President Trump and Erika Kirk offered markedly different messages at Sunday's memorial service for Charlie Kirk, showcasing a battle for what the conservative movement stands for centering on love and hate.
By far the most striking moment of Turning Point USA's memorial event on Sunday was Erika Kirk's proclamation that she forgives her husband's suspected assassin, quoting Jesus on the cross: "Father forgive them, for they not know what they do."
"I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do," she said. "The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is love and always love."
Trump, speaking right after Kirk, relayed a starkly different attitude. The killer, he said, was a "radicalized, cold-blooded monster." And he leaned in to hate.
"[Charlie Kirk] did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That's where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent and I don't want the best for them, I'm sorry," Trump said.
"I am sorry, Erika. But now Erika can talk to me and the whole group and maybe they can convince me that's not right. But I can't stand my opponent."
In many ways, those two messages summed up what a lot of conservatives have grappled with in the 13 days following Charlie Kirk's shocking and ugly assassination.
Love or hate, justice or vengeance — what will drive the right more in the wake of Kirk's death? And what should drive the movement?
As I wrote in last week's newsletter, anger over Kirk's killing has fueled the GOP's take-no-prisoners approach to the "radical left," with top officials forecasting investigations into their political enemies and cheering on firings of those who celebrate or rationalize his death.
Stephen Miller, Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy, had also given a rousing speech at Kirk's memorial that articulated such "righteous fury."
"To our enemies, you have nothing to give, you have nothing to offer, you have nothing to share but bitterness," Miller said at the memorial. "We have beauty. We have light. We have goodness. We have determination. … You have no idea the dragon you have awakened."
Christian conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey argued that the contrasting messages from Erika Kirk and Miller are "exactly as it should be."
"It is our job to forgive, not the government's. Christians give grace; the government wields the sword (Romans 13). We turn the other cheek; the government punishes evil," Stuckey posted on the social platform X.
The Trump administration, though, needs buy-in from the conservative base if it is to carry out the most aggressive investigations of left-wing groups and beyond.
There are already some core disputes about the principles of free speech as part of the conservative movement lashes out at critics of Charlie Kirk.
Attorney General Pam Bondi got in hot water last week after she suggested she would prosecute a company that refused to print posters for a vigil honoring Kirk. She said the Trump administration would "go after you if you are targeting anyone with hate speech." (More on that here, from my colleague Brett Samuels.)
That crossed a bright red line for many conservatives — and after backlash, Bondi clarified she would only prosecute speech that amounts to "threats of violence."
Trump, by contrast, has encouraged Bondi to bring "RICO cases" against CODEPINK protesters who interrupted his visit to a restaurant with the chant, "Free D.C., Free Palestine, Trump is the Hitler of our time." And when asked by ABC News's Jonathan Karl about Bondi's comments, Trump said she would "probably go after people like you, because you treat me so unfairly."
It's not just basic free speech issues getting debated in the wake of Kirk's killing. It has also exposed deepening cracks over Israel in the conservative movement, and the norms around how much criticism of the country is accepted in right-wing circles.
Israel-critical commentators Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson have claimed that Kirk was slowly evolving his views about Israel before he was killed — and allegedly enraging major donors to Turning Point USA in the process. (Axios's Tal Axelrod has a rundown on some of that here.)
We do know a little bit, by the way, about the backlash Kirk was getting over Israel issues from Kirk himself. On Megyn Kelly's show in early August, Kirk said that he was frustrated at the flack he was getting for hosting a debate on Israel at a Turning Point USA event in July, featuring comic Dave Smith's criticism of Israel.
But even as the aftershocks from Kirk's death have deepened some rifts on the right, they've also inspired some bridge-building. Some commentators and influencers have pledged to focus less on ideological infighting.
Elon Musk sat with Trump for a while at the jam-packed memorial for Kirk, and the two shook hands — a notable development after their public falling-out over the summer. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who said he had talked to Musk about supporting the GOP in the 2026 midterms before his falling-out with the president, rejoiced at the reunion: "Among the themes yesterday were unity, forgiveness, and patriotism. Powerful!"
Trump, though, downplayed the interaction. Asked whether Kirk brought the two men back together, he said: "Elon came over and said hello. No, it's nothing to do with that."
Further reading on the Turning Point USA Kirk memorial: Five takeaways from the Charlie Kirk memorial by my colleague Brett Samuels … A Splintered GOP Shows Signs of Unity in Wake of Charlie Kirk's Killing, by The Wall Street Journal's Alex Leary… Kirk's memorial signals a deeper embrace of evangelical politics on the right, by Axios's Marc Caputo.
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