Although her late husband, Turning Point USA founder and conservative pundit Charlie Kirk, was fatally shot less than three months ago, Erika Kirk doesn’t believe gun violence is the root problem in the U.S.
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While speaking to journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin at The New York Times DealBook Summit, Erika was asked what she thought about gun violence within the country, given what happened to Charlie.
“It’s a thoughtful question,” she said. “And I wouldn’t wish upon anyone what I have been through. And I support the Second Amendment as well. I do. But there’s a bigger and much deeper conversation to all of that.”
Erika Kirk then spoke about how when visiting college campuses, counselors always talk about how students are continuously facing “mental health, anxiety [and] depression.”
“And what Charlie knew, and he was trying to explain to students on campus, was that you have to understand that brain health is so important,” she continued. “How you eat, how you take care of yourself, how you nourish yourself, how you rest. And to him, it was much more deeper and intricate.”
Erika did acknowledge that some individuals will resort to violence. However, she’s not afraid of that.
“What I’m afraid of is that we are living in a day and age where they think violence is the solution to them not wanting to hear a different point of view,” she pointed out. “That’s not a gun problem. That’s a human, deeply human problem. That is a soul problem. That is a mental — that is a very deeper issue.”
Erika Kirk Said She Took a Step Back From Social Media After Her Husband’s Death For Her Mental Health
Meanwhile, Erika Kirk revealed she removed all social media apps from her phone following Charlie’s shocking death.
“Social media, like many things, it can be used for such good. And it can be used for such evil,” she explained. “And Charlie and I both intentionally, especially after he was murdered, I took it all off my phone. I don’t even have news apps on my phone.”
Pointing out that she has “nothing” on her phone, Erika said she lets others post for her and read the comments.
“That is not — I do not have the brain space for that, and it would not be healthy for me either,” she admitted. “I get called so many names, I genuinely don’t care. I really don’t.”
Erika also said, “I told you this before — when you cast the bloody dead body of the person that you love, it pales in comparison to being called x, y, z.”
Erika then noted that Charlie understood why social media was important. However, he would take a step back from the platforms to “honor the Sabbath.”
“He would turn off his phone, and he would shove it in the junk drawer,” she noted. “And he would say, ‘Shabbat Shalom,’ shove it in the drawer. And he was full Dad mode, fooling with the kids, sports mode on Saturdays for college football, and he could breathe.”
Charlie Kirk died after being fatally shot on the campus of Utah Valley State University on Sept. 10. He was 31 years old.