Less than a month after Charlie Kirk's assassination, his widow, Erika, has been named one of TIME magazine's 100 most influential rising stars, listed in the "Leaders" category alongside White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), Trump strategist Alex Bruesewitz, and Free Press founder Bari Weiss.
Erika, 36, is the founder of Proclaim, a faith-based clothing line, and the CEO of Proclaim Streetwear, and has a ministry project called Bible in 365. In addition, she also worked as a real estate agent at The Corcoran Group in New York City.
Consider the moment that caught TIME's eye. Eleven days after an assassin ended her husband's life mid-speech at Utah Valley University, Erika stood before a crowd of tens of thousands at his memorial at State Farm Stadium and offered forgiveness. TIME wrote:
"Few would have faulted Erika Kirk if she had stood before tens of thousands at her husband’s memorial and demanded retribution. Instead, 11 days after Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking at a university, his 36-year-old widow offered something rare in today’s politics: forgiveness. 'I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do,' she said of the shooter.
“The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is love and always love.”
Her act reflected the faith Charlie himself embodied while building TPUSA into a force for young conservatives.
READ MORE: Weeping, and With a Trembling Voice, Erika Kirk Forgives Her Husband's Assassin
A. 100 %. Erika, what An Amazing Woman, Wife, Mother, Lover, Patriot and Spiritual Person. In Her Most Troubled Time in Life She gave All. God Bless Erika, Her Family and God Bless All God & Freedom Loving People around The World. Charlie Kirk is/was Our Turning Point
— SeeLight (@SeeLight399563) September 22, 2025
🙏🙏🙏❤️
What makes this remarkable isn't the sentiment alone—plenty of pundits preach grace from safe perches. Kirk is living it as she raises two small children alone while shouldering the weight of a national movement. Turning Point USA, under Charlie's hand, mobilized campuses against what he saw as creeping cultural erosion. Now, with Erika at the helm, it gains a new dimension: resilience.
Women, we can never say that we don't have a role model. Here she is: Erika Kirk.
— Lily* (@300mirrors) September 21, 2025
Strength, faith, intelligence, honor, inspiration, beauty... the list goes on and on. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/HWYz94fTFk
Though conservatives are often caricatured as perpetual scolders, Erika Kirk's approach flips the script.
Vowing on Charlie's podcast that "his voice will live on," Erika reminds us that the most persuasive arguments aren't won in echo chambers, but in the hard light of human frailty. If that's the rising star we're betting on, the future looks a little less dim.
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