Charlie Kirk was one of the highest profile conservative activists and media personalities in the US and a trusted ally of President Donald Trump.
He was shot dead on Wednesday at the age of 31 while hosting a college event for Turning Point USA, the organisation he co-founded, in what police are calling a targeted shooting.
President Donald Trump announced Kirk’s stunning news, paying tribute on Truth Social: “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.”
Turning Point, which he started at age 18, aimed to spread conservative ideals at liberal-leaning US colleges. The event on Wednesday at Utah Valley University where he was gunned down was the kick-off of a multi-campus Turning Point tour, during which attendees were invited to debate Kirk about similar issues.
His social media and his eponymous daily podcast often offered clips of him debating with students about issues like transgender identity, climate change, faith and family values.
A clip of Trump himself plays at the beginning of Kirk’s podcast: “I want to thank Charlie, he’s an incredible guy, his spirit, his love of this country, he’s done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organisations ever created.”
Its mission, aimed at young people, is to organize students to “promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government”. It now has chapters at more than 850 colleges.
It played a key role in the get-out-the-vote effort for Trump and other Republican candidates in last year’s election. The millennial was credited widely with helping to register tens of thousands of new voters and flipping Arizona for Trump.
The relationship between Kirk and Trump grew after Trump’s victory, with Kirk attending Trump’s inauguration in January in Washington DC, and becoming a regular visitor at the White House during both Trump terms in office.
Earlier this year, he travelled with Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, to Greenland, as the then-incoming president was arguing that the US should own the Arctic territory.
Turning Point, which he started at age 18, aimed to spread conservative ideals at liberal-leaning US colleges. The event on Wednesday at Utah Valley University where he was gunned down was the kick-off of a multi-campus Turning Point tour, during which attendees were invited to debate Kirk about similar issues.
His social media and his eponymous daily podcast often offered clips of him debating with students about issues like transgender identity, climate change, faith and family values.
A clip of Trump himself plays at the beginning of Kirk’s podcast: “I want to thank Charlie, he’s an incredible guy, his spirit, his love of this country, he’s done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organisations ever created.”
The non-profit – a large part of his legacy – began after President Barack Obama was re-elected in 2012.
Its mission, aimed at young people, is to organize students to “promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government”. It now has chapters at more than 850 colleges.
It played a key role in the get-out-the-vote effort for Trump and other Republican candidates in last year’s election. The millennial was credited widely with helping to register tens of thousands of new voters and flipping Arizona for Trump.
The relationship between Kirk and Trump grew after Trump’s victory, with Kirk attending Trump’s inauguration in January in Washington DC, and becoming a regular visitor at the White House during both Trump terms in office.
Earlier this year, he travelled with Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, to Greenland, as the then-incoming president was arguing that the US should own the Arctic territory.
