The grisly murder of Charlie Kirk sent conservative media reeling, with hosts like Fox News’ Will Cain and SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly emotionally eulogizing the 31-year-old Turning Point USA founder who orchestrated the youth movement that helped propel Donald Trump back to the White House.
But as officials charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson with murdering Kirk at a Utah Valley University event, a more pragmatic question arose as to who, if anyone, can fill the void he leaves in the conservative media ecosystem.
With no obvious media figure likely to replace Kirk and reach the coveted younger audience he cultivated for more than a decade, some prominent voices are eager to lay a marker in the role of heir apparent.
“We’re going to pick up that blood-stained microphone where Charlie left it,” Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro said a day after Kirk’s death, vowing not to let the public nature of Kirk’s death halt his own college campus tour.
As conservative media stars grapple with Kirk’s loss, a lack of a clear contemporary showcases the unique position Kirk occupied in the conservative universe. He boasted a rare connection with young people and was able to reach millions through his podcast, “The Charlie Kirk Show,” which aired through the Salem Radio Network and the right-wing channel Real America’s Voice.
Turning Point USA, the political activism organization Kirk co-founded in 2012, told NBC News last year the podcast saw between 500,000 and 750,000 downloads every day. The podcast has now remained No. 1 on Apple Podcasts since Kirk’s death. It has also continued to rise every day on Spotify’s U.S. podcast chart, reaching No. 14 on Wednesday — ahead of popular podcasts like Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” and other conservatives’ shows, such as Shapiro’s “The Ben Shapiro Show” and Candace Owens’ “Candace.”
“Charlie was more than a broadcaster — he was a fearless defender of truth and a faithful servant of God,” Salem Media Group CEO David Santrella said in a statement. “This assassination was not just an attack on Charlie, it was an attack on free speech and on the values Charlie championed every day. His absence leaves a tremendous void, but his legacy of faith, courage and conviction will continue to inspire generations.”
Santrella elaborated further in a new statement to TheWrap, indicating Salem wants any potential successor to emulate some of the same values Kirk brought to his show.
“Assassins cannot stop an idea, and they cannot stop a mission,” Santrella said. “Salem Media will continue to amplify truth, faith and freedom louder than ever and we are exploring all options to best do so for the future.”
Many of the movement’s top names either declined to comment on Kirk’s impact on conservative media, including spokespeople for Shapiro and Megyn Kelly; did not respond to a request for comment, such as Carlson; or were not available for press, such as Owens. Turning Point USA also did not respond to a request for comment.
Since his Sept. 10 death, Kirk’s Instagram account has grown by nearly 5 million followers; his YouTube account has added more than 1.5 million subscribers; and his TikTok account has ballooned to 9.5 million followers (up from 7.3 million in mid-August).
“Ask your kids, ask your grandkids, even if they’re not MAGA. If they’re on phones, they know who Charlie Kirk is,” CNN anchor Jake Tapper said on “The Lead” last week, shortly after Kirk’s death was confirmed. “Teenagers, people in their 20s, they know who Charlie Kirk is. Even if they disagree with him, they know who he is. He really was a voice for this young generation, again, even if they didn’t agree with him.”
No obvious successor
Some of the more logical candidates to occupy the gap left by Kirk lack his stature on the platforms he frequently engaged. While Shapiro has more YouTube subscribers (7.22 million vs. 5.1 million), Kirk’s TikTok presence dwarfs Shapiro’s (9.5 million vs. 2.9 million) at a time when about 56% of TikTok’s users are age 18 to 34, according to a 2024 Pew Research Center study.
Owens also falls behind Kirk in both YouTube subscribers (4.97 million) and TikTok followers (5.3 million), and on Instagram, both Shapiro (4.7 million) and Owens (6.2 million) trail Kirk’s 12.8 million base — and the 7 million he had before his death was confirmed. (Prominent left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, however, contended this week that Ownes represents “the new wave of right-wing commentary” over the likes of Shapiro, and her videos reacting to Kirk’s death have amassed millions of views.)
In terms of the far-right fringe, white supremacist and Kirk nemesis Nick Fuentes, who has maintained a cult-like following and earned a New York Times profile by opposing Trump from the right, retains a paltry 905,000 X followers (compared to Kirk’s 6 million), which he cannot monetize due to his inability to obtain a blue checkmark. Fuentes has a comparatively small following on video-sharing platform Rumble (360,000 subscribers), and has remained deplatformed from all mainstream streaming services, with his YouTube account having been banned since 2020.
Extremist groups have also tried to weaponize Kirk’s death to radicalize their supporters, according to a Wired report, though often by stoking the flames of white supremacy and with little support among Kirk’s college base.
Even if Kirk’s opinions often ignited controversy among both Democrats and Republicans and leaned into antisemitic and racist language, he still managed to establish himself as an authoritative voice at a far younger age than some of his peers.
Tucker Carlson discussed on Monday how he initially didn’t take Kirk as seriously because of his age, though he later grew to respect Kirk’s position within the movement and develop a friendship with the rising conservative star. But Carlson was just months away from 32 when CNN named him the co-host of its popular debate program “Crossfire,” 43 when he was named a “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host and 47 when he launched “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Fox News in 2016 and turned it into the network’s highest-rated primetime cable news show before he was fired in 2023.
Kirk was killed at 31 after establishing a right-wing media model across multiple platforms that stemmed from his national right-wing youth movement. He also co-hosted “Fox & Friends Weekend” in July, showcasing how his name had appeal among both younger conservatives and the traditionally older audience of cable news. (Carlson now has 4.56 million YouTube subscribers, but only 2.8 million TikTok followers.)
Younger conservatives remained loyal to Kirk, even if his views strayed from a traditional Republican line. Kirk said he supported Israel’s efforts in the war in Gaza, but he admitted in a Megyn Kelly podcast appearance last month that he didn’t agree with an expectation to walk in lockstep with those who unequivocally supported such views.
According to a Washington Free Beacon-Echelon poll, 24% of young conservatives between 18 and 34 got their news about Israel from Kirk. While he ranked behind more vocal stars like Joe Rogan (34%), Ben Shapiro (29%) and Carlson (27%), younger conservatives relied on him for news on a topic he didn’t regularly cover and even if he didn’t always hold a completely pro-Israel stance. It’s a status that’s hard to replicate. (The only other person to break 20% was Owens, a Turning Point USA alum and a repeated Israel critic, at 21%.)
What happens next is unclear. In the wake of Kirk’s death, conservative media figures have been eager to commemorate him, martyrize him as a casualty of “war” or try to seize the mantle too early, exposing divisions that have made a potential successor’s emergence difficult to see.
Various Kirk allies, including Carlson, Shapiro and podcaster Benny Johnson have appeared on episodes of “The Charlie Kirk Show” to pay homage to a friend and bastion of their cause. Monday’s episode of the show was hosted by Vice President JD Vance, who said Kirk was “the smartest political operative I ever met.”
“War Room” host and firebrand Steve Bannon has used his show, which also airs on Real America’s Voice, to label Kirk a “casualty of the political war” and say the country at large was “at war,” even though political leaders across the spectrum have called for peace.
Owens also feuded this week with GOP billionaire investor Bill Ackman after she accused him of trying to pressure Kirk over his allegedly wavering views on the Israel-Gaza conflict, reflecting how the war has only deepened divides among the Republican spectrum.
And longtime conservative commentator Michael Savage ripped Shapiro last week for his “blood-stained microphone” comments, asking online if Shapiro had “NO shame?”
“Charlie’s body is not even buried and you’re trying to cash in on his reputation!” he wrote in an X post.
