Mourners celebrate Charlie Kirk
The Excerpt
USA TODAY
4.1 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 22 September 2025
⏱️ 13 minutes
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Summary
Elected officials, faith leaders, Kirk's colleagues and his loved ones remembered the conservative activist at a service in Arizona Sunday.
Top Democratic leaders in Congress demand a meeting with President Donald Trump as a government shutdown deadline nears.
USA TODAY Senior National Political Correspondent Sarah D. Wire takes a look at how states are preparing as the Trump administration considers closing FEMA.
The United Kingdom, Australia and Canada recognize a Palestinian state, putting the countries at odds with President Trump.
USA TODAY Personal Finance Reporter Daniel de Visé breaks down how much the American Dream really costs.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Monday, September 22nd, 2025. |
| 0:09.8 | This is USA Today's The Excerpt. |
| 0:12.5 | Today, how Charlie Kirk was remembered at a service in Arizona. |
| 0:16.0 | Plus, states prepare for the future amid FEMA uncertainty, and how much does the American dream really cost? |
| 0:24.7 | Tens of thousands of mourners honored the life of prominent conservative activist Charlie Kirk |
| 0:29.0 | at a memorial service in Arizona yesterday. Elected officials, faith leaders, Kirk's colleagues, |
| 0:34.3 | and his loved ones addressed the crowd at State Farm Stadium. Speakers emphasized Kirk's religious faith and his contributions to the Make America Great |
| 0:41.3 | Again movement as a leading voice for young conservative activists. |
| 0:45.0 | His widow, Erica Kirk, delivered an emotional eulogy for her slain husband and received a |
| 0:49.6 | standing ovation when she said she forgave Kirk's killer. |
| 0:53.2 | That young man, I forgive him. |
| 0:56.4 | As for President Donald Trump, he eulogized Kirk and celebrated his political achievements and said |
| 1:01.2 | Kirk asked the people who disagreed with him to come forward and instead of silencing them, |
| 1:06.0 | handed them a microphone and let them speak. |
| 1:08.2 | Trump, though, also took shots at rivals, including former President Joe Biden. And like other speakers yesterday, Trump condemned those who, as he put |
| 1:15.2 | it, cheered Kirk's killing, including a late-night TV host who Trump said implied that Kirk deserved |
| 1:20.4 | what happened to him. Trump did not identify the host, but his comments came days after ABC |
| 1:25.1 | suspended Jimmy Kimmel over the comedian's comments about Kirk. |
| 1:28.7 | Trump also lashed out at the radical left, and he said that the killing was an attack on the country as a whole. |
| 1:34.6 | Charlie's murder was not just an attack on one man or one movement. |
| 1:39.7 | It was an attack on our entire nation. |
| 1:43.5 | That was a horrible attack on the United States of America. |
... |
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