Ivanka Trump Delivers Emotional Tribute to Charlie Kirk

Ivanka Trump honored her longtime friend Charlie Kirk this week, delivering a rare television interview in which she praised the conservative leader as a “good man, highly principled,” and a champion of free speech who was targeted precisely because of his powerful voice.

Appearing on CNBC’s Squawk Box, the daughter of President Donald Trump said Kirk’s assassination was both a national tragedy and a deeply personal loss.

“It’s unconscionable what transpired and very personal,” she said. “I’ve known Charlie for approaching a decade now, and he was a good man, highly principled. And he was a champion for debate, dialogue, and free speech — the cornerstone of democracy. And he was silenced for being so persuasive, ultimately.”

Ivanka emphasized that Kirk never feared debate — he thrived on it. “He represents the kind of politics we should aspire to, where you’re not afraid of people who disagree with you. In fact, you welcome them into conversation and debate,” she said. “His tongue, his brain, that was his sword.”

Kirk’s murder before a crowd of thousands has shaken the conservative movement and once again exposed the rising tide of political violence in America. CNBC co-host Rebecca Quick noted that assassinations of political figures are now at their highest level since the 1960s.

Ivanka, visibly emotional, said the nation must treat Kirk’s death as a turning point. “There’s almost a normalization of this type of act of extreme violence,” she warned. “I pray that maybe in this moment it’s an inflection point for us as a country and a society, and it stirs the type of conversation Charlie would have initiated on a topic like this.”

She grew tearful when speaking of Kirk’s wife and children. “He loved her so much, and those beautiful children. It’s heartbreaking,” Ivanka said of Erika Kirk and the couple’s young family.

While Ivanka has largely stepped away from political life since her father’s first term ended, she has not hidden her admiration for Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA in 2012 and became the most prominent voice for young conservatives on college campuses. His group grew into a powerhouse that energized the MAGA movement and helped bring conservative ideas to a new generation.

For Ivanka Trump, the loss is both personal and political — the silencing of a friend and one of the movement’s most influential leaders.

“Charlie was one of the best,” she said. “And we cannot let his voice be lost to silence.”