Savannah Chrisley says she was meant to join political commentator Charlie Kirk on his college campus speaking tour in October amid his death.
The Turning Point USA founder was fatally shot Wednesday, September 10, during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. He was 31. Wednesday’s event was the first stop on Kirk’s American Comeback Tour, which was supposed to travel to campuses across the U.S. through September and October.
In an emotional TikTok video shared late Wednesday night, Savanah, 28, mourned the death of her friend, who she said had supported her in her endeavors to free her parents, Todd and Julie Chrisley, from prison over the last two and a half years. (The couple, who were convicted of tax evasion and bank and wire fraud in 2022, were pardoned by President Donald Trump in May.)
“Today’s been a tough day,” the Chrisley Knows Best alum said. “The past two and a half years of my life have been some of the hardest years I’ve ever had to endure, but in those two and a half years, I’ve met so many people great people and lifelong friends, and one of those people that brought me into their world was Charlie Kirk.”
Savannah extended her condolences to Kirk’s wife, Erika Frantzve, with whom he shared two children, describing her as one of the “kindest, most loving human beings I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.”
“I was supposed to be sitting next to Charlie every weekend in October,” Savannah said.
She added, “This is tough. Pray for Charlie, pray for his parents, his children, his entire family. Erika, my heart is with you. I love you.”
Savannah further reflected on her friendship with Kirk, and her role on his speaking tour, in the video’s caption.
“I am numb. I can’t believe I’m even writing these words. Charlie Kirk changed my life…he brought me into the Turning Point family this past year, and I was supposed to be standing next to him at every college this October. Instead, I sit here with a broken heart, devastated beyond words,” she wrote.
According to the American Comeback Tour website, Kirk was next meant to visit Colorado State University on September 18. The website also lists several October dates at college campuses in Montana, North Dakota, Indiana, Louisiana and Mississippi.
“It’s with a heavy heart that we, the Turning Point USA leadership team, write to notify you that early this afternoon, Charlie went to his eternal reward with Jesus Christ in Heaven,” Turning Point USA said in a statement on Wednesday.
Kirk was an influential conservative political commentator and a close ally of President Trump.
