Riley Gaines praises Erika Kirk ahead of Ole Miss Turning Point USA event

Erika Kirk will join Vice President JD Vance at Ole Miss on Wednesday at Turning Point USA’s event on campus.

Kirk’s husband, Charlie, founded the organization in 2012 — he was assassinated while debating at Utah Valley University last month.

Kirk has made two public appearances since her husband’s death, one being his memorial in Glendale, Arizona, and the other earlier this month when Kirk was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.

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Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk speaks during the memorial service honoring Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 21, 2025. (Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

She will make her third in Oxford alongside Vance, who, along with his wife, Usha, flew with Kirk and her husband’s casket from Utah to Arizona after his death.

Riley Gaines spoke highly of Kirk in a recent appearance on “Fox & Friends.”

“I’ve known her for a while. I think most people know her…know her as Charlie’s wife. She is a force, she is beautiful, she is strong, she is confident, she is compassionate, as we saw at Charlie’s memorial, and she’s faith-driven,” Gaines said. “I’m so excited for her in this moment to continue to lead Turning Point and to see the impact she has, especially among my generation.”

President Donald Trump greets Erika Kirk, widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, during a public memorial at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 21, 2025. (Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images)

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The current Turning Point USA tour has turned into an in memoriam for Kirk, but Gaines said the unfortunate circumstances are leading her to be excited about the event’s outcome and TPUSA’s future.

“How tragic, of course, the situation and the circumstances that ultimately led us here, but I feel so hopeful, I feel so inspired,” she said.

“We have seen so, so many people, but I think especially young kids of Generation Z, inquiring about how to get involved. I’m excited to see the turnout tonight, I imagine it will be spectacular.”

Erika Kirk participates in a Medal of Freedom Ceremony for her late husband Charlie Kirk in the Rose Garden of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. (Getty Images/Alex Wong)

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Admission to the event is free, but participants are required to register in advance before attending, with students receiving priority entry. Attendants will also go through what organizers described as “TSA-style screening and magnetometer checks” once the doors open at 3 p.m. CT. The event is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. CT.

Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.

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