On Wed. Oct. 29, thousands were turned away from Turning Point USA’s (TPUSA) “This Is the Turning Point” campus tour stop at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)—a night that featured TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika, and Vice President J.D. Vance.
Erika’s husband was assassinated during a college campus event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. Following his death, Erika was named TPUSA’s new CEO and chair of the board.
Wednesday was Erika’s first TPUSA campus event since Charlie was tragically taken from her. She gave a heartfelt message urging students to rise above fear, defend biblical truth, and continue the mission he began—to equip young Americans to think critically and stand boldly in faith.
During her speech, Erika was visibly emotional as she told students that “the more that I am coming to grips with the permanency of this nightmare, the more that I’m starting to realize and witness that the enemy, he doesn’t want you. He wants your territory. He wants your influence.”
She then outlined the “enemy’s” tactics, saying:
The enemy of truth doesn’t need to destroy a nation overnight. He just needs to convince people that truth no longer matters, and the enemy thrives when Christians don’t speak up, when citizens don’t vote, when students don’t think for themselves. But in Ephesians 5:11, it says, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” That’s what it means to live as salt and light, to bring flavor to a world gone bland and clarity to a world that lost its way and it’s lost in confusion. Because Christians are called to go into the public space to correct air with truth…this is about your soul. Because the fight for freedom starts within inside of each and every one of you. So again, please, stand firm against the wickedness of the devil and the schemes of man. Be alert, because his tactics are so clever. What he’ll do is he will find one thing. He will find fear. He’ll find disappointment. He will find one thing, and he will wedge it in between you and the Lord. And he will make it grow. He will make it grow so much that you lose sight. It becomes almost like an eclipse where the truth is hidden behind it. And yes, the light is still there, but you can’t see it anymore. That’s the enemy’s tactic. And the bottom line is that the enemy doesn’t need to change your theology. He just needs to change your vision. And if he can get in your head and blur your vision and distort your vision, he’ll do it. He’ll do whatever he can.
“You can’t change a nation if you’re enslaved to fear. And you can’t call out corruption if you’re still chained to comfort, and you can’t stand for truth if you first do not kneel before the Lord,” Erika continued.
The TPUSA CEO shared that she believes that this “generation will decide if America remembers who she is or if she’ll forget” and told those in attendance that they were there because of God’s sovereignty. “God doesn’t make mistakes,” she said.
“A movement like this, it becomes unstoppable,” Erika said, referring to her husband’s legacy.
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“It becomes the revival that it is and I just want this to be the generation that says, ‘We will not apologize for loving our country first,” she added. “‘We will not be silent about our faith. We will not back down when the world tells us to kneel, because we bow only to the King of Kings, and it’s from him that we rise.’”
 “This Is the Turning Point” campus tour stop at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)—a night that featured TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika, and Vice President J.D. Vance.){kind=link}