NationalWatch

FIRST ON FOX: Two of the top Republicans in the solid red state of Ohio are endorsing each other, representing a move toward unity in the state where Republicans are hoping to win next November without President Trump on the ticket. 

“I’m proud to back Jon Husted for U.S. Senate,” Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said in a press release alongside an event with Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted in Columbus on Monday night. 

“Jon represents Ohio values, and he is a common-sense leader who I’ve known for years. He’s a fighter for our families and our freedoms, and he’ll carry Ohio’s voice to Washington without compromise.”

Husted reciprocated the sentiment by issuing his own endorsement of Ramaswamy’s campaign for the governorship in Ohio. 

GOP SENATOR REVEALS WHY TRUMP’S ‘COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT’ WILL BE CRUCIAL FOR HIS MIDTERM RACE

“Vivek has articulated bold ideas for our state, and I believe his vision for excellence aligns closely with the priorities Ohioans expect and deserve,” Husted said. “I’m proud to endorse my friend Vivek Ramaswamy to be the next Governor of Ohio.”

The press release touted Husted’s “reputation as Ohio’s common-sense public servant who streamlines government and expands opportunity” along with Ramaswamy’s “perspective of a successful entrepreneur who champions innovation and free markets.”

The two candidates together, the press release stated, represent a pairing that is “uniting Ohio around a strong mission for the state on the national stage.”

Husted, appointed to the U.S. Senate by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to replace Vice President JD Vance, is running for re-election against former Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republicans across the country have circled the wagons in support of the freshman senator.

OHIO TEAMSTERS UNION ENDORSES RAMASWAMY IN GUBERNATORIAL RACE, BREAKING FROM TYPICAL SUPPORT OF DEM CANDIDATES

 “After 50 years of living off the tax payer, losing an election by a wide margin with $300 million in out of state money, abandoning working Ohioans to be Chuck Schumer’s lap dog, and sucking up to coastal elites, it’s time for @SherrodBrown to just go away,” Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, who defeated Brown last year despite entering the race as an underdog in the polls, said on X after Brown entered the race.

“Ohio is lucky to have @SenJonHusted in the Senate!,” Ohio Republican Congressman Jim Jordan posted on X after Brown jumped in the race.

Husted, who has previously served as Ohio’s lieutenant governor and secretary of state, has Trump’s endorsement as he runs next year to fill the final two years of Vance’s six-year term.

Ramaswamy, a billionaire entrepreneur in the pharmaceutical sector, catapulted onto the political scene when he ran for president in 2024 before dropping out and endorsing Trump but continuing a push for the “America First” agenda as a surrogate. Ramaswamy had also stated an interest in being appointed to the Senate to replace Vance before Husted was appointed. 

“One of my core areas of focus that I think is really resonating, is elevating the standards of educational achievement in our state,” Ramaswamy said earlier this year about his gubernatorial campaign.

“The No. 1 issue that I see resonating across the board, in a non-partisan manner, is the recognition that we are in the middle of this educational achievement crisis.”

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Former Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton is currently the leading Democrat in the governor’s race in Ohio, a state Trump carried by 11 points in 2024. 

Ramaswamy and Husted endorsing each other represents a united Republican front between Husted, elevated to the Senate by DeWine, a longtime political stalwart viewed as an establishment figure, and Ramaswamy, who has taken up the mantle of the Republican “MAGA” base in Ohio.

RNC surrogate and Ohio attorney Mehek Cooke told Fox News Digital that “this kind of unity is rare” in “today’s political climate” and sends a “powerful message” that the Republican Party is a “big tent.”

“We don’t all have to look the same, speak the same, or even come from the same lane to believe in what’s best for Ohio,” Cooke said. 

“Endorsements are more than just words on a press release—they are a testament to a shared belief that Ohio can and must lead. From excellence in our schools, to economic growth that empowers families, to building safe and strong communities rooted in opportunity, Vivek and Jon are showing that when leaders come together, Ohioans win.”

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, dismissed today’s General Assembly conference on the question of Palestine as a “charade,” confirming Israel will boycott the meeting and warning countries moving toward recognition of a Palestinian state that there will be “consequences.”

Speaking to reporters at U.N. headquarters just ahead of a high-level session on implementing a two-state solution, Danon said Israel would not engage in the debate, accusing supporters of recognition of “supporting terrorism rather than promoting peace.”

“We will not participate in this charade. We will not enter the GA Hall, and we will not take part,” he told reporters.

France pledged to recognize a Palestinian state at the General Assembly on Tuesday, joining a slew of Israel’s longtime allies who have done so in recent months. 

MACRON STAKES ANTI-TRUMP GLOBAL ROLE WITH GAZA INITIATIVE AT UN SUMMIT

France became the first major Western nuclear power and a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council from the G7 to formally recognize Palestine.

Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom announced their support on Sunday. Norway, Spain, Portugal and Ireland have done so in recent months. They cited Israeli settlement expansion and settler violence.

“They feel they are doing something, but they are not promoting peace. On the contrary, they are supporting terrorism,” Danon said of the nations who recognized Palestine. 

“There will be consequences for that,” he promised.

Danon did not define the consequences but did not rule out Israel extending its rule to parts of the West Bank.

It’s a “discussion for the government” after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with President Donald Trump on Sept. 29.

Danon said Israel is coordinating its response with the U.S. to allies recognizing Palestine — and that Washington would also join the boycott of Monday’s General Assembly meeting on implementing a two-state solution.

“Nothing justifies the ongoing war in Gaza,” French President Emmanuel Macron said at the meeting. “Everything compels us to definitively end it.”

UK, CANADA, AUSTRALIA RECOGNIZE PALESTINIAN STATE; NETANYAHU VOWS ‘IT WILL NOT HAPPEN’

Macron went on: “The time has come to no longer talk about the existence of Israel — it’s self-evident. The time has come to do justice to the Palestinians, to recognize the state of Palestine.”

“We must do this to save lives.”

Hamas has drafted a letter to President Donald Trump, asking the commander-in-chief to guarantee a 60-day cease-fire in exchange for the release of half of the hostages still in captivity, Fox News has learned.

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Trump has seemingly grown frustrated at the stalled-out peace effort that has left some 40 Israelis at the hands of Hamas for nearly two years. 

Trump is planning to meet with a group of Arab leaders on Tuesday, where they are expected to implore him to push Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza.

The White House claimed that President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, never accepted money in cash from undercover FBI agents amid reports that the Justice Department recently closed an investigation into Homan for potential bribery. 

The White House’s remarks come after MSNBC reported Saturday that Homan allegedly took $50,000 in cash in September 2024 from undercover FBI agents he believed were business executives after suggesting he could help them secure government contracts with a second Trump administration. 

Federal law enforcement MSNBC reported that the investigation into Homan closed “in recent weeks,” after FBI Director Kash Patel asked for an update on the probe. 

BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN CALLS OUT MEDIA, REPORTERS ACCUSING ICE AGENTS OF RACIAL PROFILING

MSNBC reported that video footage depicts Homan accepting the cash. However, the White House now says that Homan never even accepted the money in the first place, and said that Trump did not ask the Justice Department to shutter the probe. 

“Mr. Homan never took the $50,000 that you’re referring to, so you should get your facts straight, number one,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday. “Number two, this was another example of the weaponization of the Biden Department of Justice against one of President Trump’s strongest and most vocal supporters in the midst of a presidential campaign, you had FBI agents going undercover to try and entrap one of the president’s top allies and supporters, someone who they knew very well would be taking a government position months later, Mr. Homan did absolutely nothing wrong.” 

BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN VOWS CRACKDOWN ON PROTEST VIOLENCE, SAYS FUNDERS WILL FACE PROSECUTION

The White House did not provide additional comment to Fox News Digital. 

Previously, Trump administration officials have refrained from saying Homan never accepted the cash, and instead, said that there was no evidence of illegal activity. 

“This matter originated under the previous administration and was subjected to a full review by FBI agents and Justice Department prosecutors. They found no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing. The Department’s resources must remain focused on real threats to the American people, not baseless investigations. As a result, the investigation has been closed,” Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN’S MESSAGE TO ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS: ‘YOU WANT SOME? COME GET SOME’

Additionally, the White House said that the investigation was politically motivated and said that it was an example of Trump allies being targeted. 

“This blatantly political investigation, which found no evidence of illegal activity, is yet another example of how the Biden Department of Justice was using its resources to target President Trump’s allies rather than investigate real criminals and the millions of illegal aliens who flooded our country,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Tom Homan is a career law enforcement officer and lifelong public servant who is doing a phenomenal job on behalf of President Trump and the country.”

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded to the New York Magazine cover story today, which claims that Corey Lewandowski, rather than Secretary Kristi Noem, is the one calling the shots at the agency. 

DHS punched back at New York Magazine’s reporting in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital, saying that the story is simply “peddling anonymous gossip.”

“This NYMag hit piece reads like a preteen rage-scrolling, then prompting ChatGPT for a screed on misogyny,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. “It’s not just lazy — it’s libelous — peddling anonymous gossip as fact while ignoring our exhaustive, on-the-record rebuttals that destroy their narrative.”

“New York Magazine has sunk to new depths of journalistic cowardice, force-feeding the American public lies less digestible than Kibble dog food,” McLaughlin added.

GAVIN NEWSOM FACES BACKLASH FOR ‘RECKLESS’ POST ABOUT KRISTI NOEM AFTER CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATION

Lewandowski served as President Donald Trump’s first campaign manager during the Republican primary in 2016. He also served as a senior adviser for Trump’s 2024 campaign. He now holds the title of senior adviser at DHS.

“All decisions are made by Secretary Noem,” McLaughlin told Fox. “Multiple staff have the ability to provide recommendations and input for her consideration. Mr. Lewandowski serves as an advisor.”

“The Secretary, like all previous Secretaries, has various senior advisors,” McLaughlin continued. 

Noem, who was selected by Trump in November 2024, served as Governor of South Dakota prior to her tenure at DHS, and was rumored to be a potential Vice Presidential candidate along the campaign trail in Trump’s third run for president.

ICE HAS DEPORTED NEARLY 200,000 SO FAR DURING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM, SETTING PACE FOR HIGHEST LEVEL IN DECADE

Sources at DHS told Fox that Secretary Noem receives regular death threats, including from the terrorist organizations, cartels and criminal rings that DHS targets, presumably as a result of Noem and the Trump administration drastically reducing traffic across the southern border and deporting illegal migrants across the country. 

Despite the threats against Noem, NY Magazine published that the secretary is living in the U.S. Coast Guard military housing in Washington D.C., which DHS told Fox is due to the security threats she regularly faces. 

NY Magazine’s cover story later goes on to describe the Department of Homeland Security’s increase in deportations as one of the roots of “Trump’s police state,” saying that DHS is “endangering the constitutional rights of citizens and noncitizens alike.” 

McLaughlin punched back at those claims, telling Fox News Digital that Noem has specifically targeted dangerous illegal migrant criminals while also being responsible for overseeing the U.S. Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

DHS SECRETARY NOEM SAYS KIRK’S LAST TEXT TO HER WARNED ABOUT THREAT OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IN BIG CITIES

“[Secretary Noem] slashed taxpayer waste by over $12 billion in her first 200 days while locking down the border in the wake of Biden’s chaos, facilitating the exit of 2 million illegal aliens (including terrorists, murderers, rapists, child pedophiles and gang members), revolutionizing the Coast Guard and overhauling TSA for safer, smoother, more hardened security,” McLaughlin told Fox News Digital.

“That’s leadership, not gossip — America’s safer and stronger because of Kristi Noem,” McLaughlin added. 

Last month, McLaughlin told Fox that the agency has arrested more than 359,000 illegal migrants and removed more than 332,000 illegal migrants from the U.S.

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Lauren Starke, a spokesperson for NY Magazine, told Fox News Digital that their cover story was “carefully reported and fact-checked” in response to DHS’ comments to Fox.

“Our Washington correspondent spoke with more than a dozen current and former DHS staffers, as well as Trump administration officials, lobbyists, consultants, immigration experts, and former colleagues of Noem in South Dakota,” Starke told Fox. “There is a public interest in government accountability, and we stand by this story.”

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston

The Supreme Court on Monday backed President Donald Trump’s decision to fire a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission, sending yet another signal that the high court intends to revisit a 90-year-old court precedent about executive firing power.

The temporary decision to maintain Biden-appointed commissioner Rebecca Slaughter’s termination was issued 6-3 along ideological lines. The Supreme Court set oral arguments in the case for December.

Trump’s decision to fire Slaughter and another Democrat-appointed commissioner, Alvaro Bedoya, faced legal challenges because it stood in tension with the FTC Act, which says commissioners should only be fired from their seven-year tenures for cause, such as malfeasance.

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Trump fired Slaughter and Bedoya shortly after he took office without citing a cause other than the president’s broad constitutional authority over the executive branch.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., wants to jam Senate Democrats with the GOP’s short-term funding extension, but so far they aren’t ready to play ball.

Republicans and Democrats in the upper chamber blocked dueling continuing resolutions (CRs) from both parties last week and have now left Washington, D.C., until Sept. 29, effectively giving lawmakers in the upper chamber only two working days before the midnight deadline on Sept. 30.

Both sides are at an impasse. Senate Republicans argue that the “clean” extension, which would last until Nov. 21 and lacks any partisan policy riders, is everything Democrats dreamed of when they controlled the upper chamber.

TRUMP-APPROVED PLAN TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN SCUTTLED BY SENATE

Senate Democrats led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., however, argue that they want a seat at the negotiating table and are adamant that expiring Obamacare premium subsidies must be dealt with now, rather than at the end of the year.

“They’re trying to use what they think is leverage to get a bunch of stuff done,” Thune said. “It’s never going to happen. I mean, can you imagine anything in that bill that they sent that we voted down today, passing in the Republican House of Representatives? Absolutely not. It’s just not serious.”

Democrats’ proposal included a permanent extension to the expiring Obamacare subsidies, clawbacks of canceled funding for NPR and PBS, and it would have repealed the healthcare provisions in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” — policy that would reverse the nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts while also getting rid of the $50 billion rural hospital fund.

“They’re not being serious,” Thune said. “This is just a cold-blooded partisan political attempt to try and score political points with a left-wing base.”

Though he has not taken the option off the table, it’s unlikely that Thune would cut this recess short. Instead, he wants to use the impending deadline to back Senate Democrats into a corner. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., played into that strategy, too, when he announced that the House would not return until after the funding deadline.

Thune is ready to bring the same CR passed by House Republicans last week to the floor.

SENATE REPUBLICANS BLOCK DEMOCRATS’ ‘FILTHY’ COUNTEROFFER AS SHUTDOWN DEADLINE LOOMS

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., railed against the likelihood that lawmakers wouldn’t return to Capitol Hill until the deadline was directly on them.

“The Republicans want to shut down,” he said. “A) they refuse to negotiate, and B) they’re sending us home for the week before the government shuts down. So you know this, this seems like a planned shutdown. As far as I can tell, there’s zero effort, zero effort by Republicans to try to solve this problem.”

Schumer and Democrats have pinned the blame on Trump and argue that his insistence that Thune only needs Republican votes was a sign that Democrats should be cut out of the process. Thune will need Democratic votes to advance through the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the Senate.

The top Senate Democrat hoped Thune and Republicans would “now see that the only way to avoid a shutdown is negotiate with Democrats.”

“We’re saying clearly, let’s sit down. Let’s figure this out,” Schumer said. “But Republicans have now left town with no sign they want to avoid a shutdown in a week. They left town. Donald Trump is the shutdown president and Senate Republicans are following him over the cliff.”

THUNE PANS DEMOCRATS’ SHUTDOWN STANCE AS ‘BORDERLINE PATHOLOGICAL,’ ‘LIKE A DISEASE’

Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., also sent a letter on Saturday to Trump demanding a meeting, where the pair charged that “Republicans would bear the responsibility” of a partial shutdown.

“As a result, it is now your obligation to meet with us directly to reach an agreement to keep the government open and address the Republican healthcare crisis,” they wrote.

Trump said on Saturday that he would “love to meet with them, but I don’t think it’s going to have any impact.”

A day before, he didn’t appear optimistic that a shutdown could be averted.

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“I think we could very well end up with a closed country for a period of time,” Trump said.

Thune may have defections within his own ranks to contend with, too. Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voted against the GOP’s bill. Only Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., crossed the aisle to support it.

Paul’s vote against the bill wasn’t a surprise. However, Murkowski, who is an appropriator, contended that she wanted a better bill on the floor than the one presented by Republicans and charged that the back-to-back failures of both bills was a “messaging exercise.”

“I want to project a message of something that can actually get us through this impasse,” she said. “And so my message is a short-term CR that also addresses three past appropriations bills that we’ve already done. We should include those. We should include a short-term fix of the premium tax credits.” 

As world leaders gather in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, French President Emmanuel Macron is seizing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to stake out global leadership — and, critics argue, to position himself as a counterweight to President Donald Trump.

Renewing his call for recognition of a Palestinian state, Macron has also put forward a proposal for a multinational force to take over from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “the day after” the Gaza war, according to The Times of Israel. 

For Macron, the United Nations General Assembly is a stage to project France as an alternative power. “Macron’s policy on the Israel-Palestine conflict reflects his broader ambitions on France’s foreign policy, that is, the idea that the country, as a middle European power, can offer an alternative to the U.S.-China competition,” Jean-Loup Samaan, a senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital. “In this specific case, Macron believes that his push for a Palestinian state will increase French credibility in the Arab world and the so-called ‘Global South.’”

MACRON STRUTS ON WORLD STAGE AS REVOLT OVER FRANCE’S SOARING DEBT PUTS HIS PM ON THE BRINK

“We have to recognize the legitimate right of Palestinian people to have a state,” Macron said in an interview broadcast Thursday on Israel’s Channel 12. “If you don’t give a political perspective, in fact, you just put them in the hands of those who are just proposing a security approach, an aggressive approach.” He went further, denouncing Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza City as “absolutely unacceptable” and “a huge mistake.”

The comments infuriated both Israel and the United States, which argue that recognition emboldens extremists and rewards Hamas, the group responsible for the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre.

Macron, however, insists recognition is the only way forward, reviving the long-stalled two-state solution. More than 145 countries already recognize Palestine, and European allies, including the U.K., Canada, Australia, Portugal, Malta, Belgium, and Luxembourg, are expected to follow France’s lead in the coming days.

Yet analysts warn Macron’s track record suggests otherwise. “If you want to know how UN-sponsored peacekeepers do with terrorist groups in the region, we have a 20-year case study in UNIFIL, which enabled rather than denied Hezbollah the ability to grow into a massive military threat,” Richard Goldberg, senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.

“Macron is certainly driven by his beleaguered domestic political situation and the large French Muslim population, but in his own mind he’s also been down this road in Lebanon, where France has historic equities. The record is pretty clear: Macron has never delivered on anything; security improvements have only come through U.S. pressure and Israeli military might,” Goldberg said.

Just days before Macron’s push, Trump met with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Jared Kushner to discuss Gaza’s future — and is set to hold a meeting tomorrow with Arab leaders on “the day after,” sources confirm to Fox News Digital. The overlap has fueled speculation that Macron is maneuvering to outshine Trump and claim the mantle of statesman-in-chief.

TRUMP WHISPERS ‘CRAZY’ PUTIN DEAL THEORY TO MACRON IN HOT MIC MOMENT

Goldberg added bluntly: “He may perceive himself that way, but I don’t think many in Washington spend a lot of time thinking about him.”

Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, called Macron’s maneuvering “a blatant power-grab.” She told Fox News Digital: “The fact is that would-be Emperor Macron has no clothes. The promise he is waving around of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ ‘promise’ to soon hold elections and abandon dictatorship and terror screams ‘scam.’”

“At home, foreign policy topics are not driving the current political troubles, which are primarily focused on France’s need to reduce its fiscal deficit,” Samaan noted. “I think Macron’s initiative on Palestine has more to do with his personal aspirations in terms of legacy. He’ll leave office in 2027.”

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The proposed Gaza force, modeled on UNIFIL in Lebanon where France has long played a role, would demand French resources and likely face opposition in parliament from both the far left and far right, and without U.S. endorsement, Israeli buy-in, or domestic consensus in France, the initiative could stall before it begins.

A conservative political action committee launched an effort to expose teachers across the country justifying Charlie Kirk’s assassination online and is pushing back on claims from the left that conservatives are being hypocritical about free speech.

Stefano Forte, executive director of 1776 Project PAC, spoke to Fox News digital about the new form live on the organization’s website where users can flag teachers and administrators who have justified Kirk’s killing online, a form he says has already yielded an “endless stream of tips.”

“Many people are essentially happy that Charlie Kirk has been killed. And these people are in charge of the next generations,” Forte said.

As conservatives online have launched a variety of efforts to expose online hate directed at Kirk, numerous elected officials and pundits on the left have accused the political right of cracking down on free speech, which Forte called “ridiculous.”

EXPERTS WARN LEFTIST CELEBRATIONS OF CHARLIE KIRK’S DEATH SIGNAL A DANGEROUS MAINSTREAM SHIFT IN POLITICS

“When they had social power, they didn’t care about our free speech at all,” Forte said. They didn’t care who was canceled for having basic Republican opinions, or fired for supporting Trump, or even for retweeting Charlie Kirk. The only speech they want protected is their own.”

“No one is saying they can’t talk. They can post whatever they want—but there are consequences. If you’re openly celebrating the murder of Charlie Kirk, you shouldn’t be teaching children. That’s not about free speech; it’s about judgment and character. These are cruel people, and it’s dangerous to have them in classrooms.”

LIBERAL PROFESSORS’ GROUP BACKS FACULTY SPEECH AFTER CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION, SILENT ON CONDEMNING ATTACK

Social media posts celebrating, justifying, or downplaying Kirk’s assassination have been prevalent in the academic community, with many of the individuals losing their jobs as a result.

In one case, Fox News Digital first reported that an administrator at George Washington University posted on social media his thoughts about why it was “fair” that Kirk was killed and that he felt “no thoughts” and “no prayers” over the killing.

“It also points to something bigger: if you’re okay with Charlie Kirk being killed, then you’re likely okay with people who agree with him—or people further right than him—being killed too,” Forte told Fox News Digital. “That’s a serious problem. So yes, we’re amplifying their speech. They chose to make it public. We’re just making sure people know what they said.”

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The George Washington University administrator’s Facebook post was “liked” and “loved” by at least 37 people, some of whom were employed at universities across the country. 

“The rot is incredibly deep,” Forte told Fox News Digital. ” Some far-left organizations, like DSA, even put out PSAs telling their members what to post. It shows how many of these people are out there, self-reporting. They’ve gotten so comfortable in the cancel culture they built that they assumed only right-wingers could ever get in trouble for speaking their mind. They thought nothing would happen to them.”

EXCLUSIVE: More faculty members on college campuses who have celebrated the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk should be penalized, according to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.

McMahon’s comments come as tributes to Kirk on campuses have been defaced, and as higher education institutions have dropped employees for controversial statements regarding Kirk’s death. 

“I’ve seen some of those college presidents who have fired or suspended teachers or other faculty members that have spoken out really incredibly poorly and celebrated Charlie’s death — I would like to see more of that, quite frankly,” McMahon told Fox News Digital Thursday in Washington at the Reagan Institute Summit on Education. 

58 HOUSE DEMS VOTE AGAINST RESOLUTION HONORING ‘LIFE AND LEGACY’ OF CHARLIE KIRK

For example, Fox News Digital first reported that an administrator at George Washington University is no longer employed by the school after posting on social media “no thoughts, no prayers” following Kirk’s death. 

Likewise, Fox News Digital reported that students at the University of North Carolina Wilmington painted over a rock Tuesday that Kirk supporters had crafted to honor his memory. The rock on campus is typically painted to promote various movements or causes on campus, Reagan Faulkner, president of UNCW’s chapter of College Republicans, told Fox News Digital. 

“That is really, in and of itself, is a crime of personal integrity, when those kinds of things happen,” McMahon said about ruined tributes to Kirk on campuses. 

Kirk, 31, was killed after suffering a gunshot wound in the neck during his “American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University Sept. 10. The shooting suspect, Tyler Robinson, was charged Monday with aggravated murder, along with other charges. 

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR WHO CALLED KIRK’S ASSASSINATION ‘FAIR’ NO LONGER EMPLOYED

The assassination comes a year after two attempts to take the president’s life. 

Meanwhile, McMahon said that Kirk’s death will prompt greater appreciation around the country for civil discourse — even among those with differing opinions. 

“Charlie’s legacy is going to be more and more people are going to understand how important civil dialogue is, and freedom of speech on campuses around the country,” McMahon said. “Charlie was a very forthright speaker about his faith, about his beliefs, about his principles. He didn’t shy away from challenging people who had different beliefs, but not in a way to to be an affront to them, but a way to ask them to share why they believe what they believed, and he would share why he believed what he believed.”

CELEBRATORY, DISMISSIVE REACTIONS TO CHARLIE KIRK’S DEATH PUTTING EDUCATORS UNDER SCRUTINY

“And I think that that’s going to be a great part of his legacy that will live on,” McMahon said. “And I think we’ve opened many more doors and many more opportunities for that civil discourse with the incredibly unfortunate and sad tragedy of his assassination.” 

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has vowed to take action against those who have cheered for Kirk’s death on social media, and cast blame on the “radical left” for recent political violence.

“The radical left has done tremendous damage to the country,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. “But we’re fixing it.”

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report. 

Republican lawmakers are accusing Democrats of playing politics over a resolution honoring the “life and legacy” of Charlie Kirk, which passed the House along bipartisan lines last week.

The Friday vote split Democrats – 95 voted to approve the measure, 58 voted in opposition, 38 voted “present” and 22 did not vote.

House Republicans have been hammering those 58, and several pointed out the fractured vote was much different from an earlier resolution condemning an attack on state lawmakers from Minnesota who were shot earlier this year.

That resolution passed the House in a unanimous 424-0 vote in late June. 

HOUSE PASSES TRUMP-BACKED PLAN TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

“In June, House Republicans voted unanimously to condemn the attacks on Democratic Minnesota lawmakers,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., wrote on X late Sunday. “Last week, not even half of House Democrats voted to condemn the assassination of Charlie Kirk.”

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., recounted the tragedy in Minnesota with more detail, writing in a statement, “When Minnesota Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were murdered, and State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were wounded, the U.S. House unanimously passed a resolution condemning the attack and political violence.”

“But after Charlie Kirk was assassinated, 58 Democrats voted against denouncing political violence,” Mace wrote.

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., said he believed the decision by dozens of Democrats to oppose the measure would reflect negatively on the party as a whole in the coming midterm elections.

“58 House Democrats refused to condemn the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Every House Republican voted to condemn the attack against the Democrat lawmakers in Minnesota. This is why Democrats continue to lose,” Steube wrote on X. “Americans won’t forget in 2026.”

Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., also criticized those who voted “present.”

“Every single House Republican voted to condemn the murders in Minnesota. Meanwhile, 58 House Democrats refused to condemn the murder of Charlie Kirk. Another 38 put their hands in their pockets. Those 96 need to be held accountable,” Fine wrote.

The Minnesota resolution condemned “the June 14, 2025, attacks on Minnesota state legislators” and called “on all people in the United States to reaffirm our commitment to a safe, civil, and peaceful democracy.”

The resolution honored “the lives of Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman, who were killed, Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette Hoffman, who were critically injured, and the law enforcement officers who rapidly responded to the attacks and apprehended the suspected perpetrator.”

GOP GOVERNOR NOMINEE PUSHES REDISTRICTING TO OUST STATE’S LONE HOUSE DEM

Republicans’ measure memorializing Kirk went into comparatively more detail on the slain conservative activist as a person, lauding him as “one of the most prominent voices in America, engaging in respectful, civil discourse across college campuses, media platforms and national forums, always seeking to elevate truth, foster understanding and strengthen the Republic.”

It also said Kirk “personified the values of the First Amendment…and did so with honor, courage, and respect for his fellow Americans,” while calling on all Americans to condemn political violence.

Several Democrats who opposed the measure said they were uncomfortable with its praise of Kirk.

“Political violence should never be tolerated. However, empathy is not celebration, and I do not have to call Charlie Kirk a hero. He was no such thing. He repeatedly disparaged minorities, especially Black Americans,” Rep. Shri Thandear, D-Mich., wrote on X Friday.

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said in a written statement, “Condemning the depravity of Kirk’s brutal murder is a straightforward matter – one that is especially important to help stabilize an increasingly unsafe and volatile political environment where everyday people feel at risk.”

“It then only underscores the majority’s recklessness and intent to divide by choosing to introduce this resolution on a purely partisan basis, instead of uniting Congress in this tragedy with one of the many bipartisan options to condemn political violence and Kirk’s murder, as we did with the late Melissa Hortman,” she continued. “His rhetoric and beliefs were ignorant and sought to disenfranchise millions of Americans – far from ‘working tirelessly to promote unity’ as asserted by the majority in this resolution.”

The Dems’ disdain for Charlie Kirk showed, even on the day of his memorial. 

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, slammed others in her party for not opposing the resolution honoring him, saying it “hurt [her] heart” that only two White Democrats voted no.

She claimed Kirk’s rhetoric targeted people of color. In total, 58 House Dems voted against it. President Trump fired back: “It tells you that they’re deranged.”

THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GAMBITS TO AVOID A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS 

Despite calls to deescalate, Dems still labeled Trump a fascist and skipped Kirk’s memorial in Arizona, and only six attended the earlier Capitol vigil.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who are among Kirk’s harshest critics, also didn’t hold back. Omar claimed Kirk’s legacy belongs “in the dustbin of history.”

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: CONGRESS FAILS TO LOWER POLITICAL TEMPERATURE AFTER CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION

Ocasio-Cortez previously called Kirk’s views “ignorant [and] uneducated.” 

At the memorial, former Trump administration official Ben Carson appeared to fire back: “I’ve seen him run circles around people with college degrees.”

Tens of thousands of conservatives, young and old, from across the country made the journey to Arizona on Sunday to honor the legacy of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a memorial service.

Many of those in attendance told Fox News Digital that they awoke in the middle of the night to make hours-long drives to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, where they then waited in long lines outside to honor Kirk, who was assassinated on Sept. 10 during the first stop of Turning Point USA’s “The American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University.

“Everyone became friends in line, everyone exchanged numbers, everyone’s on the same team trying to make America great again,” Lindsay Rastgoo, who lives in Arizona, told Fox News Digital.

Rastgoo said she began her journey to the stadium at 1:45 a.m. and was excited to honor Kirk’s legacy.

LIVE UPDATES: CHARLIE KIRK’S MEMORIAL SERVICE TAKING PLACE TODAY AT STATE FARM STADIUM IN GLENDALE, ARIZONA

“I mean he’s changing the world,” she said of the late activist. “People are starting to see the truth in what he says. And people are just starting to see he’s one of the good guys.”

Diana Alcorn said she traveled from Oregon because Kirk’s message resonated with her.

“I came all the way from Medford, Oregon, because Charlie, he resonates with me as a senior citizen but also for my children and my grandchildren,” she said.

Cliff Maloney, CEO of Citizens Alliance, was friends with Kirk and shared his emotions about the massive event with Fox News Digital at the memorial.

“This is a revival here,” he said. “People are coming to Christ. They’re talking about their faith. And they’re talking how the radical left took a 31-year-old from us way too soon.”

“Charlie’s legacy is not going anywhere,” Maloney said. “It is more prominent now than it could have ever been. Turning Point had over 60,000 people apply to get involved to start a chapter. This is just the beginning.”

MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR ASSASSINATED TURNING POINT USA FOUNDER CHARLIE KIRK DRAWS TRUMP, MAJOR GOP FIGURES

John Hockhalter, from Sun Lakes, Arizona, told Fox News Digital that Kirk “built something really special” and was encouraging his 21-year-old daughter to check out Kirk’s Turning Point USA organization.

“I’m kind of pushing her maybe to check out the TP USA a little bit,” he said. 

Josh Riesen of Carson City, Nevada, said he left around 4:30 a.m. Saturday and arrived later that afternoon.

“I believe in everything he stood for,” Riesen said. “America needs a change, a big change, and he was pushing toward that. I hope the message pushes through and we get a change here.”

He said he felt “shock” when he heard about Kirk’s assassination, and that it was hard to believe something like that could happen because of “the power of someone’s word.”

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“His word is not going to go away. It’s going to get even stronger from here on out, I think,” he said.

Charlie Kirk’s memorial service in Glendale, Arizona, drew thousands of attendees and dozens of speakers who shared their memories of the slain activist.

Many of the sentiments — such as those about Kirk’s influence in the conservative movement — were well-known, while others were more personal.

The newly shared stories shed light on Kirk’s short 31-year life and how his closest friends, employees and family members remember him.

Here are some highlights from the service: 

MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR ASSASSINATED TURNING POINT USA FOUNDER CHARLIE KIRK DRAWS TRUMP, MAJOR GOP FIGURES

Love notes 

Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, revealed numerous personal details about their marriage.

One of them was a ritual that kept their marriage strong, despite Kirk’s constant travel.

“Someone once asked me how Charlie and I thought we kept our marriage so strong when he was busy traveling,” she said. “Our little secret: It was love notes. Every Saturday, Charlie wrote one for me, and he never missed a Saturday.”

“And in every single one of them, he’d tell me what his highlight was for the week, how grateful he was for me and our babies,” she added. “And always at the end, he would always end it with asking the most beautiful question … ‘Please let me know how I can better serve you as a husband.'”

WHO IS ERIKA KIRK?: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE LATE CHARLIE KIRK’S WIDOW FROM THEIR LOVE STORY TO HIS LEGACY

She also spoke about her husband’s love of journaling and his strong belief in mobilizing the conservative student movement.

“There was nothing that was too hard or too painful or nothing that he just felt like he didn’t want to do,” she said. 

“Charlie died with incomplete work, but not with unfinished business. And I will miss him. I will miss him so much. Because our marriage and our family were beautiful.”

Daily Bible quote texts and hunting trips

Sergio Gor, director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, shared how Kirk impacted his life through his Christian faith.

“The world of politics can be full of transactional people. Charlie wasn’t one of them,” Gor said. “He was the polar opposite.”

“One of the things I will miss the most is receiving a text every morning from Charlie with a daily Bible verse. Charlie would help set the tone of the day for so many of us.”

LIVE UPDATES: MEMORIAL SERVICES FOR CHARLIE KIRK

Gor was friends with Kirk for more than a decade, and the two traveled the world from Louisiana to Greenland.

“Over a decade, we created countless memories, from hunting alligators in Louisiana to eating seal in Greenland to countless nights on the patio at Mar-a-Lago as President Trump played ‘Phantom of the Opera,'” he said. 

“When President Trump started talking about the importance of Greenland to our national security, Charlie was one of the first people who thought it would be a great idea to visit. He was also one of the first to fall in the snow upon arrival, but without a beat, Charlie got up and continued onward with a smile.”

Kirk’s quiet generosity extended beyond politics

Stacy Sheridan, Turning Point’s senior advancement director, shared how Kirk quietly helped her husband while he was dying of cancer.

“Charlie called me consistently to ask how he could help us,” Sheridan recalled. “At one point, he had critical medication and an oxygen machine sent to my doorstep without my knowledge. I still to this day, have no idea how he made that happen. But that was Charlie. He did the right thing.”

Sheridan also revealed how she struggled with work during that time, and that Kirk would console her.

ERIKA KIRK, AHEAD OF MEMORIAL SERVICE, INSPIRES CHRISTIAN STAFFER TO REMAIN ‘ROOTED IN FAITH’

“Sometimes I would express guilt to Charlie that I couldn’t do my job at 100%. Charlie’s response every single time was, ‘Family first.’ When Mike ultimately passed away, Charlie and the entire team were there for us yet again.”

Sheridan also spoke about how Kirk supported her after she lost her home in the Pacific Palisades fire earlier in 2025. 

“Charlie’s response was very clear and very direct, ‘This is a sign you and Grace belong in Arizona.’ Within a few months, we moved here in Charlie and Erica welcomed us into their family.”

Podcasting became Kirk’s daily ritual

Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for Turning Point USA, shared how much Kirk loved podcasting, even with his busy schedule.

Kolvet, an executive producer on the show, noted that Kirk loved sharing his thoughts and hearing from the audience.

TURNING POINT USA ANNOUNCES MASSIVE PUBLIC MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR CHARLIE KIRK AT ARIZONA FOOTBALL STADIUM

“It was his one constant amid never-ending change, even when he was on the road, even when he was overseas, or even during AmFest or our conferences, we did the show,” Kolvet said.

“But mostly it worked because Charlie loved you, the audience,” he said. “He read every single email you all sent to him. That’s why he said every single day, ‘Send us an email at freedom@charliekirk.com. Send us your thoughts.’”

Kirk opened doors for future leaders

At the memorial, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said that “there would be no Congresswoman Luna without Charlie Kirk.”

The Florida representative detailed her experience working with Kirk at Turning Point USA as an outreach director.

CHARLIE KIRK VIGILS HELD AT UNIVERSITIES ACROSS AMERICA FOLLOWING ASSASSINATION OF CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST

“I still remember the phone call that changed my life,” Luna said. “‘Hey, Anna, it’s Charlie. I’d like to offer you a job as Texas National Hispanic Outreach director.'”

“Charlie believed with every fiber of his being, that the youth of this nation would save it,” she continued. “These were the sparks that lit the path for me on the eve of my departure to medical school, to decide to change course and join TPUSA, where I could help Charlie battle the socialist indoctrination on college campuses.”

Witness to Kirk’s final moments

Frank Turek, a Christian apologist and mentor to Kirk, was with him on the day of his assassination and helped rush him to the hospital.

Turek previously opened up about his experience witnessing Kirk die, and he shared additional details about how he helped carry Kirk to a car and transported him to the nearest hospital.

“I was doing a lot of yelling,” he said. “And I want you to know that we did everything we could to save Charlie. But Charlie was already gone.”

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“His face was looking at mine, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking past me right into eternity. And if it’s any comfort at all, I learned later that Charlie felt no pain. He died instantly.”

President Donald Trump announced that Dr. Ben Carson will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, noting that there will be a ceremony at the White House to honor him.

“Congratulations Ben. He didn’t know this. He didn’t know it. I hope he’s happy,” Trump said after making the announcement at the conclusion of his remarks at the American Cornerstone Institute’s Founders’ Dinner on Saturday.

Carson, who founded the ACI, served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during Trump’s first term in office.

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Carson, a former neurosurgeon, ran for president when Trump mounted his first successful White House bid, but ultimately dropped out and backed Trump in 2016.

ACI’s website states that “Dr. Carson is ensuring there is an organization fighting for the principles that have guided him through life, and that make this country great: Faith, Liberty, Community, and Life.” 

BEN CARSON: AS A DOCTOR, I KNOW FEWER RESTRICTIONS ON MARIJUANA WILL MAKE CITIES WORSE

Carson is supporting U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., for re-election.

In a post on X earlier this month, Carson declared that Graham “has been a steadfast conservative leader for South Carolina and our nation and I’m pleased to endorse him for re-election.”

DR. BEN CARSON’S EDUCATION PROGRAM TEACHES THE ‘GOOD, BAD, AND UGLY’ OF AMERICA, WITH EMPHASIS ON THE GOOD

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Carson was one of the people who spoke at the memorial service honoring slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Arizona on Sunday.

At Sunday’s memorial service for Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, his widow, Erika Kirk, shared a moment of comfort she received from second lady Usha Vance in the immediate aftermath of his assassination, calling her a “precious woman.”

Erika Kirk explained how she had confided in Vance about how she did not know how she could endure the loss of her husband and the father of their two children. Vance offered an analogy about the final 15 minutes of a turbulent airplane ride, when all a parent can think about is getting through to the landing.

TRUMP TO HONOR CHARLIE KIRK AT ARIZONA MEMORIAL, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YOUNG CONSERVATIVES EXPECTED TO ATTEND

The second lady “told me, you will get through these 15 minutes and the next 15 minutes after that,” Erika Kirk described. “Usha, I don’t think you realized it then, but those words were exactly what I needed to hear.” 

Vice President JD Vance also addressed the packed crowd at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, earlier in the evening, delivering a stirring tribute to his close friend.

“They tried to silence our dear friend Charlie Kirk,” JD Vance said. “And tonight, we speak with Charlie and for Charlie, louder than ever.”

JD VANCE BLAMES KIRK ASSASSINATION ON ‘LEFT-WING POLITICAL RADICALIZATION’ OF SHOOTER

The vice president praised Charlie Kirk’s unwavering defense of the family and traditional values as the foundation of a thriving society.

“Charlie brought the truth that young people deserve to stake (in) the future, and that they deserve to have a voice,” JD Vance said. 

But JD Vance stressed that Charlie Kirk’s true legacy was not just in what he said publicly, but in the life he lived daily. 

VANCE SAYS HE OWES ‘SO MUCH’ TO CHARLIE KIRK WHILE GUEST-HOSTING SHOW, PRAISES ‘VISIONARY’ CONSERVATIVE LEADER

“Charlie, he did so much more than tell the truth. He lived it,” JD Vance remarked, adding that the conservative activist’s passion for history and ideas gave him a vision for America’s future. 

“In this he showed all of us how to carry on after his death,” the vice president concluded.

Charlie Kirk was a close confidant of JD Vance’s, both personally and politically. The Turning Point USA founder was considered by JD Vance to have been pivotal in President Donald Trump’s decision to choose him as a running mate in the 2024 election.

Following Charlie Kirk’s assassination, JD Vance and Usha Vance accompanied Erika Kirk aboard Air Force Two to return his casket to Arizona. In Salt Lake City, the vice president walked alongside the flag-draped casket of his friend as it was carried across the tarmac.

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JD Vance also filled in for his “dear friend” on “The Charlie Kirk Show” where he similarly expressed his thoughts about his assassination.

Thousands gathered Sunday to pay tribute to Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk, whose memorial service drew one of the largest public turnouts for a private citizen. 

The organization told Fox News Digital that approximately 90,000 people attended the service, with roughly 70,000 bringing the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, to capacity. 

TRUMP HONORS CHARLIE KIRK’S LEGACY AND DESCRIBES HIM AS A ‘MARTYR FOR AMERICAN FREEDOM’

Another 10,000 people gathered at the nearby Desert Diamond Arena, a designated overflow venue, according to estimates provided by TPUSA. Additionally, another 10,000 people watched Kirk’s memorial service from nearby viewing areas.

Taken together, the turnout underscored the event’s extraordinary scale.

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CHARLIE KIRK 

Earlier estimates provided by law enforcement officials placed the attendance number around 200,000.

Headlined by political heavyweights, conservative media figures and religious leaders, the memorial service ranks as one of the largest public gatherings ever organized for a private citizen. 

The service for Kirk was broadcast across every major U.S. television network, according to White House Communications Director Steven Cheung. 

ERIKA KIRK FORGIVES HUSBAND’S KILLER AT MEMORIAL SERVICE: ‘IT’S WHAT CHARLIE WOULD DO’

And while memorials take many forms, from intimate ceremonies to massive public gatherings, Kirk’s service highlighted the unique intersection of politics, media and faith that defined his public life.

Similar outpourings have marked the deaths of cultural icons before. Elvis Presley’s death in 1977, for instance, drew an estimated 80,000 people to the streets of Memphis for his funeral procession, though only a few hundred were admitted inside. 

In June 2016, approximately 14,000 people attended a service for legendary heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali in Louisville, Kentucky. Additionally, thousands more watched virtually via live streams. 

In 1968, two massive services were held for Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta, one at Ebenezer Baptist Church and then another at Morehouse College. And an estimated 150,000 people gathered to watch King’s funeral procession travel between the two locations, with more inside each venue. 

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Kirk was assassinated Sept. 10 during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. The gathering was the first stop on TPUSA’s planned American Comeback Tour. 

The charismatic Kirk, known for his signature debates on college campuses, was in the middle of taking open-mic questions from a crowd of thousands before a single shot ended his life.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Kyle Rittenhouse spoke with Fox News Digital Sunday about his friendship with Charlie Kirk, a bond that began in 2021, as he attended the conservative activist’s massive memorial service at State Farm Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Rittenhouse — who first connected with Kirk while facing homicide charges that made him a political lightning rod — said he immediately took time off work to grieve the loss of the Turning Point USA founder.

“When Charlie was assassinated, I was on my lunch break at work,” Rittenhouse told Fox News Digital Sunday morning. “I just got home to let my dog out. And I went on X, and the first video I saw was my friend being murdered.”

PASTOR: CHARLIE KIRK’S GRAPHIC DEATH WAS ‘TRAUMATIC’ AS MANY AMERICANS RECONCILE WITH LOSS

Rittenhouse added, “I took the rest of the day off work. I took the rest of the week off of work because Charlie meant a lot to me.”

YOUTH LEADERS MOURN ‘THE GODFATHER OF CAMPUS CONSERVATISM’ CHARLIE KIRK FOLLOWING ASSASSINATION

Kirk had been one of Rittenhouse’s most vocal supporters. He brought Rittenhouse on “The Charlie Kirk Show” multiple times and featured him at multiple events organized by Turning Point USA. 

In December 2021, during Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference in Phoenix, Kirk told Rittenhouse he was “a hero to millions,” according to the Washington Post.

In 2024, Kirk threatened legal action after protesters confronted Rittenhouse during an appearance at the University of Memphis, Newsweek reported.

CHARLIE KIRK ANSWERED ‘HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED’ LESS THAN 3 MONTHS BEFORE KILLING

Since being acquitted of all charges in the Kenosha, Wisconsin, shootings — where he shot three men during a 2020 Black Lives Matter riot, leaving two dead — Rittenhouse largely has kept a low profile. 

Rittenhouse is one of thousands attending the massive memorial service on Sunday for Kirk, who was fatally shot Sept. 10, 2025, while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

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The public memorial service included speeches from President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

President Donald Trump praised Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s legacy Sunday, calling him a “martyr for American freedom.”

“I know I speak for everyone here today when I say that none of us will ever forget Charlie Kirk, and neither will history,” Trump said to the tens of thousands of supporters gathered to celebrate the life of Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CHARLIE KIRK 

Trump spoke of Kirk’s passion for mobilizing young conservatives, his unwavering devotion to the country, and the movement he leaves behind. The president described Kirk as a “missionary with a noble spirit,” saying the 31-year-old conservative activist played a decisive role in helping him win the 2024 election.

“He didn’t deserve this and our country didn’t deserve this,” Trump said, adding that Kirk’s assassination was an attack on American democracy. 

Trump has survived two assassination attempts.

The president also said he would honor Kirk at the White House by presenting his family with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. 

LIVE UPDATES: MEMORIAL SERVICES FOR CHARLIE KIRK

Trump’s speech, which also highlighted his administration’s core priorities, followed those of Kirk’s widow, Erika, and several high-ranking members of his administration. 

Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard were among some of Trump’s Cabinet that spoke at the memorial service. 

At the end of his speech, Trump shared the stage with Erika Kirk and hugged her as “God Bless America” played across the stadium, marking the conclusion of the memorial service. 

ERIKA KIRK FORGIVES HUSBAND’S KILLER AT MEMORIAL SERVICE: ‘IT’S WHAT CHARLIE WOULD DO’

Kirk was assassinated Sept. 10 during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University. The gathering was the first stop on TPUSA’s planned American Comeback Tour. 

The charismatic Kirk, known for his signature debates on college campuses, sat beneath a white tent emblazoned with the slogan “Prove Me Wrong,” taking open-mic questions from a crowd of thousands. 

Moments later, a single shot ended his life.

In the wake of his death, many Americans are learning for the first time of the unlikely rise of the young activist who vaulted from obscurity in suburban Illinois to become a defining voice for a generation of conservatives and one of the movement’s most formidable power brokers.

‘THIS IS THE TURNING POINT:’ TPUSA SAYS CAMPUS CHAPTER REQUESTS SURGE AFTER KIRK’S ASSASSINATION

At 18, Kirk dropped out of community college to co-found TPUSA. By his mid-20s, he became the youngest speaker at the Republican National Convention in 2016 and a household name in conservative circles. By 31, he commanded a $95 million political empire, galvanized millions of followers online and established a direct line to Trump.

His widow, Erika, has vowed to carry on the energetic movement that indisputably reshaped conservative youth politics. TPUSA recently announced she would assume the roles of CEO and chair of the board.

thAndrew Kolvet, executive producer of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” said TPUSA has received more than 62,000 requests to establish new campus chapters in the two weeks since Kirk’s assassination — a surge that would add to its existing network of 900 nationwide.

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“For all the fans of ‘The Charlie Kirk Show,’ we will see you Monday,” Kolvet said during his remarks at the memorial service. “Until then, buckle up — here we go,” he added, vowing to continue Kirk’s mission.

Last week, Kolvet told Fox News Digital that he has “personally received hundreds of offers to work” for TPUSA. 

Erika Kirk, the widow of slain Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, remembered her husband’s legacy at a memorial for him Sunday — and revealed her thoughts about his alleged assassin. 

Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old suspect charged in Charlie Kirk’s Sept. 10 death, was much like the other young men that Charlie Kirk encountered, Erika Kirk said. 

Charlie Kirk “wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life,” she said. 

“Our Savior said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they not know what they do.’ That young man … I forgive him,” Erika Kirk said. “I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it’s what Charlie would do.”

MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR ASSASSINATED TURNING POINT USA FOUNDER CHARLIE KIRK DRAWS TRUMP, MAJOR GOP FIGURES

Speaking to a crowd at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, Erika Kirk thanked the audience for honoring her husband.

She began her speech by quoting one of Charlie Kirk’s favorite Bible verses, Isaiah 6:8: “Here I am, Lord. Send me,” and recalled a time that Charlie Kirk repeated it at the end of a conference.

“After Charlie finished, I met him backstage and I spoke to him … I said, Charlie, baby, please talk to me next time before you say that statement,” she said. 

ERIKA KIRK, AHEAD OF MEMORIAL SERVICE, INSPIRES CHRISTIAN STAFFER TO REMAIN ‘ROOTED IN FAITH’

“Because when you say something like that, there is so much power in that verse … God will take you up on that, and He did.”

Charlie Kirk was quickly rushed to a hospital after being shot at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Sept. 10. At his Sunday memorial, Erika Kirk described the moment when she arrived to “do the unthinkable” and see her husband’s corpse.

“I look(ed) directly at my husband’s murdered body,” she said. “I saw the wound that ended his life. I felt everything you would expect to feel. I felt shock. I felt horror and a level of heartache that I didn’t even know existed.”

“But there was something else too. Even in death, I could see the man that I love. I saw the one single gray hair on the side of his head, which I never told him about,” she laughed. “Now he knows. Sorry, baby, telling you now.” 

Erika Kirk added that she sensed “great mercy from God” in her husband’s death when she viewed his body and saw a faint smile.

“I also saw on his lips the faintest smile … it told me Charlie didn’t suffer. Even the doctor told me it was something so instant that even if Charlie had been shot in the operating room … nothing could have been done. There was no pain.”

Erika Kirk also opened up about their marriage, revealing the private ritual that kept it strong even amid her husband’s constant travel.

“Someone once asked me how Charlie and I thought we kept our marriage so strong when he was busy traveling,” she said. “Our little secret: It was love notes. Every Saturday, Charlie wrote one for me, and he never missed a Saturday.”

WHO IS ERIKA KIRK?: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE LATE CHARLIE KIRK’S WIDOW FROM THEIR LOVE STORY TO HIS LEGACY

“And in every single one of them, he’d tell me what his highlight was for the week, how grateful he was for me and our babies,” she added. “And always at the end, he would always end it with asking the most beautiful question, ‘Please let me know how I can better serve you as a husband.'”

Above all, Erika Kirk emphasized her husband’s faith and how he practiced his Christian faith, revealing that he enjoyed journaling to remember important moments in his life.

“And one of the things he wrote in his journal was this, ‘Every time you make a decision, it puts a mark on your soul,'” she said.  “To those of you out there who just made that decision, and took the first step toward a spiritual life, I say thank you and welcome.”

LIVE UPDATES: MEMORIAL SERVICES FOR CHARLIE KIRK

She also emphasized how Charlie Kirk did “100% of what he could every day,” and that he left Earth “without regrets.”

“There was nothing that was too hard or too painful or nothing that he just felt like he didn’t want to do,” she said. 

“Charlie died with incomplete work, but not with unfinished business,” she said. “And I will miss him. I will miss him so much. Because our marriage and our family were beautiful.”

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Toward the end of her speech, the widow concluded by saying she was honored to be the new Turning Point USA CEO and that her husband’s mission “is my mission.”

“Everything that Turning Point USA built through Charlie’s vision and hard work, we will make ten times greater through the power of his memory,” Erika Kirk said.

“No assassin will ever stop us from standing up to defend those rights.”

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., took the stage at Charlie Kirk’s memorial event Sunday to remember the Turning Point USA founder and applaud his “unshakable resolve to awaken America’s youth.”

Speaking at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, Luna began by saying that “there would be no Congresswoman Luna without Charlie Kirk.”

The Florida representative detailed her experience working with Kirk at Turning Point USA as an outreach director.

“I still remember the phone call that changed my life,” Luna remembered. “‘Hey, Anna, it’s Charlie. I’d like to offer you a job as Texas National Hispanic Outreach director.'”

ERIKA KIRK, AHEAD OF MEMORIAL SERVICE, INSPIRES CHRISTIAN STAFFER TO REMAIN ‘ROOTED IN FAITH’

“Charlie believed with every fiber of his being, that the youth of this nation would save it,” she continued. “These were the sparks that lit the path for me on the eve of my departure to medical school, to decide to change course and join TPUSA, where I could help Charlie battle the socialist indoctrination on college campuses.”

Luna added that she witnessed Kirk “grow from a young man with conferences of a few hundred people, to one of the most powerful men in the world.”

The Republican compared Kirk’s leadership to George Washington, Martin Luther King, Jr. and John F. Kennedy, saying that his name “will stand etched in history.”

MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR ASSASSINATED TURNING POINT USA FOUNDER CHARLIE KIRK DRAWS TRUMP, MAJOR GOP FIGURES

“Looking at thousands of young people in this crowd, I realize that Charlie’s vision is ablaze in every single one of you,” Luna concluded. “The generation that he entrusted to restore the soul of this nation. So I ask you, will you live boldly as Charlie did? Will you rise to the challenge as Charlie did? Will you speak truth without fear, as Charlie did? And will you pray with unwavering faith, as Charlie did?”

Luna is one of many Republican lawmakers who was close with Kirk and has praised his legacy since his Sept. 10 assassination. In the days after his death, Luna called on social media platforms to remove the videos of his violent killing.

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“He has a family, young children, and no one should be forced to relive this tragedy online,” she said.