{"id":194216,"date":"2025-09-19T21:58:40","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T21:58:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/19\/how-erika-kirk-charlie-kirks-widow-and-turning-point-usas-ceo-rose-to-power\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T21:58:40","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T21:58:40","slug":"how-erika-kirk-charlie-kirks-widow-and-turning-point-usas-ceo-rose-to-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/19\/how-erika-kirk-charlie-kirks-widow-and-turning-point-usas-ceo-rose-to-power\/","title":{"rendered":"How Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk\u2019s Widow and Turning Point USA\u2019s CEO, Rose to Power"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paywall\">By the end of 2018, Erika launched her Proclaim Christian streetwear brand\u2014which now <a data-offer-url=\"https:\/\/www.proclaim365.com\/shop?page=2\" class=\"external-link\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.proclaim365.com\/shop?page=2&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.proclaim365.com\/shop?page=2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">sells<\/a> baby blankets, adult clothing, luggage tags, leather bookmarks, engraved straws, beanies, and socks. Charlie appeared alongside his wife in the marketing photos for some of the merchandise\u2014as well as the promotional art for her podcast\u2014a blurring of their personal and professional lives that was present from the start. Turning Point USA not only backed Trump during his 2020 and 2024 elections; it also sponsored their 2021 wedding reception, <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/election-2024-trump-turning-point-maga-d08a98e439fa4e902cb756d7e35153db\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to the AP<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-fkZDUs kHRAYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-eEeytc eRSvCP asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-zEXFr hdztbW responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><picture class=\"ResponsiveImagePicture-cGZhnX jwYQWO AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-cIfZLr fHIkTW asset-embed__responsive-asset responsive-image\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/picture><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"CaptionWrapper-jYrTxZ hvludv caption AssetEmbedCaption-fyuOdR iTyhpv asset-embed__caption\" data-testid=\"caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionText-brNLzD deqABF ijcmYY ixLsrW caption__text\"><\/p>\n<p>Vice President JD Vance, second lady Usha Vance and Erika Kirk deplane Air Force Two while escorting the body of Charlie Kirk on September 11, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. The scene calls to mind Jackie Kennedy clutching her brother-in-law Robert Kennedy&#8217;s as she watched her husband\u2019s casket being removed from Air Force One in 1963.<\/p>\n<p><\/span><span class=\"BaseWrap-sc-gzmcOU BaseText-eqOrNE CaptionCredit-eowWKH deqABF PwCDR kpuElq caption__credit\">Eric Thayer\/Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"has-dropcap paywall\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/story\/charlie-kirk-killing-political-violence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">In the days since Kirk\u2019s<\/a> assassination, the Trump administration has treated him like a national hero\u2014with Vice President <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/topic\/jd-vance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">JD Vance<\/a>,<\/strong> his wife, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/story\/usha-vance-dreams-of-being-far-from-the-white-house\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Usha<\/a>,<\/strong> and Air Force Two deployed to escort the casket to Arizona. Erika, mourning in all black and sunglasses, was photographed clutching the second lady\u2019s hand as she exited the plane.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">The visual called to mind a black-and-white photo of Jackie Kennedy after her husband\u2019s 1963 assassination. In shock, with blood on her pink-and-black skirt suit, she <a data-offer-url=\"https:\/\/www.alamy.com\/stock-photo-john-kennedys-coffin-robert-kennedy-holds-jacqueline-kennedys-hand-50061365.html\" class=\"external-link\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.alamy.com\/stock-photo-john-kennedys-coffin-robert-kennedy-holds-jacqueline-kennedys-hand-50061365.html&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.alamy.com\/stock-photo-john-kennedys-coffin-robert-kennedy-holds-jacqueline-kennedys-hand-50061365.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">clutched<\/a> the hand of her brother-in-law Robert Kennedy as she watched her husband\u2019s casket being removed from Air Force One. In the days afterward, Jackie Kennedy meticulously planned her husband\u2019s state funeral, drawing on historic symbolism and imagery to begin shaping her husband\u2019s legacy behind the scenes. This immediate period following Kennedy\u2019s death is when the late president\u2019s widow invented the shimmering fairy tale of Camelot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">But this is the social media age, and Erika, a MAGA-first wife turned widow, has grieved on the public platform. She posted <a data-offer-url=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DOhq3UBEd6l\/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1\" class=\"external-link\" data-event-click=\"{&quot;element&quot;:&quot;ExternalLink&quot;,&quot;outgoingURL&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DOhq3UBEd6l\/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DOhq3UBEd6l\/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a 12-slide Instagram carousel<\/a> depicting her sitting over her husband\u2019s casket, kissing Charlie\u2019s lifeless hands, Charlie\u2019s casket being transported, and Usha comforting her. \u201cI have no idea what any of this means,\u201d Erika wrote alongside the haunting images and videos. \u201cBut baby I know you do and so does our Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">And Erika\u2019s efforts to shape her husband\u2019s legacy thus far have not been as subtle: Speaking last Friday, she said, \u201cNow and for all eternity, he will stand at his savior\u2019s side, wearing the glorious crown of a martyr.\u201d In that address, she served her husband after death as she had during life. \u201cShe doesn\u2019t make it about her,\u201d commended a social media user reposted on X by Hugoboom. \u201cIt\u2019s all about HIS name and HIS legacy.\u201d The Turning Point USA statement announcing Erika as her husband\u2019s successor made it clear she would be continuing his mission: \u201cWe will not surrender or kneel before evil,\u201d board members said. \u201cWe will carry on.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async defer src=\"https:\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/story\/how-erika-kirk-charlie-kirks-widow-and-turning-point-usas-ceo-rose-to-power\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By the end of 2018, Erika launched her Proclaim Christian streetwear brand\u2014which now sells baby blankets, adult clothing, luggage tags, leather bookmarks, engraved straws, beanies, and socks. Charlie appeared alongside his wife in the marketing photos for some of the merchandise\u2014as well as the promotional art for her podcast\u2014a blurring of their personal and professional [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":194217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[10846,54,648,644,381],"class_list":{"0":"post-194216","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrity","8":"tag-charlie-kirk","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-maga","11":"tag-politics","12":"tag-republicans"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}