--- title: Erika Kirk Will Attend State of the Union as Trump’s Guest description: Erika Kirk has become an increasingly influential public figure, pledging to continue her husband's work in the wake of his assassination. canonical: https://time.com/7380912/state-of-the-union-trump-erika-kirk-guest/ copyright: © 2026 TIME USA, LLC. All Rights Reserved. terms: https://legal.time.com/terms-of-service/ license_contact: syndication@time.com author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-02-24T21:28:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T08:14:31.025Z article:section: Politics og:title: Erika Kirk Will Attend State of the Union as Trump’s Guest og:description: Erika Kirk has become an increasingly influential public figure, pledging to continue her husband's work. og:url: https://time.com/7380912/state-of-the-union-trump-erika-kirk-guest/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43491a337af52bde/69b048751d80ac18ea828738/Kirk-Trump-SOTU.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Trump Assails Violence From Left, Awards Kirk Medal Of Freedom og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Erika Kirk Will Attend State of the Union as Trump’s Guest twitter:description: Erika Kirk has become an increasingly influential public figure, pledging to continue her husband's work. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43491a337af52bde/69b048751d80ac18ea828738/Kirk-Trump-SOTU.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Erika Kirk Will Attend State of the Union as Trump’s Guest > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=aaee91a0-7209-4f0e-b166-2e293829fe17&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch: President Trump Delivers State of the Union Address [Watch (HLS stream): Watch: President Trump Delivers State of the Union Address](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/d9uQ0GmW.m3u8) (2:19:36)  _Published 2026-02-25. President Donald Trump delivers his first State of the Union address of his second term. In the annual address, delivered before a joint session of Congress, the President traditionally gives remarks on the condition of the country and outlines legislative goals. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivers the Democratic Party’s response to the president's address, a spot typically given to a lawmaker seen as an emerging star in their party._ by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Feb 24, 2026 9:28 PM UTC President Donald Trump delivers his first State of the Union address of his second term. In the annual address, delivered before a joint session of Congress, the President traditionally gives remarks on the condition of the country and outlines legislative goals. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivers the Democratic Party’s response to the president's address, a spot typically given to a lawmaker seen as an emerging star in their party. by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter Feb 24, 2026 9:28 PM UTC [Erika Kirk](https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318829/erika-kirk/)—the widow of influential conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who was [assassinated](https://time.com/7316280/charlie-kirk-dead-political-violence/) this past fall—is set to attend the [State of the Union address](https://time.com/7380575/trump-state-of-the-union-polling-democrats/) as President Donald Trump’s guest. The White House confirmed to TIME that the President had invited Erika Kirk to the President’s highly anticipated speech on Tuesday evening. [The Daily Wire](https://www.dailywire.com/news/erika-kirk-to-attend-state-of-the-union-as-president-trumps-guest) first reported the news. “Erika Kirk will be one of President Trump’s Special Guests at the State of the Union,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt [wrote](https://x.com/PressSec/status/2026346589845930404?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet) on X. In September, 31-year-old Charlie Kirk was [shot and killed](https://time.com/7316095/charlie-kirk-uvu-shooting-turning-point-usa/) at an event he was hosting at a Utah university. His killing sparked outrage and grief from the right, and prompted a [wave of concern](https://time.com/7316280/charlie-kirk-dead-political-violence/) about the [rise of political violence](https://time.com/7294891/political-violence-rise-america/) in America. The President publicly mourned Charlie Kirk’s death, [ordering](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115182019266546196) flags to fly at half-mast. Trump spoke at Charlie Kirk’s [funeral](https://time.com/7319365/charlie-kirk-memorial-stephen-miller-trump-speech/). “He didn’t deserve this—our country didn’t deserve this,” Trump [said](https://time.com/7319196/charlie-kirk-funeral-trump-watch/) at the funeral. “And anyone who would make excuses for it are just out of their mind. Charlie’s murder was not just an attack on one man, on one movement. It was an attack on our entire nation. … The gun was pointed at him, but the bullet was aimed at all of us.” In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the board of Turning Point USA—the youth activist group that he founded—named Erika Kirk as its CEO and chair. She has since then become an increasingly influential public figure, pledging to continue her husband’s work. “To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die. It won’t. I refuse to let that happen,” she [said](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOhiNN2jvKX/) in a livestream in September. “No one will ever forget my husband’s name, and I will make sure of it.” Politicians on both sides of the aisle condemned Charlie Kirk’s killing and political violence overall. But some on the right, including the President, [called](https://time.com/7316315/republicans-far-right-reacts-charlie-kirk-death-blame-left-crackdown/) for a crackdown on the left in the aftermath of the assassination. At the funeral, Trump said that while Charlie Kirk “did not hate his opponents,” Trump himself did. “He did not hate his opponents; he wanted the best for them. That’s where I disagree with Charlie. I hate my opponent,” Trump said at the funeral. “And I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Erika. But now maybe Erika can talk to me and the whole group, and maybe they can convince me that that’s not right.” Erika Kirk struck a different note than Trump at her husband’s funeral. In an emotional speech, she said that her husband had “wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life,” and that she forgave the suspect, Tyler Robinson, who has been [charged](https://time.com/7317634/tyler-robinson-death-penalty-charlie-kirk-charges-murder/) with his murder. “I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it’s what Charlie would do,” Erika Kirk said at her husband’s funeral. “The answer to hate is not hate.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7380912/state-of-the-union-trump-erika-kirk-guest/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7380912/state-of-the-union-trump-erika-kirk-guest/"},"headline":"Erika Kirk Will Attend State of the Union as Trump’s Guest","datePublished":"2026-02-24T21:28:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T08:14:31.025Z","description":"Erika Kirk has become an increasingly influential public figure, pledging to continue her husband's work in the wake of his assassination.","url":"https://time.com/7380912/state-of-the-union-trump-erika-kirk-guest/","keywords":["Donald Trump","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43491a337af52bde/69b048751d80ac18ea828738/Kirk-Trump-SOTU.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chantelle Lee","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43491a337af52bde/69b048751d80ac18ea828738/Kirk-Trump-SOTU.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Trump Assails Violence From Left, Awards Kirk Medal Of Freedom","caption":"Trump Assails Violence From Left, Awards Kirk Medal Of Freedom","creditText":"Stefani Reynolds—Bloomberg Finance LP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7380912/state-of-the-union-trump-erika-kirk-guest/","name":"Erika Kirk Will Attend State of the Union as Trump’s Guest"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch: President Trump Delivers State of the Union Address","description":"President Donald Trump delivers his first State of the Union address of his second term. 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