Photos show Charlie Kirk’s rise from a young conservative upstart to a powerful member of Trump’s inner circle

In just a few short years, Charlie Kirk went from an unknown high school student to one of the most influential conservative voices in America.

His meteoric ascent was cut short when he was shot and killed on the first stop of his “American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. He was 31.

Kirk first rose to fame as a high school senior in April 2012, when he authored an op-ed for Breitbart titled “Liberal Bias Starts in High School Economics Textbooks.” The article caught the attention of Fox & Friends, where he appeared as an on-air guest.

Kirk then met businessman Bill Montgomery at a Youth Government Day event at Benedictine University in May 2012, and Montgomery urged him to drop out of college and continue to organize young conservatives after hearing him speak. Together, they founded Turning Point USA that same year.

The organization expanded rapidly as Kirk grew a massive social media following, often posting clips of himself debating college students, academics, and other figures from across the political spectrum. Turning Points USA now has chapters on over 3,500 college campuses and reported $85 million in revenue in 2024.

His success as a firebrand communicator, effective fundraiser, and political organizer among young voters cemented him as a member of President Donald Trump‘s inner circle — despite, or perhaps because of, his polarizing rhetoric, which often drew protests at speaking engagements.

Photos show Kirk’s rise from a young conservative upstart to a powerful member of Trump’s inner circle.

At age 22, Charlie Kirk was the youngest speaker at the 2016 Republican National Convention.

Shortly after the convention, Kirk spent three months working as Donald Trump Jr.’s social media coordinator and scheduler.

“I was pretty reluctant to bring on another so-called campaign expert, especially when I learned how young he was,” Trump Jr. told The New York Times in February. “I said, ‘We don’t need another person who doesn’t know anything — we’ve already got plenty of those.’ But within five minutes of listening to him, I said, ‘Congratulations, you’re on my team.'”

Kirk’s influence grew as he amassed a large online following through viral videos of him debating political and ideological opponents.

In 2017, Kirk debated left-wing political commentator and YouTuber Hasan Piker at Politicon.

The two figures, who often faced off, were scheduled to debate once again at Dartmouth College later in September. Piker called Kirk’s shooting a “terrifying incident.”

When Trump was elected to his first term, Kirk became a frequent guest at the White House.

Kirk told The New York Times in February that he visited the White House over 100 times during Trump’s first term.

On one of those visits, he joined Candace Owens at the 2018 Young Black Leadership Summit held in the East Room of the White House.

Kirk interviewed Trump at the Generation Next Summit, an event geared toward conservative millennial leaders, at the White House in 2018.

In a wide-ranging interview, Kirk asked Trump about the job market, the opioid crisis, and free speech.

In 2019, Kirk founded Turning Point Action, a political action organization.

Turning Point Action launched initiatives such as Students for Trump, which hosted Super Saturday events across the country where college students knocked on doors and registered voters ahead of the 2020 election.

He addressed the 2020 Republican National Convention, which was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his speech, Kirk referred to Trump as “the bodyguard of Western civilization.”

“I am here tonight to tell you, to warn you, that this election is a decision between preserving America as we know it and eliminating everything that we love,” he said.

Kirk also launched his podcast, “The Charlie Kirk Show,” in October 2020.

Kirk remained loyal to Trump after the January 6 insurrection.

As other members of the Republican Party distanced themselves from Trump following the Capitol riot, Kirk made a point of visiting Trump at Mar-a-Lago in February 2021.

In May 2021, Kirk married Erika Frantzve, a former Miss Arizona USA winner and entrepreneur.

Frantzve, 36, played NCAA women’s basketball at Regis University. She then transferred to Arizona State University, where she double majored in political science and international relations, according to her official website. She earned a master’s degree in American legal studies from Liberty University and remains enrolled there as a doctoral student in Bible studies.

She was named Miss Arizona USA in 2012.

Frantzve runs a Bible study and ministry program, BIBLEin365, and a clothing line, PROCLAIM, with designs featuring Bible verses and references. She also hosts a devotional podcast, “Midweek Rise Up.”

She and Kirk met in 2018 and got engaged in 2020. The couple shared two young children, whose names and faces they did not publicize.

Kirk supported JD Vance’s Senate campaign in 2022 and advocated for him to be chosen as Trump’s running mate in 2024.

Kirk joined Vance and Sen. Josh Hawley at Vance’s Senate campaign rally in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, in May 2022.

Kirk played a key role in Trump’s 2024 campaign through frequent public appearances and Turning Point USA’s Chase the Vote initiative to mobilize voters.

Kirk also spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention.

“To all the Gen Zers watching this convention on TikTok right now, I have a message just for you,” he said. “You don’t have to stay poor. You don’t have to accept being worse off than your parents. You don’t have to feel aimless and unhappy. You don’t have to support leaders who lied to you and took advantage of you for your vote. America’s future is a series of choices.”

Turning Point USA held a ball on the eve of Trump’s second inauguration in January, where Kirk joined Vance and Donald Trump Jr. onstage.

In his remarks at the event, Trump Jr. called Kirk “one of the true rock stars of this movement.”

On September 10, Kirk was shot and killed on the first stop of his “American Comeback Tour.”

Kirk was shot in the neck while sitting under his trademark “Prove Me Wrong” tent and taking questions from the crowd at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called Kirk’s death a “political assassination.”

Following the announcement of Kirk’s death, Trump ordered flags to be flown at half-mast, a tribute normally reserved for the deaths of elected officials or cabinet members.

“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.”

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