Erika Kirk opened Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest Thursday with a speech that paid homage to her late husband, ensuring that the legacy of the conference will be carried forward into the future by TPUSA.
“This is a full circle moment for me,” Kirk said as she began her speech. “Two years ago, my husband stood on this stage and said, ‘Here I am, Lord. Use me.’ And boy, did he.”
“AmFest is Charlie’s SuperBowl,” Kirk said about Kirk’s sentiment toward the conference along with his approach to conducting it. “And for those of you who are sitting in the back, my husband was very intentional about making sure he was in the back because he wanted to sit in what he considered maybe the worst seat in the arena–and he made it a point to listen to the whole intro video, every speaker video, and he would tell the team, ‘Louder, more bass, more noise.’ He would say, ‘There’s a treble and a bass knob. Turn the ones to make it right.’”
“So, even if you feel like you’re in the worst seat in the house,” Kirk said to the audience, “you’re not because Charlie sits in one of those.”
She then recalled the most recent AmFest in 2024, when Charlie had to leave the conference early to accompany President Trump who had spoken the final day of the event.
“I’ll never forget last year we were blessed to have President Trump come and speak. And afterwards, Charlie turns to me, starts running like, ‘Where are you going?’ He’s like, ‘I’m about to go on Air Force One.’ I’m in heels trying to chase him to figure out what is going on. He goes, “Okay, so I got to get on Air Force One.’ I was like, ‘Good for you, baby.’ He’s like, ‘Okay, so I need you to close out AmFest and I need you to do the staff meeting afterwards.’ And I was like, “Excuse me?” He’s like, ‘Yeah, you’re closing out AmFest.’ And I was like, ‘I am not closing out AmFest.’ He’s like, ‘Yes, you are.’”
Amid the great difficulties of the past three months, Kirk realizes that TPUSA is “on the winning side” against adversities.
“Charlie loved to share AmFest stats,” Kirk noted. “He would love for you guys to know that 80% of the attendees have never attended a TUSA event before. So thank you for everyone who is new. Welcome home. Turning Point USA is your home and we’re loving that you’re here.”
Erika Kirk further added that AmFest 2025 featured uncommon characteristics for a TPUSA event, with more female and international representation at the conference, for instance, than at other events.
“One-third of the attendees are students… 54% are female attendees. We have 40 breakout sessions, 178 sponsors, all 50 states represented. We have 25 countries represented plus Puerto Rico.”
Kirk expressed what she finds similar between herself and Charlie, and AmFest attendees.
“Charlie and I again will go wherever we need to go,” she said. “But so will you. That’s why you guys are here. All of you are here because you know that you’re sitting saying, ‘I want to do something.’.. You came here to meet other people to know that you’re not in this fight alone. You’re here for a purpose. God made you for a purpose.”
“If Charlie listened to every single person that told him, ‘You’re too young to make a difference. You don’t have enough connections. You’re not going to do it.’ He would have let that noise consume him and he would not have built the machine that he has built today. So, don’t you dare let anyone tell you you’re too young, you’re not smart enough, and you’re not connected enough. As long as you’re a part of Turning Point USA, we will empower you and give whatever you need to be able to make that come to life,” she said.
“Charlie wasn’t just a speaker,” Kirk stated toward the end of her speech, symbolizing Charlie as a “connection point. “He wasn’t just a political thinker. He wasn’t just a thought leader. Again, he was a bridge. He was a pathway. He was a connection point to generations. He was a pathway and connection point to communication, to inner-politics.
“And he also looked at a generation that has been mocked,” she continued, “that has been dismissed, that has been discouraged and told them, ‘You matter. Your ideas matter. Your decisions matter,’ and he would say this country is still worth defending and still worth sacrificing for. So like all of you this is our turning point.”
