Charlie Kirk’s widow says she has a simple explanation for people who still can’t understand how she’s able to forgive the man accused of killing her husband.
“You trust in the Lord, and when you trust in the Lord, you do it, and faith is so powerful when it is lived out,” Erika Kirk said in a “Fox News Sunday” interview. “God is good, and the world is evil. Don’t be surprised when the world acts like the world.”
Kirk, the 31‑year‑old co-founder of the conservative group Turning Point USA, was shot and killed in September during an event at Utah Valley University. He left behind his wife, two young children, and a political footprint far larger than his age might suggest.
The man accused of the shooting, Tyler Robinson, appeared in court this month. He faces an aggravated murder charge and several others, and prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty.
Kirk’s death quickly became a rallying point for fellow evangelical Christians and conservatives around the world. Supporters vowed to continue his work by championing free speech and guiding young people toward the Christian faith and the conservative message he advocated throughout his career.
Ms. Kirk seized headlines and hearts after she told the roughly 90,000 people in attendance at her husband’s memorial service and its millions of viewers that she forgave Mr. Robinson “because it is what Christ did and what Charlie would do.”
On “Fox News Sunday,” Ms. Kirk said her conversations with God haven’t changed since her husband’s death.
“God is good,” she said. “I have never questioned, ‘Why me?’ I always knew that my life was not just to be lived for me. We are here for such a greater purpose and Charlie and I both knew that.”
She described praying in the days and weeks after the shooting: “God, use me. God heal my heart. You know my pain, you know the depths of my pain. Walk through this with me. Put the people in my path that will help heal me and guide me and direct me and keep me in lockstep with your will.”
She added: “I don’t want anything outside of God’s will … I will not even touch it with a 10-foot pole.”
