Erika Kirk Emotional After Trump Mentions Charlie Kirk in State of the Union Address

Erika Kirk was seen wiping away tears before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night as President Donald Trump paid tribute to her late husband, Charlie Kirk, during his State of the Union address, calling the slain conservative activist his 'great friend' and asking her to stand as members of Congress rose to their feet.

Kirk attended the address on 24 February as one of Trump's special guests. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed her attendance in a post on X, writing that Erika Kirk would be 'one of President Trump's Special Guests at the State of the Union.'

During the address, Trump connected a renewal of faith and religion in the country directly to Charlie Kirk's influence. 'This is especially true among young people,' he told Congress. 'And a big part of that had to do with my great friend Charlie Kirk.'

He then described the manner of Kirk's death. 'So last year, Charlie was violently murdered by an assassin, and martyred, really martyred for his beliefs,' Trump said, according to LiveNOW from FOX. 'His wonderful wife, Erika, is with us tonight. Erika. Please stand. Thank you.'

Cameras cut to the gallery as Erika Kirk wiped tears from her face, with members of Congress applauding. TMZ reported that tears had filled her eyes as the president described the circumstances of her husband's death. Trump concluded: 'Erica has been through a lot. In Charlie's memory, we must all come together to reaffirm that America is one nation under God, and we must totally reject political violence of any kind.'

Charlie Kirk Shot at Utah Valley University in September 2025

Charlie Kirk was shot in the neck and killed on 10 September 2025 while hosting an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in which he was debating college students. He was 31. Tyler Robinson has been charged with murder.

Trump ordered flags to fly at half-mast and attended a memorial service for Kirk in Arizona on 21 September 2025 alongside Vice President JD Vance. Speaking at the service, Erika Kirk publicly forgave the suspect. 'I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it's what Charlie would do,' she said, according to TIME. 'The answer to hate is not hate.'

Charlie Kirk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on 14 October 2025, what would have been his 32nd birthday. Erika Kirk accepted the medal at the White House on his behalf, saying Trump had given her late husband 'the best birthday gift he could ever have.'

Erika Kirk Takes Over as CEO of Turning Point USA

Following her husband's death, Erika Kirk was unanimously elected CEO and chair of the board at Turning Point USA, the conservative youth organisation Charlie Kirk founded in 2012. In a livestream in September marking her first public comments since his assassination, she said: 'To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die. It won't. I refuse to let that happen. No one will ever forget my husband's name, and I will make sure of it,' The Hill reported.

Erika Kirk, a former NCAA Women's Basketball athlete and 2012 Miss Arizona USA titleholder, holds a Juris Master's Degree in American Legal Studies. She married Charlie Kirk in 2021. They had two children: a daughter born in August 2022 and a son born in May 2024.

Trump's address also referenced a series of politically motivated attacks that have occurred in the United States in recent years. Minnesota state representative and former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were shot and killed at their Brooklyn Park home on 14 June 2025.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and his family escaped unharmed after an arsonist set fire to the governor's official residence in Harrisburg on 13 April 2025.