Erika Kirk Will Attend State of the Union as Trump’s Guest
erika kirk, the widow of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, will attend the State of the Union address this Tuesday evening as one of President Donald Trump’s special guests, the White House said, a high-profile invitation that comes months after her husband was shot and killed.
Erika Kirk to sit with the President
The White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X, “Erika Kirk will be one of President Trump’s Special Guests at the State of the Union. ” Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot and killed in September at an event he was hosting at a Utah university; the suspect, Tyler Robinson, has been charged with his murder. In the aftermath, erika kirk was named CEO and chair of the board of Turning Point USA and pledged to continue her husband’s work.
Other invited guests: parents and an injured child
White House officials also said the parents of Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old National Guard member who was killed in an ambush-style attack while patrolling Washington, D. C., will be among the special guests. The invitation list includes 7-year-old Dalilah Coleman, who was critically injured in a six-car pileup in California when she was younger; her family says the crash fractured her skull, broke her femur and caused a traumatic brain injury. Dalilah has emerged from a coma but is nonverbal and has diplegic cerebral palsy, her family has said.
What was said at funerals and what the President has planned
President Trump publicly mourned Charlie Kirk’s death, ordered flags to fly at half-mast and spoke at the funeral. At the service the President said, “He didn’t deserve this—our country didn’t deserve this, ” and criticized those who he said made excuses for the killing. At the funeral, Erika Kirk offered a different tone; in an emotional speech she said her husband had wanted to “save young men just like the one who took his life” and that she forgave the suspect, saying, “I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it’s what Charlie would do. ”
The administration plans to acknowledge several of the invited guests during the portion of the address that will focus on the southern border and homeland security, the White House said. The State of the Union is scheduled for Tuesday evening, when the President will deliver the speech at the U. S. Capitol and highlight the cases of guests seated with him.
Families and allies of the victims have been prominent in public remarks since the incidents: Sarah Beckstrom had volunteered to serve in the D. C. National Guard deployment and was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade at the time of the shooting on Nov. 26 not far from the White House. The other Guard member injured that day, Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, underwent surgery and is recovering. Separately, immigration enforcement officials took the driver involved in Dalilah Coleman’s crash into custody in August 2025.
Leavitt’s X post announcing the guest placement made the invitation public ahead of the speech. The White House’s decision places Erika Kirk and the families directly in the national spotlight during a speech where the President plans to address security and immigration, and where he will personally acknowledge the guests seated with him.
The State of the Union address is set for Tuesday evening; the invited guests will be seated in the House gallery and the President is expected to single out several of them during the segment of the speech on border and homeland security.
