What's Next for Turning Point USA? Continuing the Legacy of Charlie Kirk with Mikey McCoy & Pastor Rob

Summary

Podcast Summary: I Don't Have Enough FAITH to Be an ATHEIST
Episode: What's Next for Turning Point USA? Continuing the Legacy of Charlie Kirk with Mikey McCoy & Pastor Rob
Host: Dr. Frank Turek
Guests: Mikey McCoy (Turning Point USA), Pastor Rob McCoy (Godspeak Calvary Chapel / Former Mayor of Thousand Oaks, CA) Date: October 7, 2025

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Overview

This heartfelt episode explores the legacy of the late Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), and how his closest colleagues are working to continue his mission. Host Frank Turek brings on Mikey McCoy (long-time friend and right-hand man to Kirk) and Mikey’s father, Pastor Rob McCoy, to discuss their experiences, the impact of Charlie’s faith and leadership, how the organization is moving forward after his tragic passing, and how listeners can help advance the movement.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Coping With Loss and Continuing the Vision

• Mikey McCoy opens up about the past weeks after Charlie’s death and how the TPUSA team is coping. He shares that staying at the office and working together has been a source of comfort ([02:09]).
  • “Being at the office, being together, talking about the show, running the organization, doing the things that we used to do with Charlie is the only thing really bringing us the most comfort right now.” — Mikey ([02:23])
• Major Memorial Turnout: Their geo-tracking team recorded 277,000 people involved in the memorial events ([03:56]).
• Charlie’s Vision 2025: TPUSA had two outstanding goals: launching the high school program and hitting 25,000 attendees at America Fest. Both goals were reached, and Mikey credits God’s providence in the wake of tragedy for energizing supporters ([04:52]).

TPUSA as an “On-Ramp to Christianity”

• Frank reflects on how TPUSA and Charlie’s work have led many to Christianity ([06:52]). At the memorial, hundreds of thousands from varied backgrounds heard the gospel, many for the first time.
  • “You think about that auditorium, that stadium. This is a demographic, a political demographic, not a Christian, necessarily Christian demographic … and when they showed up, they were met with three hours of worship.” — Mikey ([05:35])

Mikey’s Origin Story with Charlie Kirk

• First meeting: Mikey drove Charlie and Erica to the airport after a church event. During the drive (extended by traffic), Charlie “grilled” Mikey about his life and plans, and then offered him a job at TPUSA ([08:26]).
  • “He was gathering information so that he could drop a bomb on me later… he said, ‘I don’t want you to go to college. I want you to come work at Turning Point.’” — Mikey ([09:30])
• Team Building: On his first day, Charlie had Mikey watch Dennis Prager’s Fireside Chats to learn, a testament to Charlie’s focus on wisdom-sharing ([10:26]).
• Mentor, Boss, Friend: Mikey talks affectionately of their relationship, saying Charlie was “my boss, mentor, close friend” who he spent more time with than his own family many weeks ([12:03]).

The Character and Faith of Charlie Kirk

• Both Mikey and Pastor Rob speak to Charlie’s deep Christian faith and “greatness” that persisted behind the scenes.
  • “If he were to look back and see if all this outpouring of love and what this has done for the church and the body of faith, he would have loved this.” — Mikey ([12:48])

Pastor Rob’s Connection with Charlie

• Rob credits Mikey for introducing him to Charlie ([13:54]).
• First church invitation: Charlie’s first ever invitation to speak at a church was from Rob. Initially, Charlie was nervous, respecting the pulpit and having always been told to keep politics out of church ([16:55])
  • “He had such a respect for the pulpit and for the word of God, and he just had never been invited.” — Pastor Rob ([17:16])
• Rob highlights Charlie’s loyalty to friends and mentors, his gift of loyalty and discernment toward people ([18:30], [28:00]).

Responding to Rumors, Lies, and the Truth

• Mikey addresses conspiracy theories and online speculation about Charlie’s passing, emphasizing instead the importance of focusing on the truth of Charlie’s character and mission ([21:03]–[23:38]).
  • “The biggest lie that I want to address… probably more important to address in terms of just our staff… people who were there that day who have had to suffer because of people online thinking they were involved in something…” — Mikey ([22:27])
• Charlie’s last Bible verse to the staff (1 Corinthians 16:8–10): Mikey shares that Charlie sent this the morning he died:
  “A wide door for effective work is open to me, and there are many adversaries.” ([25:34])

The Multiplication of Charlie’s Legacy

• Enormous increase in TPUSA interest: Chapter requests grew 60–70 fold after Charlie’s death ([20:14], [43:29]).
  • “We’re on par to have a Turning Point chapter on every high school and college campus across the country.” — Mikey ([44:23])

Erica Kirk’s Role and Succession Planning

• Erica, Charlie’s wife, has stepped up as leader, equipped with Charlie’s extensive notebooks that serve as blueprints for the organization’s future ([38:51]):
  • “It’s like he left me these blueprints of where the country was going, where he wanted everything to go… there’s a lot of pages dedicated to Frank Turek in there.” — Mikey ([39:51])
• Erica’s forgiveness and testimony are inspiring thousands to faith and reconciliation ([41:33]).
  • “Her message is inspiring so many people. I can't even tell you. I wish… I'm gonna send you those screenshots of the stories, Frank.” — Mikey ([42:36])

What’s Next for TPUSA?

• Continued activities: All programs, events, tours, and America Fest are moving forward at “full gas, full speed ahead” ([44:56]).
• Call to get involved: Mikey and Rob encourage youth to join TPUSA chapters, attend America Fest, register to vote, and most importantly, go to a Bible-believing church ([45:39]).
  • “If you’re watching this and you want to come get involved in something… start by going to church on Sunday.” — Mikey ([45:53])

The Challenge and Charge to the Next Generation

• Pastor Rob likens Charlie to a modern day Moses and charges the “Joshuas” (young leaders at TPUSA) to guide the next generation into their “Promised Land” ([46:41]).
  • “Charlie created this entire group of young people that were never insulted. Nothing was beneath them… now he's gone. These are the Joshuas, and they're going to take it into the Promised Land.” — Pastor Rob ([47:40])

Building Over Cynicism—Charlie's Lasting Philosophy

• Rob emphasizes that Charlie never let distrust in government become cynicism or defeatism; he always built and had a hopeful plan ([51:32]).
  • “Anyone can tear something apart. Anyone can be a cynic. He was hopeful, and that's why people are drawn to him.” — Pastor Rob ([52:41])

Charlie Kirk’s Wisdom for Young Men

• Mikey closes with Charlie’s advice:
  • “Without pressure and direction, men wander. … For the young men watching this, you need direction. And Charlie would often provide that. But now that he’s gone, you’re still not lost. There’s direction for you.” ([53:25])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “He was my boss, mentor, close friend. And yeah, that's…” — Mikey McCoy ([12:07])
• “His voice has been multiplied. It has the blood of the martyr. It's the seed of the church…” — Mikey McCoy ([12:48])
• “Charlie not only had loyal friends around him… even the ones that weren't, they were still his friends.” — Pastor Rob ([36:57])
• “Her message is inspiring so many people… I forgave my mom's killer. I forgave my brother's killer. I forgave. I saw so many people reaching out and saying, I finally forgave.” — Mikey ([41:33])
• “Charlie never allowed his distrust of big government to override his trust in God. … Anyone can be a cynic. He was hopeful.” — Pastor Rob ([51:32]–[52:41])
• “Make sure that nobody forgets the name Charlie Kirk. … Everybody has their own cross to carry here.” — Mikey ([53:25])

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Mikey on coping and the aftermath: [02:09]–[06:51]
• Origin story: Mikey & Charlie: [08:26]–[12:03]
• Pastor Rob’s perspective: [13:54]–[19:14]
• Charlie’s influence and “lies” rebutted: [21:03]–[24:26]
• Charlie’s last Bible verse: [25:34]
• The Stakes: Legacy & Multiplication: [20:14], [43:29]
• Erica’s leadership and stories of forgiveness: [38:51]–[42:36]
• The challenge to churches and pastors: [46:41]–[51:32]
• Building, not cynicism—Charlie's vision: [51:32]–[52:41]
• Closing encouragement for young men: [53:25]

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Closing & How Listeners Can Help

• Action Steps:

  • Go to church, read the Bible, pray, and engage locally.
  • Join or start a TPUSA chapter (high school/college).
  • Support TPUSA events and initiatives, including America Fest (Dec 18–21, Phoenix, AZ, amfest.com).
  • Donate to TPUSA.
  • Pray for Erica, the Kirk family, and the TPUSA team.
  • Spread Charlie’s legacy in your own circle.

• Final encouragement:

  • “Emulate me as I emulated Christ.” (citing Paul)
  • “Let’s keep the legacy going. … Whatever you can do, continue to pray. … let’s continue to move forward in the name of Jesus to keep Charlie’s legacy going.” — Dr. Frank Turek ([54:47])

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End of Summary
For more on Turning Point USA, faith, and conservative activism, visit TPUSA’s website or CrossExamined.org.

Transcript

[A]

Ladies and gentlemen, they say behind every great man is a very surprised mother in law. Yeah, that's true. But there are also great men and women behind every great man and woman. And today I want to introduce you to a couple of them. You probably already know them, but maybe not as much as you should. They're two of my favorite people in the world, and they knew Charlie much better than I did, and they supported Charlie beyond what you could imagine, not only up to his death, but on the day of his death. And right now, they're continuing that. And they're from the same family, Pastor Rob McCoy and his son, Mikey McCoy. Rob's going to join us in a few minutes, but Mikey is with us right now. And let me tell you something about Mikey. Mikey's been with Charlie for several years. He's 23 years old. He is wise beyond his years. And when that tragedy struck, Mikey was an absolute hero who kept everybody calm and did some of the most mundane things you would think you would need to do on the worst day of his life. And he continues to be a rock. He's been following Jesus for a long time. I'm hoping that Mikey one day will follow in Charlie's footsteps right to the college campus because he has the ability to the demeanor, the grace, the knowledge to do so. Right now, he's going to be supporting Erica, who is, beyond doubt, the best choice to succeed Charlie right now. She, as you know, is a warrior for truth. And despite being in great pain, she is moving TP USA forward, CharlieKirk.com forward. And Mikey has a big role in that. So, Mikey, I wish we didn't have to do this podcast, but we're going to do it. And I want people to know you. I know people are. They're wondering, how is Mikey McCoy holding up? I mean, you were just at the White House yesterday. I mean, you're out there, Mikey, how are you holding up? Give us an overview.

[B]

Thank you for having me on, Frank. I'm doing as best as one can. Everybody is. And just before this program started, Frank prayed and he goes through every single name of everybody in our office. So if you're looking for a reason of Frank Turek being a great man, look no further than the fact that he pays attention to everybody. But we're all hanging in there. Our whole staff is struggling. But being at the office, being together, talking about the show, running the organization, doing the things that we used to do with Charlie is the only thing really bringing us the most comfort right now. And all of us Will laugh. Because as we're talking and as we're planning events and doing things, we hear Charlie's voice in the back of our head. And I hear this all the time. It's like ingrained in me where even for the memorial, when we were planning the memorial, we were going to do it at Desert diamond arena, which holds 20,000 people. And me, Erica, Elizabeth, we all look at each other and we're like, more, more. Charlie would be pulling up. You need more people. There's enough people. And so, so we jumped over to Cardinals Stadium and we truthfully, at first we were like, we've never done an event this big. I don't think there's ever been an event that big in the conservative movement. So we said, you know what? We have a piece about it. So we'll just release it to the Lord and we'll do everything that we can with our vessels to plan the best event we can logistically. But filling that room will. We'll do the best promotional ability we can, but we'll open it up to you, Lord. And we did. And our geo tracking team tracked 277,000 people that day. And yeah, so just seeing what the Lord has used this tragedy for, and it's given way to this great harvest of people coming out and supporting Turning Point. Donors coming out and supporting Turning Point. Listeners of the Charlie Kirk Show. They're still emailing us every day. Freedom. Charliekirk.com as though nothing has changed. Our events are going on. America Fest is going on. I replaced it now. I have a whiteboard right there. But I used to have a thing called Vision 2025, this goal set marker that Charlie made back in 2022. And he said, this is called Vision 2025. It's all the goals we want to meet as an organization. And it was broken down interdepartmentally. So you had field and it was this many chapters, events, this many people at events, cost effective events. And there's two things left on there. One was launch the high school program and have more high school chapters than college chapters. And the other thing was have 25,000 attendees at America Festival. And those are the last two of the 20. You know, not even. It was 100 markers that we had to meet. Those are the final two. And we may or may not have met those. I'm not going to disclose any information on how many people we have coming to America Fest. But yeah, we. We're very close to. Well, no, we've hit both of those markers and God is good. He's used this tragedy and just paved the way. Even Christians, people are going to church for the first time, buying Bibles for the first time. And you think about that auditorium, that stadium. This is a demographic, a political demographic, not a Christian, necessarily Christian demographic. And so a lot of people in that room came because they loved Charlie's messaging in the conservative movement and were so saddened by his passing. And when they showed up, they were met with three hours of worship. A sermon by my dad, a sermon by Frank Turek. And they heard that their politicians, for the first time, talking about the gospel. Marco Rubio is talking about the gospel. J.D. vance is saying he's never thought about Christianity and Christ as much as he has those past two weeks. And it's almost like you're hearing more politicians talk about the gospel than you are actual pastors in America. And watching what the Lord has used this tragedy for has brought comfort to myself, to Elizabeth, to our entire organization, to our staff. And we, we're still struggling.

[C]

It's.

[B]

It's hard to look back and see all this, but being, being here, doing the work, getting back to work like Charlie would want us to, is bringing us the most comfort.

[A]

Yeah. Well, it's incredible what has happened over the past three weeks. And what was equally incredible is what happened up to September 10th. And, Mikey, you had a lot to do with the success of Turning Point, of Charlie Kirk, of charliekirk.com of the Renaissance among young people. Back to the truth, back to conservative values. And what we mean by conservative values, ladies and gentlemen, is we're conserving what we know is good and right. And I was beginning to recognize about a year ago that the work you were doing with Charlie and Turning Point was doing, contrary to popular opinion among some pastors, was actually an on ramp to Christianity. And you saw it with 277,000 people, as you just mentioned, Mikey, many of them were not Christians. And when we bring your dad on, we're going to ask him about what he did to kick off the speaking part. And he witnessed a lot of salvations in his speech to that group. But let's go back to how you and Charlie connected and what was the relationship like? I mean, how many years ago was that? And what did you do for the first year? And how did you get to the point where you were literally with Charlie when he was working? You were by his side 24 7.

[B]

Yeah. Charlie spoke at my dad's church with his girlfriend Erica at the time. And I was always a really, really big fan of Charlie. So I was telling my dad about him showing my dad debate videos that he was doing. So my dad met him at a Salem media event in Orange county, and that's where they hit it off. He invited Charlie to come speak at his church. About two months later, Charlie and my dad connected. He came to speak at Godspeak. And after Charlie didn't have a rental car, you know, he didn't want to Uber. So I offered to drive him. I drove him and him and Erica to the airport. Bad traffic that day. Thank the Lord. It's the one day LA traffic you thank the Lord for it to be bad, right? And we were in the car for like an hour and a half. And the entire time, he's just grilling me. It started off really smooth. He was asking me about my generation, where I'm going to college. But then I found out later in the conversation that it was actually a ploy. He was gathering information so that he could drop a bomb on me later. But he was, where are you going to college? When are you going to college? I'm leaving in a month. Know I'm thinking of going here. And when we got to, hey, there's my dad, just joined. When we got to the airport, he said, you know, I don't want you to college. I want you to come. Come work at Turning Point. I said, oh, this is a big offer, a lot to consider. Let me talk to my family. I'll get back to you. That night, I went back to my parents. Most parents would say, no, you got to go to college. You got to go to college. What are you talking about? You're going to drop college? Plans to go work at some organization in Arizona, Move out of the house at 18. My dad was thrilled to hear that I was moving out of the house at 18. So he loved it. My parents were. They encouraged me, so dropped my college plans, moved out to Arizona. When I showed up here for my first day of work, Charlie sat me down in an office and said, you, first assignment is to watch every single Dennis Prager fireside chat, which even, you know, five years ago, six years ago, was still hundreds of hours of content. And so I sat there, listened to all of them, took notes on all of them, presented him to him, and he goes, oh, I don't need the notes. I've already watched all of them myself. I was like, well, why were you making me watch it? And he goes, dennis Prager's a great man, and he has a lot of wisdom, and I want to share that and so that's who Charlie was. He. He saw the good in people, but he saw the good in things. And he wanted to share with the.

[C]

World.

[B]

Whether it be a Hillsdale online course or sitting down with Frank Turek to prep for his campus tours and wanting him to come with him to Utah so that he can share and bask in the excitement and glory of sharing political debates. But ultimately, he would draw these people into these tent debates. These prove me wrongs. These students would want to watch Charlie destroy somebody. But in reality, he was sharing the gospel. He would always find a way to fit it in. And I don't think there's a number to account for how many kids heard the gospel because of Charlie, whether it be on social media or in person. So I started working with Charlie. Six years later, here I am with you guys. I travel with him. Everywhere was with him. Some weeks we would joke that we would see each other more than our wives, but it's true. Some weeks we were on the road for a week and a half visiting college campuses, and you learn a lot about somebody, down to the exact sauce that they put on their food and the socks they wear, everything. So Charlie was my boss, mentor, close friend. And yeah, that's.

[A]

You saw him the closest, Mikey. And you know, people tend to inflate somebody's greatness at their funeral, but the. I saw him a fraction of what you saw him. But I think you can verify that he was really a great man and a great Christian man.

[B]

He was. Yeah, he was a.

[A]

Still is. He's just with the Lord now.

[C]

Amen.

[B]

And his voice has been multiplied. It has the blood of the martyr. It's the seed of the church, and I think he knew it. If he were to look back and see if all this outpouring of love and what this has done for the church and the body of faith, he would have loved this. Yeah.

[A]

Pastor Rob, I want to know how you brought up such a stellar 23 year old. You and Michelle, in fact, your whole family is just amazing. I mean, you were a pastor. You're also. The people might not know you were the mayor of Thousand Oaks for a while. You, like Mikey, like Charlie, recognize that being a Christian is being a Christian 24, 7, 365 in every area of our lives, including how we vote, including how we get engaged. To love people through the political process, to ensure that they are not hurt by bad laws. How did you first connect with Charlie? Because Charlie called you his pastor, Rob. So how did this happen?

[C]

Well, all credit goes To Mikey. Mikey was a big fan of Charlie before I really knew who he was. And I'd gone to a CNP meeting, invited by Congressman McEwen and Liz. Bob and Liz McEwen. And I saw Charlie kind of sitting, not debating, but, you know, discussing how to approach the pro life movement. And he was stellar, and I loved the way he'd go after it. And then when Mikey said, you saw Charlie Kirk? I'm like, yeah, he was at the CNP meeting. And he goes, I just love that guy. And. And then I was at a conservative radio conference speaking on a panel with Jack Hibbs and Tim Thompson. And it was pastors in politics. And at the time, I was the only one holding office. And Pastor Jack Hibbs was real gracious, and so was Pastor Tim. They kept deferring the questions to me from the audience. And then Charlie was in the wings getting ready to speak. And I'd saw him earlier in the green room, and he had a big, giant, thick book he was reading, which kind of impressed me. I didn't want to bother him because I was going to get a video from Mikey. And then when I came down from the stage after speaking, Charlie was the next speaker. And I said, hey, can I get a video for my son? Which. You'll see the video sometime, Frank. It's kind of prophetic. He actually said in the video, hey, Mikey, come work for me. You know, it was kind of funny. But before he did the video, he said, you know, yeah, I'll do that. But wait, I didn't know a guy like you existed. And I said, what do you mean? He said, a pastor in politics. And I didn't really know how to handle that. And I just kind of responded. I go, I didn't know a guy like you existed. And he goes, what do you mean? I said, a young conservative, you know, we both laughed. And then our. Our paths would cross through a. A friend, David Lane, who put together a Pastors and Pews event at Liberty University. And Charlie was speaking there because he was doing business at the. At the university. And he joined this pastor's event. And at the end, David Lane asked me to come up and pray for President Falwell and pray for Charlie. And I laid hands on President Falwell, and I prayed a prayer, you know, and I was obedient. But it was strange when I laid hands on Charlie to pray for him, I got kind of choked up. I got overwhelmed. It was almost like the Lord, just a love that the Lord has for this guy. I didn't really know him that well, but I was overwhelmed by it, and Erica was there, too. And then we would be connected through liberty, and then that would just be a friendship that would go on for six, six and a half years. I think the reason why he called me his pastor, Frank, is we were the first church that he had ever been invited to speak at. And he just. I said, why wouldn't you speak at a church? And he just said, they think I'm too political. They don't want me. And I was like, you know, that's what we're all about. Come on, man. And he was so good.

[A]

But, yeah, yeah, what. What you should have said to him was wrong. Okay? You should be speaking politics because politics affects policy, and policy affects people, and we're supposed to love people. Well, he didn't know that until 2019, Rob, until you. You. You mentioned that to him, and it opened his world up.

[C]

Well, yeah, you know, that's kind of you, Frank. I would say that Charlie already knew that. He had just never been invited to do it. And he had such a respect for the pulpit in America. I mean, Mikey can testify to this. He was with him everywhere. He's never nervous. I mean, the guy's facing death threats every day. He doesn't get nervous. He was nervous that Sunday. He had such a respect for the pulpit and for the word of God, and he just had never been invited. He thought that his upbringing, everyone had told him, you just keep that out of the church. And he found a different church at Godspeak. And that. That just started for him, something I got to be a part of. And I was blown away. And here's the other thing. Jack Hibbs invited me to come to his Wednesday night service. And when Jack Hibbs invites you to do a service, you've arrived. And Charlie had just spoken at our church that Sunday, and Jack called me to do the Wednesday service at his church. And I go, jack, you know, you don't want me. He goes, what? I go, yeah, you want this guy. His name's Charlie Kirk. And Jack, you know, kind of all pastors. Isn't he kind of political? And I go, listen to his sermon on Sunday. And he did. And he goes, let's have him. And Jack gave him a launching pad in Christendom that I couldn't have provided. But the thing about Charlie and Mikey can testify to this, he's just loyal. From the mentors he met when he was a boy, staying connected to them. Charlie loved people and was loyal, and he would come into the presence of pastors who. The kind of guys I look at and I go, man, God, I wish you'd made two of them and none of me. They're powerhouses in Christendom. But Charlie would still. You're my pastor. You're my pastor. And I giggle at it, but he meant it. And I was always blessed by that.

[A]

And, and, well, yeah, I was going to say Rob, he picked. Well, not to get into any private details here, but the night Charlie died, you were amazing with Erica, just amazing. As was Mikey. I don't know how you held. Held it up, Mikey, through all that whole day, but you did. And, and him calling you your pastor was something prophetic because I don't think anybody could have comforted her like you did that night. And I don't know, I don't know any 43 year old, much less 23 year old, that could have done what Mikey did on not only on September 10, but on September 11 and September 12 all the way to the present day. You guys have to have the comfort of the spirit to do what you've done and are doing right now. And think about, this is for our audience, you guys know, But Turning Point USA chapters have multiplied at least requests for them 60 fold, maybe 70 fold since September 10th. So in a minute, I want to talk a little bit about the future and what's going to happen with that. But Mikey, I wanted to ask you, you knew him probably the best out of anybody. I've addressed some of this on a previous podcast, but I want you to weigh in on it. And that is Jesus says Satan is a liar and a murderer. What was the biggest lie that has come out of this about Charlie that you want to address?

[B]

Yeah, well, to just address first the compliments you're giving me on how I handled the day and the days following up to the present. It's just Charlie hammering into somebody year after year. He was very intense and adamant about things. And you just kind of have this sense of this is what he would need me to do, this is what he would want. So that's. Even at the hospital, I feel like I could just shut off because I've done it before. I've had to just do that for Charlie before, where you just have to shut off your emotions and shut off everything and just kind of your body moves without you knowing. And that's what I had to do that day and still somewhat doing. But when I say all of us staff are, you know, gathering together and laughing because we can hear his voice in the back of our head. I feel like I hear that voice 24 7, and I definitely was hearing it at the hospital, even when the. You know, I don't want to put the surgeon on blast because he is such a nice guy. But I. You know, I didn't know. You never know if it's going to be an issue or. So I was, you know, making sure I was doing my due diligence, asking questions.

[A]

You did. I couldn't believe you had the wherewithal and the foresight to ask him hard questions even before Erica arrived.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That you did.

[B]

I was. Yeah. I definitely channeled my inner Charlie at the did. Yeah. And, yeah, it's just him. It's still Charlie. Charlie got me through those. Those days, still getting me through. The biggest lie that I want to address with Charlie. I think a lot of truth has come out about Charlie, and I think that's actually more important. But the biggest lies around everything that happened are probably more important to address in terms of just our staff who have been so close to Charlie, people who were there that day who have had to suffer because of people online thinking they were involved in something, and even you, Frank, it's just ridiculous for somebody to think that anybody. Everybody wants to help in their own way, but they don't realize they're actually causing damage, not just for people online, but for the people that were there that day who had to endure a lot of these things. But I want to almost focus more on the truth that's come out about Charlie.

[A]

Fine. That's good.

[B]

How dedicated he was to his faith. And all these podcasts coming out. He just did that iced coffee hour podcast. It was here at hq, and he did that like a month and a half ago, two months ago. And they said, what do you want to be known for? He said, I want to be known for my faith, and I want to be known as, you know, my courageous faith and submission to God and bravery in my faith. And there's just tons of videos coming out, and then people sharing the behind the scenes of what Charlie was like. And Blake and I just did an episode last Friday of our last trip we took with him in Asia, and everybody's emailing saying, I didn't know Charlie was this funny. I didn't know Charlie was this much fun. And he was. He was the funniest person. He was so dedicated to his faith.

[A]

And remember, his goal was to find somebody taller than him. In Japan. In Japan, yeah.

[B]

Well, that's. The other thing is I brought. I brought a gimbal a camera with me. I've never traveled the camera ever, but I felt so compelled for some reason to bring it on this trip. So I traveled with it, and I filmed everything. You saw me, Dad. I was filming everything. I had that thing on. So I have, like, six hours of content of Charlie and Asia just cracking jokes. We did podcasts, and those are going to be coming out soon. But the amount of podcast and banked content that Charlie did, because he did three hours a day on his show, then he would do another podcast, then he would do a speech somewhere. He'd do three or four speeches a week. So we have tons of speeches that nobody's ever heard before, podcasts nobody has ever heard before. So it's going to be really exciting to just kind of keep his. His name alive and the excitement alive of people seeing things for the first time. And. Yeah, and Frank, you and I were talking before this started of the Bible verse, the last one Charlie sent.

[A]

Yeah, go ahead.

[B]

Have you shared that yet?

[A]

No, I haven't. Well, maybe I did in the first podcast, but go ahead, Go ahead, share.

[B]

Yes. So Charlie, every morning would share a Bible verse, and he would do it on his way into work. So as he's in the car, he would just shoot off these Bible verses to everybody. News every morning. And the last one he sent was First Corinthians 16, 8 through 10, which is for. A wide door for effective work is open to me, and there are many adversaries. And he sent that that morning.

[A]

But, you know, as you said earlier, Mikey, he. He wasn't afraid. No, wasn't afraid at all. Even though I was going, I don't like this place, Charlie. Too many buildings. He's like, welcome. Welcome to the big leagues. Remember we said that just before we went in there. I remember he. He loved people.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

And he wanted to. He wanted to help them. And now through his. This tragic death, his voice has been amplified, thankfully, and he continues to help people.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Rob, you want to jump in on this? Do you want to talk about the greatest lie or maybe the greatest truth, or what do you want to do?

[C]

I tell you what, I'm enjoying being an audience member on this one. Yeah. The misconception of, I guess, the part that gets me the most. And it's obvious how it happens, because when Lincoln died, everybody wanted to take his gravitas and make it their own and claimed him for their own movement. And I think that's the tragic part about it, is when. When we had the shooting in Thousand Oaks, where we lost 12 of our young people. And I was mayor pro tem at the time and would become mayor eight days later. The frustration was it with. It was people would come into our town to, to profit from. From our. Our grief. They had a political agenda, they had a personal motive, and they, they saw profit in it. And they'd come in and it was very evident. And that happened so quickly after Charlie's death. People wanted to angle in and do some sort of a thing. And I'm so blessed by what Charlie did in life in the sense that he surrounded himself with people who didn't need anything from him. He had an unbelievable gift of discerning profiteers. And if you notice his circle of people that he surrounded himself with, including Mikey and all those that would spend time his security detail. Charlie was brilliant and a great discerner of character. And the people around him are some of the sweetest people I've ever met. And Charlie had this ability to find that in people and then those were the ones that would come into his closest circle. And I love that about him. So I guess whatever anyone is discerning or saying, not discerning or saying about those people in his world, Charlie's a little bit smarter than you guys. He knows how to pick people and people that are trustworthy. And I was always amazed by the people that surrounded him. Always. And Frank, that's why he loved traveling with you. He saw the same thing. He see the same thing in guys like Steve Smotherman. And you just walk into a presence of someone and you just know you can trust them. It's like you've known him your whole life. That's how we've been together, Frank. And I knew he'd see that in Mikey. When I told Mikey, I go, charlie needs a ride to the airport. Speak when you're spoken to off your opinion when you're asked, and don't dawdle while you're driving. I mean, he doesn't like crazy, but he doesn't like to go slow.

[A]

Right.

[C]

And when Mikey got back, he said, daddy. He was just peppering me with questions. I think that was a job interview, son. Because he saw in Mikey with Michelle, and I've always seen. And you were asking, how do we raise a kid like that? It's real simple. I let Michelle do it.

[A]

Yeah, well, it worked. And with other kids too.

[C]

Amen. Amen. Yeah.

[A]

Hey, tell the audience if you would, rob a little bit. And then I'm going to go to Mikey about why he said what he said. At the memorial, you were the first speaker. You're Charlie's pastor. You give the gospel. Tell us about that. Tell us what happened.

[C]

Yeah, so I. You know, there's evangelists in this country that are unbelievable. I mean, Greg Laurie is such a precious brother. And he called me just before that to encourage me. And I can think of so many people, and I'm not an evangelist per se. I mean, I can do the work of an evangelist. And I wasn't expecting to speak, but when we were in Korea four days before Charlie was murdered, he said not only. And he would say this, he goes, not only are you my pastor, but you're America's pastor. And I'd always cringe at that. And I kind of said, if we were tabling at an event, prove me wrong on a campus, Charlie, I'd win this one. And that impish grin, you know? But then I thought about it. You know, I wasn't America's pastor before the memorial service. I'm not now after the memorial service. But for those 10 minutes, I was there representing my friend and asked to share with the world the why and what he did. And that was Jesus. And entirely, even there was prophetic. I don't know what I did in life to get a friend like him. And I'll add one more thing, Frank. You know, my son is gifted. Both my boys and my girls as well. I love them all. But as a father, I'm ashamed, in a sense, to say this. I didn't see in Mikey what Charlie did. I couldn't process that.

[A]

I understand why. I understand why. Usually you need a objective, external perspective sometimes to recognize that, but go ahead.

[C]

Yeah, I knew he had incredible giftings. I did. But I'm so amazed at what Charlie could pull out of Mikey's life. And Michelle and I just sit back and rejoice. We knew all the giftings. I just didn't know how to bring that out in him. And Charlie did. Father's the only guy in the world that rejoices when another man exceeds his accomplishments. And at 23, he's already smoked me. I used to be known as Charlie Kirk's faster. Now I'm known as Mikey McCoy's dad.

[A]

That's right.

[C]

I'm happy with that.

[A]

Well, God's in this throughout. Despite the tragedy, he can bring good from evil. And he's doing it now.

[C]

He always does.

[A]

But briefly, tell us what you saw when you asked people to stand up who were not Christians at the memorial.

[C]

Yeah, I had them all stand because I was Limited, they said, because of the Secret Service, everything couldn't have them come down. And we were limited on time. But they stood. And then when I went and saw video of the overflow section, there was 275,000 people in that location and seeing videos, I was blown away. And then we got a flood of people sending us emails, even at Godspeak of committing their life to Christ. And it's estimated a billion people, that's one seventh of the world, got a chance to hear about the Lord, not have a relationship with him. And, yeah, I saw that. I was touched. I was blown away.

[A]

Yeah, there were thousands of people standing. I just looked around. I was on the floor right in front of you, and there were thousands that stood up. What was your sense of we all had limited time? Obviously, there's so many speakers. What was the main point you wanted to get across to people in your talk?

[B]

Christ. That's the biggest thing. The Charlie was just a micro example of sacrifice, of the macro truth of Christ's sacrifice. And I think all three of us helped get that point across. What my dad said, too, just kind of going back to this is. Charlie was a people collector, and he always loved finding talent. And he would pluck somebody who, like. And I'll echo what you said, dad. He would find somebody that I thought was terrible, and I'd be like, why are you picking this person? Why are you bringing them on the team? And now that he's gone, I knew it, but now I know it, that seeing these people really come together and the talents pouring out of them to keep his legacy alive and to keep the show alive and Turning Point alive, it's amazing. And he always saw something in everybody, and he picked them for every particular area, and if they didn't have the skill set, he would hammer it into him until they figured it out, and it created this team, this army of loyal people. And I remember during the transition, I was sitting in a room with some White House staff, and they were wanting me to come work at the White House. And Charlie had walked out of the room. And so it was when he walked out of the room, they're like, all right, Mikey, you're going to come work with us, right? I don't know. I don't know. No, come on, you're gonna come. And one of the guys interrupting goes, look, guys, don't waste your time. I know Charlie. I know all the people he hires. I know the people that he invests in. He goes, he breeds an army of loyal people, and it doesn't matter who you're gonna ask, I already know the answer's gonna be no from him or anybody else. And I was like, what? He said.

[A]

Amen to that.

[C]

Yeah. Can I add to that?

[A]

Yeah. Go.

[C]

Charlie not only had loyal friends around him, but folks that would come into Turning Point or would come into his gravitational pull, and maybe he'd give them a start or give him a launch or give him the resources to do well, and they'd spin off and go do their own thing. And I, I, in the entire time I knew him, he, he was, he was never burdened by people leaving and doing their own thing. He, he celebrated their success. And, and even when, you know, they weren't very complimentary to him, he, he never spoke poorly of them.

[A]

I know that. He, I know that for a fact.

[C]

Yeah, he was a friend like no other. And, and he, he rejoiced in their success, never publicly scorned them or made issue of them. Um, and that, I, I think that's, There aren't people like that in, in this day and age. And I, I, I, I admired that about him. He had loyal friends, and even the ones that weren't, they were still his friends.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, Mikey, right, right after he did Fox and Friends, I texted him, I said, they're gonna make you an offer. Don't take it. Because he was so good on Fox and Friends in the morning weekend. You remember he did that like two months ago.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And he said, oh, yeah, I got an offer. I said, yeah, it would, you wouldn't have the same impact there. And I said, I used to say to him, the ticket in 2028 is going to be Vance Kirk. And I said, I don't know if you want to take it, because I don't think you're going to have the same effect as the president of Turning Point usa. But you know what? Between you and me and our listeners, I'm not giving up on the Vance Kirk ticket.

[B]

Well, amen. It's very exciting right there, but I.

[A]

Think, I think Erica would be an amazing president someday. But that's another, that's a whole nother thing. And let me, let me, let me ask you guys this about first Erica and then the future people. I get emails saying, can you get this to Erica? I want her. You know, I mean, like, just people who are, how can I help her all this? You know, what can you tell us? I know it's gotta be brutal right now, but what news can you share about Erica and what can people do other than pray for her.

[B]

I look back to the conversation that you and I had, Frank, two days after September 10th, and I called you just to check in and, well, maybe it was a couple days after. And you said, what's the succession plan at Turning Point? Do you guys have a plan? And I said, yep, Charlie always had a plan. And he said, please, God, tell me it's Erica. I was like, yeah, Greg, I can't confirm nor deny.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

And Charlie would have these notebooks beside telling Erica everything, that he would get home for the day and they would download for hours on end. He had these notebooks that he would always be writing in 24 7. And at the end, he would do a few of them every year, and he'd have them on his bookshelf, and at the end of the year, he'd review them. So there's just. There's probably like almost a hundred of them. There's so many of them. And Erica is reading them. She's like. It's like he left me these blueprints of where the country was going, where he wanted everything to go, things that he liked, things that he wanted to avoid, you know, topics that he loved. There's a lot of pages dedicated to Frank Turek in there. And there's just. You saw him. You saw those notebooks. He was always taking notes, and he left behind these blueprints for her. And just.

[A]

And for you.

[B]

Yeah, there you go.

[A]

And for you, Mikey.

[B]

Yeah, go ahead. Yeah. We don't really ever know what the outcome is going to be. I definitely thought maybe there would be a Vance Kirk ticket. Maybe there still will be a Vance Kirk ticket. But I also remember when we were in New York and I was at Fox with him, and I was blown away how good he was doing as one of the guest hosts. And afterwards, you get in the car and he was like, frank Turek texts me. And he read that text. I know exactly what you're talking about. And Fox was always really good to Charlie, so I want to just say thank you to them. They just platforming him and giving him a voice and taking our events and even the memorial. Taking the memorial. They took the entire thing. I don't even think they went to a commercial break. And so they were always so good to him. And even though ultimately he never signed something with them, whether it be a show or something, they were really good to him, and he was always very grateful for them. Yeah. But hopefully one day we'll see. Advanced Kirk ticket. You're saying Frank not Me, it might.

[A]

Not be worth it. She's going to be probably doing more good as the president of Turning Point usa, just like Charlie. I just think the little I know about Erica, I'm completely blown away as to how strong she is and how yielded to the Holy Spirit she is. I mean, to forgive. I mean, that's. There's no ideology, there's no religion like that. That's only the Holy Spirit. Amen.

[B]

And the amount of messages I'm getting from people. I put something out on my story the other day, and I just said, what is a God story that you've seen in your life since Charlie's assassination? And I think I got like 10,000 plus story replies of people just, I was going to get an abortion, and I didn't. I just bought a Bible for the first time. I forgave my mom's killer. I forgave my brother's killer. I forgave. I saw so many people reaching out and saying, I finally forgave. I finally forgave. Last night, I got a message from somebody this long, paragraph, saying that they now had to adopt these two kids because her brother was murdered two years ago on Christmas Day, and that she could never get over it, but that Erica gave her the closure that she needed to finally forgive him. And so her message is inspiring so many people. What happened there is inspiring so many people. I can't even tell you. I wish. I'm gonna send you those screenshots of the stories, Frank.

[A]

Oh, I'd love to see them. I'm sure you've sent them to Erica, too, right?

[B]

I sent all of these. It's just overwhelming to see these people reaching out.

[A]

And thank God for Stacy being in Erica's life, too. I mean, what she said at the memorial about why she's there now, I mean, she lost her husband, too, and then she lost her home in the fire, and now, no, I think her and Erica are joined at the hip. They're ministering to one another. It's 2 Corinthians. One stuff. You know, you're comforted by the Holy Spirit so you can pass that comfort on to others. So tell us, if you can, as best you can. You guys have to be inundated with work right now when you have 120,000, 150,000 requests. Tell us about the future and what. What people listening and watching can do to help.

[B]

Yeah. Every year after Christmas, I'd get on a plane and fly back to Arizona from California, because day after Christmas, Charlie would have a meeting about what comes next for the new year. And he would always say in that meeting, it's time to get back to work. We enjoyed Christmas and Christmas Eve, but it's time to get back to work. And so we're mourning. This tragedy has been rough on all of us, but we hear that voice in the back of our head, it's time to get back to work. Get back to work. And the tragedy has given way to a great harvest. And Charlie would demand that we do what's necessary to capture that energy and to keep it alive. And so that's what we're doing. And during the memorial, we're at 60,000 requests to start a chapter, chapter inquiries. And then I think now we're at like 130,000. We're on par to have a Turning Point chapter on every high school and college campus across the country. At TBSA Faith, we have more churches reaching out now to be an affiliated church than we had church affiliations before. And we have people registering to vote like never before. The amount of people at the memorial, people were registering to vote, asking how they can register to vote. So interdepartmentally, everybody is busy right now. Our tours are continuing, our evening stops are continuing. We have some really big announcements coming this week of some guests that we have.

[A]

Oh, good.

[B]

We're not slowing down. We're full gas, full speed ahead. And I think we have, we're all joking. We feel like we have more work now than we did before just because of how many people have reached out and wanted to get involved. And so what comes next is really exciting. If, if you're watching this and you want to come get involved in something. If you're a high school student or a college student, join a chapter. If there isn't one, submit an inquiry on our website to join a chapter. Come to America Fest December 18th through the 21st in Phoenix, Arizona, amfest.com and get involved. If you're, if you're seeing that we're coming to your campus, go get involved, register to vote. Go go to church. That's the biggest thing. Like a church near you. That's a Bible believing, scriptural based. I'll let my dad speak to this. What's the best church you can find? But do what's necessary. If you're watching this and you're inspired, you want to do something, you want to get involved, start by going to church on Sunday.

[A]

And you can also donate too. You can go to Turning Point USA and donate. It's 501C3. It's tax deductible. Not that that matters. You know, Charlie convicted me once when we were at that Tucson event last year, you remember?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Just before the election. And he said, you know, some Christians will only give if it's a 501C3. If they get a tax reduction. I'm going, yeah, why is that? You know, So I remember that event. We decided to give the turning point action, which is not tax deductible. Because I'm like, yeah, you're right. What? Rob.

[C]

Yes, sir.

[A]

Pick it up from here. What do you see in the future?

[C]

One of the message. Well, the message I gave the Sunday following Charlie's murder was how he was a modern day Moses and he got an entire generation of young people out of, in a sense, slavery, of indoctrination in secular campuses that, you know, just hated America. And he reminded them who they were. They were Americans and what it meant to be an American and where truth comes from in the pursuit of truth and the higher good. And so he got them out, but now they gotta go into the promised land. Joshua's gonna take them in. And Joshua was a servant of Moses and he just learned how to serve the man. And Moses was a servant of the Lord. Charlie created this entire group of young people that were never insulted. Nothing was beneath them. You go and fetch this or that and you do it with joy. And they would be given responsibility. I mean, as you can see, Mikey's 23. I couldn't tie my shoes at 23. And so Charlie would give this responsibility. And before the Lord took him home, he was stretched so thin that these department heads really didn't have any time with him for the most part. So they were operating this by themselves. And now he's gone. These are the Joshuas, and they're going to take it into the Promised land. The Promised Land is where what Charlie always dreamed of for young people, that you can buy a home, they got to own property in the Promised land. You could raise a family, all these things, you know, but more importantly, you could worship God. So I would say to this generation of young people that has been saddled with debt, Turning Point is committed to that. And it's led by this generation of young people. You're the hope of the nation. And the priests took the Ark of the Covenant through the Jordan. They brought them into the Promised land. I'm going to say to the pastors out there, your churches are being filled with young people coming in droves who have been touched by this man's life. You don't even mention him on the day he's killed. And you don't even have any questions as to why their lives are touched by him. I mean, he is a martyr. Revelation 6, 11. He wears the white robe of a martyr. And to know more about his life and to just dismiss it by politics. Maybe you were off, maybe you were. You know, you're the one who's having the problems. Because Charlie saw politics as an on ramp to Christianity. He wanted people rowing in the streams of liberty. So they come to the source. Now they're coming to church pastor, and they want to understand all of these political principles, to love their neighbor, to give them a future and a hope, and to worship the Lord. And Charlie even did that in Korea when Mikey and I were there. I've been there four times. Charlie went once and he already assessed the entire country with Blake. Their brains give you stretch marks, they're so smart. And he saw what this country needed to get righted again. They need a higher birth rate. They gotta get married young. That's what this generation's gonna do. Turning Point is equipped for that. And I'd say to young people, go to church. If the church doesn't teach the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book, maybe it's topical, but they're still teaching the Bible. If they're not doing that, don't go there. And you know what? If they don't talk about Charlie or politics, find another church. I mean, we're kind of done with it at this point. Everybody should know by now.

[A]

Absolutely. It's, it's so. It's hard to believe he's not with us. But as you said, Rob, what did Billy Graham say when he died? Wouldn't you miss that quote?

[C]

One day you're going to hear the news that I've died. Don't believe it. I'll be more alive than ever. And that's Charlie. He's alive. And one of the reasons why he had such courage is what are they going to threaten him with? Heaven.

[A]

Yeah, right.

[C]

And had God come to Charlie. I believe this wholeheartedly. If God had come to Charlie and had a personal conversation and said, charlie, you know, Eric is going to be a widow for a few years before the Lord, you know, takes her home. Because life is a dash. Your children aren't going to be fatherless because I'll be a father to the fatherless, but I'm going to take you home. And from your death, 100 people are going to come to Christ. Charlie would say, okay, well.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Who would have thought? This many. I mean, this is unbelievable.

[A]

Yeah. It's possible. I don't know the future, but it's possible that Charlie's impact will be greater now than if he had lived.

[C]

Yeah. And I want to conclude with this, because this is one of the things that frustrated me, if you don't mind. Charlie had a distrust for big government, and rightfully so. His generation was all these endless wars and everything. But the thing about Charlie is he never allowed his distrust of big government to override his trust in God. Charlie was always hopeful, he was always building, and he always had a plan, and he always had people engaged in it. It's one thing to look at an issue and find a fault with it and find the loose thread in the sweater and unravel it. Any donkey can knock down a barn door, but Charlie was a carpenter. He was always building. He built the largest youth movement in. In world history, as far as I'm concerned. And you're either building or you're tearing apart. Charlie had a distrust, but he said, how do we make it better? He always had a solution and a plan. Anyone can tear something apart. Anyone can be a cynic. He was hopeful, and that's why people are drawn to him. That's all I got to say.

[A]

Well, and he left a great team behind. I got to tell you this, Mikey, before we go. I know you got to go do the Charlie Kirk show now, but the day before he died, I said, charlie, man, you've. You know how to pick talent. You've got some great people around you. And I mentioned Mikey being one of them. And he said, yeah, but I had to break them for you. That's what he said. He said that you were, like, working in the warehouse for a year, you know, and then suddenly he calls you up, mikey, I need you. Let's go.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

And from that point on, it's been. And it's been just foot on the gas pedal, and it's going to continue. Mikey, why don't you close us out? Just give us any last words. You want to leave our audience?

[B]

Yeah. Charlie would always say, without pressure and direction, men wander. And he said, so that's what I'd have to do with you. And that's now what you have to do with every other young man that joins our team. And he goes, make sure they don't wander. He said, and that's also the issue that we need to carry, and the struggle that we need to navigate is there's a lot of young Men, he called them the Lost Boys of the West. And I saw that Frankie put something out yesterday about this. He called them the Lost Boys of the West. He said they need direction. And so for the young men watching this, you need direction. And Charlie would often prefer provide that. But now that he's gone, you're still not lost. There's. There's direction for you. And that could start by going to church and getting involved in Turning Point. But everybody else, I just encourage you all get involved in Turning Point. Do your part to make sure that Charlie's legacy and his life continue. Make sure that nobody forgets the name Charlie Kirk. Whether it be your family or your friends, just do your part. Everybody has their own cross to carry here. And thank you, Frank, for having us on. We could go on and on sharing stories.

[A]

Yeah, we could.

[B]

The endless times we've had together.

[A]

We could. Remember the Apostle Paul said, emulate me as I emulated Christ. And that's what Charlie did. So we look to Christ as our ultimate, and we look to Charlie because he followed Christ as well. And so let's keep the legacy going. Ladies and gentlemen, whatever you can do, continue to pray. Continue to pray for Erica, for Gigi, for Mac, for Stacy, for Grace, for Mikey, for Rob, for Tyler, for Andrew, for Blake, for Daisy, for Emma, Kate, for Lucas, Miles, for Justin, for Dan, for Blake, for Blake, for Brian, for Justin, for Rick. There's so many people, and I'm just naming people that were there that day and there's many more in tpusa and people that loved the supporters, the donors, the prayer warriors, the pastors who were involved. Let's continue to move forward in the name of Jesus to keep Charlie's legacy going. And because of Rob McCoy and Mikey McCoy and Erica Kirk, it's going to continue and be bigger than ever. Friends, it's been great being with you. Please support these gentlemen and TP usa, and we'll see you here next time.

[B]

Thank you, Frank.

[C]

Thanks, Frank. And I enjoyed being on your show so I could spend time with Mikey.

[A]

Hey, hey, hey. Now. Now that you spent time with Mikey, you're fired.

[B]

Get out. Get out. Thank you, Frank.

[A]

Thanks, guys. We'll see you next time.

[C]

All right.

[A]

Bye. Bye.

[C]

Bye.