Overview
- Tens of thousands filled State Farm Stadium near Phoenix as President Trump and senior officials led a five‑hour ceremony steeped in evangelical language that cast Kirk as a martyr for American freedom.
- Trump blamed the political left for violence and said he would classify the Antifa movement as a terrorist organization, though officials offered no clear mechanism or legal consequences for such a step.
- Speakers including Vice President J. D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and adviser Stephen Miller framed the moment as a spiritual struggle and a call to mobilization.
- Erika Kirk told mourners she forgave the alleged killer, a message of Christian forgiveness that contrasted with the administration’s combative tone.
- Media and commentators, especially in France, scrutinized the pageantry and the fusion of religion and politics, with some drawing controversial comparisons to authoritarian rallies and warning of civil‑liberties risks.