Erika Kirk says insults don’t hurt her anymore as she kissed 'dead body of her husband'
WASHINGTON, DC: Erika Kirk, chief executive of Turning Point USA, revealed that online insults no longer have any impact on her, as the deep pain that she personally went through after the death of her husband, Charlie Kirk, made her very tough, and this toughness cannot be overcome by any kind of criticism.
In a recent interview, Kirk shared her thoughts on how sorrow changed her view of things and also gave her some insight into the way people get their news and information nowadays.
Kirk made the remarks during a session at the NYT’s 2025 DealBook Summit.
Erika Kirk talks about being called many 'names'
“I get called so many names, I genuinely don’t care. I really don’t. I’ve told you this before: when you kiss the bloody dead body of a person that you love, it pales in comparison to being called XYZ.”
Erika Kirk says insults don’t affect her anymore because she kissed the “bloody dead body of her husband,” an experience she says gave her a tougher skin.
— Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) December 7, 2025
She also says most people now get their news from “influencers” rather than “real journalists” in the mainstream media. pic.twitter.com/ciCtq9Y1Mg
Kirk’s remarks centered on both personal loss and the broader cultural environment in which public figures and online personalities operate.
She suggested that surviving deep emotional trauma has altered how she processes attacks from strangers or critics on social media platforms, describing them as insignificant by comparison.
Personal loss changed perspective of Erika Kirk
Kirk talked about her late husband, Charlie, and mentioned that losing him was what made her completely change her emotional capacity.
She said that, since then, hurtful words or insults do not affect her as much because she compares them to what she has been through.
“Charlie understood the importance of social media and of how to reach a generation that was not paying attention to conventional news. It’s the type of generation that is watching TikTok and X and Instagram, getting their news from influencers, not truly journalists,” said Erika.
She seemed to describe her way of seeing things as one that comes from the deepest kind of sorrow, not that she had become less sensitive because of the people paying attention to her.
Kirk's statements coincide with increased examination of the role that social media plays in the escalation of criticism, harassment, and false information.
These are most often directed at public figures.
Simultaneously, services such as TikTok and X are major news providers for the younger generation. This is radically changing the way stories get out and the way people's characters are perceived.
Charlie Kirk was fatally shot on September 10 at Utah Valley University. He is survived by Erika and their two children, MacArthur and Genevieve Grace.
