The Charlie Kirk Show

Episode: "A Confirmation Battle for Charlie’s Legacy"
Date: February 17, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode revolves around two central themes: the ongoing confirmation battle of Jeremy Carl, President Trump and Charlie Kirk's pick for Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations, and broader conversations on media narratives, cultural trends, and political strategies on both sides of the aisle. The episode is an energetic blend of culture war commentary, behind-the-scenes insights into government nominations, and realpolitik assessment of Democratic and Republican tactics. The tone is unapologetically conservative, brash, and often confrontational—typical of Charlie Kirk’s brand.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jeremy Carl’s Nomination Saga

[01:09 – 09:31]

• Host Introduction: Charlie Kirk introduces Jeremy Carl, noting the honor and controversy around his nomination.
• Senate Hearing Ordeal:
  • Jeremy Carl describes facing hostile questions in his Senate confirmation hearing, particularly on race and his book, The Unprotected Class, which addresses anti-white discrimination.
    • Jeremy Carl [03:06]:
      “Even if you're somebody like me … when you have a bunch of very hostile senators controlling the microphone and saying, ‘Have you no decency? How dare you have that view?’ It's very easy to recant or go back. And I didn't do that at all. I stood by my beliefs... I kept my integrity. That was really the most important thing to me.”
  • The hosts express frustration with the “bad faith framing” and what they characterize as outdated lines of attack from Democrats.
• Republican Skepticism:
  • The group calls out Republican Senator Curtis of Utah for skepticism based on Carl’s perceived insufficient support for U.S.-Israel policy.
  • Carl’s Defense: He points to Charlie Kirk and the late George Shultz (Reagan’s Secretary of State, also his mentor) as evidence of his strong pro-Israel credentials, and denounces UN bias against Israel.
    • Jeremy Carl [05:35]:
      “There's no question that for the actual job that I would be put in … I would be foursquare for every element of the US Israel alliance. This is not a tough question. It's not a close call.”
• Strategy Going Forward:
  • Carl expresses hope for a meeting with Senator Curtis to clarify his views and notes the White House remains firmly supportive despite opposition campaigns.
  • Jeremy Carl [09:09]:
    “I really do feel like if he gives me a little bit of time to speak with him, I think he'd be very reassured...”

Notable Moments & Quotes

• Charlie Kirk [03:13]:
  “Charlie fought for your nomination ... You were one of the people he really wanted to get into the government. He was very excited about it, really fought for you.”

2. The Bigger Picture: Goals for the UN Role

[10:46 – 13:44]

• Why Take the Job?

  • Carl explains his motivation to choose the international organizations role, seeing it as a place to drive reform and promote American sovereignty.
    • He criticizes the “shop talk” culture of the UN and vows to push for concrete action, not “global government.”
    • Main priorities: Countering Chinese influence, supporting Israel at the UN, defending US sovereignty, and stopping “migration abuse” facilitated by the UN system.
    • Jeremy Carl [12:37]:
      “The United Nations ... has been a longtime source of frustration to those of us who are America first, to those of us who believe in American sovereignty ... What I want to do is have the UN do a limited set of things and actually do them effectively and advance US interests.”

• UN as a Force for Good (or Not):

  • Citing Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Munich speech, the hosts argue that real international change has to come from US strength, not the UN bureaucracy.

3. Political Messaging: Democrats’ Shifting Strategies

[24:44 – 29:54]

• Montage of Democratic Moderation?
  • The hosts play recent quotes from Barack Obama (on homelessness), Hillary Clinton (on migration and border security), and Andy Beshear (on moderation and reducing polarization), suggesting Democrats are repositioning ahead of the 2026 and 2028 elections to sound more centrist.
  • Charlie Kirk [27:23]:
    “To me, it's obvious what they're doing … they cannot get elected saying the things that they believe. So now there's a long campaign to get them to say things that they don't believe, but that sound good in the hopes that they can get elected and then not do any of those things. It's a total con job.”
• "Going Full Virginia":
  • The group discusses the radical shift in Virginia politics as a model for broader Democratic legislative overreach when in power—new taxes, bans, and voting laws—and asserts Republicans should learn to use power as unapologetically.

4. The Epstein Documents Dump

[33:13 – 38:57]

• Key Revelations and Patterns:
  • Explores the newly released Department of Justice documents listing hundreds of individuals associated (at various levels) with Jeffrey Epstein.
  • Emphasis on the connections of Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman, highlighting his close, sustained relationship with Epstein and major contributions to Democratic Party initiatives.
    • Unidentified Host 1 [34:23]:
      “Reid Hoffman stayed at Jeffrey Epstein's ranch, private island, … He bought ice cream for the girls... and talked about how much they missed each other. That is five years of emails if they emailed once every day.”
• Media Narrative and Missing Context:
  • Acknowledgement that much information is still unverified or out of context, and concern that innocent people may be smeared alongside the guilty.
  • Charlie Kirk presses on the “real” missing piece:
    Charlie Kirk [36:56]:
    “The main one is that through … all this influence stuff, Jeffrey Epstein was a tried and true Democrat. … The one thing that I want to know is which intel agencies was he working for?”
• Conspiratorial Frustration:
  • The hosts express deep frustration that, despite mass disclosure, the public still doesn’t know which intelligence agencies Epstein may have worked for—a recurring conservative suspicion.

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Jeremy Carl on Senate Hearing:

  “It's very easy to recant ... And I didn't do that at all. I stood by my beliefs ... I kept my integrity. That was really the most important thing to me going into the hearing.”
  (03:06)

• Defending Israel at the UN:

  "There's no question that for the actual job that I would be put in if I'm confirmed by the Senate ... I would be foursquare for every element of the US Israel alliance ... It's really obvious that frankly the behavior toward Israel in the UN system is egregious."
  (06:55)

• On Countering UN Ineffectiveness:

  “What I want to do is have the UN Do a limited set of things and actually do them effectively and advance US interests … there's a lot of things that we could be doing, need to be doing in these bodies.”
  (12:14)

• On Democratic Election Strategy:

  “They understand they cannot get elected saying the things that they believe. So now there's a long campaign to get them to say things that they don't believe, but that sound good in the hopes that they can get elected and then not do any of those things. So ... it's a total con job.”
  (27:23)

• Epstein Document Dump – The Real Question:

  “The one thing that I want to know is which intel agencies was he working for ... After all these years, I just assume all the documents ... that tell us those things ... are gone.”
  (36:56)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:09]–[09:31]: Jeremy Carl recounts his Senate hearing experience, attacks over his book, and addresses skepticism from Republican Senator Curtis about his Israel stance.
• [10:46]–[13:44]: Carl outlines what his priorities would be at the UN if confirmed.
• [24:44]–[29:54]: Analysis of Democratic leaders' public messaging shift and the Virginia "radical agenda" as a case study.
• [33:13]–[38:57]: Dissection of the Jeffrey Epstein document dump, focus on Democratic donor Reid Hoffman's relationship with Epstein, and the lack of intel agency accountability.

Concluding Thoughts

• Jeremy Carl expresses gratitude for support from Charlie Kirk and the conservative base, reaffirms commitment to serve if confirmed, and the hosts make a respectful push for Utah listeners to contact Senator Curtis.

  • Jeremy Carl [18:26]:
    “My final message I think is that I would love to have the opportunity to serve the president and the country in this role. I really appreciate the support of you guys. I mean, Charlie was, it was such a huge, huge loss … but I love the fact that you guys are carrying on his legacy and really appreciative of your support now and over the years.”

• The episode closes with cultural commentary (Robert Duvall’s death), media criticism, and assurances that the show will continue to provide “clarity in a sea of chaos.”

Overall Tone: Combative, advocacy-oriented, with urgent calls to action for listeners—particularly around political organizing, engagement on confirmations, and skepticism towards mainstream narratives.