Friends, Romans, countrymen; lend me your ears. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones. So let it be with Caesar.
From Antony's speech in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar, Act III, Scene II.
Of course, despite those opening lines, during the remainder of Antony's speech he does indeed praise Caesar in ways that are both subtle and not so subtle.
There was no such pretense at Charlie Kirk's memorial service in Glendale, AZ this past weekend. During the six plus hour service many came to praise Kirk without reservation, and no one dared hint he committed an evil that would live after him. The official count of the crowd was 40,000, although knowing Donald Trump who was among them, it will quickly grow exponentially, at least in his own mind.
Kirk's pastor, Rob McCoy set the tone for the affair by telling the faithful, "Charlie looked at politics as an on-ramp to Jesus. He knew if he got all of you rowing in the streams of liberty, you'd come to its source, and that is the Lord."
Vice President J.D. Vance reinforced this notion that religion and politics are inseparable, despite what it says in the Constitution by saying, "He is a martyr of the Christian faith." Then he added, "Heavenly Father give us the courage to live as Charlie lived."
The one truly Christian moment came when Erika Kirk, Charlie's widow, forgave her husband's murderer, Tyler Robinson. Her act of kindness was met with a fair amount of cheering in the crowd. She explained her forgiveness by saying, "Because it was what Christ did and what Charlie would do." While it is what Christ did, no one can be absolutely certain what a man who once said homosexuals should be stoned to death, really would do. Her only cryptic reference to that part of Charlie's philosophy was when she said one of her late husband's goals was, "...to save the lost boys of the West."
To prove the peaceful nature of Charlie Kirk's message she noted that after his assassination there hadn't been any rioting in the streets. Well, no there wasn't. However, the truth is probably because the only time that happens is when Donald J. Trump asks the mob to do it. (i.e. Come to Washington on Jan. 6th. It will be wild!)
Other speakers were a tad more, let's say, blunt. Donald Trump's low-rent version of Heinrich Himmler, Stephen Miller told the gathering, "Our lineage and our legacy hails back to Rome, to Athens, to Philadelphia, to Monticello. You have no idea the dragon you have awakened." (The only thing missing was an orchestra playing Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries.") Herr Miller didn't specify who the, "you," was, or is but we can assume it wasn't anyone in the stadium. Right now, though the overwhelming odds are the unidentified, "you," is pretty much everybody who pisses off his boss--just ask Jimmy Kimmel.
Speaking of the boss, Donald Trump let everyone there know his mindset when he told them. "Charlie didn't hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That's where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponents. And I don't want the best for them." In other words, Kirk was the martyred saint, Trump, on the other hand, is the righteous retribution--the avenging angel. The cheers and applause he received for the line ran a dead heat with the cheers and applause which greeted Erika Kirk's pledge of forgiveness. It was a perfect example of MAGA duality.
Despite what one might think, not every MAGA hot shot was there. Candace Owens, who served as Turning Point USA's Communications Director for two years, spent the weekend complaining she hadn't been invited to the memorial. Owens, who is African American posted in part on social media, "I would hope she (Erika Kirk, who has replaced her husband as head of Turning Point U.S.A.) is in full control, but I don't know. Because I'm hearing some stories about donors that are pushing things."
There have been reports Ms. Owens lost favor with some MAGA conservatives, including Kirk himself, when she took one too many walks in the conspiracy theory swamp. A while back she also, posted a "like," to an online meme depicting Jews participating in a "blood libel," ritual. It is unclear if that was a step, or so over the line for some pro-Israeli conservatives. Or, it might have been when she said there was no way she would allow herself to be given the Covid-19 vaccine. That would be the same one Trump is so proud he rushed out there. Who really knows? What we do know, however, is Kanye West once posted that he liked the way she thought.
In the end, the insult to Candace Owens, whether real, or perceived, just proves that when it comes to the MAGA crowd, the only people they hate more than each other are democrats and those labeled RINOS. (Any republican who pushes back ever so slightly against a Trump proposal.)
So there we have it. Charlie Kirk is now officially a martyr who died for God, America, and Donald J. Trump--although not necessarily in that order. And unlike what Oberfuhrer Miller might say, or think, not everyone to the left of Sean fucking Hannity was in on the hit. However, we already have proof that isn't the way Miller and Donald J. Trump are playing it.
Would Charlie Kirk approve? As with everything MAGA it probably depends on who you ask. Or who speaks last at the podium.
9-22-25
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