The mourning Ceremony In honor of Charlie Kirk, it lasted over 5 hours. This time was filled by memories, including the moving performance of the widow after the murdered, Erika Kirk, speeches by leading figures of the MAGA movement, musical performances, and the fireworks. The event, which filled the State Farm stadium in Glendale, the satellite city of the largest metropolis of Arizona, Phoenix, was besides highly political. Related “New Yorker” event Antonia Hitchens stated that “it was the largest Trump rally she attended.”
Kirk as a Martyr
More speakers in Arizona called Kirk a "marrior", portraying him as individual who was murdered not only for his views and political activities, but besides for his faith. That's how Kirk was defined by Vice president J. D. Vance. wellness Secretary in Trump Administration Robert F. Kennedy Jr. compared the deceased to Christ: “Christ died at the age of 33, but changed the course of history. Charlie died at the age of 31 [...] but he besides changed the course of history.”
Even in Poland at the PiS rally, about a more secular Confederate not to mention, the strength of the spiritual references that took place in Glendale would be unusual. Vance said Kirk reminded us all that Jesus Christ was the actual king, and defence Secretary Pete Hegseth mentioned that the murdered activist convinced him that the States needed not only a smaller government but besides more God.
Conservative undercaster Benny Johnson in his speech expressed the hope that thanks to the martyr's death of Kirk, “satanists and agnostics” would begin to wonder if they had made a fundamental mistake by accepting specified a worldview alternatively than another one, recognizing that Christ was the way of truth. "It is through the power of martyrdom that God and Christ advance their kingdom – present he is doing it with Charlie Kirk," he said.
Time for a crusade
The hope that Kirk's death would turn out to be a minute of spiritual and spiritual renewal of the United States sounded in almost all appearances in Glendale. In many, it was linked to the call for a spiritual and political “cruciate” that continued the fight of the deceased. "We are all Charlie today," urged the crowd Donald Trump Jr., the President's son, it is unknown how consciously paraphrasing the words that came out in defence of freedom of speech after the assassination of the editorial board of the satirical magazine "Charlie Hebdo" in Paris.
Jack Posobiec – American of Polish origin, situated on the farthest wing of the MEGA movement – argued that Kirk's martyrdom would save Western civilization, making "people return to God". He besides called for the “continuation of the fight” and asked the assembled whether “for Charlie” they could “put on spiritual armor.”
However, the most extremist speech he made Stephen Miller, peculiar safety Advisor to the President. He began by saying that "when Kirk died, the angels cried, but their tears turned into fire in our hearts," and then he only turned up rhetoric. He thundered: “We are a storm”, “you do not realize what kind of dragon you have awakened”, “you cannot intimidate us”, “you do not know how determined we are to save this republic.” The militant rhetoric was accompanied by the praise of its own website, which “built the planet we live in today”, the heir of “Aten, Rome, Philadelphia, and Monticello” and attacks on the other, which has nothing “except wickedness and jealousy”. “We will overcome the forces of darkness and evil, and all day we will stand by what is good, actual and beautiful. We will accomplish a triumph for our children, for our families and our civilisation!" Miller concluded.
His speech may have awakened associations with the darkest ideologies of the 20th century, and surely sounded like a call to Kirk's martyrdom war against non-trumpian America. And while Erika Kirk spoke of forgiveness and forgave her husband's murderer, Glendale dominated the speech of vengeance on the another America, blamed for Kirk's death.
Donald Trump himself struck akin tones. Not only did he say that unlike Kirk, he hates his opponents and wishes them as badly as possible, but he besides announced that his Justice Department would look at “networks of extremist left-wing lunatics that fund, organize and fuel political violence.” This strengthens the concerns that the administration will not usage the execution on Kirk for persecution of the President's opponents portraying themselves as a "radical left".
Worse than Smolensk
In Poland we saw akin processes 15 years ago. The Smolensk disaster first liberated messianic interpretations, attempting to read it as a call for national and spiritual revival, followed by a series of accusations. Not only to Russia, but besides to the PO-PSL government, which in the Smolensk story was held liable for the disaster, if not in a material sense, it is symbolic, as the expected organizer of the tragically deceased president of the “scorn industry”.
Smolensk deepened the polarization of the PiS-PO, charged it with dark energy, raised the dispute rates to the highest level since 2005. At 1 point, erstwhile the Law and Justice organization was the strongest builder on Smolensk identity, the communicative of this organization in Poland was not so much a average political dispute, in which 2 parties having the right to fight for their values and interests, as the moral crusade led by the patriots of the memory of the tragically deceased president, aimed at a organization of traitors and "resetters", at least morally liable for his death.
W The story of Kirk's tragic death can make political division even more extremist than Smolensk for 3 reasons. First, we're dealing not with a communication disaster, but with a real crime. Secondly, the American society is already more polarized than always was Polish.
Thirdly, Trump and any of his surroundings have long planned to usage presidential power to retaliate against the president's opponents and pacify points of opposition in civilian society towards the administration—like Orbanian Hungary. The Kirk execution provides a perfect excuse. It besides makes it hard to defend the persecuted organizations presented by Trump as a “sowing utmost left” to the American liberal center. all act of protest against its authoritarian actions aimed at e.g. “Antifa”, groups related to Black Live substance or extremist Trump transactivism will now be portrayed as “the defence of Kirk's murderers”.
New Messianic figure
Using the story of Kirk's death to deal with universities, social organizations, media that can be glued to the patch of the "radical left" is, of course, the most extremist script that does not request to be realised. Trump may be busy with another things, he may encounter opposition from the courts, he may deficiency time to full implement the plan before the Republicans lose control of legislature in the 2026 midterm election – which seems to be the most likely today.
At the same time Kirk's story may prove transformative to the American right. In her account with Glendale, a correspondent for “New Yorker” noted that a akin atmosphere prevailed in 2024 at a Republican rally in Milwaukee, which took place just after An unsuccessful bombing of Trump, Pennsylvania. You could hear from the participants that God saved Trump so he could save America. Kirk's execution gives the MAG movement a fresh Messianic figure, around which memory he may be able to unite erstwhile Trump is missing.
Finally, Kirk's story to the MAGA-right is accompanied by a more centred narrative, depicting the deceased not so much as a martyr for his religion and right-wing ideology, but as a secular saint of the American civilian pantheon who died for his freedom of speech and freedom of debate to which he had been attached throughout his life. This is not a story completely without foundation. Kirk was open to talking to people with highly different views. If we did not justice his discussion with students, surely the consequence to his words should not be murderous violence.
At the same time, it is truly hard to convince that Kirk was not very far off to law on issues specified as reproductive rights, relation to rights of racial minorities, the right to have arms or migration. Meanwhile, his forming story attempts to represent him almost as a centre conservative, which further moves the mainstream of the American right to the right wall.
Before liberal America, a hard task: by powerfully condemning the murderous force that Kirk has encountered, he must at the same time argue the country's orbanisation in the name of his memory and the many ideas that Kirk has defended.
