Erika Kirk Shares Usha Vance's Advice on Grief (Connecting the Dots: Astrid S. Tuminez, The Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Utah Valley University & The Carnegie/Soros Network)
Newsmax.com
By
Theodore Bunker | Monday, 07 September 2026 02:05 PM EDT
https://www.newsmax.com/us/erika-kirk-usha-vance-charlie-kirk/2026/09/07/id/1268600/
Erika
Kirk described her first year after the killing of her husband, conservative
leader Charlie Kirk,
as a succession of emotional waves, writing Monday that advice from second lady Usha Vance helped her navigate
life with their two young children.
In a New York Times essay published three
days before the anniversary of her husband's death, Erika Kirk recounted the
shock of returning to their Phoenix home and confronting the belongings and
family routines he left behind.
"I don't know how I'm going to do
this," she recalled telling Usha Vance.
The second lady responded: "You know
when you're on an airplane with your kids, and you're going to land in 15
minutes, but the kids are going crazy, screaming, throwing things, and then the
plane lands, and the kids relax, and everything is fine again? That's how it
will be. Just get through the next 15 minutes."
Erika Kirk described initially avoiding the
couple's bedroom as she struggled with reminders of her husband. Holidays,
birthdays, and family traditions brought further reminders of his absence as
she continued raising their children.
Over time, she wrote, the pain became more
familiar, even as it continued to bring memories of Charlie Kirk into focus.
"The wave still comes, but it's
different now," she wrote. "A year ago, when I felt it coming over
me, I wondered whether it would swallow me completely. Now, I recognize it;
sometimes I even welcome it, because for a moment the grief makes Charlie feel
impossibly close."
Charlie Kirk, 31, was fatally shot last Sept.
10 while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University
in Orem.
He co-founded Turning Point USA, the
conservative youth organization that Erika Kirk subsequently took over as CEO.
Her reflections come as the prosecution of
his accused killer advances. Utah Judge Tony Graf ruled Sept. 1 that Tyler Robinson, 23, must stand trial
on aggravated murder and other charges. Robinson pleaded not guilty to all
charges.
Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.
They allege Robinson fired from a rooftop more than 400 feet from Kirk and
knowingly endangered other people attending the event.
Defense attorneys disputed whether the
evidence supported that aggravating factor, which lets prosecutors pursue
capital punishment.
Erika Kirk also emphasized the role of her
Christian faith in confronting her loss.
"I can stand and say without a shadow of
a doubt that God is good," she wrote.
At her husband's memorial service in Glendale, Arizona, last September,
she publicly forgave his accused killer and pledged to continue Turning Point
USA's mission.
President Donald Trump posthumously awarded
Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Oct. 14, what would have
been his 32nd birthday.
Erika Kirk ended by passing along Usha's
advice to others experiencing similar
loss: "Just get through the next 15 minutes."
Connecting
the Dots:
Charlie Kirk was
fatally shot last Sept. 10 while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley
University in Orem.
Astrid S. Tuminez is the 7th President of the Utah
Valley University, received a master's degree in Soviet Studies from Harvard
University, was a program officer at the Carnegie Corporation
of New York and received her a Ph.D. in political science and
government from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Andrew Carnegie was
the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and
the founder of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
Carnegie
Corporation of New York was a funder for the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank), the Brookings
Institution (think tank) and a supporter for the American Society
for Muslim Advancement.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open
Society Foundations and was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Henry Louis Gates Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank) and a professor at Harvard University.
Paul E. Peterson was
a director of governmental studies at the Brookings Institution (think
tank) and is a professor at Harvard University.
Lawrence H.
Summers was a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think
tank) and is a professor; former president of Harvard
University.
Ann M. Fudge is a
trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and was an
overseer at Harvard University.
John C. Whitehead was
the chairman for Harvard University and is an honorary trustee
at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Herbert M. Kaplan is
an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and
a board of fellow’s member for Harvard Medical School.
Cass R. Sunstein is
a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and
a professor at Harvard Medical School.
Lynn Bendheim
Thoman is a board of fellow’s member for Harvard Medical
School and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Howard E. Cox Jr. is
a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a
board of fellow member for Harvard Medical School.
Kenneth M.
Duberstein is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think
tank) and a senior advisory committee member for the Harvard
University Institute of Politics.
Harold H. Koh was
a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), the State
Department legal adviser for the Barack Obama administration and an
overseer at Harvard University.
Astrid S. Tuminez received a master's degree in Soviet Studies
from Harvard University, was a program officer at the Carnegie
Corporation of New York received her a Ph.D. in political science and
government from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
and is the 7th President of the Utah Valley University.
Andrew Carnegie was
the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and
the founder of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
Carnegie
Corporation of New York was a funder for the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank), the Brookings
Institution (think tank) and a supporter for the American Society
for Muslim Advancement.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open
Society Foundations and was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank) and the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Breene M. Kerr was an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank) and a life member emeritus for the Corporation
of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Corporation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the governing body for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Laura D'Andrea Tyson was a member of the Corporation of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
Louis W. Cabot was
a life member emeritus for the Corporation of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and is an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
Shirley Ann
Jackson is a life member of the Corporation of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings
Institution (think tank) and the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace (think tank).
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society and is the founder & chairman for the Open
Society Foundations.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
Andrew Carnegie was
the founder of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank)
and the founder of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Carnegie
Corporation of New York was a funder for the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank), the Brookings
Institution (think tank) and a supporter for the American Society
for Muslim Advancement.
Astrid S. Tuminez
was a program officer
at the Carnegie Corporation of New York, received her a Ph.D.
in political science and government from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT), received a master's degree in Soviet Studies
from Harvard University and is the 7th President of
the Utah Valley University.
Charlie Kirk
was fatally shot last
Sept. 10 while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in
Orem.
Resources:
Past Research
Berkeley
Turning Point Protest Draws DOJ Probe, Warning to Colleges (Connecting the
Dots: Utah Valley University, Harvard University, The Carnegie Corporation of
New York, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), The Students for
Justice in Palestine (SJP), Zohran Mamdani, The University of California,
Berkeley, Letitia James, Lisa Cook, Judges, The Brookings Institution &
Soros Funding, All Networking) (Past Research on the
Carnegie Corporation of New York, Utah Valley University & Astrid S.
Tuminez)
Saturday,
November 15, 2025
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2025/11/berkeley-turning-point-protest-draws.html
Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America (Connecting the Dots: The Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America, The American Action Network, The
Americans for Prosperity, FDA, CDC, COVID-19 Vaccine Manufactures, Medicare,
The Social Security Administration (SSA), The World Trade Organization &
The Carnegie/Soros Network) (Past Research on the Carnegie
Corporation of New York)
Tuesday,
September 8, 2026
No comments:
Post a Comment