Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, the conservative political activist assassinated in September, is taking major backlash over what she said about pregnancy.
In an interview with Megyn Kelly on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel, the 36-year-old widow confirmed she was not pregnant, but stated to other women to prioritize having children if that is their desire.
“Now, when I see young couples, I tell them, ‘Please, like don’t put it off,’ especially if you’re a young woman, don’t put it off,” she said. “You can always have a career. You can always go back to work. You can never just go back to having children, and they grow so fast and so quickly.”
Erika and her late husband Charlie welcomed a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son together.
Also in that interview was Erika Kirk, saying she was “praying” she was pregnant after her husband was killed.
“We wanted to have four,” she told Kelly. “And I was praying to God that I was pregnant when he got murdered. I was like, ‘Oh goodness, that would be the ultimate blessing out of this catastrophe.’”
“I was praying, both of us were, we were really excited to just expand our family,” she added.
As Erika wiped away her tears, Kelly reassured her that “one day” her son and daughter “will find out they’re Charlie Kirk’s children and they’ll know what that means.”
Charlie and Erika met in September 2018 and got engaged two years later in December 2020. Her national profile began in 2012 when she competed in Miss USA representing Arizona. It was co-owned by Donald Trump at the time, a notable early link between Erika and Trump before she entered the conservative political world.
Charlie Kirk’s assassination on September 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University thrust Erika into the national spotlight.
Erika Kirk Receives Backlash Over Her Pregnancy Claim
Erika Kirk has drawn criticism from people after expressing that she prayed she was pregnant after learning of her husband Charlie Kirk’s murder.
Some particularly took offense with the advice to young married couples not to put off having children in pursuit of their careers.
“Mans really watching his wife get piped from the after life,” one person said.
“Something about her is off,” a second person stated.
“This stuff might be normal if she were a widow removed from the spotlight, but she’s obviously exploiting this tragedy for politics. It’s so off-putting, a third person wrote.
“She prayed she was pregnant? What’s this even supposed to mean?” a fourth person asked about Erika Kirk.
“That is an incredibly dark and deeply confusing statement to make publicly,” one final person added.
In another conversation with Kelly, Erika addressed the controversial hug she had with Vice President J.D. Vance at a Turning Point USA event.
She claims that her “love language is touch” and wasn’t trying to be disrespectful or inappropriate with Vance.
Unfortunately for Kirk, backlash towards her won’t stop anytime soon, as she continues to be in the spotlight since her husband’s murder.
