Erika Frantzve Kirk is grappling with an agonizing loss. Just one day after her husband, Charlie Kirk, was fatally shot at the age of 31 while addressing an audience at Utah Valley University, President Donald Trump revealed that he had spoken with Erika about the tragedy and offered an update on her emotional state. As he informed reporters on September 11, according to CNN journalist Kaitlan Collins, "She's absolutely devastated."
Erika—who shares a 3-year-old daughter and a 15-month-old son (whose names remain undisclosed) with the conservative activist—has been in touch with the President but has not yet made a public statement regarding Charlie’s tragic death. The shooting occurred after a suspect fired a shot from a building approximately 200 yards away from where Charlie was speaking at the Orem, Utah, campus. Charlie was rushed to a hospital shortly afterward, a university spokesperson told NBC News, though Trump later confirmed his passing that same day. (No suspect has been taken into custody in connection with the attack.)
In the wake of Charlie’s death, dozens of his loved ones and prominent figures have spoken out, including Barack Obama, Chris Pratt, Kamala Harris, and Savannah Chrisley. "I can’t believe I’m even writing these words," Savannah, a longtime friend of Charlie’s and member of his conservative youth advocacy group Turning Point USA, wrote on Instagram on September 10. "Charlie Kirk changed my life…he welcomed me into the Turning Point family this past year, and I was supposed to stand by his side at every college campus this October. Instead, I sit here with a shattered heart, devastated beyond words."
Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. shared a deeply personal tribute about his close relationship with the right-wing influencer. "Charlie wasn’t just a friend—he was like a little brother to me—and to millions of people around the world," the 47-year-old son of Trump and his late ex-wife, Ivana Trump, wrote in a statement on X on September 10. "He was a true inspiration."
Describing Charlie’s passing as "horrible" and "heartbreaking," he added, "We’ve lost a leader, a fighter, and a man whose character and conviction were rare—too rare. To think that his life was cut short by a brutal, heinous, evil act is beyond comprehension."
