Usha Vance had one message for Erika Kirk after Charlie's death: 'Just the next 15 minutes'
WASHINGTON, DC: Conservative political activist and former Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk’s killing marked one of the darkest days for conservatives in the US, and now his wife Erika Kirk has revealed how Second Lady Usha Vance’s advice helped her through her grief.
Erika Kirk, in an opinion piece in which she expressed what she learned about grief after her husband’s death, recounted the 15-minute advice that she received from Second Lady Usha Vance after Charlie’s death.
Usha Vance's advice seared into Erika Kirk's heart
Erika Kirk, in a New York Times essay published on Monday, September 7, shed light on the conversation she had with Usha Vance a day after Charlie Kirk was fatally shot on September 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, while speaking at a political gathering.
“I don’t know how I’m going to do this,” Kirk wrote of her conversation with Vance, to which the second lady replied, “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,” Vance reportedly told Kirk, according to her NY Times piece.
Kirk wrote that Usha Vance’s “words are seared into my heart.”
“Grief is strange. Time continues even when every part of you wants it to pause or, better yet, rewind. But the people we love who have passed on would not want us to spend the rest of our lives trying to rewind. At first, I needed to survive the next 15 minutes. Over time, I’ve realized that Charlie would want me to live them,” she added.
Erika Kirk says she forgave the suspect
During a memorial service honoring her late husband in late September last year, Erika Kirk said she forgave the suspect who allegedly shot and killed him.
"I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do," she said. "The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us."
Moments later, President Donald Trump took the stage and explicitly stated that he could not match her posture of forgiveness.
During the honoring service, Erika spoke at length about her husband's mission and the centrality of religion in her family.
“I love you, Charlie baby. And I will make you proud,” Kirk said when ending her speech, to which the audience responded with strong applause.
After Charlie’s death, Erika Kirk stepped up as the CEO of Turning Point USA.
Last month, Turning Point USA announced that Charlie Kirk will be honored at an event Thursday, September 10, 2026, on the Utah Valley University campus, near where he was shot.
