The former Fox News host struggled to hold back tears as she described the fatal shooting.
Megyn Kelly called Charlie Kirk “one of the most important voices that we’ve had in my lifetime” during her SiriusXM radio program, speaking only moments after news broke that the right-wing activist and podcaster had been fatally shot on Wednesday.
The former Fox News anchor became visibly shaken while delivering the announcement live, drawing comparisons to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963 as she discussed the attack with fellow conservative commentator Glenn Beck.
“It looked like when JFK was assassinated — the violence with which he keeled back, was hit, the thrust of it,” she said, her voice heavy with emotion. “It was very clearly a direct hit, it was obviously — I don’t know — some sort of a rifle or shotgun. It had severe velocity.”
Kelly then extended her sympathy to Kirk’s wife, Erika, and their two children, emphasizing the magnitude of the loss. “We have lost one of the most important voices that we’ve had in my lifetime on the right, one of the most important messengers. Someone sent by God to change minds and hearts on the most important, divisive, difficult issues of our time.”
The segment aired during Wednesday’s edition of The Megyn Kelly Show. Her discussion of Kirk’s death with Glenn Beck begins around the 1:18:00 mark.
Charlie Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot and killed on Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University as part of his American Comeback Tour.
As of Thursday, the gunman remained at large. However, the FBI confirmed that investigators had recovered “a footwear impression, a palm print and forearm imprints for analysis” and had released surveillance images of a person of interest connected to the case.
Before his death, Kirk was a frequent guest on Megyn Kelly’s program. The 31-year-old most recently appeared on her show last month.
During her broadcast on Wednesday, Kelly commended Kirk for the pivotal role he played in energizing conservative voters, particularly younger generations, during the 2024 presidential election. “One of the reasons we got Trump is Charlie Kirk,” she said. “There is no denying the effect Charlie Kirk had on this election.”
In response to Kirk’s death, Trump ordered all American flags across the nation to be flown at half staff until Sunday evening. On Thursday, the president also confirmed that he will posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.