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- [00:00]
Jack Posobic
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:04]
Unidentified Supporter/Commentator
Talk to a lot of young people on campuses at our events, on my radio show, podcast and social media said differently. I visit college campuses so you don't have to. We're talking to so many voters that no, it is time for change. They know that something is wrong. America's future is a series of choices. Our current state of slow motion national decline is a choice. Today is our two year old's birthday and I look at my daughter and that is my why. For those that are parents, you know exactly what I mean.
- [00:49]
Unidentified Speaker (Religious/Spiritual)
There is no mountain that stands tall as your faithfulness.
- [00:58]
Jack Posobic
And there's nothing el of my days.
- [01:10]
Mike Johnson
Your mercy, follow me.
- [01:14]
Unidentified Supporter/Commentator
If the people want it, the people get it. And we the people, take back America. God bless Arizona and thank you so much.
- [01:40]
Jack Posobic
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Jack Posovic here live in Washington D.C. and today I'm sitting in a chair that I never wanted to sit in. I'm sitting in a chair that I never hoped to be in, that I don't want to be in. But I'm gonna be here because I know that's where Charlie would want me to be today. And I'm not just here as, I don't know, maga Posobic or fellow conservative firebrand to the world. You know, Charlie Kirk was conservative, firebrand, hero, cultural icon. But to me, he was my friend. And it's been the honor of my life to be standing shoulder to shoulder with him in this great fight. And so it's with a very heavy heart that I sit in this chair on this show that he built on the platform that he poured his soul into because Charlie is no longer with us. He was taken from us in an act of left wing political violence, of terrorism, assassinated. Yet even in his final moments, Charlie was doing what he always did, standing tall, speaking boldly, proclaiming the truth without fear. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Charlie Kirk isn't just an American martyr. Charlie Kirk is a Christian martyr. And I've got right here one of those, one of those hats. And Charlie signed right there. I'm never gonna let it go. I'm always gonna keep it right here with me. Because Charlie's always gonna be here with me, with you, with all of us. And he's watching us all right now. And what is Charlie saying? It's your turn. It's your turn. Lock in, patriots. Charlie's faith in Christ Jesus was not just a private belief. It was the foundation of his entire life. The courage that he had to go into the battle that he went into every day on every campus was the courage straight from heaven. It was the Lord's. He spoke with the conviction because he believed the truth of scripture and he was unshakable. And he gave of himself tirelessly. He loved his family, his friends, this country that he knew God had blessed in a very special way. So today, we're not just going to remember the man who founded Turning Point USA or hosted this show or owned the libs. We're remembering the son, the husband, the father, the friend, the mentor, and the warrior who never wavered. Charlie Kirk died with his boots on and a microphone in his hand proclaiming the truth on campus, his eyes fixed on eternity. He'll be forever 31. So as we begin this memorial podcast, let us not only mourn his loss, Erica's loss, their children's loss, let's also commit ourselves to carrying forward his mission. Because the mission of Charlie Kirk, the mission of Turning Point usa, goes on. And it will never stop. Stop. Charlie wouldn't want us to retreat. No, the word was not in his vocabulary. He would want us to fight with truth, with faith, with love for this nation and for each other. They couldn't debate him, so they shot him. That's what happened. And everybody needs to understand that. What was his crime? Talking. He just wanted to talk. And that was too much for you? We're going to be here today. We're going to be remembering Charlie, and we are going to do everything we can to make sure that his sacrifice, that his fight will never end, will never stop and will never quit. We'll never quit. Because he never did. Be right back. Jack Posic here. The Charlie Kirk Memorial show, folks, we're back here. Jack Posobic, the Charlie Kirk. Charlie Kirk Memorial Show. Got our hats right here. And if you were ever anyone who happened to have a hat that was thrown out by Charlie Kirk or signed by Charlie Kirk, I'm asking. I'm actually going to say something right now that, you know, kind of outside of memorial, but I'm just going to say it because I think it needs to be said. If you have one of those hats that's signed by Charlie Kirk, do us all a favor, don't put it on ebay. Don't be that person. Just, just. That's not what Charlie was about. Charlie was never about that. He was never about trying to. Trying to turn this into something that was personal because it wasn't about him. It was about the country. It was about students. It was about young men, young women connecting, and it was about winning. It was never about playing these. These games. It just. It just wasn't about. And as a guy who knew Charlie, it was not about that. Guys, do we have. Did I see Andrew there? Okay, so working on. I want to get one of the guests on, but I'd love to play now. I think we have some visuals, these vigils that have been popping up overnight and completely organic, completely not planned at all. All across the country. The south, the north, the east, the west. They're everywhere. They're praying rosaries in Scottsdale, where Charlie and Erica lived. They're spontaneously doing this. You know, Charlie Kirk spent his entire career trying to inspire a turning point in America. Spent his entire career trying to inspire a turning point in America. And he's done it. He has completed that mission. America now has a turning point. And that was Charlie's gift to all of us. Charlie's gift of his time, his energy, his courage, and ultimately his life. Got my good friend and Charlie's good friend, Andrew Colvette. You guys know him, producer Andrew. We get him on here. Andrew, how are you holding up, ma'? Am?
- [09:58]
Andrew Colvette
Hey, Jack, just want to say thank you, first of all, for hosting today. I know it's not easy for you either, and, I mean, I'm holding up as well as you can imagine. You know, I was hosting the show yesterday for Charlie so that he could go to the campus stop in. In Utah. And, you know, you just don't. You know, you're never prepared for something like this, obviously.
- [10:25]
Jack Posobic
And.
- [10:27]
Andrew Colvette
You know, but I know he. He would want me and he would want you and all of us to. To keep going. I know he'd want me to do this. And so we do the best we can.
- [10:41]
Jack Posobic
And. And, well, you know, the thing with. The thing with Charlie, too, is I remember when even when you and I were chatting or, you know, some of the gang was chatting last night, there wasn't even a question of would we have a show today. There wasn't even a question of, you know, would. Would. Would Turning Point keep moving forward? There wasn't a question of that because that's who Charlie was. And I remember. You know, I remember we were saying, should I. Should I, you know, come up and do shows? Should I fly out there? What. You know, what do you think? And I could hear Charlie's voice in my head, and he would always say to me, he said, because whenever I would go to him with. With a question, and say, charlie, I've got a, you know, a choice I have to make. Do I need to, you know, gut check? What do you think? Do this or do that? He'd say, do everything. Do everything. Yeah, keep going. Do it all. Do everything. Be everywhere. That was Charlie.
- [11:38]
Andrew Colvette
I think he was secretly mad we weren't streaming last night. You know, I.
- [11:42]
Jack Posobic
100%. We all had the same thought at the same time that we all know that when. When something big is going on, when something big is. Is happening, Charlie Kirk would be like, let's get in there. Let's go live. Stream it. Get it up. Make sure we get the rumble live. Make sure it's all going. Got everybody in. Freedom@charliekirk.com Freedom@charliekirk. Com Make sure you're all signed up. Subscribe to the podcast. And that's. That was Charlie, right? Because he just wanted to gather people together. And I think. I actually think that's. That's sort of Charlie's mission, or maybe it was his great skill in life that he was a gatherer of people, or, of course, to use the biblical phrase, a fisher of men. Charlie Kirk truly was a fisher of men. And I actually hadn't even thought about it that way until just this minute, but that's exactly what he was, is that he had that ability to go into. Into a crowd of strangers, and he could. He could get everyone together and he could turn them into followers, and he could activate them, you know, politically, and he could get. He could motivate people. And that is not something that you can learn. That is a talent that was given to him from God. And now he's on another assignment for God, and we don't know, and we can't really understand that, but that's what it is. That's what it is.
- [13:08]
Andrew Colvette
You know, my one pushback, Jack, is that I watched Charlie Kirk be terrible at a bunch of things. And he learned how to be good. He learned how to be good at them by sheer force of will. He refused to not be good at things that he needed to be good at. And he learned a lot of that stuff. Yes, he was blessed by God with this. Just this engine, this motor that you couldn't hold back. He was blessed by God with just a spirit that you couldn't keep down. He was a happy warrior. He genuinely was a happy warrior. And he loved this country, he loved his family, and he loved God. And all of those things were true. And that drove him to be the absolute best he could be. It drove him to study the ancient texts. It drove him to study political philosophy and read the important books and the great books. And it drove him to, like, I mean, I have a story. We were coming back From Aspen with Dr. James Orr from Cambridge, who's become a good friend. And we spent the whole plane ride and then talking about what James knew, picking his brain. And then Charlie looked at him and said, hey, what are you doing tomorrow? Can you spend the entire day with me on a Sunday? And I'm just going to ask you questions? And so Cambridge professor sitting there teaching, coaching Charlie for an entire Sunday, that was his idea of a good time. And it was. That was Charlie. He wanted so much badly, just to keep growing and be infinitely curious and getting better so he could articulate his ideas better to the next generation, so that he could go out to these campus events and be more equipped and ready, no matter what the question was. And he ultimately put that same sort of energy into his family and into his marriage. And he wanted to be the best husband he could be, and he wanted to be the best father he could be. And he knew that the demands on his time were extraordinary, that they were superhuman. And so he threw himself into, you know, biohacking and how he could get the most out of his body and how he could sleep the deepest and how he could keep his energy the highest. And then he would send his.
- [15:18]
Jack Posobic
We should. We should actually talk about the biohacking, because I actually don't think that people know that about Charlie. And he would probably appreciate if we shared it, because he was actually a huge. As much of an evangelist as he was for Jesus, he was also an evangelist for biohacking. And in fact, if you talk to him long enough, he would say that they're connected, because that's exactly how he saw it. I mean, this Charlie was a cold, plunge every single morning kind of guy. Those. Those. Andrew, you know, you know better than anyone. Was there coffee in those coffee cups from Starbucks?
- [15:50]
Andrew Colvette
No, there was not. There was a very specific mint tea with two honeys. And not that fake honey. It had to be the real honey and that syrup stuff. And he had a regimen of supplements he would take. And he was very big on sleep. He felt he could get the most out of his body if he got proper sleep. And so he was religious about how much sleep he got because he noticed that that kept him high, kept his retention high. And he did that also. And this is kind of the final point, that he did that because he knew that the demands on him were so extraordinary that if he was going to go home and be with his family and his kids, he had to have energy left. And so he did everything he could to make sure that he had maximum energy left for his kids. And he would. He's not Jewish, but he would do a Shabbat where he would unplug. It was like a digital Shabbat. At Friday, at sundown, he was off and he wouldn't come back on until usually late at night on a Saturday. And that was.
- [16:52]
Jack Posobic
I know, because anytime there was a Saturday, whenever something would come up, it's like, like, it's like Andrew has to figure it out. So it always, it always falls to Andrew. If it's, you know, if it was big enough, you got to, you got to call Erica or, or, you know, get, get some other people involved. And I, I remember taking some of those calls from you on a Saturday. Jack. I can't get to Charlie. You know, before, before we go, there's something that just broke right before we came into the segment here, and I think it would be. We'd be remiss to miss it regarding this situation that, of course, everyone's looking into. I do want to cover this, though, because it is breaking news. The FBI has released images of who they believe is a person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. They put out a tip line, 1-800- call FBI. There are also digital media tips. It is FBI.gov Utah Valley shooting. And so you can see this individual seems to be college age, thin, you know, I'd say rail thin, average height, glasses, again, a hat. You know, clearly someone who. Some kind of patriotic lettering or logo. So clearly someone who was attempting to blend in with. With the crowd, who was there. They have not told us whether or not this is the shooter, but here's what I'm going to say. If you were. Even if you didn't see that person, okay, if you were at that event yesterday and Andrew, I certainly hope, you know, if the team's available or has footage that they haven't yet turned over to the FBI. Scroll through your phone, scroll through your videos, go frame by frame. Just see if you can find this person, these glasses, this hat, this logo, anywhere in the crowd, because that is. And they could throw that back up again real quick because that is going to be a way to potentially determine if he was talking to anyone, what he was up to, what direction he went in any of those things. So if you were there or if you just recognize him from this, please go ahead and share that out with the FBI. You know, we'll cover that as we can. Obviously, there's been a lot of questions as gone on as to what happens. And I don't want to turn this into huge speculation about that. I want to make this about Charlie. But at the same time, if there are official updates, we're going to share them as we can. Andrew, do you want to, do you want to take us out?
- [19:25]
Andrew Colvette
Yeah. I mean, I hope they get this guy or guys, if it was coordinated, if it was sophisticated and well funded, as some of the rumors that I'm hearing are, I hope they get them all. From root to stem, I hope they get them all. And I hope righteous justice is visited upon whoever was behind this.
- [19:43]
Jack Posobic
And so please, there's no question about that. Jack Posobic will be right back. The Charlie Kirk Memorial Show Jack Fsovic, we are back here. We're Live in Washington, D.C. this is the Charlie Kirk Memorial Show, a memorial for a fallen friend. I'm very honored that we are now joined by someone who knew Charlie very well. It is the speaker of the house, Mike Johnson. Mr. Speaker, thank you so much for joining on this today. And although I just have to say for myself, and I'm sure you as well, I would much rather be talking to you about literally any other subject.
- [20:43]
Mike Johnson
Of course, Jack, you're doing a great job with an impossible assignment today. I mean, I should have wondered last night who would be in the chair today because the nation needs to hear what you're sharing and what we're all sharing. I can tell you it has changed the atmosphere of Capitol Hill. It began immediately after this event. I was, I was in a high level meeting and my chief of staff burst in the door and handed me a card and said, charlie Kirk has been shot. And I stopped. And I mean, we had, you know, these are like heads of state. And we all just paused and I told them what was on the card. And it's, it's, it still seems unbelievable to me. I mean, we're all kind of in shock here. Charlie was a singular voice, as you know. I mean, this show is about him. It's a tribute to him. He deserves it. He deserves so much more because there's, there are few people who had such an effect on the country and on his generation. I did all the, you know, media shows last night. I was on, I think on cnn. I said, you know, he, we talk a lot about the free marketplace of ideas. And I think it is undeniable. I Don't think anyone can argue Charlie Kirk contributed more productive content, the free marketplace of ideas than anyone in his generation and arguably in several generations. I mean, he just was that kind of figure, and he's irreplaceable. But I'm comforted to know, Jack, that his. His legacy will continue, because what he did and what he started will go on. And I hope it inspires in the hearts of everybody who followed and loved him and believed in him and prayed for him, that same spirit that Charlie carried, you know, to not give in, to stand for freedom, stand for the truth, and love the people on the other side of the argument. And that's what he represented.
- [22:31]
Jack Posobic
You know, and I was saying this. We were on last night, and. And, you know, when you would go to these events with Charlie, he would act. He would actually say, if you disagree with me, come to the front of the line. I don't want you. I don't want you to ride in the back of the bus. Come to the very front of the line. Let's have it out. Let's talk. And he had this ability to kind of get past the argument, the politics of it, and see if there was. This was. This was his move, right? His skill. He would. He would try to connect with the person, find out what made them tick, find out who they were at their core, and then start there. And you've never seen anyone do it like that before?
- [23:08]
Mike Johnson
No. He was so talented because he had that. That gift. It's a gift from. From God, a gift from the Lord to be able to go to the heart of the matter and the heart of the person. Because, see, what Charlie was motivated by, you and I both know, I knew him so well, and he was a man of deep faith, as I am, and we talked about this a lot, that the objective is not just to win the argument. The objective is to move the heart. Right? And what Charlie was about was trying to advance the permanent things. He was a master. And the temporal things, right?
- [23:38]
Unidentified Speaker (Religious/Spiritual)
He could.
- [23:38]
Mike Johnson
He could argue any issue better than anybody, better than most people on Capitol Hill could ever hope to. And he. He could talk about public policy or issues that were pending. He. He was a master of his. Of his. Of his science in that regard, political science and all of that. But really what it was really about was not winning the temporal argument or that particular issue. It was about the permanent things, the eternal things. The scripture says, the Apostle Paul said, we don't focus on the temporal, we focus on the eternal. And that's what Charlie was about. Because he was trying to be an ambassador for the King of Kings. He was trying to be an ambassador for his savior, Jesus, and he modeled that. And so, you know what I love about Charlie, and I said this to a big gaggle of reporters here this morning because they're following me around. They want me to just give comment at every turn about this, and because they know I knew him well and loved him, and it's moved us so much. But this is what I said about Charlie. As I said, the thing about it was he was the sharpest witness. He could argue and win any debate, but he never held it personally against the person on the other side, no matter how far to the other end of the spectrum they were. In fact, the further they were, the more compassion he had for their heart, because he believed that he was ultimately trying to lead people to the truth that we know, the eternal truth. Right. And so what Christ taught us is that it says in Romans 12 that you stand strong, you be courageous and bold, and you stand firm, and you act like men. It says, which Charlie was a man's man, but do let all that you do be done in love. That's what scripture says. And that's what Charlie was about. And he was motivated by his love for his fellow man. He didn't hate anybody. He was trying to win him over to the argument because he knew that would be better for them in the long run. And that's what we appreciated about him so much.
- [25:22]
Jack Posobic
And we opened the show with that. And I said, greater love hath no man than this. He gives himself. Give his life for his friends. And. And I'm sure. Speaker, I'm sure you're on Charlie's list as well, because you could always tell what Charlie. What. What Charlie was focusing on in the Bible, because he would. He would pull a quote every morning, and he would just text it to his whole list of people individually. I said, how are you doing this, Charlie? And I would see him doing it sometimes if we were together. And he. And. And it wasn't just, you know, some, you know, ephemeral thing where he's, you know, pulling it from one of those verses of the day or, you know, different things. Those are fine. But, no, this was deep study. And he pulled those verses for a specific reason. And in. In a strange way, when I woke up this morning and I didn't get that text from Charlie, it's almost like that's when it hit me.
- [26:12]
Mike Johnson
Yeah.
- [26:13]
Jack Posobic
Because he. He always does that, every single day. But every single day. And today he didn't.
- [26:20]
Mike Johnson
Yeah. It leaves a big void, not just in the text chain, but in, in, in our society. There are what are there, more than 2500 chapters, turning point chapters on university campuses around the country. I mean, it's a, just an unequaled movement that he began and grew and stewarded as a great steward, by the way, of the platform that God gave him. You know, he was faithful in the little things and then God trusted him with more and more. He had one of the biggest voices in the culture and he and he knew the responsibility that came with that. And he was very careful with it. And that's why he was so deep in the scripture and in prayer, because he wanted to make sure that he carried that mantle well. And he did. You know, we know where he is right now. I'm absolutely convinced where he is. And he's hearing that great call. Well done, good and faithful servant. Right. But the people that are behind.
- [27:16]
Jack Posobic
Mr. Speaker, we're, we're coming up, we're coming up on a quick break here. Are you able to hang out for a couple more minutes on the other side? All right, we'll hold Speaker Johnson for just a little bit more. We're on Charlie Kirk Memorial Show. There's a flag at half mass out front of the White House for our friend Charlie, folks. We're back. Jack Posobic, this is the Charlie Kirk Memorial Show. You're looking at the Stars and Stripes half mass there. Believe that's the North Lawn of the White House that you're looking at. And today we are holding a memorial for Charlie, the greatest man we knew. And we're on with Speaker Mike Johnson. And we're discussing this Speaker Johnson, President Trump, earlier today at the 911 memorial. Of course, today is 9 11. It certainly feels like 911 again that he announced that Charlie will be at some upcoming date posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Do you know anything about that or potential other memorials that around D.C. see that maybe with the Capitol that are being discussed?
- [28:35]
Mike Johnson
Yeah, there's a lot being discussed. It's interesting. I talked to the president at length yesterday, probably about an hour before this event took place, and I have not spoken to him since. And so he was busy all last night and I was and this morning I'm going to call him here shortly. But I know that the president was felt very close to Charlie. He was like family, as you know, in the Trump family. And we all shared that same so many people, so many members of Congress, Republican members in the House for certain, all of My closest friends here, they all felt a close connection to Charlie because he made everybody feel that way. And because of that there's just sort of this big movement now that members are just one after the other are coming up with ideas on how to memorialize him and how to have an appropriate remembrance. And there are lots of ideas, there are different resolutions. Some of them were begun to be filed in the record, you know, last, yesterday evening, shortly after all this took place. So we've got to sort all that out. I'm going to have a collection, a stack of ideas of things of how to do this, and we'll figure it out. But we want to do something certainly that is appropriate for his stature and what he meant to the country, what he meant to the conservative movement, what he meant to our party. But it does, it really does transcend party because Charlie in so many ways represented the best of America. Like all of us, right? He obviously was on our team. He was a, he was one of the principal conservative voices in the culture. But even larger than that, he represented the best of America. And you know, he, he, Charlie believed in and he tried to advance and, and, and share with the next generation the principles of freedom. He, he, he, he believed and he understood that the foundation of all this is our Judeo Christian heritage. The, the great tradition that we have that began 250 years ago when we boldly proclaimed the self evident truth that our rights come from God, not the government, and that God made us in his image and we owe responsibility to him. I mean, Charlie understood what made America different and exceptional and the greatest nation in the history of the world. And he was so passionate about making sure the next generation understood that even the people that didn't agree with him, that was his drive. And so he represents so much. And all that is to say that there's an appropriate level of memorialization of this great life that is not suited for most. And we got to sort that out and figure it out and that's what we'll be doing in the next couple of days.
- [31:03]
Jack Posobic
I think that's absolutely right. I think that's absolutely appropriate. And I've also been privy to some of the ideas and, and memorial ideas and perhaps naming ideas of, of you know, maybe a park or something that, you know, tied with the 250th people have been kicking around that, that because Charlie loved the outdoors, that's something that actually people don't. You know, you see him on campus, you see him on camera, but you know, every single minute he could get in the sun. He was a big believer, you know, big Maha guy, and always believed in the power of being outside and believed in our country. You know, this. This past weekend, he. He went to Korea, which I believe Korea, Japan will end up being his last tour. And. And that was the first time he'd been to that part of the world. And he just loved America so much and traveled to. I remember he used to. Used to tell me he was so, so proud that he'd visited every state twice. He said, I got every state twice, Jack. You have all 50 yet, you know, and. And that. So he and I were always ribbing each other, and that's the. I think that's what, you know, in many ways, I'll miss that the most. Just the little debates and the camaraderie that you. That you have with him. Mr. Speaker, I understand you obviously have quite a lot on your plate as well today. Just. Is there any other message that you wanted to give for the folks that are watching before we take off?
- [32:17]
Mike Johnson
Well, I'll just say this. I mean, because you touched on it there. He traveled to all 50 states more than once. He was a singular figure in history. Because I heard yesterday some people comparing Charlie, in a way, his. His stature, his intelligence, his character, his demeanor, his integrity to that of the Founding Fathers. I mean, he kind of had that spirit about him, right? As we know. And what's interesting about Charlie, as opposed to our. Our forefathers, is that he had the. The. The ability of. Of technology, of modern transportation means he could take the voice everywhere. And he did. I mean, he used every platform available. I mean, radio, podcast, everywhere, television. He was ubiquitous. And he used the. Again, the platform that God gave him to the greatest extent possible. In fact, he was a pioneer in that regard. I mean, you know, people said, well, he aspired to be like Rush Limbaugh. He went further than Rush in many ways because he. Because he mastered all these other mediums. Right. And he did more than the founders could have ever imagined to advance the principles that they set in place. And it is very appropriate on the eve of our 250th birthday as a nation, the greatest nation in the history of the world, that we had a figure like this for such a short time, and you left such a tremendous legacy for the next chapter of American history that we're all going to forge together. And I hope we do it in the spirit that Charlie left us with. Not, not timidly, but boldly, but in love. And that is his. His greatest. His greatest contribution. So, Jack, thanks. You're doing an extraordinary job on an impossible assignment. Appreciate you, brother. We'll see you soon.
- [33:50]
Jack Posobic
Speaker Johnson, thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much for your kind words today for Charlie and his family. You know, just piggybacking on what he said there. The founding fathers, they, they certainly used new media their time as well. The printing press is indelibly and inextricably linked to the founding generation. So the new media of the time, Thomas Paine comma sense, that was the new media that was going viral. And I just wanted to read something just very quickly before I bring our next guest on People are talking about the ages of the revolutionary generation. And one thing that I don't think people realize. So Charlie is 31. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, 1776, he was 33 years old. John Hancock was 39 when he signed it. Patrick Henry 40, John Adams 40, James Monroe 18 years old. Alexander Hamilton 21 years old. James Madison 25 years old. And Edward Rutledge and Thomas Hayward 29 years old. And Washington was 44. Ben Franklin, of course, was the old man of the group. He was 70. So when you look at the revolutionary generation, they were the exact same age as Charlie and the age of the people that he's trying to reach and even the next generation. I want to bring on Tyler Boyer here, the COO of Turning Point action and just Charlie's right hand man in so many things. And Tyler, as a student of history, as you are, you know, had it ever occurred to you that, you know, that's, that's the exact age Charlie was?
- [35:24]
Unidentified Speaker (Religious/Spiritual)
Well, first off, Jack, I just want to say this is thank you for taking, taking on the job of standing up for Charlie's show today. He wouldn't have wanted it any other way than his partner in crime in which you've been his right hand guy in doing so much of media on Real America's Voice and on radio and everything else. So thank you for that. But yeah, I mean I look at the group, you know, that picture just came up of the four or five of us. You know, Andrew, who I think was on earlier, yourself, me, Charlie, like we have some young guys. Like when I got, got involved with Charlie, I'm eight years older than him and I was in my mid-20s. Yeah. When I, when I was getting involved with Turning Point and, and with Charlie and starting to take, you know, that bull by the horns, Charlie was a teenager. So you know, we, now we, we feel old, you know, and we're, we're on the precipice here because you, me, I think Benny Johnson and Andrew are all basically the same age and we're a little bit older than Charlie, about seven or eight years older than him, each of us. And, but you know, we're all under the age of 40, clearly and have been doing this work for the last 10 to 15 years. Charlie's legacy is that he was the young guy in that group when you make the comparison to that, but he was the leader. And the, the thing that we've reflected on this entire time for the last 24 hours in particular is Charlie has always been a leader amongst men. I remember meeting him again in my 20s and he was basically just coming out of his teenage years and I just thought to myself, I was like, oh my gosh, this Guy's like an 85 year old trapped in a, in.
- [37:16]
Jack Posobic
A 20 year old. He's an old soul. He always was.
- [37:19]
Unidentified Speaker (Religious/Spiritual)
But he was like that. He was like that. Lincoln asked, you know, Ben Franklin ask, you know, the way you read it in the textbook, as a wise person. That's the kind of, I know everybody's listening that listens to the show.
- [37:33]
Jack Posobic
He just had that sense, he had that sense that came from somewhere else. Tyler, we're up on a heartbreak. Just, just hold that. We'll, we'll, we'll bring you over because I know exactly what you're talking about and I, that's what I want to do here today. I want to talk about who Charlie. The person was, the Charlie that beyond the cameras and screens and tiktoks and debates and everything else, the man that Charlie was our friend, our fallen friend. Great. Jack, we're back here. Just. I'd rather be talking about anything else today, anything else under the sun, but we're here because I know this is what Charlie would have wanted and I know that for once Charlie Kirk is in the audience right now and Charlie Kirk is watching all of us. I said in the beginning of the show, I'll say it here again. I know what Charlie's message would be to everyone asking, what do I do next? What do I do next? It's very simple. Charlie would say, it's your turn now. Want to bring back on Tyler Boyer, one of Charlie's closest associates. And Tyler, we were just kind of talking about that, about how personally as many things that Charlie was interested in and involved in, even non political things. Andrew and I were talking about the biohacking earlier that he was just fascinated with that and lived it theology that. That he was a simple. He was. He had a. This tenacity and this ability to make the complex simple and just in. In so many realms outside of the things that you see or that you know him for. That's. That's just who he was, no matter what he was doing. Yeah.
- [39:38]
Unidentified Speaker (Religious/Spiritual)
You know, and that's really the legacy of Turning Point usa. I mean, we talked about this all the time. You know, most people don't really connect the dots on this, but when we. We came onto the scene and really Charlie started Turning Point usa, there were no battle tanks. It was all think tanks. And we used to talk about this, this point, which is, you know, there's all these think tanks out there making things really hard to reach for the average American. A little bit over complicated, a little bit over convoluted. And there just weren't enough battle tanks of people going out and fighting the good fight. Or just as you said, is making the really smart things, the complex things simple so that the average American could understand them, that the average American would want to understand them, that they would want to engage them. This is, the whole thing is like, this is what Charlie died doing was this very issue. I mean, you listen to Charlie and you and I both know Charlie better than just about anybody. You know, Andrew, who was on earlier, and there's a number of us in our senior team at Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action. But people knew Charlie as a genius. You met Charlie, you talked to him. He was an absolute genius of a man. But he spoke and broke things down so simply and so easily so that everybody could really approach it. And that's what's made politics approachable. That's what I think has got so many young people through Turning Point USA involved. It's what's gotten so many young men being able to embrace the qualities of. Of what the. The Christianity that Charlie professed. And that's what he would want everybody to know him by. But his activism as well, being a dad and being a husband, those things are not complex things. But the world is complicated and the challenges are complicated, but the application of those things is really simple. And I think that's the memorial that we'll have for Charlie forever. And that I hope that my dear friend that I have known for so long, since essentially the beginning of time, I was joking with Benny Johnson earlier today that we had to convince Charlie to start his Instagram. And you wouldn't believe that knowing Charlie today of how Speaker Johnson just said he dominated all these mediums Rush Limbaugh didn't dominate social media or have a full 501, C3 or C4 and employ thousands of people. The man did everything. He did it all. But he made it so simple for everyone to approach and be able to engage with. And I will greatly, greatly miss him for that. Because there's. There's no one that. That is like Charlie. There's no one. It's not likely we'll ever encounter someone that's able to do all those things.
- [42:46]
Jack Posobic
No, and I agree with you that there was something timeless, but also outside of time about Charlie, there was just. He just didn't seem to be of this era. And I'm not even sure what era he belonged in. He just the way he fit in the world, but also was different from anyone else that you would meet. I mean, it's, it's, it's just God knew what he was doing when he made Charlie. God gave him assignment, and now God's got him on another assignment, and, and that's how it is. And he's up there with Rush now and. Well, Tyler, let me, let me ask you this, though. You know, Charlie, obviously, he's been building Turning Point usa, building Turning Point Action all of these years. He built these institutions to last. And I always got the sense. I never, never really talked to him about this directly, but I always got the sense that he wanted Turning Point USA to be separate from him in the sense that it would always go on because it was always about the students, it was always about the chapters, and the chapters were constantly changing. And what does that look like from your perspective?
- [44:05]
Unidentified Speaker (Religious/Spiritual)
Well, we talked about that all the time. Having the honor of being COO of Turning Point USA for many years, and now Turning Point Action and having hired and worked with thousands and thousands of people. The greatest legacy that Charlie Kirk has is that he infused his energy, his resilience, his constant need for improvement for the conservative movement. Because when we really start engaging on many of these things, the question was, why doesn't the conservative movement have good enough events? Why aren't we attracting enough people? We got to do it bigger and better. Why is there no one that has a real legitimate field program and operation that supports young people? We got to do it bigger and better. Why is there no 501c4 political operation that's out there actually doing it the way that the left does it with community organizers? And we got to do it bigger and better, each and every one of those things? And that's not even touching all the individual, unique, Things on the media front, the podcast front, the, you know, TikTok obviously is the second largest voice on Tick Tock next to Donald Trump this year. And I mean, you're just talking about a monster of a human being, irreplicable, that desire to fight and work. And, you know, I was just talking about this as well. It's just like we, you know, one of the quotes was, you know, don't care, keep working, go. Don't care, work harder. You know, we talked about hating to lose, you know, how devastating the 2020 election was and how, how horrified we were to learn that there wasn't enough work being done on the political side, which, which caused Turning Point action to really, you know, kick into gear. You know, really following in the lead up to 2022 and following 2022 for 2024, I mean, that was the, really the first time anyone's ever done anything like we did was throwing the kitchen sink at the thing, and Charlie was leading from the front on that, and there was no one else.
- [46:16]
Jack Posobic
And I could, I could tell because, you know, of course, there's that election night live stream, 2022. It's Me, you, Charlie, Andrew was in and out. And we were doing the, we were doing, remember the batches, another batch is in, another batches in, other batches in. And I remember doing the math till late in the wee hours. And I can remember the moment where Charlie just turns to me, I don't even know if it was on air, and he just turns to me sitting there and says, jack, we need to start doing ballots. And you could just see it in his eyes. He said, they won this thing with ballots and we need to start doing that. And I could tell just in that moment, again, very simple, that he took this whole complicated thing and he had figured it all out, and he was doing the math. You could see him doing it furiously, just scribbling away and doing the math in real time, like, like, like Rain man, you know, and. And he said, it's all ballots, and so we need to chase ballots. And I could tell in that movement, everything that was going to happen in that moment, everything that would happen between then and 2024, and that's exactly what happened. And he knew that he had you to execute it.
- [47:27]
Unidentified Speaker (Religious/Spiritual)
I was talking with his sweet wife, who all the prayers we need to be praying unceasingly for Erica and his two sweet babies that I just was talking, talking with her about this yesterday. The look on Charlie's face when he figured, when he would figure something Out. He kind of gave you that.
- [47:48]
Jack Posobic
Yeah.
- [47:48]
Unidentified Speaker (Religious/Spiritual)
Oh, look. And I'd seen that a million times because I've been in these rooms. Oh, sorry about that. I've been in these rooms with Charlie, you know, fighting these battles and these wars, and we'd figure out the problem that existed and then try to come up with the solution and then applying the right solution and, you know, going and getting the donors to pay for it and work, work towards it. And then we build it and then we do the next thing and then the next thing and the next thing, and it never stopped.
- [48:18]
Jack Posobic
And. And you can always remember Charlie's thing. It was just, what. What are we doing today? What are we doing next? What are we doing next? Who's next? It's our turn next. Right back, Charlie Kirkman Ward. Man.
- [48:44]
Unidentified Supporter/Commentator
Charlie. I, I remember when we were starting these out and it was that, like, that, you know, it was like this. It was like, it was like your average three rows. It was like your average political meeting where there was like 12 people in a room. And this is. This is awesome.
- [49:00]
Jack Posobic
This, in my personal opinion, was the.
- [49:02]
Alex Marlowe
Most over the top Trump event that I've ever covered.
- [49:06]
Unidentified Supporter/Commentator
This is the number one boots on the ground operation in the country. We're working directly in harmony with the Trump, Trump campaign. It's been vetted, it's been cleared, it's been blessed, as you can see there. And we're going to try to win this thing. No guarantees. It's what we do that matters. Mr. President, I can tell you this room is 100% with you, and we have your back. God bless you.
- [49:23]
Jack Posobic
Thank you, Sam, Jack, Kobe, back here. Starting now, hour two of the Charlie Kirk Memorial show here on Real America's Voice. Lock in. Patriots, lock in. That's how Charlie would want us to be. That's what Charlie would. That's what Charlie would say. He would say, be better, work harder. What are you doing next? What's the next fight? Take the next hill. Finish the job. Finish the job. Complete the task. Complete the mission. We have the editor, Breitbart, Alex Marlowe now joining us. Alex, you. You knew Charlie as well as, as any of us, obviously. And for you, coming from Breitbart, this is now the second time you've had to go through something like this in this, in this moment. Talk to me a little bit about the legacy of. Going through the legacy of Andrew. And now we have the legacy of Charlie.
- [51:19]
Alex Marlowe
Thanks, Jack. You're doing a wonderful job on this. It's beautiful tribute so far, I guess I'm unique in this regard that I was Andrew Breitbart's right hand man when he passed away at 43 different circumstances. Certainly wasn't an assassination while he was just trying to debate people on a campus, but a similar situation in a genuinely great man who is here and called to do great things for this country and in this life and got taken from us. And one thing that was so heartening, that after Andrew passed, people understood the importance of hard work, of determination, of trying to externalize all the messages that Andrew had given us, that we'd internalized. And he became the pioneer of citizen journalism. He already was. But people, not everyone stopped and thought about it until he was taken from us, until that light was extinguished. And that has got to be the exact approach, if not twofold, tenfold, with what Charlie's done. Tyler was touching on. Something really important that I've been trying to share with people, is that Charlie wasn't just a giant in talk radio and podcasting. He wasn't just a giant in activism. And he may have been the biggest at that, but he was also meeting people where they were. He was on the campuses 100 hours a semester. He was on the platforms that conservatives wouldn't even go on, things like TikTok. He was someone who was reaching people who might not get news from anywhere else. Now, I wish people got news from all over the place, but a lot of the times they were relying on Charlie. He was an international sensation. We at Breitbart Today were covering how the international press is reacting to Charlie's assassination. And they've strong opinions, they've thought long and hard about this guy, and he did it all with a smile, with joy. He was always trying to run up that next hill and summit it. That spirit always inspired me as one of his peers and colleagues. And it is just infectious to be around. And my heart breaks for his family, for the whole Turning Point team. But Charlie's message was loud and clear. We need to be those happy warriors. We need to be fearless. We need to be determined in the fight, sadly, has only just begun.
- [53:32]
Jack Posobic
You know, it's one of those things, too. And obviously we're still getting more and more information out about the shooter who is still at large. And I know we have these photos that have come up as well. Alex, can you put us. Just give us a little bit of that taste, you know, where. Where do you think we stand with this, this manhunt?
- [53:54]
Alex Marlowe
Well, it's not great. It's not great news. We're Getting nothing but bad news. First of all, there were some false hope that we caught the guy right away and then the person got away. And I think that that already is a disgrace. A person like Charlie should have protection. I think we need to be very cautious going to these universities going forward. And I think that that's a shame because we need free speech now more than ever. And they're going to use this as an opportunity. They, the left, who's responsible for this. They're going to use this as a victory because they're going to see that there will be a chilling of speech because they hate free speech. They want control, they want authoritarianism. Charlie was an affront to that, and that's why he was targeted. And law enforcement needs to get the job done as soon as humanly possible. I know our guys are in charge at a federal level. I don't know much about the local law enforcement, the state law enforcement, but doesn't matter. We need to demand answers. We need to demand accountability right away. And we must be better. I'll tell you, I was just reading a lot about Butler recently and how we still don't have answers from Butler. That's a warning to people. I was on campus with Charlie Kirk over a year ago at UC Davis. They're smashing windows, they're trying to break into the building. And Tiffany's present. It is very dangerous to be a conservative right now. And I'll tell you, Jack, my audience right now, we feel hunted. We feel hunted down right now. And that is not a good thing.
- [55:13]
Jack Posobic
No. And this one has certainly hit close for my family as well as I'm sure it has yours.
- [55:18]
Alex Marlowe
That's right.
- [55:18]
Jack Posobic
Right back here, Jack Posobic One with Alex Marlo is the Charlie Kirk Memorial show. Right back here, Washington, D.C. the Charlie Kirk Memorial Show. And we're just showing some of these images that are now coming in from all over the country last night, spontaneous vigils, prayer services, rosaries, people coming out and putting up pictures of Charlie. I don't even know how he gets something that printed so quickly. And the candles going up everywhere. And it's all organic. This is nothing that was directly from the organization. Even the Turning Point's own headquarters, which are showing there. They held a vigil last night that was completely spontaneous and organic, which is exactly, exactly what Charlie would have wanted. People becoming activated, people doing things on their own, stepping up, taking agency. That's. That's what he always wanted. And I remember him saying this. He would say, I would if I can just get people to step up and start doing things. Then. Then we win. If we just get people motivated, we will win. And I said it before. Charlie spent his entire life trying to inspire a national turning point. And he's accomplished that. He has now done so. Alex Marlowe, what do you make of this where it really is just a very positive outpouring. We're seeing it from around the world. We're seeing it from members of, you know, across the aisle of liberals, Democrats, people saying, you know what? I think even the New York Times, Ezra Klein, they said Charlie did politics the way it should be done with. With moxie, with smarts, with boldness, but never with anger.
- [57:54]
Alex Marlowe
Yeah, pretty remarkable contrast to the initial reactions from the J.B. pritzkers of the world and the MSNBCs of the world who are suggesting maybe Charlie brought this on himself. The New York Times was very intentional today when they put in his obituary. They called him a provocateur. That word is on purpose. They believe he provoked his own assassination. And that's disgusting. But you did start seeing some people see, start getting a hold of themselves and start understanding, as Ezra Klein flagged on his own, not the paper itself, but. And as well as some of these leaders all around the world are saying, this is not the humanity we want, and this is a spiritual fight we're in. Jack And Charlie knew this. He wasn't just an evangelist for conservatism and for our Constitution. He was an evangelist for Christ. He was evangelist for Judeo Christian values. Charlie stood for that. And people around the world who observe him know that, that he was as fluent in biblical matters as in political matters. And this is the spiritual battle that we need. And people who might not agree with his politics need to understand that Charlie did do things the right way. He did things with debate. He did things with nonviolence. He did things with just trying to meet people where they were and convince them, trying to get them to change their minds if he disagreed and happily accepting them if they didn't. That's what he stood for. That's who he was. And I think smart people always knew that. Maybe today they're finally starting to admit it.
- [59:16]
Jack Posobic
Yeah, I remember being on campus with them or being at wherever we were. And, you know, he would always say, if you disagree, come right to the front. If you disagree, come right up here. Let's have it out. Let's have that conversation. But you can watch the, I don't know, hundreds of hours of videotape of Charlie on these campuses. You'll Never once see him raise a hand in anger. You know, he's, he's got conviction, of course, he's got boldness. Absolutely. When you're, when you're debating, you're going to. But he doesn't get angry, he doesn't get physical. There's no, there's never been a violent bone in his body. I've never seen that in private. I've never seen, I've never known him to be like that. And it really does just sum it all up. They, they couldn't debate him, so they did this.
- [60:02]
Alex Marlowe
And that's exactly right.
- [60:04]
Jack Posobic
Do you think, do you think this will be a, a turning point against. And we've seen a wave of left wing violence. We've seen a wave of political violence and anti Christian violence that's going on just this month. Do you think that it will wind down or are we going to see more?
- [60:21]
Alex Marlowe
I run very pessimistic in this regard and I think some of those initial reactions we saw from people in the left wing commentariat make me think that maybe it won't be. And I seeing some of the reactions on Blue sky and TikTok. But if you look around the world, there are so many bright spots. We at Breitbart, we are tracking today conservatives in Spain, in Latin America, in Brazil, in El Salvador, all over the world that they're in Argentina, we are seeing even the Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, condemning it. So many people are out there saying this is not the way forward for the human race. And it does give me some hope. There is a layer of hope, but there is a deep spiritual problem that we have in this country. There is a yearning for God in so many American households that is absent right now. And it's the absence of God that provided this in people's lives. It's a demonic impulse that we're witnessing day after day in this country. And people need to confront it. They need to confront it, though, on a micro level. It's communities, it's families. And until we fully address that, then I'm going to be in fear that this will continue to some degree or another.
- [61:29]
Jack Posobic
No. And I've seen it all. I've seen every single piece of it. People are sending me stuff like crazy. Phone, you know, blew up yesterday. I was on air when this happened. And I've seen the comments, the tick tocks, and there's no other word for it than demonic. The way people are cheering, celebrating a man whose life was cut down in his absolute prime when he was just Getting to the top of the mountain. I think he was just there. And he had other mountains yet to climb, and we all knew that he did, and he wanted us to be along there with him. And these monsters want to celebrate it. And you see it all across blue sky. You see it across TikTok. You can find tweet after tweet. Sort of the big names have kind of realized they have to be careful now. But I've said this for a year now at this point, that there will be more mangiones. And the cult of Luigi, the fandom of Luigi, was there because now that they have lost political power, they are now choosing physical, kinetic power. And it was Chairman Mao himself who said, political power grows from the barrel of a gun. Alex, I know you gotta run and where can people go to follow and everything?
- [62:53]
Alex Marlowe
You guys are putting up the Alex Marlowe Show. I'll have a long tribute to Charlie today on my podcast. And I can't thank you enough, Jack, for having me and including me in this and Real America's Voice. Wonderful job over there. And we're gonna honor Charlie at Breitbart News. All day, every day, we're putting up dozens and dozens and dozens of pieces of content about Charlie. He got his start. Writing for us is something we're deeply proud of and will always be a part of that in history. So Charlie was my friend. I was. Spoke with him virtually every day. I was on his program once a week. He was a good man. And people need to understand that if you're motivated to get involved right now, know that he wasn't just a conservative warrior. He was a good person, a genuinely good person. He was that guy.
- [63:37]
Jack Posobic
Absolutely was. Alex, thank you for being here today. Thank you for being a part of this. President Trump has just put out a new statement. He's been talking to reporters. He brought up Charlie. I want to play that now. You don't replace Joe. No.
- [63:54]
Alex Marlowe
As well as I do.
- [63:55]
Jack Posobic
He was a unique man.
- [63:57]
Alex Marlowe
But the best we can.
- [63:59]
Jack Posobic
Anything on the investigation or anything on.
- [64:02]
Unidentified Supporter/Commentator
The latest that you've heard from the.
- [64:03]
Jack Posobic
FBI or Cash Patel? They've reported to me so far. Pretty much what you seeing in the news is what it is. They have a virtual manhunt out there, so we'll see what happens.
- [64:15]
Alex Marlowe
We hope we get them, sir.
- [64:16]
Jack Posobic
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. Let's go. All right, That's President Trump. A virtual manhunt. I hope we get him. I want to go now to Harrison Fields, press team of the White House. Harrison, thank you so Much for joining us and being here today.
- [64:34]
Harrison Fields
It's good to be here, Jack. Wish it was better circumstances, but it's good to see you.
- [64:39]
Jack Posobic
Absolutely. Can you tell us just, you know, beyond the politics of this? Charlie had so many friends in the White House. Can you tell me what the mood is like in there or how it's been in the last 12 hours or so?
- [64:51]
Harrison Fields
Well, I recently departed, so I'm actually back in the private sector. But I've been talking to my friends back at the White House. They're just all devastated. There are no words. Right. And first and foremost, our prayers, our thoughts, everything in our bodies is going towards Erica and the kids. We can't fathom it. I am a young father myself, recently married, kind of following that Charlie Kirk motto, get married, have babies. This is what it's all about. You're at a loss for words. There is just no making sense of the unsensible tragedy that took our friend's life. And even if you didn't get to know him, you felt like you did know him. I was talking to friends from all over the country, and they're at a loss. They don't understand how something like this could happen. They got my friends engaged in politics after years of me trying to convince people to become conservative. All they needed was one Charlie Kirk video, and here they were voting for the President. That's the type of impact that he had. And his legacy will be a lot of things, but one thing, and I know you guys been talking about it, his legacy as a man of faith, as a Christian, as a lover of Jesus, will be of paramount importance. I mean, this is a man that, when he saw my pin, it's right here on my lapel, right here. It has a cross over the United States flag. He pointed it out to me, he noticed it, and I joked with him. I said, it's my Christian nationalist pin. And he got a chuckle out of it, because we cannot be afraid to be Christians in this country. And, you know, just minutes before he passed, we knew that he was professing his faith once again. And I heard Kayleigh McEnany mention this quote, and I think it's beautiful. It's not about left or right. Just remember, above and up. And we know that our brother Charlie is in the arms of Jesus Christ and the angels up there. And as a Christian, that gives you some level of comfort when you're just grasping for something to make sense of it all.
- [66:39]
Jack Posobic
No. And martyrs. Martyrs, absolutely. Go straight in. You know, Harrison, we've got about A minute here until the break. But you know, it's something that Charlie always led with and he was so unapologetic about his faith. And I think that's something that to Gen Z, I really, really was able to connect with them At a time when so many people are asking what's going on? It felt like, you know, through Covid, everything was collapsing. And then here comes Charlie. It's God, it's the Bible, it's Jesus and he's there serving it to you right on campus.
- [67:15]
Harrison Fields
Yeah, we talk about all the time. We have a loneliness epidemic between our younger population. Charlie was able to influence them in a way to introduce them to God. With God in your life, you can't be lonely. You are so fulsome and wholesome in your life. So he's been able to evangelize in many ways to people. You know, you became a Christian and a conservative just from listening to him. That's the type of impact he has. You look throughout history, there's not many people that have been able to do that. You look at the Graham family, you look at people like, you know, MLK or you know, other prominent people in our country that have had such a platform, the President of the United States, such a palpable platform, one that doesn't die with them but really lives on. But the reality is, you know, again, as Christians we know that he's very much alive in heaven, a place where he prayed and wished and knew he probably would end up one day. By no means did we think it would be at 31 years young. But again, our hearts and our thoughts and prayers are with his family right now.
- [68:17]
Jack Posobic
Absolutely. Harrison Fields, thank you so much for joining us today. And obviously we hope that Erica and the family are feeling those prayers right now. Jack Posopic coming back. Charlie Kirk Memorial show here Real America's Voice Foreign here live on the Charlie Kirk Memorial Show. What you're looking at is, is live. This is not pre recorded, this is not pre taped. This is a live shot, a camera that we have up at the Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona where a makeshift memorial has been set up where people are just coming in. These aren't people who work for tpusa. These are some of the people who work there have come out. But this is really just people coming by. Well wishers, fans, friends in many cases. Charlie of course lived in Phoenix. His family still lives in the Phoenix area in Scottsdale. And people are just coming by, watching this in real time as people are putting his memorial together for Charlie at the work that he did and the campus of Turning Point usa. I've visited many times. I've been there many times, been there with Charlie many times. And it's, it's his life's work. You, you are looking physically at these buildings, at Charlie's life's work. They would not exist without Charlie Kirk. Turning Point USA would not exist without Charlie Kirk, without Turning Point action. Who knows, maybe you don't have a President Donald Trump, a vice president. J.D. vance and the Vice President had put up an incredible 1,000 word eulogy to Charlie last night. And you could tell, you could just tell from the way it was written that JD Wrote it himself, that he had been so close with Charlie all the way back to 2017. And so what we are also told right now is that the Vice President Vance will be, of course he was not at the 911 memorial because he is on his way. He's en route to Salt Lake City where he can be with Erica and the family as they work through the arrangements and the preparations for saying goodbye to Charlie. And that's something that we're all going through. It's something we'll all have to go through for everyone in our life, saying goodbye. And last night, FoxNews.com reached out to me and asked if I would like to write something for Charlie that they would publish on their opinion side. And so I did. And that is up now. You guys can go read it. Charlie Kirk died as he lived, bold, unashamed and anchored in faith. And you can go check it out. I said on September 10, America lost a warrior and family lost a father. Charlie Kirk was my brother. He was a man who stood tall with his feet firmly planted and a microphone in his hand. He was taken from us at Utah Valley University. While proclaiming truth, he did not flinch, he did not waver, he did not run. He died as he lived, bold, steadfast and unashamed of the gospel and the truth. When America needed a hero, God sent us Charlie Kirk. And there was something about Charlie that no matter how big Charlie got and I was with him and I knew him as he went from being well known to an international celebrity. And it didn't matter because he was always kind, he was always generous to everyone, super generous with his time. And he could make a nobody feel like a somebody because he would listen to every single person, whether it was an event or just on the street, who wanted to talk to him.
- [73:24]
Unidentified Supporter/Commentator
Man, Charlie, I remember when we were starting these out and it was that like that you know, it was like this. It was like. It was like your average three rows. It was like your average political meeting where there was like 12 people in a room. And this is. This is awesome. This, in my personal opinion, was the.
- [73:42]
Alex Marlowe
Most over the top Trump event that I've ever covered.
- [73:46]
Unidentified Supporter/Commentator
This is the number one boots on the ground operation in the country. We're working directly in harmony with the Trump campaign. It's been vetted, it's been cleared. It's been blessed, as you can see there. And we're going to try to win this thing. No guarantees. It's what we do that matters. Mr. President, I can tell you this room is 100% with you, and we have your back. God bless you.
- [74:03]
Jack Posobic
Thank you. Sa. All right, folks, Jack Posovic here. Charlie Kirk on assignment, an assignment from the King. Right now, we are hosting a memorial to him. The live shot you're looking at, and if you're listening, these are images of people now gathering. Looks like dozens of people. It's actually growing quite large now outside of Turning Point USA headquarters there in Phoenix, Arizona, where people are bringing balloons, candles, pictures of Charlie. Actually looks like people are gathering in prayer. They're holding their heads, bowing their heads. This is just incredible moving. It's completely organic. These are happening all over the country today. And it's just, it means so much to know how beloved Charlie was to this country, what a hero that he was and is such an icon. And, you know, having been along for the ride, to see how he went from where he started to where he is now, or to have achieved this level of success and become this beloved figure, it's impossible. But it just. I never saw him that way because to me, he's just my buddy, he's my friend. And I'm always just kind of wondering, what's the next fight, Charlie? Where are we going next? What's the next hill we're going to take? Where are we going to plant the next flag? And so today we're taking a day to step back from all of that, and we're talking to some of Charlie's closest friends and associates, all about the man Charlie was, the way that he lived, and the reason that he stood head and shoulders above all of us. Mike Benz joins us now. Mike, I mean, it's horrific that we have to be here in such circumstances, but in a way, for me, and I think for a lot of us, we weren't surprised because we saw the trajectory of the way our country was going, and it was only a matter of Time before another act of senseless hate filled violence came after one of us. And of course they went after Charlie.
- [77:54]
Alex Marlowe
Yeah.
- [77:57]
Jack Posobic
Mike, do you, do you think that this is going to turn the temperature up? Is it going to turn it down? What's your sense of. All right, folks, Jack Posovic here, Charlie Kirk on assignment, on assignment from the King. Right now we are hosting a memorial to him. The live shot you're looking at, and if you're listening, these are images of people now gathering. Looks like dozens of people. It's actually growing quite large now outside of Turning Point USA headquarters there in Phoenix, Arizona, where people are bringing balloons, candles, pictures of Charlie. Actually looks like people are gathering in prayer. They're holding their heads, bowing their heads. This is just incredible, moving. It's completely organic. These are happening all over the place, the country today. And it's just, it means so much to know how beloved Charlie was to this country. What a hero that he was and is such an icon. And, you know, having been along for the ride, to see how he went from where he started to where he is now, or to have achieved this level of success and become this beloved figure, it's impossible. But it just, I never saw him that way because to me he's just my buddy, he's my friend. And I'm always just kind of wondering, what's the next fight, Charlie? Where are we going next? What's the next hill we're going to take? Where are we going to plant the next flag? And so today we're taking a day to step back from all of that and we're talking to some of Charlie's closest friends and associates, all about the man Charlie was, the way that he lived, and the reason that he stood head and shoulders above all of us. Mike Benz joins us now. Mike, I mean, it's horrific that we have to be here in such circumstances, but in a way, for me, and I think for a lot of us, we weren't surprised because we saw the trajectory of the way our country was going and it was only a matter of time before another act of senseless, hate filled violence came after one of us. And of course they went after Charlie. Yeah. Mike, do you think that this is going to turn the temperature up? Is it going to turn it down? What's your sense?
- [81:19]
Mike Benz
I don't know. I think it, I think it has to be. You can't forget this. That was the most graphic, horrifying video I, or anyone I could ever imagine could see in their life. It was in broad daylight, thousands of people watching mid sentence, shot in the jugular vein. And this was our child prodigy. We would not be here without Charlie. I would not be here without Charlie on so many levels. Charlie was our bridge to the young. Charlie made it okay to believe in this for people whose minds were growing and developing. When I was in college, I was afraid to be friends with anybody who considered themselves conservative. I hid away from the label because there was no institution. There was college Republicans, which sucked and nobody wanted to be a part of. What he did with Turning Point is he built really the first MAGA institution and probably the most important one, the pipeline of people, networks of community, of solidarity. And I can't do something like that. I used to joke with people about when people would say, oh, Benz, you know, you work so hard like. And I would say, well, there's someone who works harder than me actually. How would you like to be Charlie Kirk? He has to do all this and then he has to manage teams of thousands of people. He has to bridge divides from all of the different splintered factions of MAGA so that they have one unified vision. He has to be the peacemaker, the diplomat, the communicator, the long term strategic planner. Every room he walked in, he looked like he would be president one day. You see him next to presidents, he looks like he's going to be president. And all of this responsibility was on the shoulders of a kid. Of a kid. He was 17 years old, 16 years old when he started all this, started Turning point at what, 18 years old, and all of that weight and responsibility and he never lost. I never saw him lose a debate. I never saw him lose his composure. He had a unique and probably the perfect skill set for something that is very, very rare in somebody under 60, let alone somebody in this movement, which is in many ways motivated by passion and to some extent the kind of chaos of newness and reform. But Charlie was the steady hand. He never lost his cool, even in that moment. It's completely surreal.
- [84:51]
Jack Posobic
Mike. I couldn't agree more. And I'm as shaken up about this as anybody. And I don't even think I slept last night, honestly, and been up with my wife and she barely slept and we're just praying, talking. And I know though that because I can hear Charlie's voice in my ear, he would say, keep fighting, keep up the fight, keep going, finish the mission, complete the task, work harder. He'd actually, and he'd be, he'd be saying, what do you think? You guys think you get a day off? No, no, we don't take days off. No, we don't. I want to show very quickly, since we are covering the breaking news, we do have a new image that's been released by the FBI. And so that's the original image right there. And then let's show the new image that's been released. This clearer image that is zoomed in. The tighter, clearer image. If we don't have it, we don't have it. But those are the images that were released earlier. We're trying to get a sense of this right now. Okay, here's the new image that's been released. Mike, as. As you look at the situation, what do you make of the fact that the shooter is still at large, hustled?
- [86:28]
Mike Benz
I know that this is the most wanted person on earth. I have faith in Kash Patel, Dan Bongino, Pam Bondi to make sure this killer is brought to justice. And I want the slowest, most painful, most gruesome, most public execution of this man possible.
- [86:56]
Jack Posobic
I want to look emotionally. I know exactly where you're coming from. And obviously cross our T's, dot our I's. But look, I get it. Something has to give. A line was crossed yesterday that we can't go back from. We can't go back from the. We can never turn back into the America that we were before we lost Charlie Kirk. But we can still move forward to become something good, because that's what Charlie stood for. But make no mistake, we were robbed yesterday. Erica Kirk was robbed yesterday. Charlie's children were robbed yesterday. And there is now a debt. There is a debt that must be paid, and it will be. But as for Charlie's kids, I'm going to make sure that they knew who their father was, because I'm going to make sure to tell them myself. I'm going to tell them who Charlie was. This is an I Heart podcast.