Charlie Kirk Memorial Moments: Musk-Trump Reunion Erika Kirk Forgives, Miller, Trump Attack

With some attendees camping out Friday night, Turning Point USA was anticipating 100,000 or so people, but on Sunday told CNN that more than 200,000 had registered on the site. That's the same number the Glendale Police Department told the outlet they were anticipating in the early morning hours.

Law enforcement is treating the massive service as a Super Bowl level when it comes to security. "The Department of Homeland Security has designated the upcoming funeral and memorial service as a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) Level 1 event," a DHS Senior Official told TMZ Sunday morning. "This designation is reserved for events of the highest national significance and enables the federal government to provide the full range of law enforcement and security resources necessary to support local officials in ensuring a safe and successful event."

Seating inside State Farm Stadium quickly reached capacity, according to The New York Times. The stadium can accommodate more than 63,000 people and can be expanded to fit an additional 10,000. Overflow venue Desert Diamond Arena's capacity is around 19,000, per CNN, meaning more than half of the expected attendees would not get a seat inside either facility.

The high-security event had a massive lineup of key political figures from the Trump Administration, including President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance. It was livestreamed via multiple outlets and stations, including Fox News, CNN, NewsNation, ABC News, and CBS News.

Also speaking were White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secret of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secret of War Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Donald Trump Jr., Tucker Carlson, and Sergio Gor, Trump's nominee for U.S. Ambassador to India.

The fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk took place during signature debate format at Utah Valley University on September 10, which saw him seated on a stage as students spoke to him from a microphone positioned in front of him. He was debating with one student about gun violence when he was shot and killed.

Two days later, Tyler Robinson, 22, was identified as the suspected shooter. He was taken into custody on September 11 and has been charged on multiple counts, including aggravated murder, for Kirk's death. The prosecution has stated its intention to pursue the death penalty.

After his death, Kirk's wife Erika was elected to replace him as CEO of TPUSA, vowing that the "movement my husband built will not die." She was also among those who speak at Sunday's service.

An unexpected arrival, coming in shortly after 2 p.m. ET, was Elon Musk, who reportedly arrived to cheers. Musk had a very public falling out with the Trump administration after his controversial tenure as head of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), but CNN notes that Kirk had been working to reconcile the two after their fallout hit social media in June.

Musk posted to X from the stadium, "Charlie was murdered by the Dark for showing people the Light." He also shared a short clip of the capacity crowd at the stadium, saying he was "honored to be here."

Musk then proceeded to share tweets from others about Kirk, which you can see below.

The service also appears to have fulfilled Kirk's reported desire to see Musk and Trump reconcile their differences, with TMZ sharing video footage of the two sitting together in a luxury suite. The men sat next to one another and talked, and at one point even shook hands.

It is not clear what they might have been talking about, and if this will change things between the duo going forward, but both Trump and the White House marked the occasion by sharing pics of the duo together with the words, "For Charlie." Musk also had nothing but praise for Erika Kirk's words of forgiveness.

"That man, that young man ... I forgive him," Erika Kirk said in her emotional speech, referring to her husband's alleged shooter, Tyler Robinson. Officials have said Robinson admitted to the shooting in a text message to his roommate.

"I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do," Erika continued. "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 for those who persecute us."

In one of the night's most poignant and well-received speeches, Erika shared that she was able to see her husband's body after his death, sharing that she "saw the wound that ended his life."

"I felt shock, I felt horror and a level of heartache that I didn't even know existed. But even in death, I could see the man that I loved," she told the assembled tens of thousands. "I saw the single gray hair on the side of his head, which I never told him about. I also saw in his lips the faintest smile. It revealed to me a great mercy from God in this tragedy. When I saw that, it told me Charlie didn't suffer."

She went on to hammer in the unexpected theme of the night, which was revival. She praised the community and national response to his tragic death as prayer and turning to the Bible. "We didn't see violence, we didn't see riots. We didn't see revolution," she said. "Instead we saw what my husband always prayed he would see in this country: We saw revival."

She contextualized Kirk's message about family, where husbands are seen as the spiritual leaders, while lifting up the role of spouses in that dynamic. "Please be a leader worth following," she said. "Your wife is not your employee. Your wife is not your slave. She is your helper. You are not rivals. You are one flesh, working together for the glory of God."

While the grieving widow of Charlie Kirk shared a message of forgiveness and unity through prayer, several members of the Trump administration focused on anger and retribution, including White House deputy chief of staff policy Stephen Miller. Miller was the first speaker to shift the tone of the event, followed by both Vance and Trump.

"The day that Charlie died, the angels wept, but those tears had been turned into fire in our hearts. And that fire burns with a righteous fury that our enemies cannot comprehend or understand," Miller said.

He went on to compare Erika Kirk, himself, and Charlie's supporters to a storm, saying, "our enemies cannot comprehend our strength, our determination, our resolve, our passion."

"We stand for what is good, what is virtuous, what is noble. And for those trying to incite violence against us, those trying to foment hatred against us. What do you have? You have nothing. You are nothing," he added. "You are wickedness, you are jealousy! You are envy! You are hatred! You are nothing! You can build nothing. You can produce nothing. You can create nothing. We are the ones who build. We are the ones who create. We are the ones who lift up humanity."

He said that Kirk has been "immortalized" and that "millions will carry on his legacy ... You have no idea the dragon you have awakened. You have no idea how determined we will be to save this civilization. To save the West, to save this republic."

"To our enemies, you have nothing to give, you have nothing to offer, you have nothing to share, but bitterness," he added. "We have beauty, we have light, we have goodness, we have determination, we have vision, we have strength. We built the world that we inhabit now."

Miller concluded his inflammatory remarks with a promise to Kirk: "We will prove worthy of your sacrifice. We will prove worthy of your time on earth. We will make you proud. We will finish the job. We will defeat the forces of darkness and evil. And we will stand every day for what is true, what is beautiful, what is good. And we will achieve victory for our children, for our families, for our civilization, and for every patriot who stands with us."

Vice President Vance continued the rhetoric, opening up by asserting that "that they tried to silence my friend Charlie Kirk ... and today, tonight, we speak with Charlie and for Charlie louder than ever."

He went on to echo the sentiments that this memorial was more a revival of faith, and praised Kirk for transforming "the face of conservatism in our own time." Vance called out Kirk's "kindness, courage, and a commitment to open debate," calling it "the vehicle for bringing the light of truth to dark places."

He also credited Kirk and Turning Point USA for galvanizing thousands in support of both his own political career, as well as MAGA and Trump's rise to power.

After Erika Kirk's emotional statement, Trump was the final speaker, coming out in a blast of pyrotechnics. It was a stark contrast to how Erika composed herself and her message -- and in many ways, Trump's message was in contrast to hers, as well. Certainly, he wasn't interested in reconciliation or forgiveness for Kirk's shooter, or any of his perceived enemies.

He praised Kirk as a "missionary with a noble spirit and a great, great purpose," noting that the 31-year-old activist "did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them." Trump then went on to say, "That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent. And I don't want the best for them." He then tacked on, "I'm sorry, Erika."

From there, his speech was a combination of praise for Kirk's work, and a typical Trump rally, with the president blasting his political enemies and "the radical left," their "allies in the media," and "paid agitators," as well as touting his achievements, threatening to "save Chicago," and even teasing an announcement on autism for Monday.

He even took the time to take a cheap shot at late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, whose show was suspended "indefinitely" after his remarks about the GOP response to Kirk's shooting. Trump never mentioned Kimmel by name, but it was clear he was mentioning him.

"Over the last 11 days, we have heard stories of commentators, influencers, and others in our society who greeted his assassination with sick approval, excuses, or even, jubilation. You’ve heard that, so have I. Couldn’t believe it," Trump said.

"Some of the very same people who spent the last eight years trying to sit in moral judgement of anyone who disagreed with them about politics, suddenly started cheering for a murder. Incredible. You know the names. they’re major losers," he continued.

Trump said, "The same commentators who this week are crying fascism over a canceled late-night TV show, where the anchor had no talent and no ratings last were implying Charlie deserved what happened to him. Some of the very people who call you a hater for using the wrong pronoun, were filled with glee at the killing of a father with two beautiful young children."

The president then vowed, as did Miller before him, to use the power of the presidency to look at "networks of radical left maniacs" who "fund, organize, fuel, and perpetrate political violence."