Charlie Kirk’s Mentor, Dennis Prager, Struggles With Denial, Says Internet Will Preserve His Impact
Author and theologian Prager tells TML that Kirk was killed in ‘a world without a functioning conscience’
The United States suffered its first political assassination in a number of years with the murder of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA. The grotesque public killing has shaken the nation on all political sides, bringing a moment of mutual respect, if not unity, in condemnation of the vile attack.
Dennis Prager, one of the preeminent conservative voices of the day who was Kirk’s mentor, shares his insights on Charlie Kirk the person and this devastating moment in history.
Despite his age (almost 32), Kirk was recognized as one of the most impactful young representatives of conservative thought in America and beyond. In 2012, he founded Turning Point USA, a nonprofit American organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses.
Prager, who is recuperating from a serious injury, was very influential in Kirk’s life. For Prager, Kirk had become his voice.
“As an American, as a Jew and as Dennis, I am devastated at the assassination of Charlie Kirk,” he wrote. He admitted that even while composing the post, he remained in disbelief, describing himself as “in the denial stage of mourning.”
America’s youth in particular have lost a moral and intellectual leader, one who would, perhaps, have one day become their president
Prager praised Kirk as one of the nation’s strongest defenders of its founding principles. “As an American, we have lost the most articulate spokesman for America and its unique value system,” he said, describing the country as rooted in both Jerusalem and Athens — Judeo-Christian values and the Greek tradition of reason. He recounted Kirk’s tireless tours across campuses, where he debated students, wielding both knowledge and clarity. Prager said he had often watched these exchanges with gratitude. “America’s youth in particular have lost a moral and intellectual leader, one who would, perhaps, have one day become their president.”
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From a Jewish perspective, Prager emphasized Kirk’s unique role in championing Israel and Jewish communities abroad. “As a committed Jew, I thank God regularly that a non-Jew, a committed Christian, became one of the few great public spokesmen on behalf of Israel [and] the Jewish communities outside of Israel,” he wrote, noting that Kirk’s mastery of facts and eloquence were unmatched.
On a personal level, Prager described Kirk as a faithful friend during his months-long hospitalization after a debilitating fall that left him paralyzed. He recalled how Kirk’s visits drew hospital staff to his room. “When members of the nursing staff heard that Charlie Kirk was visiting me, my room became the most popular one in the hospital,” Prager said. He added that Kirk shared the manuscript of his forthcoming book with him, dedicated to Prager, which advocates for Shabbat observance for Christians and Jews alike.
The broadcaster concluded with a tribute to Kirk’s widow, Erika, and their two children. “For one of the first times in my 20 years with my wife, Sue, I have seen her sob uncontrollably,” he wrote. “The loss to us personally and to the country generally is immeasurable.”
I pride myself in confronting reality. This was one of the rare cases when I was unable to do so.
Prager told The Media Line that his first reaction to learning of Charlie Kirk’s assassination was one of “denial. I pride myself in confronting reality. This was one of the rare cases when I was unable to do so.”
Prager was asked what it means when, in 2025, a targeted shooting can take place on a university campus — a setting where students should be free to debate ideas without fear. “Increasingly, [it is] a world without a functioning conscience,” he said. “The left’s assault on the Judeo-Christian value system and broader American value system dedicated, in the words of the Declaration of Independence, to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness has resulted in the moral chaos that pervades our universities.”
He added that Kirk’s presence on campus had offered hope. “Charlie Kirk gave us reason to believe that this could be reversed. Witness the number of students who came out to hear him at Utah Valley University and virtually every other university at which Charlie spoke. And witness Charlie sitting outdoors, responding to students expressing the left’s contempt for America and Israel.”
Prager was asked how he would describe Charlie Kirk to someone unfamiliar with him. “That they missed knowing one of the few truly great men of our time,” he said. “The good news is that thanks to the internet, they can still know him and therefore know the magnitude of the loss of Charlie Kirk.”
On whether the assassination might discourage public voices, Prager warned that it could. “It might,” he said. “That is precisely one of the things the assassination of Charlie was designed to do — not only silence a uniquely effective voice, but to intimidate all those who want to hear such voices.”
Reflecting on his own recovery period, when he had time to consider history and faith, Prager was asked what century we are living in. His reply was blunt: “Whatever century was characterized by an assault on reason and Judeo-Christian values.”
