President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance joined thousands of mourners Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Arizona for a memorial honoring Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was fatally shot on September 10 during a debate at Utah Valley University.

Trump delivered a 45-minute eulogy to a crowd of 60,000 inside the stadium and tens of thousands more watching online.

He praised Kirk as a fearless leader while also acknowledging a key difference in their approach to political opponents.

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“He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them,” Trump said.

“That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent, and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry. I am sorry, Erika, but now Erika can talk to me, and the whole group, and maybe they can convince me that that’s not right, but I can’t stand my opponent.”

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The remarks came shortly after Kirk’s widow, Erika, publicly extended forgiveness to her husband’s accused killer, Tyler Robinson, who faces capital murder charges.

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Robinson, 22, was arrested two days after the shooting and prosecutors, with support from the Trump administration, are seeking the death penalty.

“He wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life,” Erika said to a standing ovation.

“That man, that young man, I forgive him.”

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With tears running down her face, Erika told the audience her husband “was ready to die” and had quoted Isaiah 6:8 years earlier, saying, “Here I am, Lord. Send me.”

She said, “Charlie died with incomplete work, but not unfinished business.”

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She recalled seeing her husband’s body after the shooting.

“I felt shock, I felt horror. But even in death I could see the man that I love. Even if Charlie had been shot in the operating room, nothing could have been done.”

Erika also expressed gratitude to Second Lady Usha Vance, who comforted her after the assassination.

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Vice President Vance transported Kirk’s casket with Erika and the couple’s two children aboard Air Force Two on September 11.

“[Usha] told me, you will get through these 15 minutes and the next 15 minutes after that,” Erika said.

“Usha, I don’t think you realized it then, but those words were exactly what I needed to hear.”

She spoke about her marriage, saying Charlie would often write her notes asking, “How can I better serve you as a husband?”

Erika added, “My marriage with Charlie was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I know it was the best for him as well.”

Turning Point USA’s new CEO, Erika encouraged young people to embrace marriage and family, saying her husband wanted to guide what he called “the lost boys of the west” toward building strong families.

The memorial drew more than 200,000 mourners, with thousands turned away as both the stadium and an overflow venue reached capacity before sunrise.

In her remarks to The New York Times, Erika said she wanted no role in determining Robinson’s fate.

“I’ve had people ask, ‘Do you feel anger toward this man? Like, do you want to seek the death penalty?’ I told our lawyer, I want the government to decide this. I do not want that man’s blood on my ledger.”

During his speech, Trump said Kirk was “heinously murdered by a radicalized leftist for speaking the truth that was in his heart.”

He added, “Charlie’s murder was not just an attack on one man or one movement, it was an attack on our entire nation.”

Trump also credited Kirk with introducing him to Vance and playing a key role in the Make America Healthy Again initiative.

Vice President Vance, who described Kirk as central to his own political rise, called him a “martyr.”

“We must remember that he is a hero to the United States of America. And he is a martyr for the Christian faith,” Vance said.

“Our whole administration is here, but not just because we love Charlie as a friend, even though we did, but because we know we wouldn’t be here without him. Charlie built an organization that reshaped the balance of our politics.”

The memorial closed with chants of support for Erika Kirk, as the conservative movement honored the legacy of a figure described as both a political force and a Christian leader.

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