Content Advisory: This article discusses a shooting, an alleged assassination attempt, and political violence. Reader discretion is advised.
Erika Kirk is speaking out after the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, and she is pointing directly at the culture she believes helped kill her husband.
The Turning Point USA CEO attended the event at the Washington Hilton, where gunfire reportedly sent guests ducking under tables and security teams rushing officials out of the room. Kirk was later seen crying as she was escorted from the hotel.
“I just want to go home,” she was heard saying in footage from the scene.
On ‘The Charlie Kirk Show,’ Kirk said the chaos felt deeply personal after the assassination of her husband, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, in September 2025.
“There is a serious epidemic of dehumanization plaguing this country,” Kirk said.
Kirk Says America Has Become ‘Unrecognizable’
Kirk linked the dinner shooting to what she called the “systemic indoctrination and radicalization” of American citizens.
“This is what got my husband killed,” she said. “This is what has led to three legitimate attempts on President Trump’s life.”
She added that the country “has become unrecognizable” and accused opponents of twisting the truth until political violence becomes possible.
“These people have perverted the truth to the point that they motivated the murder of my husband,” Kirk said. “They have continuously tried to assassinate the president.”
She also said people who disagree with the dominant narrative are often labeled “hateful, racist, fascist” and other terms she called “grossly dishonest.”
She Slammed Journalists For Filming During The Shooting
Kirk was especially angry at journalists who pulled out phones during the chaos.
“So, during an active shooting, these journalists are using their phones to find moments to capture for clips,” she said.
She argued that some reporters were so focused on getting footage that they could have put themselves in danger.
“They were so concerned about getting a video in a room with an active shooter that they could have accidentally and quite literally filmed themselves being shot,” Kirk said.
She added that many had become “so desensitized” that survival instincts came second to inserting themselves into the story.
Kirk Also Took Aim At Candace Owens
Kirk’s criticism did not stop with the press.
She also called out Candace Owens, saying, “Every morning I wake up to a new headline lying about me. I have comedians dressing up in white face. I have people saying I’m not fit to be CEO. And I have Candace Owens claiming I murdered my husband.”
Owens has publicly denied making that specific accusation and criticized Kirk’s remarks.
Kirk said she attended the dinner because she wanted to face journalists she believes have misrepresented her.
“Why have a conversation about me when you can have a conversation with me?” she said.
Authorities have charged 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen in connection with the incident, including attempted assassination. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
