By internalizing the stance of Erika Kirk, President Trump would be able to win over the support he has lost by his conduct over the past weeks.
Charlie Kirk may have had more than his fair share of detractors, as evidenced by the perverse welcome of several netizens at news of his assassination. What cannot be denied is the aptness of his name, Kirk (or church). He was a devout Christian, and saw himself not as a proselytizer but as a devout follower of Christian doctrines. Among these was the precept of not hating your adversary, but showing him or her forgiveness “for they know not what they do”, in the words of doctrine. His killer may have believed that through his action, he was freeing the US from the philosophy expounded by Kirk. In actuality, he has given it wings. Into the void left by his departure has stepped his widow, Erika. In the mass indoor rally that took place on September 22 in remembrance of Charlie Kirk, her short but emotional oration got a standing ovation from the assembled crowd within the stadium. She and Charlie were a couple very much in love with each other, and her emotions broke through when she thought of the absence of her husband. The murder of Charlie Kirk was unusually similar to the attempted murder last year of Donald Trump. In each case, the killer acted alone, and was openly visible on the roof of a nearby building holding a gun. It was a rare slip up by US security forces that they took no action against the shooter, even when he lay prone, rifle in hand, clearly aiming to fire into the Trump rally. The bullet missed killing Trump by a wisp, and the sight of the defiant candidate holding up his fist, bellowing “fight, fight” as blood flowed down from the graze the bullet inflicted on his ear, were prominent among the reasons why Trump bested Kamala Harris in the poll. Charlie Kirk was not as fortunate, for a single shot killed him to shouts of disbelief in the crowd, several of whom were not in agreement with his views, especially on President Trump. Charlie Kirk knew that, yet he did not try to shout down his critics, understanding that verbal clashes often bring flashes of enlightenment to arguments and point to a way out of a seeming impasse in the conflicting conclusions.
It speaks for the innate goodness of US citizens that what the audience most favoured at the memorial service to Charlie Kirk in Arizona was not the “take no prisoners” speech of President Trump but the far more mellow message of Erika Kirk. “To err is human, to forgive divine” is another saying, and that was exemplified in the address by Erika Trump. She made it clear that Turning Point, founded by Charlie Kirk, would go on and stepped into the leadership role left vacant by the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Her message of forgiveness needs to be more widely accepted in sections of US society (irrespective of political affiliations) who segregate the people into good and bad, and far from forgiving, hate those they classify as bad. At the service held to honour the memory of Charlie Kirk, President Trump made it clear that he does not forgive those he regards as his opponents, but hates them. Given the awesome powers of the US Presidency, such vindictiveness towards his opponents could create a backlash. Hate begets hate, and what the US is experiencing as a consequence of the recent words and actions of President Trump is an intensification of political divides added to the refusal to seek a compromise solution, or even to listen to the view of the other side. It must be said that a similar intolerance was manifest in the manner in which the previous administration sought to demonize and prosecute Trump. Lawfare was liberally, pardon the pun, used to try and make Trump ineligible to stand as the Republican opponent of the Democratic Party ticket. Prosecutor versus Felon was the refrain of Kamala Harris, and not only did it not resonate among wide sections of US voters, it drove many to the opposite corner. Far from giving him greater popular support, by his strident tone, President Trump is alienating several who voted for him in 2024. Erika Kirk got a standing ovation after she addressed the audience just a few days ago, a show of support that was not evident after President Trump spoke. Internationally, he has made several countries begin to question the reliability of the US as an economic and security partner, thereby playing into the hands of CCP General Secretary Xi. The 2024 SCO summit meeting that took place in Tianjin was watched and commented upon more carefully and more often than was the case with previous summits. The presence at the summit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not coincidental with the tariff tantrums of the White House, but very likely a consequence of it. The presence of the leaders of three of the four great powers of the world at Tianjin was indeed significant, and not just in symbolism. President Trump would do well to invite Erika Kirk regularly to the White House, and understand from her the significance of adopting forgiveness rather than vindictiveness as his preferred course of action in several situations, although not in all. By internalizing the stance of Erika Kirk, President Trump would be able to substantially win over the support he has lost by his conduct over the past weeks. Meanwhile, Erika will enter into her new role, confident that she is following in the steps of Charlie Kirk, whose life was cut short. By assassinating Kirk, the killer did not succeed in weakening the Turning Point movement, but gave it added impetus.
