Donald Trump has invited Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika as a special guest to his State of the Union address, with the President set to put faith center stage.
She will be present in the audience at the Capitol for the 9pm Tuesday speech, which will address Kirk’s assassination and the wave of political violence that has rocked America.
Trump will highlight the ‘tremendous revival of faith, Christianity, and belief in God in our country’ since Kirk’s death, a White House official told the Daily Wire.
The President will declare that America is ‘one nation under God’ and urge lawmakers to ‘firmly reject political violence against our fellow citizens.’
Kirk was shot dead during a speech to students at Utah Valley University on September 10 by alleged killer Tyler Robinson, 22, who prosecutors say was motivated by hatred for the Turning Point USA founder’s conservative political views.
Kirk’s assassination reverberated around the world and a memorial service held in Arizona was attended by Trump and members of his cabinet.
Trump is all too familiar with the threat of political violence after surviving two assassination attempts during the presidential campaign.
The President’s Mar-a-Lago estate came under assault in the early hours of Sunday when a gunman armed with a gas can was shot dead by Secret Service agents.
Donald Trump stands with Erika Kirk at the conclusion of a memorial for her husband, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, in Glendale, Arizona, September 21
Trump was in Washington DC when Austin Tucker Martin, 21, was shot dead by Secret Service agents. He had become obsessed with Trump’s role in the alleged ‘cover-up’ of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Democratic lawmakers are set to parade Epstein’s alleged victims on the National Mall as Trump makes his landmark speech at 9pm.
Trump is hoping to reset his agenda in the face of disastrous poll numbers, with backlash mounting over the Epstein files, the flatlining economy and the botched immigration crackdown.
The President’s speech is set to sell the economy, arguing that the country is ‘strong, prosperous and respected’ as it enters its 250th year.
The official theme centers on America’s semiquincentennial and a drumbeat of American exceptionalism.
Trump is expected to address tax cuts and lower prescription drug prices, with polling showing families remain deeply anxious over the cost of living.
His top advisers are urging him to focus on affordability, a theme the President has previously shunned.
Inflation is cooling, but government data released last week showed economic growth ground to a halt at the end of 2025.
US President Donald Trump gives remarks before a Joint Session of Congress in the House Chamber of the US Capitol Building in Washington DC, on March 4th 2025
Trump will unveil new domestic policies to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, according to the Wall Street Journal.
A ‘rate payer protection’ pledge will guarantee energy prices for consumers as power-hungry new AI data centers push prices higher.
But as the President prepares to win back public support, he faces a concerted Democratic effort to derail the night.
Two counter-programming events are planned in Washington DC: the ‘State of the Swamp’ at 7pm at the National Press Club, where lawmakers and media figures are scheduled to speak and activists have been encouraged to wear swampy frog costumes.
Progressive attendees include the fiery mayors of Minneapolis and Chicago, Jacob Frey and Brandon Johnson, who have frequently clashed with Trump over his deadly immigration crackdown.
A second event, the ‘People’s State of the Union,’ will start at 8pm on the National Mall, including Trump nemesis Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff of California.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, who has spearheaded the campaign to release the Epstein files, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will bring victims of the pedophile as their guests.
No official walkout from the chamber is planned, though Representative Jared Huffman, a California Democrat, said: ‘The only question for me is which of his disgusting lines prompts me to get up and leave, because at some point I will.’
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