Tucker Carlson Hosts The Charlie Kirk Show
00:00It's Tucker Carlson. I'm honored to be sitting in to host the Charlie Kirk show today.I flew in from the East Coast last night and was thinking about what to do today for two hours.And there's all this very ugly drama swirling around the Republican Party, the right, the memory of Charlie Kirk.And I just thought, and I've got, of course, strong opinions. I have strong opinions, but everything.And I've expressed them. But I thought I really need a break from that.and I don't think that any of it reflects who Charlie was fundamentally.Who was Charlie fundamentally?He was a Christian man, and Jesus was the center of his life.
00:37That was obvious to anyone who knew him.It emerged in conversation immediately when you talk to him.That's just a fact about Charlie.His life was about following Jesus, period.And so I think the best way to explain who he wasis to spend the next two hours talking about Jesus and Charlie's relationship with him.And so I'm going to be really happy to do that.this will be the happiest conversation about Charlie Kirk, I hope, all week.
01:04And so as I said, I'm hosting, but I've no idea how the show works.I literally don't know, though I've done it.But luckily, Andrew and Blake are here, who I know very well.I've actually worked with Blake for years in another life.We're both grateful to be gone from that.But Andrew is really going to be, like, running in and out.We have these things called breaks, and you've got commercials and all that.Yeah, we've got a show to run here.
01:26But you know what?Just not suited for that.But listen, we'll blow the breaks when we have to.So if you're watching on stream,if you're watching on Real America's voice,you're watching on a video platform,you'll probably be fine.We're just going to have fun today.
01:39Good.Well, with you in charge of the details,I know that that will happen.Correct.Blake, it's wonderful to see.We talked on the phone the other day.I've been thinking about you every single day.So I hope you're holding up,
01:51and I'm grateful that you're here.So, yeah, I want to talk about Charlie.relationship with with Jesus and I'm amazed going I have a whole list of thoughts or sound biteshere I asked for Charlie talking about God in public and I'm just kind of amazed what came backI mean they're really it was a deluge it was unbelievable because there's really no one in publiclife who talked about Jesus more than Charlie Kirk and I'll just now I'm revealing one of myugly biases but some of the people whose job it is to talk about Jesus are not um youYou know, I don't think is credible and believable.
02:28I'm just being honest, as I think Charlie was.He really meant it.He wasn't being paid to say it.I think everything that he did, everything that he thought, the way he lived, were all informed by his love of Jesus.And I don't think I'm overstating.And I said this to him recently when he was at my house in Maine.I really, you remind me of Paul.Like, you never stop.
02:48I stop.I like to go fishing.I like to go bird hunting.I like to hang out on Saturday morning in bed with my wife.Like, you know, BS with my wife and all this stuff,but Charlie just did not allow himself any of that.He was so driven, and you can see it now maybe as part of a larger planwhere he never wasted a minute.
03:08He forced himself to get on the airplaneand to do things that were really, really hardin a way that I've never done.I'll just admit it.And I think that was because he felt God had a plan for himthat he was on a mission.It wasn't just about getting somebody elected.It was about something bigger than that.
03:25Am I? Well, just ask you first, Andrew, and then Blake. Do you think that's, I'm reading too much into it, or do you think that's right?No, I totally agree, and I've had, I've had wave after wave of revelation of what we were actually doing.You know, I was so in the weeds, we were so in the weeds, that it was impossible to fully understand even what we were doing.But I, you know, I'm, and I, Charlie and I bonded at the very earliest days, because we were both, like, really strong Christian.and that was such a central part of who we were, but we didn't, you know, we didn't talk about it all the time to say publicly,but as the years went on, we both knew that we had each other in that way.And I've tweeted, there's two tweets that I've posted, I have realized in the days hence that he was a prophet,not a fortune teller, like people think of prophecy.
04:19He was like a biblical prophet that would go into a nation and call it to repent.That's what he was doing.he was going to these campuses and he was going on stage and he was going on this show in the podcastand he was calling a nation to repent. He went to London and he called England to repent at Cambridgeand Oxford. And they hurled insults at him. They mocked him. They jeered him just like the biblicalprophets. They wanted to stone him and ultimately they killed him. And that is what Jesus said.He said, what did they do to the prophets? They killed him. And now the other revelation...You're making me emotional again. Because I know that what you're saying is true.
04:51And the other revelation is specifically about these campus tours. We called them campus tours.They were tent revivals. Yes. Complete with the tent, Tucker.I don't know why I didn't really see any of this as it was happening. You say that and I just like to envision like George Whitfield like being, you know, it's just like, Jesus was sent as a savior and must be accepted to be saved. Prove me wrong.Yeah. I know, but it's so clear to me now. It's so clear to me too. I don't know. It's. I don't know. It's.Yeah, I don't know how I missed that.I don't know why I thought it was like political organizing or something, which on one level it was, but that's not.Well, you guys were there all the whole time.I mean, it was more than that.
05:34It was.And it really knowing him over the past almost three years, that was what I would always tell people who would ask about Charlie.And it's so funny where like they'd always just open like, is Charlie smart?And I'd be like, yes, but that's kind of besides the point.The amazing thing with him is not his IQ or like how much, how many, like, facts he can know or something.What was amazing with him was his drive.The way I would say, he was like, he was the highest agency person I had ever met in my life.Yes.
06:05He thought if there is something I don't like, I have the power as an individual to change the world about that.Or at least if I don't take action, I have no excuse to complain about it.And he brought that to politics and organization, of course, but he especially brought it.to the faith question, and he always, always wanted to talk about it. You love to talk about it in private. He loved talking about it in places where it was, you know, arguably pointless. The last speech he kind of gave in public was we were in Japan. And Japan is one percent Christian, maybe. We were speaking to a party there that's, you know, we're aligned with them because they're anti-immigration. They don't like globalism. We were talking to them about all that stuff. He was like, you know, we were talking to them about all that stuff. He was like, you know,you should increase your birth rate, don't rely on immigrants and all that.But Japan is famously resistant to Christianity.Yes, yes.And I told them about that.
07:00But, you know, in Korea, we talked about Christianity.And there it was a Christian audience mostly.But he said, he's like, you know, is there somewhere I can work in the faith angle to this?Because, you know, we're supposed to preach it everywhere, everywhere we go.And so we talked about that.You know, what could we do?And we found a spot late in the speech.And the very end of his speech, he was saying, look, guys.
07:21I want you to save your country, but in the end, you're going to have to believe in somethingtranscendent for that to work.It's not just going to work on pragmatic grounds.And for me, and then he just, you know, for me, it's because of my belief in the Almighty,my belief in Jesus Christ.And you're going to need to have something like that to, to be able to win.And, you know, I think two people in the audience started clapping really, really energeticallyand the rest kind of sat there very politely as the Japanese do.
07:49But you did get a couple people.Oh, the Japanese were one.wonderful people. But, but you're right, they're not open to that. But there were two who were.Yeah, and maybe they were believers. I'm not sure. But, uh, you know, I'm very glad he got to do that.And in, in Korea, though, uh, yeah, Korea, totally different.So, we have this clip. Why don't we just play it if it's okay, Tucker? Oh my gosh, of course.18.All right, that was 11 days, that was 11 days ago, Tucker,
08:49and he's on stage.And he's on stage.and in Englishthey asked him to come forward and prayand sing over Charlie and they put their hands upand they started in English sayinghow great is our Godsing with me how great is our God
09:02and Charlie put his hand on his heartand Mikey said when he got off stagelike he could see his eyes were mistyit meant so much to him. Melbourne's one of the darkest citiesreally in the worldthere are good things about Melbournebut basically it's an enemy handsand boy do you feel it when you're there
09:16and I was like I got to go to church so I go of courseto the Anglican church which is my denominationand it's now a museum filled with Chinese tourists.I was like, oh, this is the worst.I'm feeling despondent.I go next door to the Scottish church,the Presbyterian church.Beautiful, beautiful church, like in beyond.
09:33And there's no one in it except at the front.And it's like a hundred yards away.It felt like there's a little group of people singingand it's Koreans.And this Korean congregation of like nine peoplehas taken over the church, rented it on Sundaysbecause, of course, no whites are going to church, of course.And I just thought to me.
09:50myself, this was God's way of reassuring me that even though the world that I grew up and is goneand totally, you know, everyone's fallen away and, and it hasn't worked at all, that Jesus stilllives. But, you know, his name is spoken in other languages. And one of those is Korean. And there'ssomething about watching Koreans worship that just, oh, it's my favorite thing ever. I totally agree.They are absolute prayer warriors. But I just believe this, Tucker, and I have to say this, like in thismoment. I believe God is unleashing a new revival on this country. And Charlie is the spark that isigniting it. I completely agree. And I don't even want to say it's his death. It's the start of hiseternal life and his eternal glory, his immortality. And I believe that he is seated with God and heaven
10:39and he's seated in glory. And I believe that there's a reason that Charlie and Erica would look ateach other and say, you know, our mission is to make heaven crowded. And I believe that that isactually the real mission and that is actually going to be happening right now. It's happening inour midst right now. And it's sweeping the country. And there was a story I just heard on thedrive here this morning that they ran out of baptism space. They just kind of did an impromptu baptism spaceas one of my friends' churches. And so they went out in the parking lot and started dunking people inthe fountain. Hundreds of them. Protestants are.fun. I just love that. If I can just say a word, I mean, I don't get involved in the Protestant
11:21Catholic Orthodox thing because I'm just for Jesus. But if I could just stick up just for onesecond for my people, Protestants were real ones. Like, they built this country. They did. I'm sorry,it's just a fact. And they really believed in God. And they, you know, they were on the right path.They were amazing people. And I'm very aware that they've declined to the point where I make fun ofthem constantly, but there was something very, very real there. Very real. Sorry.Well, the circuit writers. I feel like I have to say that. No, no, no. I mean, listen, andthere, as I'm somebody, both Erica and I were cradle Catholics, right? We were, did theFirst Communion and we did the Catechism and the, you know, the, anyways, I went to Catholic high
12:04school, even. Did you go to Catholic High School? No, long story. Long story. Well, I'll let youjam in if you want, but the point is. My parents moved me to public schools. I,I ended up getting saved in college, very, very, very non-denominational evangelical way to phrase it,I got saved in college, radically saved. So I had this Catholic background, but then I foundmyself in a non-denominational setting alone at a school in Seattle, like the second least churchcity in the country. And I ended up getting radically saved. But I've never cared about thedistinctions. I love both. Yeah, I agree. You know, I might have petty, minor little theological differencesIt doesn't matter. I love them both. I don't understand. Because of my path here, I never cared.
12:49Anyone who focuses on Jesus is my brother. That's how I feel. And I agree with you 100%. And if youlet your... It's a little bit like Twitter, actually. If you think about it too much, you end up hatingeverybody and you miss the commonality between people and the commonality between Christians is Jesus, period.And if you think about, well, I'm mad about transubstantiation or like the last Pope was horrible,which he was.I'm so sad we didn't get to just have that full debate.We wanted to have just a straight, like, just for fun, like, let's debate Mary.No, I'm not doing that.
13:24Let's do it.But we wanted to do it with Charlie and now we can't.I'm not doing that.And one of the things, I hope you guys live to your 50s because, and I'm sure you will, butbecause when you get there, you're like, wow.I've been wrong about so much.And you think that middle-aged people are wishy-washy.And low testosterone does account for some of that, just a fact.
13:44But part of it is just the recognition of how wrong you've been.And that is the Christian.Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.It's like first you meditate on how fallen you are,and then you realize you don't have a basis upon which to judge other people, actually,and you can forgive them.And that is the process that's prescribed in the Lord's Prayer.Of course, it's the center of Christianity,
14:07but it's also just like a human processand you get there and you realize,like, yeah, I'm mad about Mary.That's a fact, okay?But then I get older and my wife's like,oh, I was just saying the rosary,my very Protestant wife,and I love it.
14:19It brings me closer to Jesus.And I'm like, I'm not judging anymore.I really want people to understand, Tucker.You and Charlie had such a uniqueand special bond and relationship.It was a deep friendship,and you both had each other's back.He had my back.
14:35You had his back too.I know those stories as well.well. Yeah. And I promised I wouldn't get into any of that. But I will say, and I'm not going to,but I will say, because I want this to be about Jesus and his love for Jesus and what he didto spread the word of Jesus throughout the world. But I will just say this, that whenever I would comeand do a gig for you guys, which was a lot because I really enjoyed it. And he was so kind to inviteme and defend my being there. But I would always, he's the only person I did this with. I wouldalways say, hey, you know, let's like meet in my hotel room or have a meal. Like, oh, I, I,
15:07loved talking to him, and it wasn't just to catch up on everything that's going on in thepolitical world. He would always bring it back to God every single time. And it was so,and there's no one around. Like, so he didn't need to be like, oh, yeah, I really love God.It's like, just us. And you'd be talking about that. And you would come to Phoenix and youwould reach out to, I know, I was like, I have so many memories of Charlie being like,I can't, I got to do dinner. Who are you doing dinner with? Oh, Tucker's in town. I got to meet upwith it. Always, always. And he was so intellectually curious and flexible.I think that also grew out of his Christian faith. And I know that as I've gotten older,
15:41it's been one of the things I appreciate most about believing in God is like you can admitwhen you were wrong. You can change your views. Paul, who created a lot of the early church,was the chief persecutor of Christians. He was a freaking Pharisee. So like in our religion at itscore is the fact that God can change people. And so you don't need to be brittle and afraidabout admitting that, yeah, I was totally off base. And Charlie was so much like that. He wasconstantly thinking about it is just the right thing is that the right thing like there's no one in publiclife who does that it's so easy for like religion you know for sometimes people use religion as anexcuse for megalomania yes and charlie was so humble genuinely humble thank you for saying we would
16:20we would have these moments thank you for saying and on this note we'd have these moments and i'd belike can you freaking believe what's going on your own south bark or whatever all on god and and he wouldsay he would say stay humble stay close to jesus that would be the type bet we need to stayhe just stay close to Jesus. Really?Yes. This is in his privatetext to people who works with. I havea story like this too, and I'mashamed that I am the
16:43villain in this story. Basically, it was twoweeks before he died, and I'llnever forget it.There was just some annoyancethat was, you know, in our way, andwe needed to deal with something. I can'teven remember it was, and I just remember going,hey, you know, we could
16:59just tell him X, Y, Z. Andtranslation, we could just, you know, a little white,lie and it'll go away they'll understand and I remember seeing the like the dots he was typingright away right away we don't lie it was a private message with me I love and it wasn't you don'tlie it's not I don't lie it was Andrew we we here on the show in this turn in turning we don'tlie well and not only don't lie I mean without even getting into it but like if you run a hugenonprofit and DC is all about huge nonprofits. I know everyone who runs them. Boy, there aretemptations and there was never any of that here ever. And Troy and I talked about that a lot.
17:43Like here are the pitfalls in a man's life. Here, here's how people get ensnared. It happened toDavid. I mean, we know this is a thing. He was so, again, I just had this conversationright before he died because I'm very focused on because I've seen certain people destroyed,destroy themselves.And it's clearly, like, Satan acting on them.Fact. Sorry.And he was like, he was a narrow path walker.And I just have to say that because most are, sorry.
18:11He would run home to be with Erica.Yes.If he couldn't.Yes.If Erica was on the road, he'd be like, are we done here?Okay.Like a donor dinner or something.He would, you know, he, after our events at night, he would do kind of like a little
18:23circuit to all the dinners and he couldn't wait.He's like, okay.And I'd be like, I've got to talk to you about one other thing, Charlie.Hold on one second.One second.He's like, sorry, I'll talk to you about it in the morning.I got to see Erica.Bye.
18:32It was just, that is the key.I love to tell people this because sometimes people who didn't watch Charlie a lot would sometimes just think, oh, he's like a young influencer.So people would ask me, they'd be like, Blake, do you ever hang out with Charlie?And what I'd always say is, I don't think Charlie has ever hung out in his entire life.It was always on his mission or, you know, he was with, you know, he was with his family.It was 100% all the time.That being said, some of the best memories that I have.are the plane flights across country.
19:02Yeah.Because...And that's the only timehe can hang out.It was amazing.He's trapped in a tube.And by the way, when...And I think that gave him the freedom
19:09to kind of just go,I'm hanging out.And I mean, if you had to add him up,I've got hundreds of these hoursand they are some of the most amazingbecause he was so funnyand so, so curious.And so...
19:25So he did.But it was like you had to get him in this,this mode.where you literally trapped him on a planeand he couldn't get out and he was stuck there.But what is that?I mean, most people sort of fritter awaytheir entire lives hanging out.
19:36And I'm definitely one of them.I'm like an Arab man in the souk.I like to sit around.Hitting the water pipe,playing backgammon, drinking little cups of coffee,talking about women.Like, I've spent a lot of my life doing that.That's why I love Trump so much.
19:48He likes that too.But Charlie had like this mission.So my theory on that, Tucker,is I think in order for this whole God planto work in Charlie's life,he had to impress in him almost subconsciously hardwire it whatever it was he was going to maximize the juice the the output and charliedisciplined his body he didn't put alcohol into his body he didn't put drugs into his body he didn't put anything into his bodythat he thought was going to slow him down or reduce his productivity he was obsessed with biohacking he was
20:24like and i thought it was just this weird quirk because i'm thinking charlieyou're going to be alive, because you're younger than me,you're going to be alive when I'm gone.Like, chill out, relax, have some fun.But somehow he knew there wasn't a moment to waste.And I'm finding these things, Tucker, that he found time to do.Erica's telling me, he somehow found time to journal obsessively.And she never looked at the journals.
20:50Wrote her a weekly note on Saturday, every Saturday.He read books.He skimmed books.He got Blake to read them.He found ways to get the team to distill information so he could absorb it.And he, but he would do walks with books on tape.He managed to squeeze so much life into such a short period of time.And it's, I have to believe it was God impressing and blessing him with this divine ability to maximize his output.
21:22I love that.And I had many conversations with him on this topic also.about like physical health.I'm a pizza guy, so okay, yeah, physical health.I quit smoking cigarettes in 45,like I feel very virtue.It turns out, you say he didn't want to put anythingin his body that would hinder him.
21:38And it turns out the list of things that hinder youis all foods except like cabbage, grilled chicken,hot sauce.But that's basically what, I mean,he was the fittest guy,but it was for a reason.How much time do we have in this segment left?We're gonna welcome back radio in three minutes and 20 seconds,
21:55then we have a nice 13 minutes.Okay, so I wanna,When we get to the 13, I want to tell the Blake story.Blake Neff, who's sitting right here.And it's just a story that just explains who he really was.And there's so much that goes on in Washington and political world that's so treacherous and cruel and anti-human.And Charlie just stood against all of that, not simply in public, but in private.And I had a window into one of the amazing stories of bravery and forgiveness.
22:25It's just an incredible story.and it's about you.Again, it makes me emotional thinking about it.But anyway, I don't think it's ever really been told.Sorry to make you emotional.It's an amazing story.You know what I love about this Blake story, too?Because I don't want to,
22:39I'm not going to ruin the punchline here,but I would just say,I,one of these strongest testaments to Charlieis the fact that this guy's a tough judge.And I know when he,oh, I know he works for me.And when he first started working with,
22:56this. I could tell that he was a little unsure. You know, you probably had the questions you'reback. Charlie spoke the language of the people and you're a Dartmouth kid that's a total egg,egghead, nerd, you know, like beautiful mind kind of person. But Charlie would cut through all that andhe would speak right to the people and cut people's hearts in two and make them choose the side theywere going to go, go on. And that was not the language of Blake Neff, but we needed a Blake Neff,and I knew we needed a Blake Neff. And I just, there was this moment whereI forget why, but you took this moment, and I remember being really touched by it,and you paid Charlie a tremendous compliment, and it was like two years after the fact.
23:37And it was, I, Charlie texted me, like, directly, he goes, whoa, did you hear, did you hear Blake?Like, because it really meant the world to him that he had won, he had won your respect, and it reallymeant the world to him.Yeah, South Dakota Germans aren't big on compliments.But I do think that, so you, if you get one from Blake, it's earned, I do think the questionthat people had about Charlie, the question I got most often,and people came to me a lot about Charlie, like, what is this?Because they knew that I knew him and that I was friends with them.
24:04But really, the core question everyone wanted answered was,is this guy for real? Is this real? Because, like, nothing in our world's real.It's all fake, actually. And I hate to say it, but it's true.A lot of preachers are very fake. And I would always say,amazingly, it's 100% real. It's totally real. And I remember talking to you about that.I mean, everyone, like, what is this exactly?you concluded early, I remember when you told me, no, no, it's totally real. That's incredible.You really have to have lived in our world for a while to know how wild that is, because most
24:37people are just like, yeah, of course it's real. Not in political world. Is that fair? Very fair.And he's like the realest guy to ever live practically. I know. I know. I make me sad.He's gone. I wish I had said this in public before he left becauseI said it many times in private, I will say that.To many people, who is this guy?Is this real?Like, what is this?And I would always say, man, if you had dinner with him, you would know.
25:05It's real.This is really the Tucker day.And I feel awkward, even taking us in and out of breaks.But Tucker...I don't want to do it.I'm doing this out of service to my nation and to my friend, Tucker.So, yeah, the floor is yours.I know where you're going, but...
25:21Oh, this is a Blake Neff story.Okay, so this is a story that, obviously, I was in the middle of it,and I've talked to a lot of people just the...week about it. I don't think it's ever been told in public. I'm going to give the outline and thenjust turn it over to Blake to correct me and to fill in the details. But here's the story.So Blake worked for me at Fox News for years, probably more closely than anybody, like intimatelyat Fox. And I love Blake. And Blake is obviously an unusual person, but just a wonderfulperson and a really deeply decent person. I mean, it's true. And obviously, yeah, Blake's weird.
25:53But like, Blake is the best. And people who love Blake really.really love Blake, and there's a little group of people who, you know, we all know each other.We all talk about Blake.So Blake got caught up right at the height of all this insanity, true insanity called cancelculture, but it was more than that.It was like French Revolution stuff.And someone like, you know, Blake is naughty.Blake is a racist.
26:13Well, actually, as I would always say, Blake is actually not a racist.And I would admit it.He's not.He's a Christian who believes that God created everybody.So he's actually not a racist.But Fox overreacted, of course.And he left.and then Fox denounced him.
26:27They tried to get me to denounce him.Suzanne Scott tried to make me denounce Blakeand I refused,something I'm proud of.But whatever, it was just awful.It was the saddest momentin the 15 years that I spent there.And then Blake's unemployed and unemployable.
26:42And I get this and I feel terribleand I feel like I've got a moral obligationto help Blake.But who's going to hire Blake?Because he's like, in the New York Times.It's like a bad person when actually he's a great person.Charlie Kirk calls me.He's like, I'm thinking about hiring Blake.
26:55I was like, God, Blake.you, Charlie, what's he like? I said, well, Blake's very eccentric. Like, no kidding. He's the onlyperson who ever lost weight eating junk food. Like, he's a really unusual person. Like, we talkabout Blake all day long. But he's a wonderful person, and he's incredibly talented. No onedisputes that. And I think you should do it. He does. Charlie and I talk about it. Then Blakeand I talk about having these, like, conversations behind the scenes about each other.And not only does Charlie hire Blake, he puts us, makes me emotional, he puts Blake on the air as if tosay, I know this man, he's a good man, you will judge me for doing this. I'm doing it anyway
27:29because it's the right thing to do. And then, of course, it becomes this whole thing where Blakeis like a true asset to him. But when he first did it, it was like, no, I'm doing this becauseit's the right thing to do. This is the last thing I'll say before turning over to Blake. I've beenin this business my whole life. Nobody does that. Nobody does that. Everyone's like, oh,I'm for free speech or whatever, until it hurts me. At which point, like, sorry, pal, good luck.but Charlie pivoted against that in a waythat exposed him and his group turning pointto ridicule and risk and he did it anyway
27:57and all week I've been talking to people about thislike that was the acid testthose of us in this business know how brave that waswho's the bravest thing anywaysorry Blake I remember talking to you about thatbecause I actually was weighing anotheremployment option and I was goingas you said I was like I joined I think you maybe
28:16were behind that one tooI was I was desperate to get another optionAnd I remember just, I won't say what it was for, but we were talking about it.And I think the one that you really pointed out, that was really important.He's like, Blake, I think the most important thing, like, Charlie is a for real, a sincere Christian.And I think you're going to want to work for someone who is a for real, sincere, deeply believing Christian.And, you know, because then you'll disagree on a lot of things, but you will align on really important things.Yes.
28:47And I think that was.what carried the day with me.And I'm very glad it did.And, you know, at the time,as he said, it was like, at the time I came in,it was he was just a very different person.Yes.And it was over time realizing all the ways that,
29:06as you say, he's like, you have to really see it.You're like, is this for real?You like, what is this going to work?It would also have that where you're like,this can't possibly work, right?And it does.And it does because he's so,completely, intently, sincere, and fully all in on it.
29:25And I think that's what, like, amazed young people, like, you know, when you'd go to thesecampus events, and, you know, I think there's a lot of, you know, you'll see these peopleonline who are, like, very, like, performatively trad or Christian or whatever, because it, like,owns the libs or whatever.Yeah, exactly.But Charlie is just like, no, no, I, like, 100% believe in this.Like, and because I believe it is true and because it is important, and I want everyone elseto believe in it because it is true,
29:50and I think it is the most important decisionthey will ever make.And it would always shine throughin what he was doing and how he behaved,that he really believed that.And, well, and I mean, I think,and you know this,because you were at some of the campus stops,
30:05I was at some of the campus stops,90% of the interactions,as he got older, right?The brand of Charlie was almost cemented,you know, in 2018,where he was much younger,and he was like a peer to the kids on college.And he would say,
30:20Charlie Kirk destroys the libs or whatever.And that was just titling.It wasn't actually in Charlie's heart,but the Charlie,by the way,didn't determine the titles.You know,like people behind the scenes.
30:31No,behind the scenes,that's,you know,that's a social media teamthat's doing the titling.That wasn't Charlie picking the title.You know,
30:38anyways.But the point is,as he got older,he transitioned to a much more big brother.And people started,observing like this incredible Herculean patience that he would exhibit in these interactions withsometimes bad faith people, but sometimes people that just had bad ideas. And 90% if you wentand sat there and watched the entire three hour prove me wrong, 90% of it has him being kind
31:06and gentle and thought provoking and working through whatever was the lie that was stuck inthis kid's head or sometimes professors, but he would work with them.through it and use the Socratic method to draw out the truth. And it was a beautiful thing.And, you know, he doesn't get nearly enough credit for that because the Charlie destroys thelibs clip goes mega viral, right? I couldn't agree with you more. I have to say when you, when allthat happened to you, I just cannot say how pain, well, you know, because we've talked aboutmany times, but that was like one of those painful things that's ever happened to me in my life.because we have such a tight staff
31:45and the same stafflike I don't have new peopleworking for me really everand I don't care toso that was really really painfulOh go aheadAnd I just wanted you to have health insuranceMy expectations for you were so low
32:00Because you had been so mistreatedand maligned and slanderedand it's just so hard to come back from thatThe fact that he puts you on the airIs possibly a mistakeWhy? It was not a mistakebut it was, that is so wild.So I have an insight into that piece of the story
32:17because I was aware of this other job opportunityand I see it now all is like God's planand I was working on kind of a panel show ideabut I didn't have the, it was just like a nuggetof an idea, it was back in my headand I remember kind of just intuitingthat in order to like restore this manthat had been so wronged by Oliver Darcy or whatever
32:40in CNN,these scumbags, I thought, you know, I need to forgive Oliver Darcy. Thank you for remindingme. As we forgive those who trespass against us, he needs to be daily rotation. So, but, you know,and by the way, I saw, I ended up in that moment in that when we were talking with Blake at thebeginning, I looked back at your monologue from that night. Maybe it wasn't your monologue. Maybe it wasthe finish final segment, but you said, you really were defiant and it was beautifully donebecause you were back at you you they you were part of something and only had so much controlat that moment right and so they were bullying me susan scott got i was in the parking lot of a place
33:18in i was in bozeman montana fishing and she called me and i went outside to do my pre-show bathroombreak always outside if i can do it and she called me and she said you need to say what he saidwas wrong and i said i'm not doing that period and you can fire me and the show's live intemencei'm not doing that and she goes well i guess i can't make you andUntil the day she fired me, she'd never really talk to me after that.I'm not trying to get into any of that, but I do believe that...Oh, I want to get into it.It was horrible what they did to him.
33:50I'm just saying, I will...I don't know where to go with that.I will say, Tucker, this is awkward for me.Sorry, sorry, sorry.No, no, no.Sorry, sorry, sorry.No, I would just say that I think this moment has profoundly changed all of us,including people like Suzanne.
34:03And I just want to say briefly, for what it's worth,she's been exceedingly...No, I know. I shouldn't say that.And we all changed, and I've done crappy things, a lot of crappy things in my life, so I shouldn't be judgy.But to your point, your hands were tied in that moment, and you defiantly said, I remember you said,I just want everybody to know that you are gloating over a young man's life being ruined and shame on you.You basically, I'll never forget that, and I remember thinking, okay, like, if Tucker's got his back in this moment, this guy's pretty great.He was the best.
34:34Yeah, and he's been the best, and I love having blown on our team.out of nowhere, man. I'll never forget that. I'll never forget that as long as I live.But anyway, the point is, whatever, and I shouldn't even have brought up the Fox.Exactly. And by the way, and now, look at this. This show is going on. Erica Kirk has demandedthat the show goes on. And we're going to figure out the details. And Blake is going to be critical to that.And if we hadn't have created this roster, this thought crime crew that we do on Thursdays, I don't know what we would do.But it takes the bravery of an individual to get there. So like, everything is fine now. And Blake can do it everwants and people know who he is because they get to see him and they can make their own judgments
35:11about him. But when Charlie made that decision and he's the one who would have been blamedif it had gone wrong, people didn't know who Blake was apart from what they read in the New YorkTimes. Slander devised by CNN and Oliver Darcy. That's a fact. And not helped by a lot of otherpeople who I shouldn't be attacking you're right. Sorry about that. But he's the one who allowedBlake's life to continue. And I just, I felt it so strong because I've been, that's theThat's my world. Like, I know what that is.And most people were like, well, you know, you can't put him on air.Like, he did bad things. I heard that.
35:43And Charlie was like, he was willing to stand up with him and say, no, that's not true.Like, most people are not going to do that.No one will do that.And, um...Well, and I remember the nasty articles.There was a few.And Charlie would just write back, L-O-L.So that's courage.
36:00In case you're warning what courage is, that's actual courage.And you know that it is because it's so rare.nobody does that. If people do that, who are they? I live in this world. Like, I know every singleperson hosting every single show, and they don't do that. And he did that. And so that's what actualcourage is. Courage is standing up for what is true in the service of other people, in the serviceis showing love to other human beings. That's the commission that we get from Jesus. Period. And heactually did that at great risk to himself. And anyway, just, I've had like 50 text exchanges about thisSo we came up.
36:36Anyway, bless you, Blake, for being at the center of them.Thanks for standing with us.Thank you.Thank you very much.Genuinely.Can I say something that you told me that the night of that blew my mind in it.Go for it.Go for it.
36:48We're bringing Blake to the prank here.We were in Provo, the night of.And it was like, we were all shell-shocked.And Blake was there with them when it happened.and we filter in late at night into this little corner of the restaurant, the hotel in Salt Lake City.And I don't know how it came up, but Blake says the most, I will never forget it.He said, Charlie gave me my life back.Yep.
37:25And I knew exactly what he meant.And now I think the audience does too.Amen.Our dear friend's seat remains open with the golden EIB microphone in front of it, his hero rush.It's pretty amazing.And so Tucker, this is the Tucker show for Charlie.And so I think it's important that I get to ask you a question.Okay.
37:51When did you meet Charlie and tell us about how your relationship with Charlie grew?Because I think it's fascinating.So I met Charlie when he was a teenager.He was connected to funded by.a close friend of ours called Foster Freeze,who's a wonderful man from Wilmington, Delaware,really from Wisconsin, but lived in Wilmington,and then Jackson, Wyoming,
38:10and was an investor in a company that we had,and more important, like an actual friend,really the only investor I've ever had in anything.And in a very enthusiastic Christian man,and the kind of person was just a collector of people.You know, I met this person, he was so enthusiastic,and almost everybody around him was just wonderful,But because he was so rich and so generous,
38:33he did collect, there were phonies in the orbitbecause there always are when someone's rich, right?And so he tells me at dinner about this kid he's met.He's only 18.He's not going to college.I've always been opposed to college in my whole life.I try to convince all my kids not to go.I mean, I really meant it.
38:49And so he's like, you would love this guy.He's not going to college.And I was like, man, I love that because I really am opposed.And I mean it.And I'm like, he sounds great.And he's like, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da.And I'm thinking, oh, man.some fast-talking kid has configured.
39:03It was like throwing back Reagan quotes or something at poor Foster.You know,he was in his 70s and late 60s.And he doesn't know.And I really thought,assumed that Charlie was just some predator.And I didn't like it at all.And of course,
39:17there's the bias against young people.I mean,Charlie's literally the age of one of my children.So like,uh,and I felt it's probably just totally conventional,telling old people what they want to hear,sucking up to the donors,
39:29whatever.So I meet up.him. I thought he was smart as hell, but I was very skeptical. Then I have this, he calls me,would you do an event? Sure, I was going to be in the state anyway, so I'd do it. And we havethis kind of sort of debate, not really a debate. Well, what actually happened was I was going togive a speech. And I got there. We were backstage. He's like, well, actually, let's just do a Q&A.And I was like, I don't know, son. I don't think you want to do that with me because I'm kind of a jerk,you know, which I am in those settings, right?
40:01So he's like, no, no, no, I want you.We can, it's okay to have a debate.I was like, I don't know, man.Like, I disagree with your views on economics and forum policy,and I'm pretty hot on these topics.So I'm just letting you know that.Oh, no problem at all.So we end up having this kind of intense thing,
40:18and I'm like passionately opposed to marijuana and drugs.I'm just having used a lot of drugs as a child.Like, I'm very opposed to drugs.Charlie never used any drugs in his whole life.was at the time he was kind of libertarian on the subject. And I remember saying, everyone in thecrowd is for weed, like you think you're so cool, but actually it's a control device designed to makeyou passive and accepting of the system that's destroying you. And people kind of booed me or whatever,but Charlie looked at me like, hmm, I think that may be right. And that, it was that issue,
40:49it was weed of all issues, you know, it's not my top issue, but I do feel it really strongly.I hate marijuana, okay? And I know it's really cool, but no,It's like fully corporate, actually.And it's wrecking Americans, especially boys.It's wrecking the parking lot of the grocery store nearby.It makes me feel like getting my gun.Like, I really feel that way about it.Sorry, I shouldn't say that.
41:09But I really am mad about it.And Charlie grooved with that.And that moment set off this like conversation.So I was back, I was in Arizona for something.He's like, let's go to lunch.Let's go to dinner.And we started having all these really intense conversations.I started putting him on Fox.
41:23And his views were changing.And mine were too, by the way.It's not like I converted him.It's like I had been.been all kinds of embarrassing things during the scope of my long life, a libertarian, a self-describedneocon. Can you imagine? I mean, I'll admit it. I like got mad at Alex Jones for asking questionsabout 9-11. What? Like, I was like a horrible person or very close-minded person. I was totallywrong about everything. And so I didn't judge. Like, you should change your mind as the evidence
41:51changes. The things you thought were going to work didn't. An honest man asked himself why they didn'twork and what might work. Like, that's the process of adulthood. And Charlie, young people arevery inflexible about what they believe I have found. I have a lot of young people. I have a lotof children. He was one of the only young people I've ever met who was like, oh yeah, I think I waswrong. And only belief in Jesus allows you to say that because you know that you're notjudge. You know that honesty is the ticket and that if you pursue an honest path, you'll be okay.and you don't need the adulation from the crowd.You don't need the love of strangers
42:28to feel good about yourselfbecause you know that you are loved.It gives you true freedom.And he had that.Charlie had no problem at all getting up and being like,I was a neocon.And of course, with me, he didn'tbecause he knew that I was too.
42:40I'm like cheering on the Iraq War, which I did.Like, I literally did that.And I'm ashamed of it,but I'm also proud to admit itbecause I think that it's importantto let people knowthat you can admit being wrong.It's okay.
42:53It's all right.We're people. We're not gods. You can be wrong.I want you to know, Tucker, that that must have gone deep because Blake can attest of all thefringe issues that he knew he was on the unpopular side, he was very, very vehemently against wheat.No way. Oh, he went hard on it.Yes. I just, I think you really got at it where, you know, one, he was totally afraid of beingin a huge minority on an issue and being frank about it. You know, people would ask and he'd be like,They'd ask him about like abortion and he'd be like, look, you know, my position on that is a tiny minority in the United States and I'm going to keep trying anyway. And he'd say that on, you know, gay marriage where the polls would say, you know, a big majority support it and all of that. And at the same time, yeah, the zero like shame about if he had to change his views. You see that so often with politicians. Well, actually, that was a different situation. You know, I voted that way because, you know, it wasn't like that. And he'll just be like, oh, no, I was wrong. I, you know, I hadn't thought about it.
43:53But you can't be controlled.If you will,so this is how the media control politicians.They find some clip if the politician's saying something different 10 years ago.It's like, well,it was a different country 10 years.He would do that.We would see these clips, you know,
44:05these really like,they'd be like, look at, here's Charlie defending, you know, this issue.And I would be like, oh, Charlie,they dug up that old clip.And he goes, oh, yeah, that was back when I was a cuck.Well, 100%.And, you know.But there's no shame in that.
44:20And Charlie's example of admittingthe truth about himself in public is the most edifying and important thing you can ever dobecause it shows people you can take the leash off and you can live in freedom because you knowyou're loved you can tell the truth we're all going to die anyway that this is the deepest truthand your job is to be honest and to be loving to other people okay that's your job only belief inGod allows that and once you do it it's like it's not only fine it's great it's actual liberationYou said that I remember at the first Amfest when you came back.So you had the debate and then you came back.
45:01The unplanned debate.Oh, I remember feeling so honored that you came back.It was our first Amfest and we really needed like somebody of your caliber and your, I'm going to say it, your fame, your, your, your, the weight that you held in the movement, especially, I mean, it was an honor to us to have you there.Oh, I was so excited.It came out the first night and you just said, let me say a few words about Charlie.He's willing to change his mind.He's willing to adapt.And I knew that was your subtle nod to people who might have judged you.
45:35Maybe you weren't even thinking of that, but it felt like it was at least saying, like, listen, I know some of you think Charlie's a certain way.Let me tell you from that 2017 or whatever 18 debate to now, I think it was 2021, like a couple years had gone by since we'd had you back.And then we've, you know, you've been back ever since.But it was, it's so important, I just can't say it enough to be honest about yourself.It's very easy to be honest about everybody else.Oh, you're fat.I don't like your dress.Like, that's super easy.
46:04It's very hard to be honest about yourself.Like, I'm fat.I'm wearing an ugly dress.Like, no one wants to admit that.But once you do, the fetters are off and you are so free.And Charlie just live that.I feel like that's almost one of the most important things is,to admit the truth about yourself and then no one can control you.
46:25What can you say about me that I won't readily concede about myself?Like nothing.And then what are you going to do to me?You know, nothing.Oh, it's amazing.I read that poem a week ago about Charlie and I always think about that other one.You know, it's a much more famous one, If by Rudyard Kipling.Yes.
46:44And it really does just perfectly describe Charlie.You know, if you can, you know, speak with kings.but not lose the common touch.Exactly.And the really one,the one that ends the poem,which you don't hear a quote as much.If you can fill the unforgiving minute
47:00with 60 seconds distance run or something like that,I might be getting that wrong.But he really did encapsulate all,like everything of that poem about what it is to be a true man,to be a true adult,to be a heroic figure.Yeah, you want me to read it?Yeah, go for it.
47:21Yeah.Okay.If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you,if you can trust yourselves when all men doubt you.Exactly.Yourself.But make allowances for their doubting too.If you can wait and not be tired by waiting or being lied about, don't deal in lies.
47:45Or being hated, don't give way to hating.And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise.If you can dream and not make dreams your master, if you can think and not make thoughts your aim,if you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.Exactly.If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken, twisted by knaves, to make a trap for fools,or watch the things you gave your life to broken, and to stoop and build them up with worn out tools.if you can make one heap of all your winnings and risk it on one turn of pitch and toss
48:27and lose and start again at your beginnings and never breathe a word about your lossif you can force your heart and nerve and sine you to serve your turn long after you are goneand so hold on when there is nothing in you except the will which says to them hold onif you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue or walk with kings nor lose the common touch if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you if all men count with you but none too much if you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run yours is the earth and everything that's in it and which is more you'll be a man my sonit's incredible and and the line that jumps out to me which is the truest and everyone I think understandsit at some point if you can treat triumph and disasters those two impostors the same they are impostorsactually because you know I'm not trying to leach the meaning from the human experience it ismeaningful but it's not it's it's not the real point actually and there is a sense in which this
49:39is it just stands out to me how many of those things we just referenced in the past hourYou know, being lied about, don't deal in lies.That's the one thing that I kept thinking about.If you can wait and not be tired or being lied about, don't deal in lies or being hated, don't give way to hating.And, you know, how many times.But winning is the real trap.Winning is the trap.That's where men destroyed themselves.
50:01That was, he and I talked about that recently all the time.Well, yeah.Winning is when you decide that you're God.That's the David moment for most men.surviving triumphis the real trickand so few can do it and he couldI think
50:19it's a beautiful thank you for bringing thatactually Blake has broughttwo poems to us this weekthat I am the eggheadI mean that oneabout from World War World War I was the name of that poemFor the Fallenfor the Fallen
50:33Blake can read poetry in a very heterosexual waywhich is amazing that I just did it in a nonno no no no no that was sostraight it was unbelievable. I'm just sayingyou don't meet a lot of guys who are like, I want to sharesome poetry with you. I've never beenaccused. I've never been accused. I have a unblemished record ofheterosexuality. And, you know,
50:51it's funny, I'm stealing that line fromCharlie Kirk. He would always say I havean unblemished record of heterosexuality.I'm Andrew Colvitt, the executiveproducer of this show. I'm joined by BlakeNeff, another producer on the show, andof course, the wonderful,the great, the legendary. And Tucker,
51:07you don't get enough credit for something.I should have finished it. The TuckerCarlson, but you don't get enough credit for something. I just want people to understand that Tucker,I mean, I've seen you backstage, I don't know, more times than I can count now, and youare the exact same with the guy who's taking out the trash as our PA's and our assistantsand the people in between as you are with Charlie or me or Blake. You are the exact same human,and I really want everybody to know that about you because you wouldn't say it about yourself. Youtreat everybody. I can't tell you. I can't tell you.
51:41how many times that has occurred to mebecause I'll be needing to drag you somewherewhere you need you to go,but you're deep into a conversation in the cornerwith, you know, the assistant.Like, I don't even know that I necessarily do the name of thisbecause we have so many employees right here.And you would just be like engrossed in this deep conversation
52:01and I would feel bad, you know,oh, I got to grab Tucker, he's got to go on stagein like five minutes or something.And I love that about you, man.And I just want the world to know that.Well, thank you.No, I mean, I love people.And, you know, God created everyone.
52:13But it's also true that I grew up in rich people world back when it was an egalitarian world.It's one of the main changes in my countries in my lifetime is that rich people are notegalitarian anymore.But I grew up, you know, an affluent family around rich people.And, you know, the housekeeper comes to Thanksgiving dinner, period.Period.And that's a wasp thing.I'm just going to say it out loud.
52:32That's a wasp thing.And that's gone.But we felt that very, very strongly.And I just think that's right.And you know what?It's not gone because we still believe it.And you still believe it.I really believe it.
52:45I really believe.I'll just say one thing.Everyone hates the waspsand I beat up on them constantly.But in the club that I spent my life at,I don't even know if they're clubs anymore,but the only thing you could do to get bootedfrom the club was to be rude to the staff, period.
52:57You could be drunk.They're always drunk, of course.You could be, you know, whatever you could say anything.But if you were rude to a waiter, you were gone.I mean, they wouldn't even have a hearing about itbecause so deep was the culture on that question.It's that you, we are all underneath it all the same.We're all created by God.
53:15We have different aptitudes or language.We're very different in a lot of ways,but fundamentally we're all going to stand alone before God.And that was the idea that spawned to the Democratic Republicthat we grew up in anyway.That's the core idea of America that has never articulated anymore.We didn't have fast track at Disney World when I was growing up.And I still feel that way, and I'm married to a chick who really feels that way.
53:38I mean, really feels.married in my family and the guy who cuts her grass is coming to your wedding whether you like it or notlike that's that's the rule in my house i love that i'm not saying that to make myself sound virtuous it's justlike that is something that we have lost and we have to fight to regain that and all these are likelittle fake aristocrats flying around in their planes it's one of the reasons i really am upset withthem is because they've forgotten that specific thing charlie wanted better elites and uh yes and uh and i yeah i meanyou you model it and it's not gone because we're talking about it right now and maybe we canbring it back um in the spirit of actually doing a show we have uh we no i don't i mean i have this
54:22great clip that i i can't wait to share with everybody but uh we're going to bring in frankturik who um cross talk he was with charlie on the day charlie um he would go to frankwith ideas of apologetics and how to argue for the faith and contend for thefaith in the public square. So Frank, welcome to the Charlie Kirk Show with Tucker Carlson, the greatTucker Carlson with us. Hey, I just want to piggyback on something Tucker just said. The onlyworldview that agrees with what Tucker just said is Christianity. You know, in Hinduism, there's acaste system. In Islam, if you're not a Muslim, you're a second-class citizen. In the secularworld, there's no way to ground these moral values and the moral worth that every individual
55:09has the only worldview that does that is Christianity.And that was the worldview that Charlie and everybody here at this table right nowwants to demonstrate is true and try and persuade young people to follow.I love that you said that.I think that that is indisputably true.I think it's provable.You know, the founding documents still exist.We know what the people who wrote them were thinking.
55:39and they were informed by a culture that is a product of Christian civilization, period.Western civilization is Christian civilization.And I'm not against other religions, by the way.I don't follow them, but I'm not mad at them.I'm just going to want to say that.I'm not.I know a lot of great people who are of different faiths.But Christianity is unique in that it's true, and it's unique in that it believes that every person is at least potentially chosen by God.
56:04Every person.And the whole New Testament is that story, by the way.And so Christians feel that deeply, the cultures that they create reflect it, and I grieve its passing, and I pray for its return to our country.Well, ironically, Tucker, Charlie's martyrdom might be the turning point to bring it back.I don't know, well, you do know, because you're seeing what's going on at TPUSA right now.Yes.How many people want to start TPUSA chapters?What are we up to now, Andrew?
56:39Is it 62,000, something like that?Yeah, I mean, it's growing by the minute.So it's probably, let's just say approximately 65,000.Whoa.It's, we had 2,000 before that.I mean, I'm seeing people online on, on some YouTube videos that have to do with Charlie,some of my own YouTube videos.They're all over the world.
57:02There's people in Denmark going, you know, I was an atheist.And because of Charlie Kirk, I'm a Christian now.Australia.you, same thing. London, same thing. This isn't just in America. This is happening all over theworld. And so I want to commend every one of you for advancing the cause that Charlie was so nearand dear to Charlie's heart in a time of morning. It's got to be so difficult, Andrew andBlake especially to, uh, to continue on. But Charlie would want it. And that's why we're all hereright now. Well, and Frank, I, you know, bless you. I know you've had to deal with the conspiracy theories
57:45and the, you know, why'd you touch your hat at this time? Because, you know, that wretched video,I mean, but bless you, brother. I just want to be, uh, I just want to be a character reference for you.and Charlie loved you so much.You were always there for Charlie,and I know how much he leaned on you for apologeticsand for thinking through these deep issueswhen he was on Bill Maher recently,and you know, you've met so much to him
58:16and your work at Cross-Examined.Like, you are a dear brother and a dear friendand some of that garbage.Like, I don't even paid any heed,but I know you have, you were there the day that had happened.I know this has been terrible for you, too,and you've had to deal with all this garbage, but, you know, God bless you,and I'm sorry that that has been something in your experience.
58:37Thanks, brother.I mean, that's, that actually hasn't bothered me all that much to tell you the truth.I just think it's so colossally stupid that if somebody wanted to shoot somebody,they need a guy standing 25 feet from him to signal.Hey, get him.He's the guy.I mean, he's, it makes absolutely no sense at all.So it was just a terrible day, but we all did the best we could to try and help and save Charlie.
59:05And then once we couldn't, all we could do was take Erica's lead and your lead, Andrew, and Mikey's lead, because you were all there to march forward and take his legacy to new levels.And Lord willing, that's what's going to happen.Well, Frank, you're going to be a key part of that.and um you know i i i joke with erika i'm like erika he left us all the keys he had all the peoplethat we needed all the all the reference points all the all the true allies not the snakesnot the not the the the grifters the true people and you are a true man and you have great characterand you have great heart and you've been a great friend to charlie and to us so you know thank youbrother, as you have to me.
59:51I wish I could say it a thousand times over.Thank you.But let's just do it whatever we can to advance this legacy now.And that, you mentioned it, Erica, and I, me and Tucker were just talked.We want to talk about Erica a little bit here.Yeah.So we have to go to a radio break, but we're going to keep going to keep going for the stream.And so hang right there with us.
01:00:14The great Tucker Carlson, Charlie's dear, dear friend is with us, and we're so honored.You know, there have been reference. I know that a lot of stuff going on online, I've checked out, actually. Just want to say that because it's too upsetting to me. I know it's extremely upsetting for you guys since you're way more in the middle of it than I am. But obviously you need a fair, impartial, well-explained investigation that assures everyone the rule of law lives in the United States. I think it's essential. And I hope that we get it. I think we're going to have to push for it. We should push for it. But as to what happened, again, totally fair in my view to ask sincere questions. But I think it's important to rememberthe big picture, which is whatever happened, it was a species of the same phenomenon,which was the fight of evil against good. And his murder was an attempt to extinguish the light,period. And it didn't work. Like that's the main thing to know. There are lots of things I want to know.And again, we have a civil system that has to go through a process in order for this government tocontinue or any government. It has to be transparent and motivated by good faith. And it has to try toaffect justice. That's a key, and I don't think we should blow past it. However, again,
01:01:21big picture, this is light versus dark, and you feel the darkness all around us. It comesin many different forms and many different guises. These are disguises, okay? But what it really isis the age old, you know, it's the, it's the Lord of the Earth. It's Satan. Sorry to say that.It is. Deliver us from the evil one, I think is the actual translation in the words prayer.and the evil one is all around us,but Charlie's murder is a reminderthat we are surrounded by Godand God's protection and God's love,
01:01:54and that is so obvious.The light has not only not been extinguished,it's glowing brighter.I hate, like, dumb metaphors like that,except this one is totally real.And so we should, or I speak for myself,I'm going to focus on that.I'm going to focus on the big picture
01:02:11while demanding a precise accounting,that is legitimate,but I'm not going to get so caught upin that stuff that I miss the true message,which is forces of darknesstried to extinguish the lightand not only did they fail,their effort was counterproductive.
01:02:29That is the truth.Frank, I was just, sorry,I was sort of wrapped by what you were saying.Sorry, I felt that.I felt it coming up.I couldn't keep it down.It was beautiful.I was looking for somebody else to respond here quickly.
01:02:46Let me mention something related to that.You know, our mutual friend, James Lindsay, had a text exchange with Charlie.In fact, he sent it to me the other night because I was speaking at a universityhere in North Carolina on one Wednesday night about Charlie, and I related this story.And let me just read you what James sent to Charlie and what Charlie sent back.Very astute response by Charlie.James said, this is August 24th, 20203.Communism is by far the best evidence in support of Satan's existence.
01:03:21Charlie writes back 100%.And then the next text, he writes back,if there is a Satan, then there is a God.And James writes back, that would follow.So evil actually shows that God does exist, not that he doesn't,because there'd be no such thing as evil unless there was good,and there'd be no such thing as good unless God existed.because in any objective sense, the only way you can define good is God's nature.
01:03:47Otherwise, everything's a matter of opinion.You couldn't say murder was really objectively wrong unless there's a standard of objectively rightthat we're all obligated to obey.And what we mean by that is God's nature.And as Tucker pointed out earlier, our founders understood that.We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men were created and endowed by their government.No, it doesn't say that.Endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.
01:04:10so if evil exists and it all that we all know it does we saw it eight days ago then god exists well andthat is honestly the way that a lot of us were convinced of the reality of god was by being forcedto acknowledge the reality of evil i can say that for myself my wife who's like the person theperson who keeps our family text chain grounded in the truth sent a verse this morning that basicallysaid that exact thing and there are a number of themthroughout both Old and New Testaments,as you know better than I,but they'd say that God will use evil for his purposes
01:04:45and that he will reveal himself through sadnessas well as joy.And that is practically true.It's not even a theoretical concept,it's a living concept for those of us who concludedjust on the basis of the evidencethat these were not political differences, actually.These were not political phenomenon.
01:05:02These were a bunch of different things.I won't get specific,but you know what I'm talking about.This is the face of evil.And that brought us to the reality of God.It's like wild.That actually happened.It happened to me.
01:05:13I want everybody to know.And I know, Blake, you've been contemplating this, too.But Charlie was willing to give the very last measure of his effort and his life.He really was.And he said it multiple times.And I think the first time he said it on stage, he, you know, it wasn't something that was planned.It came out of him naturally.And Erica heard it.
01:05:38And Erica was like,you be careful when you say that please oh you know and that's really powerful but he said it againand again he said it on a lance wall now show i remember one time saying like you know i mean and hewas very aware of the story of stephen he was very well aware of the prophets and he was very wellaware that people that wanted to hurt him. And it never stopped him. And I think we need to rememberthat. When we think about evil and we think about, because death, where is your victory? Oh,death, where is your sting? It's the last thing that, you know, it's like you said, it, they tried,they meant it for evil, but the Lord is taking it and he's turning it to good and for the saving of many
01:06:33lives. And I always was caught by that wording in the scriptures. The saving of many lives.Obviously, he was talking about the Israelites in that instance, but it, as we contemplate it forour own moment, the saving of many lives. And I think about all these baptisms and all thesereports of the churches being overflowing and across the country. And we didn't riot, Tucker.We didn't burn businesses. We didn't tear down windows and doors. We prayed. And Charles,That is the biggest, most amazing testament to the character of Charlie Kirk.But it's also the nature of, or it has been my experience anyway.I'm not a theologian, but I just will say that the, I've had many moments,
01:07:13especially in the last 10 years where, boy, you can feel it around you, like for real.You can feel the menace.You can feel the hate.You can feel the threat.It comes out of nowhere.I've had a couple pretty intense experiences with it, very intense.And they are followed invariably by the peace of God, by the Holy Spirit.and you know that God is using this moment for your benefit, your edification, and your joy,
01:07:35that is true that out of tragedy, and it's such a cliche, and it's such a kind of syrupy,hallmark, false assurance on the surface that I hesitated even to say it, but I've just lived it so much.I've lived it so much.That is absolutely how God has communicated with me in my life, like directly, is by contrastinghis presence with the evil that you feel around you.And so it is in a weird way in the middle of tragedy, like a true blessing.And if you see a loved one, you know, we all go through this as we age.I've been through it a lot recently where someone who really, really love dies.
01:08:08And then you're just filled with this sense of the presence of God that's absolutely real.It's not you're not like an immune response or something.It's like a presence from outside coming into you.And I think the whole country feels it or the people who are alive to it feel it now, strongly.In fact, the greatest evil of all time, the sacrifice of Jesus has led to the greatest good.Yes.Without the sacrifice of Jesus, we'd all be dead in our sins.But Christ was sacrificed so that our punishment could be put on him.
01:08:45And when we trust in him, we're not only forgiven, but we're given his righteousness.You know, there's a misunderstanding among some.They think, in order to get to heaven, I've got to be good.No, no, no, no, no, there's nobody good enough.Jesus said there's nobody good but one, and that was him.In order to get to heaven, you need to take his sacrifice and apply it to yourself.You need to take the punishment that went on him, and you trust in him to get that forgivenessbecause your punishment was put on him, and then by trusting in him, you're not only forgiven,
01:09:19you're given his righteousness.So good works are a result of Christianity.They're not the cause of Christianity.The cause of Christianity in someone's life is to trust in what Christ is done and out of love for what Christ is done, then you'll do good works.By the way, I'm really struck by a quote from Peter Kreft, who said this about what evil can do in our lives to help us become more like Christ.He said this.He said, the point of our lives is not comfort, security, or even happiness, but training, not fulfillment, but preparation.This world is a lousy home, but it's a fine gymnasium.
01:10:01Well, well, Frank, I just want to say again, I know you've got to catch a flight here.So God bless you, my friend.Thank you for joining us.Thank you for being such a rock in Charlie's life.I'll say it.You don't have to give them any heat.I'm sorry about the conspiracy theories specifically around you and some of my other friends that were around the table.They are utter garbage.
01:10:23And we stand by you 100%, my friend.And just thank you for being just an amazing guy.And you meant so much to Charlie.And we'll see you in a few days.Thank you, brother.Thank you, Tucker.Thank you, Blake.Thanks, Frank.
01:10:36God bless you guys.So Charlie was very well aware of the existence of evil, obviously.So we're us on his team.You know, there's a, by the way, just one other conspiracy theory, I just want to snuff out here.One of our dear friends that literally from the very beginning started,with us and love Charlie like a brother he grabbed the SD cards out of the cameraafterwards and there's all these conspiracy videos about why did he grab the SD cards well firstof all they're in the possession of the FBI okay it's not like he took them and like ran off with
01:11:11them second of all I asked him personally I said why did you do that and he looked at me and this washis answer he said because I know people can be evil and he did not want that footage beinggrabbed by somebody. There was videos of people after the incident going and stealing hats off thetable. I mean, so I'm so grateful he did that. And that that was his instinct. He's like,I'm depressed to know that that was why I did that. But I knew that I had to protect thatfootage because I wanted, I mean, you know, you're recording in like 4K, you know? And so I'm so gladhe did that. But Charlie knew the existence of evil.Can I say, I think that people can feel the existence of evil in that just to put
01:11:53in a sympathetic word for people who are trying to make sense of this and coming to the wrongconclusions, I think they're motivated for the most part by pure intent. I think they don't trustthe authorities. They have every reason to feel that way. I know that for a fact. Not the Trumpadministration. In general, like we're not, you know, there's been a lot of lying and it's corrodedthe trust. That's not their fault, actually. They're the victims of it. That's a good point.Thank you for saying that. Um, either of course bad actors who are doing it for clicks or whatever,but I guess, but there are far more people who love Charlie, they loved what he stood for,they feel like he was murdered by evil, they're absolutely right, they're not sure what variety
01:12:31of evil, there's no authoritative person to tell them. So I guess I'm just not surprised at all thismessage I've told to a lot of people. This is what happens when you lie too much and you hide toomuch. And going forward, I just want everybody with power to be honest in the way that Charliewas honest, about themselves. That will do more than anything to fix this, to make people loveeach other and hear each other. And if people are honest, we got here because of lying. Andthe only antidote is truth. And so truth about yourself, not about other people. Stop talkingabout other people. Admit who you are. And once you do that, people can feel that. And theyimmediately, as they do with Charlie, they respond to it. They're like, I believe you because you're
01:13:16honest about you. Anyway, I want that. Yeah, a buddy of mine just said something that I think is reallyprofound. He said, two people, and I believe this about you too, Tucker, which is why you're so important,but two people can say the same, could say the same thing. Just as imagine Charlie Kirk, 30 millionfollowers across social media, and somebody else also very prominent. Yes. And they would say thesame thing, but when Charlie said it, it would echo and ripple acrossthe world. Yeah, because we're all like, we're all animals, by the way. And so so much of whatwe know we receive nonverbally, we can smell each other, we can feel the vibe. I don't careif that sounds flaky, it's true. My dogs can do it, and so can you. And if a deceptive man is
01:14:01speaking, I don't believe what he says, even if it's factually accurate. And if an honest man isspeaking, I know it, I can feel it. That's what everyone loves Blake despite his eccentricities.He's not a, he is honest. He's not a liar. And Charlie was the same. And we just know,that. You can't dissuade me of that. I know that's true. Let's go ahead and play cut 20. This is Charlie talkingabout the existence of evil revealing God's presence. As Christians, ethical monotheists, we have theproblem of evil. Atheists have evil no problem. On the atheist side, they can't say that evilactually exists because without God, if God does not exist, then we are nothing more than just aclump of cells and there is no such thing as evil. You only know something is evil if you have
01:14:49good to compare it to. If I have a piece of paper and I draw a crooked line, how do you know thisline is crooked? You immediately look at it, you say that's a crooked squiggly line, only becausein your mind, you know what a straight line is. If you don't believe in God, then you say evil'sno problem. But if you are upset with it, you actually are implying that you believe in God. Yoube angry at God. You might be wrestling with God. You might think that God is unjust. That's acompletely different thing than not believing in God. There's no one doesn't believe in God.Everyone believes in God because the spirit of God is within us because he made us. The divinespark exists whether you acknowledge it or not. So your options are three. Either you acknowledge it
01:15:35and try to live by it. You ignore it and numb yourself or you rage against it. And so that would bethe atheists, the agnostics, and the Christians in reverse order. And you can see themimmediately. You know, the agnostics are numb, the atheists are enraged, and the Christians havepeace. But you don't have any other options because it's just real. It pre-exists you. And everysingle person feels it. Executive producer of the show, my good friend Blake Neff, another producerof the show, and of course the great, good friend, wonderful man. Honestly, Tucker, thank you so muchfor making the time.By the way, everything we've asked of you,
01:16:15you just said, whatever I could do.Yes, I'll clear my schedule.Yes, absolutely.And that's just how you are,and I love that about you.Well, I want to get on the road.I mean, my favorite thing that Charlie didin his professional life was get out
01:16:26and physically speak to peoplein their physical presence.I think that's so important.I love the internet, I guess.Pretend to love the internet.I hate it.But mostly, I love being with peoplephysically and smelling them.
01:16:37And he was like the last personwho really loved that.And he got murdered.And I just, I grieve his death, of course, but I also am really concerned that that whole thing will die.It's so important to be there physically.Like, ask me anything in my physical presence.And so I'm doing that for you guys.I'll do as much as you want because I just really believe in that.
01:16:59Well, you, you, we were going to save that for Monday, but I, so they announced.Oh, I'm not much of a planner.But, yeah.So, breaking news.You guys want me to go out there, I will do it.Yeah, breaking news here, Tucker Carlson will be a part of continuing Charlie's legacy by touring with us.Wherever you want.It'll be at least one stop.
01:17:23We'll say it like that.During grouse season.And so that's like the ultimate expression of love.Talk about laying down your life.I love grouse season.Take up your cross daily.I'm so entitled.I want to pivot this conversation to Charlie's wife.
01:17:39Yes.Erica Kirk.and I joked yesterdayI thought crimeI got a littleyou guys razzed me about itbut I was quoting Blakeand because it came out
01:17:48it was just this likeamazing thingand I should know betterthan to air private conversationspublicly but BlakeErica was referencedand Blake just goeswhat a woman
01:17:59dude she's unbelievableshe's amazingI was in Phoenixflying to Phoenixor something elseand Charlie texted meon the planeand said I heard you coming
01:18:07to Phoenixbecause he knew everybodyI was like how do you know thathe goes do you have time for lunch yesI had nothing to do with him was not here forturning point at all and so I meet himat lunch with his girlfriend Ericaand he wants to introduce me to her
01:18:20and I called Susie my wife afterand I was like because my longstanding view has beenyou know it's criticallike I really believe in marriage but not forlike syrupy reasons like I think it really mattersI was like that chickis a starI mean she was just like
01:18:35no this is what's trueand that's not trueI mean, she is, tough is not exactly the right word because it's from love.It's from Christian faith.It's from faith in Jesus.But it like, oh, man, it emanates from her.Oh, my gosh, unwavering.And you want to know a crazy, you want to know a crazy thing I just realized last night.
01:18:58So, Andrew Breitbart dies in 2012.March 1st.That inspires Charlie Kirk to start Turning Point USA in 2012.guess what else happened in 2012?And we talk about people getting preparedand these little like nuggets that you think about.I just realized this.Erica Kirk won Miss Arizona in 2012
01:19:21and hung out with Donald Trump in 2012 because of that.I know.And so I don't know.There are no coincidences.But you can just see how God was preparing them.And, you know, Erica as well, you know,Erica grew up with a single mom.Yeah. And so, you know, obviously you wanted Charlie's kids to know their father in a deep and profound personal way.
01:19:50But Erica is uniquely, even in the midst of that tragedy, is uniquely able to navigate that, even just conceptually and emotionally, something I've talked to her about.And it's powerful even hearing her as she's working these pieces out.And I, again, I don't want to share too much privately. So they said this publicly, and I just love.I love it. And I shared this on Twitter X the other day, and it went viral. So let's go ahead and play cut 19. One of my favorite interactions seeing Charlie and Erica.My wife joins us, Erica Kirk, the beautiful, legendary Erica.I love you so much. I love you. You're my best friend. Welcome to the Charlie Kirk Show. We have asked the audience for questions. You pick one.Who is more conservative and why? Erica.Yes. By far. Not even close. I am a moderate.
01:20:39compared to Erica.Andrew always jokes that once you got married to me, you got more based.That's true.That is true.No, Erica is very conservative.Do you think having kids made you more conservative?100%.Which I didn't think was possible.
01:20:56But 100%.Absolutely.And a better wife.Boy, that's the realest thing ever.It's hard to talk about your marriage because don't believe you.Of course, because it's like it's your wife.if you can't say anything bad, but, like, I just know for a fact that that's true.It's really true.
01:21:14Yeah.Yeah.And by the way, I should note, because I can't control myself, that there was a pictureof them in Maine, which they loved.That makes me sad.Yeah.Well, Charlie was a bad, he was bad at vacations.Yeah, terrible at vacation.
01:21:28So he was in Maine this summer on vacation.And he was, I just loved how it kept like, oh, well, okay, Fox and Friends wants to be a guest.So we were going to take the weekend, like the best days of the vacation.like the best days of the vacation, you know,where he could actually maybe...And Erica was just totally game for it.She was like, cool, let's go to New York.No, they came to my house and he's like,
01:21:46I want to buy a house here.I was like, oh, got to.The state needs you.It's good, you know.I'm sorry that they didn't, but...It's just been amazing to hear her talk about, you know,not just their relationship,but like how, you know, how they both viewed marriage.
01:22:03And, you know, we were saying,the last exchange I have,with Charlie by text message just on the way to the event he was I was like whatwhat are the best arguments for monogamy and it gets back to that you know theChristian civilization stuff we talked about because he loved all the takes I'dgive him where I'm like yeah you know Christian marriage is in the Bible but it'salso this like secret weapon that made the West great and like countries thatfollow Christian marriage like they're amazing they excel they improve they get
01:22:33better they have is true harmony between men and women far more than any othercivilization. He loved all of that. And so I was rattling all that off. And I think the last thingI got from is he like hearted a list that I posted. And 10 minutes later, he was on thestage. Yeah. I've looked back to those because I was on that text chain and I was chiminging inand they were the last text that I exchanged with them to. And it was like 30 minutes before ithappened. And yeah, we were talking about marriage. That is wild. And when they talk about,you know, hearing Erica talk about it where she'll say stuff that sounds unbelievable to you,She's like, people would ask me, you know, did you get mad at Charlie because he
01:23:11traveled so much and was doing so many things? And she's like, no, I didn't. And it was becausewe were on the same team. We were on the same mission. And I would have never wanted to in anyway be hindering from executing God's mission. And he would have never wanted to fail in any wayin me executing the mission God gave me. But she was, but when he was present, you know, hehe practiced Shabbat, not because he's Jewish, but because he needed sort of a discipline to follow.And so from sundown on Friday, really all of Saturday, it was like he was off.He turned us, you couldn't call him, you couldn't get a hold of him.I mean, there was ways if an emergency happened that I could get a hold of him.
01:23:54And it was legit.You'd see the wave of him, like, reading the things you sent on like Friday night or Saturday morning.And he started finally reacting to them.Blowing you up on Sunday when I'm trying to go to church.All of a sudden, Charlie's back on.you know and but but he he gave that time so purely and fully to his wife and kids and Ericaabsorbed every moment of that and I you know I told this story yesterday and I do want to likeclarify something because apparently people took it the wrong way but the night it happened
01:24:26she got a call from a very important person and that very important person I'm not going to saywho it maybe isn't who you think but it's a very important person butasked, like, I, you know, I just have to ask. Like, what do you know? And he wasn't talkingabout some conspiracy there. We didn't even, they hadn't even got that, the shooter at this point.It's a fair question. He was asking, what do you know about turning point? What do you knowabout what Charlie was doing politically? What do you know about the donors? What do you know? What doyou know? Like, what are we working? What's our starting point here? And she said back, I know everything.Thank God.
01:25:06Because Charlie would spend, they would walk and they would talk,and they would, religiously, they would walk.Because Charlie heard his back, he couldn't run anymore.He used to run like seven to ten miles a day.When I first started working with Charlie, he would just be gone running.And he heard his back, he couldn't do it.So they would walk together.And if you ever walked with Charlie, the guy could keep a pace.
01:25:24The guy, big, long legs, you know, just, and they would talk,and they would lay in bed, and they would talk.And he told, she was his vault, and she knows everything.She has the same spirit.So when that was announced, I heard that she was taking over, I was just, oh, I was justelated.It's not an attack on anyone else, by the way, or a reference to any of the internecinebattles currently going on, which I'm trying to not think about.
01:25:52It's just the fact, the provable fact, that she had the same spirit and the same goals,same mission that he had.That is just true.Just more based.Oh, ho.Let me, I just want it without.you know, whatever, but getting into it.But I just want to affirm that.
01:26:09I just saw that recently yet again.And I'm just so thankful that she's taking overbecause it's a big deal.I saw Trump on Monday.He said I couldn't got elected without Charlie Kirk.And I, you know, he's not prone to say things like that.He meant it.Wow.
01:26:23Yeah.J.D. said the same thing with Jesse.And I know J.D. feels that.And, you know, it's just been amazing, too,to see Washington, you know,the power center, the imperial capital is Charlie always just to say, by the way, Charlie hated going to Washington, hated it. He loved being out here in Phoenix. Thought it was like our secret weapon. Well, besides you being the secret weapon, it was our secret weapon to be outside of that bubble. And yet somehow, all of Washington is coming to him.You know, can I say one thing? I shouldn't even get involved in this, but it's a fact, so I want to say it. He loved J.D. Mans. He loved Donald Trump. Of course, often said it, but he really loved... The stuff he would talk about inIn private, and some of that would bubble out.
01:27:06He loved telling the story of the first time he endorsed him for office.And in case people haven't heard it, it's such a great story where, you know, Vance has announced he's running in Ohio for Senate.And it's a very long shot bit at this point.I think he pulled at two or three percent.He comes in, he meets Charlie.He talks to Tyler, too.And they come out and they're like, he said everything we believe.Like, we've got to endorse them.
01:27:29Like, if we're not going to endorse this guy, why are we even here?Yeah, exactly.And they're basically like, you know, they make that commit.and there's a miscommunication because it's a big open Senate,you know, it's a big Senate race and Charlie's got to call a lot of donorsand, you know, explain why we're doing this.We're not going for your guy.This isn't a slight on you, you know, manage all the other.
01:27:47The other guy was their guy for sure.And instead there's a miscommunication, and it just goes out, like, blast.Turning Point is endorsing J.D. Vance.And it goes out way too early.And he is somebody's like, well, we all believe it.And he's just like, J.D. Vance is amazing.By the way, that you're part of that story.because it was, he saw J.D. on your show and was like, he, at that point, he didn't know all the little deep things that he believed. And he just, he kept, like, I remember him saying, J.D.'s got, like, something. There's something about J.D. He's got. He's got, he's got the goods. And before you explain why, I'm not going to get involved in this. But just saying he loved J.D. He loved J. And by the way, J.D. loved him. And I think you can see that. Do you want to put it?
01:28:34any cap on that? I know you have a story to tell. Well, I just, I just want to, I don't think I canemphasize it enough. And again, I'm really going to try because I think the point of Charlie'slife was following Jesus. I just want to say that again, as someone who knew him well. I thinkthe point of his life was following Jesus. So I really want to be helpful to that mission and notget distracted with the other stuff. And I have distracted with the other stuff for sure, because Ifeel strongly about it. But I'm going to try and stop. But I just want to say, if you want to understandCharlie Kirk, he loved J.D. Vance and Donald Trump, but he was genuinely close to J.D., like, as afriend, and vice versa. And that's, that is just factually true. And I don't want to hurt anybody by
01:29:16going on, but that is, that is true. And J.D. earned every counts of that. And you have a story.And he loved the story and it really meant a lot to him. So we had that event in, um, it was in June andDetroit last year. In Detroit, the People's Convention, we called it. I assume that was like,it was pre, it was pre him getting announced as VP and they were juststarting to kind of like float his name out there yeah and which charlie of course very much wanted to doand you know he used all of his political talents to try to promote that um and one of those things is yeahinvite him to the convention and what he always loved about it was i think it was it was hisanniversary either the day before or the day after and so yeah no no it was the day before because
01:29:55yeah we wanted him on saturday night to be sort of the the the final speaker on saturday nightand he said i'd love that he's like noIt's my anniversary.I have to be with my wife, but I will commit to getting there on Sunday.And Charlie was like, great, you can be the final speaker of the event.And that gave him just enough time to get to.Literally just drive up there, which I believe he, did he personally himself drive the car?And he gets there and like, you know, we're used to a lot of people having, you know, entourages.
01:30:27And he just shows, I think he had one aide with him.He's JD.Yeah.Yeah.And just walks in.It's just like, hey, I'm JD.I'm J.D. Vance. I'm a speaker. I think, like, maybe some security guy didn't initially recognize him.No, there's just...
01:30:38J.D., walking by himself backstage. I was like, I think that's...Where do you need me?He's just kind of, like, strolling in. And, like, we found out he drove. He's like, oh, yeah, yeah, I was just, you know...There's never been a less affected politician. I always promised myself, I'm not going to complimentJD Vance in the public, because I don't want to hurt him. But there's never been a less affected leader, ever. Like, period.I totally agree. I've, I've never seen one if there is.But yeah, Charlie, people would ask Charlie a lot, you know, are you going to run for president?Are you going to run for office?
01:31:09Or, you know, like, and he would always, you will not find one piece of content anywhere ever.It doesn't exist where he said, yeah, you know what, I want to be president someday.He would always say, he would always, you know, I love what I'm doing.Like, God's called me here.You know, we have more impact here, you know.And that was all very true.who privately, I had that conversation with them.And I wouldn't say he answered it with me,
01:31:41although that maybe there were some other instanceswhere I caught an inclination.But what he said was, J.D.'s ready.And because J.D. is running.I don't even have to think about it.And I don't know if that's like,I don't know if he said, let me say,because J.D exists, we're going to do everything we can.
01:31:59He didn't say that he, you know,confirmed or anything, but because J.D. exists,I don't even have to think about it.And Charlie, you know, was such a champion of J.D.'s political talents and his future.And if J.D. does decide to do that, certainly Charlie would cheer him on from the hereafter.But, yeah, Charlie has a lot of faith in J.D. Vance.I always loved his frankness on just topics like that, you know, in the, in the 2024 primaries.He would just come out and he's like, well, I promised Trump that if he ran again in,
01:32:30in 24, I would support him. So that was that. Like, I made a promise. And if J.D. chooses to do that,then God bless him. And I would be here to cheer him on. We have our final radio segment of the day.Are you serious? It goes fast. That went fast, yeah. But I have this great clip of Charlie that we'regoing to play. Play cut two. This is Charlie talking about his lovely wife, Erica.My wife is the best person ever, and she's a patriot, and she's a believer. And we don't want to have to beaccountable to God when this life passes. And he asks, why did you not trust in me and not fightevil? Because we as Christians are called to fight evil. It's one of the lesser known scriptures,Psalm 9710. For those of you that love God, you must hate evil. And again, everyone is called to
01:33:13something different in the body of Christ. Some people are called to heal the sick. Some people are called tomend broken marriages. Some people are called to do outright hot gospel teaching. My call is to fightevil and to proclaim truth that's it who has that clarity of purpose you know at that age who it'ssuch a rare gift it i think it is a gift it's not detracting from the choices that he made but likehe knew what his purpose on this earth was he worked tirelessly to fulfill that tirelessly i can'toverstate that as someone with a similar gig like i've never seen a man work harder and with greaterself-sacrifice with greater self-discipline and it all flowed from his belief that this is notpointless we are there's a race that we have to run and he i mean he left us in mid-stride i thought that that night
01:34:07and i was heartbroken and uh struggling even now to control myself excuse me but i had that imagethat day i was on a plane when it happened of him going like that you knowleaving this earth in that position, in mid-stride, and that is as tragic and overwhelming as it is,that is such a gift. Like, may that be the end of my life, too, in all of our lives,to leave in midst of purpose, in midst of forward motion. You know, very few people get that,and, you know, in this case at 31, it's unimaginable. However, that is something that I know that I want,and I think that every person who thinks about it wants that, too.And so I'm grateful for that.
01:34:59Well, you know, you have a special place in the Turning Point family, Tucker.I know you know that.You have, you had a special place in Charlie's heart.And I just want to address one thing before we go here.We've got like two and a half minutes left.That there was pressure put on Charlie, you know, about you appearing at Turning Point.think. And he's such a Scott about it. So he's just like, oh, you're putting pressure on me. So I've got to,I've got to double down. He was like, you know, some of the funny text messages that we've found since
01:35:36then, he goes, oh, they don't want me to have Tucker? Oh, maybe I'll have him speak twice.You know, and he just loved you. He just loved you. And there was, you know, and there waswith the hardest thing to explain to people that, you know, maybe didn't like your views on foreignpolicy or whatever. I didn't like my views on foreign policy or whatever. I'm trying to beDiplomatic here, Tunger.I thought I should be.Put in prison, yeah.Embrace it.
01:35:59Embrace it.And, but I just, you know, Charlie, this was the hardest thing to explain is that, like, guys, you don't understand.Like, Charlie's mission is three steps down.He's, he's keeping a coalition together.He's keeping friends together.He's keeping networks together.He's a statesman, and he's not going to knee-jerk and be morally blackmailed by anybody.And if you do it, he will double down.
01:36:24And you saw it in that clip.My mission is to confront evil.Oh, yes.And to proclaim the truth.Wherever it is.And I would just tell people, listen, you might think one thing, fine.But Charlie and Tucker are deeply, deeply, on a very personal level, friends.And Charlie is loyal.
01:36:44Oh, yeah.And if you go down this route, don't be surprised when you have Tucker having three speeches on three different nights at Amfest.You know, like it.But when I was a kid, I drove my, in high school,I drove my car into a white pine in Maine going about 40.And I remember thinking, it totaled the car.And I remember thinking, wow, the treatise doesn't move.It doesn't matter how hard you hit it.
01:37:06And that was Charlie.He was just a towering white pine man.He was just not, it didn't matter how hard you hit him.It wasn't moving.There's a few things I respect more than that.Well, Tucker, it's been a pleasure.one of my favorite shows, and I think it was so fitting that you capped off the week.And I know you're going to be speaking at his celebration.
01:37:30About Jesus, not politics, to be clear.And I'm so glad that we could take some time to talk about Jesus, not politics, because that's the whole point.Well, it's funny, when I first started being around you, the way you would talk about faith was much more reticent and reserved.And Charlie has made a convert out of you, and you are proclaimed.blaming the truth as well as any preacher I've ever heard. So thank you, Tucker Carlson. May Godbless you. God bless you. The reach of your word. Thank you. Thanks so much. Talk to you soon.Thank you.
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