Erika Kirk is ‘absolute force,’ ready to grow Turning Point USA ‘10x’ after tragedy: source

Turning Point USA’s future could entail expanding the organization under the leadership of Erika Kirk, who was appointed to lead the conservative nonprofit following the assassination of her husband, Charlie Kirk, last week.

Alex Clark, host of the podcast “Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark” and a longtime TPUSA personality, explained that Kirk held a Zoom call on Wednesday with employees, noting that she has been an “absolute force” who wants to “10x the organization.”

Since the assassination, the group has received more than 62,000 new requests for high school and college chapters.

“I’m excited because Charlie had said on his show at one point that Erika was actually more conservative than he was, so I can’t wait to see what that means,” Clark told Fox News Digital in a phone interview on Thursday.

“I think that’s kind of a poetic justice that will be done to the left, because, obviously, they were excited that they took out Charlie, and they thought that everything would die with him. And that’s just clearly not even close to the reality of the situation.”

The election of Kirk as CEO and chair of the board was announced on Thursday.

“In prior discussions, Charlie expressed to multiple executives that this is what he wanted in the event of his death,” the organization posted on X.

Clark noted that preserving the mission of the group is critical during this time.

“Erica is very sharp, and she already knows who is circling us that is an opportunist, and she is going to protect the integrity and legacy of Turning Point USA with everything that she has,” she said.

“So, for employees that work here, for donors, people that want to be involved, nobody should be afraid of what made Turning Point so special and so successful, that any of that would slip away. I think that she’s going to have the perfect ingredients to add to our success recipe to make it even better.”

Clark noted that the tragedy has brought people within the organization closer together.

“I think the overall mood is like, ‘We want justice,’ and we are closer as a staff than ever before. I mean, it’s the new normal to see somebody that you’ve never really spoken to in the office and get them a hug and just say, ‘I love you, thank you for being here,’” she said.

Kirk’s celebration of life service is scheduled for Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance are among the list of speakers.  

When asked about the political next steps following the shooting of Kirk, she said, “Every election is ours to lose for the foreseeable future here.”

“Charlie was very adamant that the next election is JD Vance’s and that we’re going to be playing a critical role in helping him with that,” Clark said, noting the role of TPUSA’s sister organization, Turning Point Action.