Sunflower State News

U.S. Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas appeared on NewsNation to discuss the recent death of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA. During the interview, Marshall spoke about Kirk’s influence on young conservatives and reflected on the emotional impact his passing has had on his staff and others in the movement.

“Well, you know, first, I just want to reach out to his family here and let them know that God comforts us when we’re crushed in spirit. I know that Charlie was a person of faith, and I know that God will be there for his family in this moment. And I just would share with you that my staff is crushed. That there’s a bastion of young conservatives here, as you can imagine, people out here, you know, follow Charlie. I mean, they are his age, they’re his generation, and they are absolutely crushed.

“He was a leader. He was the Pied Piper. I wonder about when Buddy Holly died; they say the music died. And I feel like, you know, the music died today for this conservative movement, and we’ll be back. But I really had that feeling he was, he was like a musician, only it was with his words and his inspiration.”

Marshall recounted Kirk’s early efforts to organize conservative students on college campuses: “I mean, this guy…he started a new movement. If you think he drops out of college, he’s in his 20s. He starts this Turning Point USA…and he takes on the entire establishment of woke universities. And kids were wondering, what’s going on here? What happened to my university? We talked about agriculture and engineering. All of a sudden, we’re talking about political discord or whatever. So these so youngsters today looked up to Charlie. He was leading this movement. The number of young Republican conservatives out there is just exploding right now. And he was one of those beacons out there that they looked up to.”

He also described what made Kirk unique among activists: “You know, he’s one of those people, sometimes people take from you, and he was a person that would actually fill you with hope. You know, I pray every morning as I’d be a messenger of hope. And he was one of those people who would give you hope as well. And it just was an inspiration for me, like that’s who I’m fighting for.

“He’s my children’s age, so that’s the generation, and now my grandkids. So his kids would be the same age as my grandkids. So he’s an inspiration that I knew that I was leaving this world better than I found it. And then we were back. We really were back again, and that being Conservative was okay, that fighting for traditional Kansas family values are once again okay.”

Marshall addressed reactions to Kirk's death by reflecting on broader issues facing society: “Yeah, you know, I’m still sorting it out like you are. For certain, there’s no place for political violence here. And I’m sitting there today, you know, looking in the mirror, you know, am I part of the problem here? Is that the case or not?

“And I’m not blaming social media, not blaming the national media, but they’re part of this too. You know if it bleeds it leads type of thing; I'm not going to get on national news today if I say ‘look we had an incredible bipartisan prayer breakfast today...’ That’s not national news.

“So I don’t know how can we share this part that we can certainly disagree and fight like heck on the Senate floor but...I had the greatest amount of respect for my colleagues across the aisle...I’m wrestling with that today as well...What have I done to contribute to political unrest across this country? And we condemn the violence part of it...so I'm wrestling with that tonight.”

He concluded by calling for reflection amid ongoing violence nationwide: “Yeah...the challenge is how do I institute that?...people back home want me fighting for them...that our constitutional rights are being infringed upon...But where do we draw the line? It’s tough...it’s not about me; it's certainly about this family.

“But 40 or 50 people would be murdered in this country today; 100 people are going to die from fentanyl poisoning...Is it just that we need to go back to basics here?...first of all we need fathers in people's homes...But how do we just stop all the violence?...this is a horrible day.”

On Kirk's legacy among young conservatives: “Charlie was the Pied Piper...that’s why I keep thinking of Buddy Holly—the day the music died—that…I just feel like it was a part of our heart that's ripped out....Charlie Kirk gave them a voice…he could have been president someday…he was young.”