Conservative host Charlie Kirk speaks before senate candidate Nate Morris is introduced for a rally in Shepherdsville, Kentucky on June 30, 2025.

Right-wing talk show host and activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, President Donald Trump said.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump confirmed Kirk's death, saying he admired the late Kirk and wished well to his now widow, Erika Frantzve.

The 31-year-old media personality was at the campus kicking off his "The American Comeback Tour," where he was hosting his "prove me wrong" table, where audience members debate the activist in a public setting. According to Deseret News, more than 6,000 people signed a petition asking Utah State University to bar Kirk from coming onto its campus on Sept. 30 for another of his events.

Kirk has become a national figure as a conservative influencer and as the founder of Turning Point USA, an organization that pushes for conservative politics on high school and college campuses.

In 2024, he spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where he gave a speech focusing on what Kirk says he heard from young people around the U.S.

Kirk's ongoing tour

The shooting happened as Kirk was set to kick off a nationwide tour of debates in colleges across the United States. Named “The American Comeback Tour,” the tour was set to make stops at Colorado State University, the University of Minnesota, among other campuses.

Apart from the tour, Kirk was also scheduled to debate progressive influencer Hasan Piker at Dartmouth College on September 25. On his live stream, Piker reacted to the shooting in horror and expressed fear to his followers that he could be similarly targeted.

Kirk grew Turning Point into a national heavyweight

Kirk has been a rising star within the Republican Party over the last ten years, growing his own online profile and expanding Turning Point USA into a power broker within the GOP.

A speech he delivered at the 2016 Republican convention helped introduce him to a national audience.

Then 22 years old, Kirk energized the Cleveland crowd with an applause line that the GOP was “the party of youth and diversity." He volunteered a to-the-point slogan irreverent for its time: “Big government sucks.”

In the two presidential election cycles since then, Kirk's organization has become a nationwide political player, regularly hosting swing-state events.

The group is controversial even among Republicans. Its leaders have sought to oust those they disagree with. During the 2024 election cycle, Kirk publicly criticized the leadership of former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel and called on his donors to stop giving to the national party. McDaniel stepped down months later.

Kirk himself has pursued provocative political positions, such as a social media campaign to discredit the civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. He has encouraged traditional gender roles, praising the values of "marriage and motherhood" for young women.Turning Point now boasts allies at the very top of the GOP's chain of command."Charlie Kirk and Turning Point have been a major reason why the conservative movement is finally growing a spine," Donald Trump Jr. said in a written comment to The Arizona Republic in 2024. "Turning Point's influence has grown because they pick the right fights, work their butts off, and they don't apologize for it. ... That inspires people."

Kirk's family

Kirk was born in Illinois and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. He became involved in politics as a high school student and dropped out of college to pursue political activism.

According to the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, Kirk married his wife, former Miss Arizona Frantzve, in 2021. He has a daughter who was born in 2022 and a son who was born in 2024.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Charlie Kirk? Political commentator killed in Utah

Reporting by Fernando Cervantes Jr., Laura Gersony and Stephanie Murray, USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY

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