Remembering Charlie Kirk
Trish Regan
“Wow, that kid is good! Let’s make sure we get him back.”
Those were my exact words to my producer nearly a decade ago, moments after interviewing a young Charlie Kirk on my Fox Business show.
At the time, Charlie was just 21 years old—a kid, really—yet he was about to take the world by storm.
I know talent when I see it. And Charlie had it.
His insightful, original, and often provocative analysis quickly made him a regular guest on my program. Unlike so many political commentators armed with talking points, Charlie never needed them.
His breadth of knowledge stretched far beyond headlines. He could dive into history, the Federal Reserve, economics, or the cultural battles that defined his career, always with clarity and conviction.
Charlie’s intellect, combined with charisma, gravitas, and good looks, was a powerful combination that often unsettled his critics. He was a target precisely because he was effective.
In 2018, after being attacked by dozens of Antifa protesters outside a diner with Candace Owens, he told my audience that the political climate had grown dangerous, the rhetoric too violent.
Still, Charlie refused to back down. He doubled down—dedicated to offering young people a different perspective, one unbound by the ideological conformity of woke institutions.
I knew him to be a fair man, one who wanted nothing more than the best for our country and its future.
Over the years, our professional paths crossed again. After leaving Fox, I launched my own podcast, and Charlie and I found ourselves
represented by the same media company.
Our shows were different in tone and style, but we shared a common belief in the American dream for everyone.
This week has been one of the hardest of my career. I was preparing my live show, when word came that he had been shot. At first, I refused to believe it. I assumed it was a mistake. But it wasn’t.
I went live that afternoon with the news that my friend Charlie Kirk—someone I was proud to have introduced to a national television audience—had been killed.
I’ve covered tragedy before: 9/11 from the CBS anchor desk in San Francisco as the towers fell, the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the Boston Marathon bombing. But I had never before covered the death of a friend in real time. It was surreal and deeply painful.
For the first 23 minutes of my broadcast, I clung to hope. But then came confirmation from President Trump: Charlie Kirk, one of the brightest stars in the conservative movement, was gone. He was just 31 years old.
For the first time in my career, I cried live on-air.
It is an unspeakable tragedy. He had so much more to give. Yet his legacy will live on.
My own children loved Charlie’s videos. It’s one thing for kids to hear their mother’s politics—quite another to discover someone like Charlie on their own. Through him, they found a passion for intellectual debate, for history, for the Constitution, for God. I will forever be grateful to him for that.
Charlie reminded us all of the importance of civility, of respect for one another’s opinions, even amid disagreement.
He will be deeply missed. But the movement he helped build will continue, inspired by his example and his courage.
Rest in peace, my friend. You will remain in our hearts and minds forever.
