Charlie Kirk’s Politically Charged Memorial

The Daily

The New York Times

Daily News, News

4.4 • 102.8K Ratings

🗓️ 22 September 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Conservatives from around the country flocked to Arizona on Sunday to memorialize the activist Charlie Kirk. The service included leaders from the highest levels of the U.S. government, including Vice President JD Vance and President Trump. Two clear strands emerged during the memorial addresses: a message of Christian unity, and a vow to fight political enemies on the left. Robert Draper, who covers domestic politics for The Times, explains how the collision of those two messages makes this a crucial moment for the MAGA movement.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is daily producer Caitlin O'Keefe, and I'm here with my colleague Anna Foley.
0:06.0	Anna, what time is it and where are we?
0:09.1	It's currently 608 in the morning.
0:12.2	We are walking up to the State Farm Stadium.
0:16.0	There's a huge parking lot that is just like mazes full of people waiting in line.
0:21.4	And they're all here for Charlie Kirk's memorial service in Glendale, Arizona.
0:27.4	And that's why we're here to talk to them.
0:30.7	The back of the line.
0:32.7	Down there.
0:34.3	It's not over here.
0:36.0	Down there.
0:41.3	What time did you get here this morning? We woke up at 3.30 and then left at 4.
0:45.3	We got up at 2.30 this morning and showed up here around 4.10.
0:48.3	Me and my friend drove 16 hours straight from East Texas and have not slept one wink.
0:57.0	If you could say in one or two words how you're feeling right now, what would you say?
1:02.0	Heartbroken, shocked. I'm feeling moved by the movement. Probably empowered, definitely.
1:08.3	I think everybody here feels like we lost a leader and truly, honestly,
1:12.6	one of God's soldiers. It really feels like they killed one of ours. What made you decide to come
1:20.0	out today? This is a historical moment. This was a Martin Luther King Jr. in our day that was
1:26.2	essentially assassinated for his free speech and this is our
1:30.0	turning point as well.
1:31.7	I think this is igniting a fire in America.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The New York Times, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The New York Times and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.