A resurfaced video has left supporters heartbroken, showing Charlie Kirk embracing his young daughter on live television just weeks before his shocking assassination in Utah.
A Father’s Joy on Set
The clip, filmed on the set of Fox & Friends Weekend, captured Kirk’s 3-year-old daughter walking across the studio floor before breaking into a run toward her father. Sitting on the couch as a guest host for the first time, Kirk’s face lit up with a wide smile as he scooped her into his arms.
It was a rare glimpse into the family life Kirk and his wife, Erika Kirk, carefully kept private. While both shared their faith and work openly, they often shielded their children from public view. The Fox segment became one of the few times audiences saw Kirk in his most personal role, as a doting dad.
From Studio to Tragedy
That moment feels painfully different now. On Wednesday, Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck during his American Comeback Tour event at Utah Valley University. He was conducting his “prove me wrong” segment and answering a question about mass shootings just seconds before he was shot, sending students running for cover. Despite being rushed to the hospital, he was pronounced dead two and a half hours later.
The shooter remains at large, with a major FBI and Utah police manhunt underway. The attack came after more than 6,000 students signed a petition to block the event from happening on campus, underscoring the polarizing presence Kirk carried into every arena.
A Life of Influence
Kirk’s career began as a teenager when he co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012. By his early twenties, he was speaking on the national stage as the youngest speaker at the 2016 Republican National Convention and later the opening voice at the 2020 RNC.
Over the last decade, he grew Turning Point into the largest conservative youth activist network in the country, with chapters on thousands of campuses, a daily podcast reaching over a million listeners, and faith-driven projects like Turning Point Academy and Turning Point Faith.
Supporters credit him with mobilizing a generation of young conservatives and playing a crucial role in Donald Trump’s presidential victories in both 2016 and 2024.
Erika and the Children Left Behind
But for Erika, a former Miss Arizona USA, ministry leader, and athlete, and for the couple’s two children, a daughter, 3, and a son, 16 months, the loss is deeply personal. The family had just celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary in May.
The video of Kirk’s daughter running into his arms now stands as a haunting reminder of the life he loved outside of politics.
“Charlie Kirk appeared on Fox and Friends with his family just weeks before he was shot in Utah. Prayers are continuing to pour in for the Turning Point USA co-founder,” the network wrote on X when the clip resurfaced.
Remembered in Faith and Politics
Tributes poured in almost immediately after news of the shooting broke. President Donald Trump described Kirk as “The Great, and even Legendary” and ordered all U.S. flags lowered to half-staff through Sunday evening.
For the movement he built, Kirk will be remembered as a firebrand who shaped campus conservatism. But for his wife and children, his legacy is etched in moments like that Fox News embrace: a smile, a hug, and a father’s love frozen in time.
