Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, or White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, known for his ultra-conservative positions and, along with Vance, probably the closest to Kirk among the Cabinet members.

Between speeches, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recalled that one of the first conversations he had with Charlie Kirk in July 2021 was about the physical risks they face in their positions.

“He asked me if I was afraid of dying,” RFK Jr. said. “And I said, 'There are things a lot worse than death, and one of them is if we lost our constitutional rights in this country and our children were raised as slaves.'”

The Health Secretary said he told Kirk that “sometimes the best solace we can hope for is to be able to die with our boots on.”

“Charlie died with his boots on, and he died to make sure that we didn’t have to suffer those fates that are worse than death.” death.”

The event held at the sports arena, which was sold out with 73,000 attendees, began with gospel songs and then a group of bagpipers played the melody of “Divine Grace” in front of a large portrait of Kirk mounted on a huge stage.

Kirk, 31, now a great American nationalist martyr, was assassinated on September 10 after being shot while participating in one of his traditional debates with students at Utah Valley University.

The founder of Turning Point at 18, he established himself as one of the most visible figures of American conservatism.

From that platform, he promoted principles such as individual liberty, free markets, and limited government among students, in addition to defending extreme Christian values—including creationism—and positions associated with white nationalism, such as the “great replacement” theory.