Remembering Charlie Kirk: One Year after his Martyrdom

0:00We would like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, Preborn. When a mother meets her baby on ultrasound and hears their heartbeat, it's a divine connection. And the majority of the time, she will choose life. But she can't do it without our help. Preborn needs us, the pro-life community, to come alongside her. One ultrasound is just $28. And to donate, dial pound 250 and say the keyword baby, or visit preborn.com-flash-afr. Gina Ellis in the morning on American Family Radio. I love talking about the things of God because of truth and the biblical worldview. The US Constitution obligates our government to preserve and protect the rights that our founders recognize, come from God our creator, not our government. I believe that scripture in the Bible is very clear, that God is the one that raised up each of you, and God has allowed us to be brought here to this specific moment in time. This is Gina Ellis in the morning.

1:01Good morning. Today is Thursday, September 10th, 2026. So a year to the day since the heinous and evil murder of Charlie Kirk last year, I can't believe it has already been a year and so much has happened since then, not only in the legal proceedings, and we are still, of course, praying for justice in that prosecution. But also in a culture and a foreturning point, USA, of course, the beloved organization that Charlie founded. And so I'm so grateful to be joined this morning by Andrew Colvette, who is a spokesman for TPUSA, and also the executive producer of the Charlie Kirk show. And I think even more importantly, it was a very, very close and dear friend of Charlie's for years. And Andrew, thank you so much for joining. And we could go a lot of different directions on this, but I just want to get, first, your overall feeling of how this year has been

2:04what it's been like at Turning Point and how you all have handled just this horrible event. Yeah, thanks for having me, Jenna. And it's great to be here. And yeah, that's a big question. I think you said you couldn't believe it's been a year. I think, man, all of us around here feel the exact same. It feels like that terrible, terrible, awful days that none of us will ever forget happens. And we've just been running ever since. Like so much to do, I think it started right away with the memorial. And then we had the fall tour and then America fast and then the Super Bowl. And it's just been one thing after the next. And I think it's because we care. The reason we didn't shrink back or we didn't stop moving is because I just remember our very first instinct,

3:06my very first instinct. And so many people around here was just, we have to keep going for Charlie. We owe it to him. We feel duty bound and on our bound to just seize every last drop of momentum of inspiration that came from Charlie's life in the aftermath of that terrible, that terrible tragic assassination, evil. And but there was this outpouring of love and support. And so, and people wanting to get off the sidelines, people, I mean, with the craziest stuff, I mean, getting letters, you know, here's saying letters quite literally. From people who say Charlie helped save their marriage or, you know, Charlie got them back to church or Charlie inspired them to start a turning point chapter or whatever their unique story was. And so it's just one of the things where it's hard to explain. But it's like every ounce of your being

4:06is just being poured in to making sure that you don't squander what Charlie gave his life for. Yeah, so well said. And I mean, I just remember, I was actually coming out of an appointment and I had my phone off. And then, you know, that day looking at just the tons of messages and alerts that were coming in. And, you know, my immediate reaction, because you and I have known each other a really long time too, was to, you know, reach out and it's Charlie okay. And then you're just watching the whole thing unfold. It was just unbelievable. And I just remember that whole weekend thinking, this is a really dark moment in America, but then what happened after that with the revival that was sparked and so many people thinking maybe some, even for the first time, like, okay, eternity is real. And we need to contemplate what happens after death. And we need to contemplate, you know,

5:08what the truth about God is. And I think that catalyst of Charlie's life and so many of the rules that I hadn't even seen as much as I've, you know, knew and followed Charlie about his testimony and always driving back to the truth of the gospel of Christ, what was that like for all of you at Turning Point to be part of the momentum that really helped so many people find the Lord in some of the darkest days in our country. Yeah, I mean, it was humbling in so many ways. I, you know, I used to tell Charlie this all the time, I had to insistently and constantly kind of recalibrate just how like famous and how well known he was becoming because I felt like I was always stuck like six months or a year back in the timeline. And then next thing I know he's getting featured in South Park, you know, it's like, okay, I think I,

6:10I think I don't fully realize how much of an impact you're having and how influential you have become. And when Charlie was killed, you know, that was another one of those moments where this outpouring of love from all over the world and just, I think you said it right, just the spirit of the Lord was like horde out on this country and so many people were having the same collective realization, like life is short, like this 31 year old guy who was healthy as an ox and was powerful and strong and vibrant, his life was robbed of him in the most horrible way. And it was like the spirit of God was just collectively telling the entire country like, sees the moment, like sees today, you know, tomorrow is not guaranteed. And I remember my own story of like, I think it was, so Charlie was killed on a Wednesday and I found myself in a hotel room on Saturday

7:12and Ali Beth Stucky actually sent me a Matthew West song that he wrote in the aftermath of it. So he just, it was like a demo and she sent it to me just to be like, hey, you know, I'm praying for you. Here's this song Matthew West wrote. And I just started weeping and like alone in my hotel room and I just, I remember instantly knowing like, it was almost like this road to Damascus moment where it's like the scales were falling off my eyes. I mean, I was already a Christian, but it was like repenting. I wasn't even sure what I was repenting of, but it was just this hardness of heart or this lack of, you know, just being in tune with the Lord and what the Lord wants and I just, I'm just saying, sorry, I'm so sorry Lord, like, and I was afraid. I was afraid of what the future was gonna hold without Charlie, you know, because he took so many of the arrows for all of us and was out front and, you know, I sort of knew I had this weird kind of dread knowing of what was ahead

8:15for me and gosh, for so many other people around this organization and what we were about to step into. And I just, I think, you know, for me personally, I just said, okay, Lord, like whatever it is, like I just, I submit, like I surrender. Whatever, whatever you have for me, like I'll just say yes. And I remember my wife called me not too long after and she had this similar realization at the same time. She just said, I feel like the Lord's telling me to say yes. So, because whatever comes next, and I just, it was like this massive confirmation. And I, and I, you know, I think whatever that was that I was going through was like ripping across the country. And, and that's, you know, it's interesting because the big elephant in the room here obviously is that a lot of that spirit has been hijacked like in spirit-seaterists and, you know, people kind of creating a cottage industry off of like, who killed Charlie Kirk or whatever.

9:16And I always tell people, I said, I always say it like, what God is only shaman to not stop. And I want to like assure your audience like all these stories are continuously rolling in for us. I get emails every day at the show. I get DMs on social media of people just like wanting to tell me their story about how Charlie changed their life. And we see it in our students, you know, we're at over a million turning point students now and one way, way, way shape, perform or another. They're involved with the organization. We're at, you know, over 1,500 college campuses, which we thought you maxed out at like a thousand, you know, because most college campuses don't really have a core community enough to hold a chapter, right? If it's a commuter school or something like that, but we're 1,500. And I think we're at about 900 before Charlie was killed. And on the high school side, we've seen over 200% growth. And those take a long time to get started.

10:18So the fact that we've grown that fast, you know, I would tell people, I'm like, it took us three plus years to get Charlie's own high school, his alma mater, RSO status. And so this has not happened overnight. It's a long process. You need the administration involved, you need sponsors, you need all these paperwork. And then you gotta go through these meetings. So it's a long process. So over 200% growth, we're closing in on 4,000 high school chapters across the country. And many more are adding all the time. And so it's just, I just want people to know that it's like, you know, the churches are still getting filled with people that are inspired by Charlie. There's still buying new Bibles. And, you know, the baptism's are still happening. And the chapters are still getting started. And I just, I have every faith in the Lord that he's gonna continue the work. And it's up to us just to keep saying yes to it and surrendering to what he has for us. And I so appreciate you sharing that, Andrew. And thank you from all of us at the American Family Association. And you know, I know that we speak even for a wider Christian

11:21listenership that is so grateful for the life of and ministry of Charlie Kirk. And for you and the others at TPUSA who are carrying on that ministry. Because really at the end of the day, it's a ministry and we saw that with Charlie. And you know, your testimony of what kind of happened in the immediate aftermath of that is very similar to what I went through as well of, you know, I think just focusing on how much distraction there is daily. And especially for those of us who, you know, are in the political space and we talk about policy and we have, you know, these even in-house fights during primaries and then, you know, we move on. And we tend to sometimes focus on the smaller things instead of the bigger picture. And for me, it was a moment of repentance of saying, okay, where could I have kept the main thing, the main thing? And I need to always remember the reason and the purpose for everything that I do is ultimately

12:24for the glory of the Lord and advancing his kingdom. And I can't get distracted by anything else. And I even reached out to a couple of friends who, you know, during, you know, one primary and other, you know, we'd kind of lost touch over, you know, some stupid spat right over X and just said, you know, we all need to focus on the main thing. And, you know, and I'm sorry for participating in that, you know, and that was kind of my recognition of what I needed to repent for and to say, you know, this is all about the Lord. And you guys have done such a good job in the midst of all of the distractions and all of the, frankly, the evil that has come into try to hijack what the Lord is using for good even though it was so heinously evil that he was murdered. They're still trying to hijack that, you know, and they're trying to dishonor the Lord by doing so. And continuing to keep the main thing, the main thing, has been really incredible that all of you guys are doing.

13:25And so how is Erica and her family, I mean, a year later, how is she doing because, I mean, what phenomenal strength and grounded faith it has taken her to be this strong? Yeah, I mean, it's like, it's one of the things where I'm so tempted to say, Erica's doing great because in many ways she is, you know, she's shown up to work, she's loving her kids, you know, it's, but, you know, by the way, I love it because, you know, our office has turned into like a, like it almost like a gay care, you know, it's like Erica rolls in and she gets two kids and then we've got some other staff that has their kids. And so the office is a very much a family affair. These days and everybody keeps having babies around here. So, there's a lot of little ones running around. Yeah, she's doing great in so many ways, but, you know, it's like, how do you say that? She's, she's a year out from losing her husband who was not only a great man and a great American

14:26and they might think in a Christian martyr and a modern day founding father and all of these, these athletes you can keep upon them, but he was also a really great husband and they were madly in love. And I got to see it up close and it was almost annoying how in love they were and how sweet they were to each other. You know, this is coming from a guy who has a, you know, amazing marriage, my wife's the best and I'm so lucky and by the way, that's a huge part of my story of why I've been able to navigate this year and with all the craziness and is my wife, my wife's just been a total rock star, but like Charlie and Erica were that for each other. All of us knew it, all of us saw it up close and so she suffered a cataclysmic loss in her life and you know, in the most public of ways and she's been thrown into the spotlight and this credible scrutiny and people are mean and all these things, but you know, so she's doing as well as you could expect but she's, you know, she's also,

15:27I think has good days and bad days and like all of us, but I mean, in my opinion she's a total hero and she's one of my heroes because, you know, people don't understand the way that they just think of turning points, it's like organization that functions like they think of it as like a blob in their mind that just kind of does what it does. Well, it doesn't do what it does without like vision and without leadership and somebody that the staff actually rallies around and you know, there's this whole like kind of online corner of the internet that you know, says, oh woman shouldn't be CEO or they say, they say, Erica, you know, you know, wanted the spotlight. It's like these people are nuts. Like I'm telling you, Erica was very content being a stay-at-home mom. She has her side business, her apparel company, ProClaim Streetwear that she was running and she had like a podcast but she was basically behind the scenes and Charlie would make her come out on stage so that they could model marriage for the students and things like that, but she was very content being behind the scenes. Like she wanted none of this, I can tell you that much

16:30but she was probably the only person in that immediate aftermath that could have stepped into that void that Charlie left and brought sort of like a harmony of peace of some semblance of at least to the org and knowing that this thing was gonna keep pushing forward and she was literally the only person on planet Earth that could have brought all of the teams together and brought everybody on board and on side. And so she did an amazing thing, an amazingly courageous thing. And I think like, you know, when I think about the last year, you know, I think you used to your first question. It's sort of like, it's so many awful moments and so many miracles. And you know, one of those miracles was that she just literally had enough strength to stand in front of that podium and give that speech or to stand on that stage and forgive her husband's assassin. Doesn't mean you forget, doesn't mean you don't want justice, doesn't mean Romans 13 doesn't stand.

17:31But it's like these miracles and you know, it's just, it's one of those things that I'll never forget and I can't say enough good things, she's the best. She said to Rockstar and I get to see it up close. It's a tremendous honor. Yeah, that's, and we're all praying for her and supporting her and this is just the most horrific thing that any spouse could go through and just seeing her resilience and always pointing to the Lord is amazing. And you know, talking about earthly justice and with all of the, now the trial, you know, last week, the judge is allowing that to move forward, which is good. And I'm an advocate for the death penalty and Charlie was as well and I know, you know, a lot of you guys have posted on this in a perfect system in my opinion. I would love to see Tyler Robinson get the death penalty and have, you know, you and a couple of the guys be able to execute it on Charlie's behalf. I mean, that's, to me, that would be,

18:32it would be justice. But in just the last two minutes or so that we have here with you, Andrew Colvet, what would you say to people who think that the death penalty should not be enforced here? Yeah, it's an interesting question. You know, the, I don't mean to get into the weeds of the legal stuff, but I was in Utah last week for the bind over hearing and it's very interesting being in the courtroom and I took pages and pages and notes and all that stuff. And we sort of knew that, and we've known for a while, you know, that the state's pursuing a death penalty in that case and they don't want to make a deal. So, and if you know like all of the Tyler Robinson attorneys are all anti-death penalty crusaders, right? This is what they, this is what they sort of lived to do. They travel on the country and they defend, you know, death row or in capital cases to help them avoid death row.

19:34Like this is what they do. So that of course they're not going to plead guilty because they lose their legal leverage. I don't have to tell you this. You're the legal mind on this, the two of us. But so we knew he was going to go with the not guilty plea and so all of this is sort of to be expected. And you know, it's interesting because Charlie himself had an evolution when it came to the death penalty. When I first started working with Charlie, he was anti-death penalty. And by the end of his life, he, you know, has had some pretty public clips that have gone around where he's talking about how death penalty is, you know, justice for the victims. And I will tell you being on this side of the ledger, I completely relate to this in a whole new way. And it's weird. I don't even, I don't even feel, it's a very fascinating psychology because I don't even feel that much animus towards Tyler Robinson. I feel in some ways pity for him. And I don't really care about him.

20:38Like I care about all of God's children and that sort of thing, but it's interesting because he's just become such a like a bit player in Charlie's life and legacy that I genuinely devote very little talk to him. And you know, I remember being really struck when I walked into that courtroom and I just was like, wow, there he is, you know. And yeah, just I think a contempt and a pity for him. But really, there is a sense of like, I think justice that the state is bestowed upon the state to enact justice on behalf of the victims of evil doers. And I think it's a really important part of what it means to, you know, live in a civilization, right? And so it's just a really interesting thing because I thought I was gonna, I thought I was just gonna be seizing and I was gonna wanna jump over the railing and like, strangled with my own two hands candidly when I got in there, but I didn't feel those things.

21:38I just was like, I just want justice served. And it's kind of irrelevant to the rest of my life. But I know justice being served means that Tyler Robinson could found guilty and he gets sentenced to death. And I know that and I also know that Charlie believed that. And yeah, but it's weird. This is from on a personal level. It like occupies about 0.01% of my brain space. But I do believe that that's what he deserves. Yeah, well said, well said. And we're closing out here, but you know, final question, Andrew Colvette, how can we continue to pray for you and Erica and the TPUSA family? Yeah, I just love that question. Thank you for that genuinely. And you know, I think there's been times in my Christian walk where people said I'm praying for you and it would just kind of roll off me and it was kind of perfunctory or whatever. And I will tell you ever since this happened when people like the prayers of strangers

22:39they mean the world to us genuinely. And I can feel them. It's the first time in my life that I've ever been able to say I can feel the prayers of strangers. And so if you are stranger to me out there listening and stranger to the org or stranger to Erica, like please know your prayers are powerful and effective and they move mountains and they are moving this country. I believe it. The only answer for this country is that believers keep praying. I genuinely believe that that is we are only good. We are only great if the people are good and we are only good if God fills us with His Holy Spirit. I mean, it's so simple and yet so hard. But the character of the people is what determines the future and trajectory of this country. And so just keep praying. Pray for us that we would have the strength to keep going every day. Pray for us that we would have wisdom and we would know how to reach these young people and that God would give us breakthroughs and pray that we would honor Charlie and everything that we do,

23:40but more importantly that we would honor Jesus and everything that we do and that we would do things honorably and righteously. And yeah, just pray for justice. And that's justice in the trial. But pray for justice on social media and pray for justice that the truth would prevail and that minds would be changed and that these little conspiracy theorists whoever's sort of harassing Erica or whatever that they would be called out and they're implemented way. And I think that's a really important thing. If we're gonna get this country on track, I think there had to be a purging there. I think that when the devil saw what happened at the memorial and 100 million people plus heard the gospel from some of the most powerful people on the planet, I don't think that the enemy liked that very much. And so we are in a spiritual war and we have to take up the armor of God. So yeah, all those parents would be super grateful and super appreciative.

24:40And we need them. That's the bottom line. We all need them. So please keep them coming. All right, Amen. Well, Andrew Colvet, thank you so much for your time today. We are praying for you and surrounding everyone at TPUSA with love and prayer and we are praying for justice. And you can follow TPUSA and also Andrew Colvet on X and as we continue to think about Charlie this morning and especially on this one year anniversary of his murder, we will be right back with more. Hi, I'm Jenna Ellis. Did you know that this content is listener supported? Without people like you, this podcast would not exist. And that's why we need you. A generous monthly gift of any amount will help sustain American family radio and specifically this podcast. Please consider becoming a monthly financial partner today by visiting afr.net forward slash give. That's afr.net slash give.

25:45Welcome back to Jenna Ellis in the morning on American Family Radio. Welcome back. And as we are still remembering our friend, Charlie Kirk, one year after his martyrdom, I still can't believe that it's real. I haven't been able to believe that over the past year and somehow waking up this morning and just seeing all of the tributes pouring in on social media and all of the ways that everyone is remembering Charlie, it just still somehow does not seem real. But as we look through Charlie's life and legacy, I pulled up a clip from his last interview. And this was shortly before he went to UVU. And it's pretty amazing actually the very last words of the last response that he gave. Listen to this, this is cut five. Last question, what is a quote that you live by?

26:45Boy, a quote that I live by. I'm a big, I'm a Christian, I wear it on my sleeve. So quotes would always probably always be Bible verses. This is a, I'll give you two. One is actually not the Bible, it's more mythological and one is actually in the Bible. The first is not in the Bible. It's this two-shell pass, which is actually, people think it's in the Bible, it's not. But it's King Solomon's phrase, which is really amazing when you think about it because it's good no matter what season of life that you're in. If you're going through the worst of times, this two-shell pass and things are gonna get better. If you're going through the best of times though, it's really humbling. Like this two-shell pass and this will fade away. But this will not last forever. So I love that. And they don't. So it's a time transcendent truth that applies towards all periods as an entrepreneur. It humbles you when you need it and builds you up when you need it, gives you hope when you need it and also gives you a little bit of a dose of a gut check. One of my favorite verses though is Romans 8.28, which just says that God works all things for good for those who love him. It's a very free and liberating verse.

27:46For those of us that are Christians, because we believe that when things can be really bad, God is working it for his good, his perfect and pleasing will, which is a very, very hard teaching when you come across business closures or staff layoffs. But it's very liberating that God is working all things towards an ultimate good. So I love that and it kind of is very freeing that I don't have to be in charge of everything. And there is a God and I am not him and I surrender to his will. Wow, what an incredible last phrase. There is a God and I am not him and I surrender to his will. We should all take that to heart because it is true. Let's welcome in Orrin McIntyre, who is a host at the blaze prolific writer and someone who I know is also missing our dear friend, Charlie Kirk this morning. So Orrin, welcome. And as we look back over this last year of all of the triumphs that happened after Charlie's murder, as people turned to the Lord,

28:46and then also the really low points as a lot of people, unfortunately, and a few prominent ones have tried to damage his legacy, his widow and his family and his ministry. How do you view the culture and where we're at right now at this moment in time? Well, it's obviously not where you hoped we would be. As you say, when Charlie had first been killed, the response was incredible. There were so many people who were out at local visuals in my area remembering him. There were so many people who were showing up to our church. We literally had to put people on pillows out in the courtyard to hear the message because there were just so many people that needed something in that moment. And so to see now that the left is preparing

29:51to, in many cases, celebrate Charlie's death. We've seen people in universities trying to have parties or this kind of thing around it to see the number of people who have ultimately forgotten what was lost that day and have instead focused on every other issue under the sun. It's been difficult to watch. I do know that many people are remembering Charlie today for all the great things that he did and all of the incredible memories that they have him. And that's really important because I think too much of the conservative movement lost sight of what that death meant. They all felt it, but they lost sight of, I think what Charlie would have wanted, ultimately, to come from his passing, which is, of course, the spreading of the gospel and the strengthening of the word. Yeah, yeah, so well said. And I mean, in the, it wasn't just the few days.

30:54I mean, the weeks and even a couple of months after he died, it was like that everyone came together for the most part. I mean, there was such a spirit of revival. There was such a spirit and an attitude of wanting an explanation, you know, wanting to reach higher than our human existence and wanting to really understand some of life's biggest questions, like what happens after you die? I mean, this is something that was so shocking. And, you know, there have been a few times throughout American history, you know, obviously, world history, but through recent American history, that we, as Americans, have lived through kind of a shocking assassination. And I think this one hit so much harder because while Charlie was political, he wasn't a politician. And, you know, he's this regular citizen who is so engaged

31:58and just wants to have conversations and to be assassinated because he's going to campus is talking to young people. I mean, it's just, it's beyond belief still. And that motivation to reach higher than our own existence and to ask and answer the questions about eternity and God and creation and why does evil happen? Because this was evil. This was entirely incredibly evil. I hope that that spirit is somehow renewed today as people remember a year ago and remember not just the controversies over, you know, the investigations and everything in the aftermath, but remember Charlie for his life's passion, which was ultimately to promote the truth of the gospel of Christ.

33:02Yeah, I think you're right that one of the reasons that the assassination was so shocking was that Charlie was not a politician. He was not somebody who, you know, we know that obviously assassinating a politician or a president or something like that is evil, but at some level that is kind of baked in the cake. We know that sometimes that happens towards leaders, even if it shouldn't. Charlie was obviously not just some average guy. He was the head of a very powerful organization, very influential, but ultimately he was not in what we think of as the realm where that is part of what you take on when you do the job. You know, he was a activist, yes, but he seemed like a average person. He seemed like your brother-in-law. He did not feel radical. He did not feel like he was in some position of high authority. He felt like he was a normal guy on campus to debate somebody who he disagreed with.

34:04And of course, he died, you know, talking to college students, trying to win the next generation over, trying to have the conversation that so many people claim that they want to have. And Charlie believed in it deeply. He was in the trenches all the time. And so I think, you know, the fact that he was somebody who felt like the guy next door, trying to have a conversation with people he disagreed with, is the thing that really I think caught people off guard. That's what was so shocking to the conscience is it wasn't, you know, as terrible as someone shooting a Donald Trump was, at some level Trump knew he signed up for that possible danger. He has bodyguards. He is in a position where that has happened before. For Charlie, it felt like this could have been anyone, which means this could have been me. Yeah. And I think that's also a huge part of what hit close to home is that he is the regular guy, where, you know, politicians and that whole category

35:10is somehow removed from the population. And, you know, these are leaders. These are the people in power. And, and so in a sense, you know, when the shocking things like that happen, it's, it's not the same personal and emotional feeling as it is when it's a regular citizen. And I can't remember someone of this high profile because there were just, you know, not people like Charlie, but someone this high profile and then to just be brutally murdered on live stream. I mean, it was just absolutely terrifying and horrifying. And, and as we look back on, you know, where, where we have come in the year, I mean, I, I just remember so much of Charlie's humility and his genuine love to see other people, the politicians he supported, the, the Christians and ministry, his friends, you know,

36:11all of these people pushing for the right things, hopefully, the conservative things, the biblical things, all of them succeed. And I think that's also a very timely lesson for us and maybe something we can take forward from his legacy as well. Yeah, I, a lot of people I knew, knew Charlie very well. I got a lot of calls immediately after it happened because, you know, men who just, you know, they're, you know, they're definitely not cryers. They're not people who are moved to tears very often. We're just calling me completely distraught because they had been close to Charlie and lost somebody so important. I was not lucky enough to have ever met Charlie in person. I was a guest on a show one time, and that's the only time I had a conversation with him. But everybody I know who interacted with him had a story about how he had helped them out. How he had done something so important.

37:12He had been there in a moment that they needed him. He had made a call that had changed things for them. And, you know, obviously he was a guy that cared about the people around him. I think that's reflected by the reaction of pretty much everybody who knew. And so, though, there's really no, no gray or testament. And I think in the end, then a large number of friends who ultimately feel your loss because they know how central you were to doing great things for the conservative movement. I think that was the other thing that was so clear after Charlie died was, you know, we all knew TPUSA was important at some level. Like everybody knew that Charlie was an important guy in the movement. But I don't think everybody understood that Charlie was actually the heart of the coalition. He was able to reach out and cross barriers, across boundaries. He was able to speak to all different parts of the right and bring them together and point them towards something productive. And when you don't realize that you have a linchpin player like that,

38:14the minute it's gone, you feel that loss so much more. Yeah, yeah. And we have to take a break here. But Orrin McIntyre's sticking with me through the break because we do want to talk about where we go from here and the GOP convention that kicked off last night as well. And I know that Charlie would have loved to be there. I saw a video of when he was at the RNC convention when his friend JD Vance was announced as the vice presidential pick and just so excited and cheering on his friend. And I think, you know, at the end of our lives, if we can say that we have lived for the Lord and we have assurance of salvation, that's obviously the most important thing. And then second to that, if we can say that we have loved well, we have served well and we have friends who loved and cherished us and continue our mission, which is, of course, to promote the truth. So we love you, Charlie, and we will be right back with more.

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40:24That's pound 250 baby or give securely at preborn.com forward slash AFR. That's preborn.com slash AFR. Together we can save lives, one heartbeat at a time. Welcome back to Jenna Ellis in the morning on American Family Radio. Welcome back. We are continuing to remember the life and legacy of Charlie Kirk. We also are looking forward and ahead to what is the future of America. This great country that, of course, Charlie loved and recognized the promise and the great American experiment and absolutely was engaged. He loved President Trump. Absolutely loved President Trump and JD Vance and did everything that he could to help promote the Republican Party. And during President Trump's speech at the Republican National Committee's midterm last night at their convention in Dallas,

41:24it's a last night and then tonight where I'm told that JD Vance will be remembering Charlie Kirk that will be a really amazing moment that I'll definitely be tuning into. But President Trump also pitched a direct cash handout as a reward for the country's economic strength, comparing it to a successful company distributing cash to its shareholders. He attached one primary condition to the stimulus. The money must be spent within the United States. So Warren McIntyre from the Blaze is still with me. There's some interesting back and forth with this and obviously some conservatives are reacting very strongly one way or another. With Trump describing this almost like a shareholder dividend, the country is overall doing well. The ability is still an issue. But he's saying that because the country is doing well, Americans should share in the proceeds.

42:25Is that a useful analogy or is government revenue fundamentally different from corporate profit? Well, either way, we're $40 trillion in debt at this point. So whether we're doing well or not, obviously the balance sheet is not in our favor. So if we're at corporation, we would obviously have to make up some of the money we had lost before we turned around and hand out the money. Look, everybody knows what this is. This is a cash payment. It's a bribe. At some level, obviously, I know this is bad. We've done this with a COVID stimulus checks. We know the inflation is going to create perfectly aware of all of the downsides and everybody who's talked about them is 100% correct. And I agree this is ultimately a bad idea. But the truth is, democracy is a system of vote buying. What mass democracy does, that's the strategy that works in mass democracy, is giving people stuff. I don't think it's a good system. I don't think that Plato or Aristotle or even our founding fathers thought it was a

43:28good system. But it is the system we have now. And the political reality is that this is the best strategy in the type of system we've created. So I think it's a terrible idea, but I can't say I'm surprised that Trump is deploying it. And I can't even say that it won't necessarily work. Yeah, I think that's a brilliant analysis because you're absolutely right that it's a bad idea. But it essentially comes down to trying to vote by and persuade. And so when you're not really persuading voters to get out and vote on the issues, then there has to be some other incentive. And that's what I see as well with this other stimulus or whatever you want to say. And I call it entitlement, actually, is a better term for the stay at home moms getting some of these payments that will really just go to low income families. And a lot of conservatives are saying, well, it's about time that some stay at home moms

44:32got a chunk of the pie. But the problem is then the pie expands and we shouldn't be having the pie in the first place. And so when things like this are the methods that now even Republicans are using, how do we check that and rightly say, okay, well, we agree that everyone should vote conservative, bribes and these kinds of stimulus are not really the way to go about it. I mean, how do we correct that part of the problem? Well, for the full-time mother program, I think that one's a little different. That one's money that's already earmarked. It's going to go to childcare no matter what. Yes, the program shouldn't exist, but there's zero chance that the Congress isn't going to get rid of the Save Act is going to get rid of that program. It's simply not going to happen. So it's not a question of will that $12 billion be spent. It's just a question of who's it going to go to. If it has to go to somebody, I'd prefer it go to people who are trying to keep their

45:34children, they're trying to stay home to raise their own children rather than pay someone to do it for them. But again, I agree that the program shouldn't exist, but the political reality does. So let's distribute it in a way that is beneficial to the people who at least are trying to do the things that we want them to do. That said, overall, how do we stop this idea that we should be bribing voters or that giving some kind of hand out to voters is the right strategy? We're not going to happen. This is not an issue of principle. I mean, I have a principle that we shouldn't do this, but the reality is that, again, the best strategy in the type of political system we have is bribery. It works. It's the best strategy. And so people are going to do it. It's not a question of should they or should they not. When there's an optimal strategy available, people will utilize it. They'll find an excuse to use it. The problem is the system that we have. In the system we have with wide enfranchisement, people figure out that they can vote themselves

46:36money. And once they figure that out, that's the end of the system, which is exactly why we were warned not to do this by the founders, not to expand our franchise to the level that we have. And so by violating the original vision of the founders, we now have to pay a price. And that price is that our system goes from a thoughtful representation of a particular percentage of our population to paying as much money as you can to the largest number of people that you can. And nothing we do is going to escape that. Again, we can tell Republican politicians, oh, behave better and believe in your principles, but then they're going to watch other people win. And so they're going to do the thing that wins. Yeah. And I mean, unfortunately, that makes a lot of sense. And it's the practical reality. And yet, when we are trying to be, well, a lot of us, I guess, not the collective we, but those of us who still are principled are trying to turn back this kind of big behemoth

47:38that has become the bloated federal government. I mean, that was Trump's original promise when he ran, was draining the swamp. And that has a lot of different implications. And then even moving forward into a second term, he promised through Doge to say, okay, we're not going to spend a ton of money in all these kinds of different ways. And yet, here we are. I mean, and so like Daniel Horowitz, who's one of the great commentators as well was talking about this this morning and Trump's announcement. And basically saying that nothing that Trump has promised in terms of stimulus checks, things after Doge, none of those checks have been written. So even though this might work in the sense of the bribe, do you think it would actually, Trump would actually follow through and should people believe that? Well, that's a better question. Yeah, would we actually see this program come to fruition? I don't know the answer to that question. I think honestly, it's unlikely to work either way.

48:40The Republicans are in a pretty disastrous place in the midterms. So maybe it's one of those situations where why not make a gamble? You're very unlikely to have to pay out on it. If you do have to figure that out after a miraculous win, well, so much the better. That might be the vision here. And again, to be honest, while I think that the payment is stupid and friskily reckless, I see the logic in it. The game theory is sound, ultimately. But again, this is the problem of democracy. It creates a short-term incentive. You might not be in power in three months. So why not spend everything you can now to make sure you are going to be in power? And who cares about the consequences? Because ultimately, what matters is whether you're in power or not. And to be fair, to make the case even more strongly, as the left continues to threaten to destroy Trump, destroy anybody who ever worked for Trump, to open the borders, the minute that they get control of the country, add a new Supreme Court justice, go ahead and

49:41get statehood to DC and or whatever. Like as the left gets more radical into assertions about what it will do with power, what isn't justified in stopping them from power? Yeah, but absolutely well said. We'll continue to talk about this more through this week and next and see the Republican Convention again tonight. But Orrin McIntyre really appreciate it so much. You can follow him on X and also at the Blaze. And you can always reach me and my team, Jenna at AFR.net. Preborn has rescued over 400,000 babies from abortion and every day their network clinics rescue 200 babies lives. Will you join preborn in loving and supporting young moms in crisis? Save a life today. Go to preborn.com-flash-afr.