a lot.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Yeah, that's 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
(13:28):
weren't angry, they were praying.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
I saw groups holding hand.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
There's a whole second stadium filled with people watching it
that we're just watching it on TV.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Yeah, And I walked in.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
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 sad but amazing day. I told
(14:01):
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 been to. It was
a feeling I will never forget. And it was very
(14:24):
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.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Yeah, absolutely that 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, Sir at her service, hear these
(15:02):
two minutes, because this was the entirety of the service
boiled down in two minutes.
Speaker 5 (15:11):
My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men just
like the one who took his life, that young man.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
That young man on the cross.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
Our Savior said, Father, forgive them, for they not know
what they do.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
That man, that young man, I forgive him.
Speaker 5 (16:57):
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
(17:19):
for those who persecute us.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
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
(17:48):
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? Give after what happened
to Charlie. It doesn't mean that we don't want justice,
but wow, look.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
When when she said that I had tears in my eyes,
you had tears in your eyes. Every one of us
one hundred thousand people had tears in her eyes. And
when she started on that, when she referenced Jesus on
the Cross, I d I knew where it was going,
and I knew what she was planning to say, and
I act she was holding my breath for because look, you
(18:30):
just you and I both had this conversation spontaneously walking out.
I I I to be honest, I don't think I
could say that I I I would want to, it
would be the right thing to do to do. I like,
I cannot imagine being in the situation she is in
and getting those words out, not just breaking down, not
(18:52):
breaking down with rage, breaking down with tears and in
it was. It was the Holy Spirit that helped her
get that out, because there's no there is not a
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
(19:16):
I talked about there are millions of people who watch
this who are not Christians who have to have said,
where did that come from? I don't understand why would
you forgive someone who murdered your husband? Yeah, and that
I hope and pray and believe that it caused many
people to say, you know, maybe I should ask a
(19:38):
few more questions about about Jesus. Maybe I should go
read the Bible. Maybe did Jesus really say on the cross, Father,
forgive them for they know not what they do? Why
would he say that when they were murdering him? That's
what Jesus said, is he was nailed to the cross
as he was hanging there dying. Yeah, Jesus asked God
(19:59):
to forgive the people who killed him, and it was
you know, I'll tell you. I saw on Twitter a
tweet from a woman named Sanna Ibrahemi, and I don't
don't know her, but this, this tweet struck struck me.
I'm just gonna read it to you. I retweeted it.
(20:19):
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,
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
(20:43):
though death is heavy and this was by nature a
sad occasion, the entire event carried a celebratory spirit that
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,
(21:03):
often filled with warnings of the terrifying first night in
the grave. Growing up hearing that and then witnessing people's
celebrate life, speak of God's love and remember some one
through the impact he had on others, it felt so
refreshing and positive. Second, I was profoundly moved by Erica
(21:24):
Kirk's words. I cannot fathom the strength it takes to
stand and deliver such a meaningful speech after losing the
love of 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
(21:49):
inviting others to spread God's love in response, because, as
she said, 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'm envious of those who get to
(22:13):
experience that feeling. I think this young lady is not alone,
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
(22:34):
and maybe the history of the world.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
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.
(22:59):
And it's not that we're to talk about our faith,
but we talk a lot about what's happening in the
world in politics.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
JD Vance said.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
Yea, and 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's talked more
about faith in the last two weeks than he has
probably in his entire life.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
And I mean even this morning.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
I had two times I was on Fox this morning
before the before it started, and the entire conversation was
not about politics.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
The entire conversation was about faith.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
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 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 3 (23:53):
And I can think of a very few sentiments that
would make Charlie happier than that.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Yeah, and it was the whole time. It was about faith.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
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.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Of that before.
Speaker 6 (24:20):
No, And.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
At the very end, President Trump spoke 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 (24:33):
Did 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
(24:54):
be a comfort to millions and millions of people. And
thank you very much, Erica, Thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
You and I have seen Donald Trump give a lot
of speeches. This was one of the most I think, somber,
sincere and one of the most incredible speeches I think
by Donald Trump that had nothing to really do with him.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Well, and President Trump knew Charlie, Well, Charlie has spent
a lot lot He's rattled by it. 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
(25:43):
helped mobilize young people for the twenty twenty election. He
played a really, really integral part in the victory 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
(26:09):
who works in the Trump administration had connections to Charlie,
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,
(26:30):
you and I both know well he's very much a
man of the left, maybe even far left. He's not
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 (26:48):
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 so and that shocked me. He sent me
a personal message calling for personal dialogue, wanted me to
come on the show. He said we can be a
gentlemen together. He said we could deal with our disagreements agreeably.
(27:14):
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 out to have not more censorship, more conversation,
more dialogue with somebody who honestly was one of his adversaries.
(27:38):
Me and I just wanted to share that with the world,
and I hope that maybe it might help somebody on
both sides deal with issues more like he did.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Then 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. We then a few minutes later see
(28:14):
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.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
That's incredible.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
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
(28:54):
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 country.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
I think we're gonna 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 accepting 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
(29:37):
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 gonna 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.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Charlie did it.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
And I left there today and I don't no, I
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
(30:17):
see the light, because I have been very worried for
quite 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 3 (30:38):
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 and 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
(31:00):
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
(31:23):
our land. And I pray that that is the outcome
the path we are on, that we see revival. Our
country needs it.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
Amen to that.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
For all you guys that listen, I say it sincerely,
thank you guys for what you do, Thank you for
supporting us.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
We hope that we help you guys as well.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
We never ever take you guys for granted, and just
thank you for supporting us in this show and sharing
it where you do. And everybody we saw today that
was giving thumbs up and taking pictures and saying thank
you to you Cinner for what you do. It's encouraging,
I think now more than ever. And I just wanted
to say to everyone that listens to Verdict, you guys
(32:02):
are incredible and we really appreciate Without you guys, this
show wouldn't exist and we wouldn't do it. So thank
you and we'll see you back here on Wednesday morning.
Welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
It is Verdict with Center Ted Cruz, Ben Ferguson with
you and Senator Cruz and I. We just returned after
the funeral of Charlie Kirk. 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
(00:21):
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 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
(00:44):
was the number of streams coming out of this event,
and well over two hundred thousand people showed up, the
majority of them without a ticket to go to the
memorial service. It was incredible.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
It was extraordinary.
Speaker 4 (00:56):
Man.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
It is right now, twelve nineteen a 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
(01:19):
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 without ipurbole, by millions of Americans who
(01:42):
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, the tears for his two children that
will never know their daddy. But today, the the atmosphere,
more than anything, was one of celebration. It was one
(02:03):
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 we will go. 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
(02:24):
one of us who wouldn't hope to be remembered the
way Charlie was today. Yeah, 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
(02:47):
saw the Babylon Bee had a story today about the
devil saying, uh oh, I went too far. And I
gotta say it is amazing.
Speaker 5 (03:00):
You know.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
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 in sunday celebration of
Charlie Kirk's life and legacy than there is for the
Super Bowl. The gospel of Jesus Christ is about to
(03:24):
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 is good. And look, none of us know
why God allowed this deranged killer to take Charlie's life,
(03:47):
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 two weeks more people have listened
to Charlie Kirk then listened in his entire life. It
has been amazing, the penetration and and and this was
(04:09):
it did It felt like a Billy Graham revival. And
and and the degree to which you know, I'll tell
you Friday night, I was at a youth summit in
Texas and two to three thousand young people came out
to it. The attendance more than doubled what it typically was,
(04:31):
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 two hundred young people gave
their lives to Christ at a gathering.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Incredible.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
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 thirty in the
morning to line up to get in. And if you
were there, I ran into people who were there by
(05:08):
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 the over one hundred million views is astonishing and
powerful and I think transformational. The Gospel was proclaimed to
(05:31):
millions today, and I think a lot of people in
the United States and across the world are listening to
what is said 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, and sowing seeds is spreading the gospel. And
(05:53):
some of the seeds fall on rocky soil, 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
and listened to the service today is going to have
their life transformed, but about I think an astonishing number
(06:15):
are And 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 piece.
I want that satisfaction. I want the joy of getting
(06:36):
married and having kids and having a life where I'm
a husband and a father and and and I know
that that that that God loves me, and 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 may have been an even more powerful
testament to.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
That, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
And I want to paint a picture for people that
weren't there, so you understand. Many of you, we know,
I'm sure watched online, as we know from the number
of streams.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
It's just incredible.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
But from the moment that I left Houston, you and
I flew separately, and I was flying in to when
we touched down in Arizona, amazing grace broke out on
the plane and I was able.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
To play that video because that video is beautiful, to
describe it, paint the scene, and then play the video.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Yeah, we landed, and it was a organic moment that
You're a United flight.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
United.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
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 I'm going to play it for you because you're
going to hear the very end of what what what
I was able to witness, which was just incredible, And
I grabbed my phone out because I was I wanted
(07:58):
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 of the flight attendants
and in the in the the there was there was
I think it was pretty clear there was tears in
(08:18):
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 you the power I think of
of Charlie's legacy. But but listen to this on the plane.
(08:38):
It was amazing.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
For Charley.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
I mean, you can.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Hear it there and it was it was a moment
that I'm thankful I was able to capture on video.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
But that was the mood. And I think the other thing.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
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 the stadium without
a ticket, that just on blind faith, because they felt
like they just needed to be there.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
They just went and they were going.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
To get idium 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.
(09:57):
They wanted 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,
(10:20):
by far, the most impactful speech was from Erica Kirk,
Charlie's widow, And and you and I we 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, like it was.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
It was.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
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 it launched Ben Carson and it
it made him a national superstar. Erica's speech had had
that power. And I think for a lot of people
(11:04):
who had never seen her before that they were turning
on their TV, they were opening their phone or 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
(11:25):
boggles the 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
(11:50):
was across American across the world to Charlie's murder compared
to something like like George Floyd being killed and and
and the riots and everything that played out. Give a
listen to what Erica Kirk said on this point.
Speaker 5 (12:04):
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 violence, we didn't see rioting, we didn't
(12:32):
see revolution. Instead, we saw what my husband always prayed
he would see in this country. We saw revival.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
You know when she walked up there, I was choked up. Yeah,
you were, and I think.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
Everyone the tears in their eyes.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
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.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
I mean, you and I speak a lot.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Yeah, that's 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
(13:28):
weren't angry, they were praying.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
I saw groups holding hand.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
There's a whole second stadium filled with people watching it
that we're just watching it on TV.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Yeah, And I walked in.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
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 sad but amazing day. I told
(14:01):
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 been to. It was
a feeling I will never forget. And it was very
(14:24):
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.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Yeah, absolutely that 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, Sir at her service, hear these
(15:02):
two minutes, because this was the entirety of the service
boiled down in two minutes.
Speaker 5 (15:11):
My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men just
like the one who took his life, that young man.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
That young man on the cross.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
Our Savior said, Father, forgive them, for they not know
what they do.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
That man, that young man, I forgive him.
Speaker 5 (16:57):
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
(17:19):
for those who persecute us.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
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
(17:48):
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? Give after what happened
to Charlie. It doesn't mean that we don't want justice,
but wow, look.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
When when she said that I had tears in my eyes,
you had tears in your eyes. Every one of us
one hundred thousand people had tears in her eyes. And
when she started on that, when she referenced Jesus on
the Cross, I d I knew where it was going,
and I knew what she was planning to say, and
I act she was holding my breath for because look, you
(18:30):
just you and I both had this conversation spontaneously walking out.
I I I to be honest, I don't think I
could say that I I I would want to, it
would be the right thing to do to do. I like,
I cannot imagine being in the situation she is in
and getting those words out, not just breaking down, not
(18:52):
breaking down with rage, breaking down with tears and in
it was. It was the Holy Spirit that helped her
get that out, because there's no there is not a
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
(19:16):
I talked about there are millions of people who watch
this who are not Christians who have to have said,
where did that come from? I don't understand why would
you forgive someone who murdered your husband? Yeah, and that
I hope and pray and believe that it caused many
people to say, you know, maybe I should ask a
(19:38):
few more questions about about Jesus. Maybe I should go
read the Bible. Maybe did Jesus really say on the cross, Father,
forgive them for they know not what they do? Why
would he say that when they were murdering him? That's
what Jesus said, is he was nailed to the cross
as he was hanging there dying. Yeah, Jesus asked God
(19:59):
to forgive the people who killed him, and it was
you know, I'll tell you. I saw on Twitter a
tweet from a woman named Sanna Ibrahemi, and I don't
don't know her, but this, this tweet struck struck me.
I'm just gonna read it to you. I retweeted it.
(20:19):
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,
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
(20:43):
though death is heavy and this was by nature a
sad occasion, the entire event carried a celebratory spirit that
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,
(21:03):
often filled with warnings of the terrifying first night in
the grave. Growing up hearing that and then witnessing people's
celebrate life, speak of God's love and remember some one
through the impact he had on others, it felt so
refreshing and positive. Second, I was profoundly moved by Erica
(21:24):
Kirk's words. I cannot fathom the strength it takes to
stand and deliver such a meaningful speech after losing the
love of 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
(21:49):
inviting others to spread God's love in response, because, as
she said, 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'm envious of those who get to
(22:13):
experience that feeling. I think this young lady is not alone,
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
(22:34):
and maybe the history of the world.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
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.
(22:59):
And it's not that we're to talk about our faith,
but we talk a lot about what's happening in the
world in politics.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
JD Vance said.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
Yea, and 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's talked more
about faith in the last two weeks than he has
probably in his entire life.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
And I mean even this morning.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
I had two times I was on Fox this morning
before the before it started, and the entire conversation was
not about politics.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
The entire conversation was about faith.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
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 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 3 (23:53):
And I can think of a very few sentiments that
would make Charlie happier than that.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Yeah, and it was the whole time. It was about faith.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
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.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Of that before.
Speaker 6 (24:20):
No, And.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
At the very end, President Trump spoke 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 (24:33):
Did 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
(24:54):
be a comfort to millions and millions of people. And
thank you very much, Erica, Thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
You and I have seen Donald Trump give a lot
of speeches. This was one of the most I think, somber,
sincere and one of the most incredible speeches I think
by Donald Trump that had nothing to really do with him.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Well, and President Trump knew Charlie, Well, Charlie has spent
a lot lot He's rattled by it. 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
(25:43):
helped mobilize young people for the twenty twenty election. He
played a really, really integral part in the victory 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
(26:09):
who works in the Trump administration had connections to Charlie,
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,
(26:30):
you and I both know well he's very much a
man of the left, maybe even far left. He's not
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 (26:48):
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 so and that shocked me. He sent me
a personal message calling for personal dialogue, wanted me to
come on the show. He said we can be a
gentlemen together. He said we could deal with our disagreements agreeably.
(27:14):
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 out to have not more censorship, more conversation,
more dialogue with somebody who honestly was one of his adversaries.
(27:38):
Me and I just wanted to share that with the world,
and I hope that maybe it might help somebody on
both sides deal with issues more like he did.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Then 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. We then a few minutes later see
(28:14):
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.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
That's incredible.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
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
(28:54):
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 country.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
I think we're gonna 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 accepting 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
(29:37):
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 gonna 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.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
Charlie did it.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
And I left there today and I don't no, I
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
(30:17):
see the light, because I have been very worried for
quite 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 3 (30:38):
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 and 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
(31:00):
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
(31:23):
our land. And I pray that that is the outcome
the path we are on, that we see revival. Our
country needs it.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
Amen to that.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
For all you guys that listen, I say it sincerely,
thank you guys for what you do, Thank you for
supporting us.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
We hope that we help you guys as well.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
We never ever take you guys for granted, and just
thank you for supporting us in this show and sharing
it where you do. And everybody we saw today that
was giving thumbs up and taking pictures and saying thank
you to you Cinner for what you do. It's encouraging,
I think now more than ever. And I just wanted
to say to everyone that listens to Verdict, you guys
(32:02):
are incredible and we really appreciate Without you guys, this
show wouldn't exist and we wouldn't do it. So thank
you and we'll see you back here on Wednesday morning.
Host
Ben Ferguson
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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.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com