Erika Trump shared insights on the discussions she had with her husband before he embarked on his campus tour, including a caution she gave him.
The murder of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University has resonated strongly throughout the United States.
Erika Kirk, Charlie’s wife, recently spoke to The New York Times, revealing their relationship dynamics and her anxieties concerning his professional activities.
She mentioned to the publication that Kirk was eager to begin his journey across various college campuses in the United States, comparing his readiness to that of an athlete preparing for the Olympics, especially when engaging in debates with students.
Erika described the events of the night before Kirk’s trip to Utah, emphasizing a particular worry about his safety.
The couple had dinner in Phoenix with a friend who was a religious leader, with the intention of praying together.
Erika Kirk expressed that both she and the friend were apprehensive for Kirk’s safety, as he had been the target of numerous death threats over the previous year, necessitating a security team for several months.
During the dinner, Erika recounted advising her husband to consider wearing a bulletproof vest, while the friend suggested he should speak from behind bulletproof glass.
She revealed that Charlie hesitated to take these precautions, responding with ‘not yet’ and expressing his trust in his security team and the extra measures in place for the event.
In the interview, Erika confessed to pondering whether her husband had ‘accepted the possibility’ that his life might be ended by violence.
This contemplation stemmed from her awareness, shared among his colleagues, of Kirk discussing such an eventuality as a real risk he faced.
Erika was originally supposed to accompany her husband to the event where he was shot; however, her plans altered due to her mother’s medical treatment scheduled in Phoenix on the same day.
She remembered Charlie telling her, ‘home needs you’ and indicating that arrangements were made for her to join him for the tour’s subsequent stop at Colorado State University.