Frank Turek on Charlie Kirk a year after assassination: ‘The first person I think of when I wake up is Charlie’

By Samantha Kamman, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, October 22, 2026

Christian apologist Frank Turek thinks about Charlie Kirk every morning upon waking and every night before bed. One year after witnessing the conservative activist's assassination at Utah Valley University, the grief remains, but so has Turek’s determination to continue sharing the Gospel with college students. 

In an interview with The Christian Post, Turek, the author of The War on Reality: Recovering Truth in a World That Celebrates Lies, described how prayer and faith have helped him process Kirk's death. 

Turek, who served as a mentor to Kirk, was with the Turning Point USA co-founder when he was fatally shot at a campus event at UVU in Orem last year. The murder case against the alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson, is headed for trial, and he could face the death penalty if convicted. 

“Thankfully, a lot of people were praying. They said so. And I think it really, literally helped quite a bit,” Turek told CP about his emotional and spiritual journey in the aftermath of Kirk's murder. "But to this day, the first person I think of when I wake up is Charlie. The last person I think of when I go to bed is Charlie."

Turek pushed back against the idea that continuing to think of Kirk is a form of post-traumatic stress disorder, saying that experiencing trauma after witnessing the murder of a loved one is a normal response. 

"It's not like you're going to get up the next day and feel just fine," he said.

Kirk’s mentor explained that the conservative activist’s assassination has reinforced two central themes for him: the real existence of evil and the importance of eternity in the Gospel. 

“I mean, first of all, if there is no eternity, there is no God, there is no afterlife, there is no judgment, it ultimately doesn't matter whether you live as a murderer or a missionary, whether you live as, say, Tyler Robinson or Charlie Kirk, because we're all going to wind up in the same place: nowhere,” Turek said. “We're just going to go out of existence if there is no God, if there is no judgment, if there is no afterlife. So that's the most important message.” 

“I always knew it was the most important message, but it's even amplified now,” he added. 

The Christian apologist remembered asking the TPUSA co-founder’s widow, Erika Kirk, whether her husband would want to return if doing so meant erasing the spiritual impact his death had on others. Erika Kirk replied that she believes her husband would choose to stay in Heaven. 

“Because that’s what his life was about anyway, trying to get people to become sanctified disciples of Jesus,” Turek explained. “The politics part of it was just a result of his Christian worldview, because he knew that in order to make disciples of all nations, religious freedom helps you do that.” 

Turek stressed that religious freedom is essential to that mission, pointing to countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and North Korea, where governments restrict religious expression and the ability to share the Gospel.

“So those things have been very prominent in my life for the past year: the existence of evil, the importance of eternity in the Gospel, and the fact that we need to still be engaged at the political level in order to protect our ability to preach and live the Gospel,” he added. 

That conviction has become particularly significant for Turek and others involved with TPUSA following Kirk’s assassination. 

For over 20 years, Turek has traveled across the country to advocate for Christianity through his nonprofit ministry, Cross Examined. 

He has returned to UVU twice after the fatal shooting of his mentee: once in March for a student-focused event, and then again at an anniversary memorial to honor the conservative activist one year after his death. 

Recalling the decision to return to the campus, Turek said TPUSA’s chief field officer, Andrew Sypher, who was also present when Kirk was killed, had told him: “We didn’t want the last word to be a gunshot.”

According to the Cross Examined founder, speaking on college campuses has become more expensive because of the security concerns following Kirk's assassination. 

Before the shooting, he didn't need security for campus appearances; now, he said, security can cost up to $10,000. 

“Well, we're obviously not going to let terrorism win. We've got to continue to do it. Jesus told us to keep going. Obviously, we're supposed to preach the Gospel; we're supposed to show people why Christianity is true. Charlie would want us to go continue to do it,” he declared. 

Turek added that all Kirk’s killer accomplished was changing “Charlie's address because he's absent from the body, present with the Lord.” 

He also said that TPUSA has grown since Kirk's death and remains politically engaged during the midterm elections, stressing that public policy affects religious freedom and the ability of Christians to practice their faith.

“They've grown since all this has happened because people realize God, family, and country, in that order, are the three things associated with God's institutions that He created. God created the church; he created the family; he created government, and we need to be part of all three of them,” the Christian apologist explained. 

Turek also discussed the grief experienced by Erika Kirk, whom he described as having suffered the greatest personal loss in the tragedy. He said he often thinks of her when he's struggling with his own sorrow over Charlie's murder.

Reflecting on 2 Corinthians 1, which describes God comforting believers so they can comfort others, Turek said caring for people outside oneself can be an important part of moving forward after tragedy.

He said Erika had demonstrated that principle by directing her efforts toward helping others rather than focusing exclusively on the pain within her own heart. 

"She's trying to pass on the comfort that God has comforted her with," Turek said.

The TPUSA founder’s widow also wrote the foreword to The War on Reality, which is dedicated to her late husband. Turek praised her reflections on learning to live with an unchangeable reality following the assassination.

In the foreword, Erika writes that redefining her reality doesn't bring her peace, but surrendering to it does. Turek said her words captured the central message of his book: people cannot change reality simply by denying it.

"Reality is undefeated," he said. "And you are going to wind up hurting yourself and hurting other people if you continue to deny reality. You need to surrender to reality."

Turek clarified that surrendering to reality doesn't mean accepting circumstances that can be changed or problems that can be fixed. 

Instead, he suggested that people shouldn't try to redefine truths that remain unchanged regardless of their beliefs. He then listed these unchangeable realities: one’s biological sex, the immorality of killing unborn children, and the wrongness of trying to use words to manipulate or manifest God’s will. 

The book also addresses how Christians can respond when a child says he or she identifies as transgender. Turek encouraged parents to remain calm, listen and ask questions rather than immediately reacting with anger.

He advised that families should discuss the reasons behind such feelings and consider the consequences of prescribing dangerous drugs or performing elective sex-change surgeries intended to help someone identify as the opposite sex, but cannot be reversed once started.  

“So just asking questions can help a person stop and say, ‘Maybe this isn't the right thing I ought to be doing,’” Turek asserted. 

Turek said that while the Garden of Eden explains why the world rejects truth for lies, he also traced the issue to postmodernism, a philosophical movement that challenges the existence of universal or objective truths.

He stressed that the idea that everyone has their own truth is self-contradictory because asserting that no truth exists is itself a truth claim.

Even as certain groups of people continue to “reject reality,” the Cross Examined founder also noted that he has seen an increased interest in Christianity as he travels around to speak at campus events. While this began before Kirk’s murder, Turek has noticed the interest in faith appears to have increased following Kirk's assassination. 

He said surveys and rising Bible sales also suggest growing interest in spiritual matters, though he acknowledged it remains unclear whether the trend will continue.

“But there has been an uptick,” Turek stated, acknowledging that there “is still going to be a war on reality.” 

“There's still going to be people who are going to reject reality and actually try and shut you down for claiming that something is real,” he added.