President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and a host of administration figures were due to speak at a memorial to Charlie Kirk, the conservative influencer whose assassination been met with condemnation of political violence but a new debate over freedom of speech.
Tens of thousands were gathered at State Farm Stadium, which can seat more than 63,000 people.
In additional to members of the Trump administration, among those spotted was Elon Musk, who had a very public falling out with the president in May. Also scheduled to speak was Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, who will now lead the group that he co-founded, Turning Point USA.
The memorial stands to be a mixture of a somber and religious gathering, with moments of prayer, and a rally to continue his legacy, as those in the crowd had signs that read, “This is our Turning Point.”
As bagpipers opened the service to Amazing Grace, Fox News and CNN have been providing the most comprehensive coverage among the major news networks, while MSNBC has been providing reports from Arizona.
Interestingly, for all the FCC talk of late about probes over broadcast network content, ABC, NBC, CBS and, most surprisingly, Fox were not covering the Kirk memorial Sunday – at least on the West Coast. Close to the same time zone of the Glendale, AZ-held event, CBS had informericals on Golf Resorts and Personal Data, and NBC had the 2025 World Athletics Championships from Tokyo. Leading into the WNBA playoffs and the Indiana Fever playing the Las Vegas Aces, ABC had “Paid Programming at 11 am PT,” while Fox went for the big NFL numbers with the LA Rams clashing with current Super Bowl champs the Philadelphia Eagles in the City of Brotherly Love.
The broadcast networks have been carrying the memorial service on their streaming channels, as have other outlets like C-SPAN and Newsmax.
Kirk was assassinated on Sept. 10 as he spoke at an outdoor event on the campus of Utah Valley University. Tyler Robinson, 21, has been charged with aggravated murder, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
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