What to Know
At a recent event, Erika Kirk actually said what lots of people have been thinking. As you’re probably aware, people have really been questioning Erika’s public appearances in the aftermath of her late husband’s death. Although it’s generally believed that everyone grieves differently, Erika’s actions are hard for many to understand. So, when Erika meant to recognize a student for his “grit,” but accidentally thanked him for continuing Charlie Kirk’s “grift” instead, people thought she was telling on herself.
Erika was recognizing a student named Caleb at a Turning Point USA event.
At Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in Phoenix, Arizona on December 20, Erika compared Utah Valley University student Caleb Chilcutt to her husband. She was presenting him with the Charlie Kirk Courage Award, and meant to thank him for continuing Charlie’s legacy. In doing so, she accidentally described both the student and her late husband as “grifters.”
“Despite the devastating loss of Charlie Kirk, my incredible husband, Caleb has persisted with the same grift,” she said. She attempted to correct herself by saying “gift” at first before eventually landing on the word she wanted, which was “grit.”
Acknowledging the slip-up, she said, “It has been a long day.” She also addressed the student directly, saying, “Trust me, you’re not a grifter, honey. It’s all good.”
The mistake went viral because it was very telling.
Of course, it’s totally normal to stumble over your words at times. But given that Erika has been accused of grifting, people saw the blunder as “one hell of a Freudian slip.” Jokingly, someone on Reddit fixed what Erika said to the student, writing, “You’re not a grifter, honey!…but I am! 😈”, while someone else said what she really meant was, “Trust me you’re not a grifter honey…I would know.” Another person wrote, “They can’t stop telling on themselves 🤣”
To another critic, the event made it seem like “the Grifting Widow tour is still on full force.” However, some people thought Erika made the “mistake” on purpose because it seemed far too “on the nose” to be an accident. “That was definitely intentional,” someone hypothesized. “She probably thought she was being funny. She knows she can say whatever she wants because they will still buy merch.” Others suggested that she was trying to “get more press.”
According to the Daily Mail, the student embraced Erika’s slip-up and changed his Instagram bio to “Turning Point’s favorite grifter.”
