Trump insider Steve Bannon said on Friday that the event is being considered a “MAGA state funeral,” focused entirely on what Kirk’s groups did to build the base of conservative youth voters and challenge Leftist indoctrination on college campuses.

But a national unity event it won’t be, he said. The reason is simple: It is impossible to join with left-wing politicians such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who have attacked Kirk’s legacy and activists who cheered Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

Discussing Sunday’s funeral on The Sean Spicer Show, Bannon said, “This is not a moment of national unity. The MAGA state funeral on Sunday will not be a unifying moment.”

He said, “The people that are mocking Charlie Kirk and the people that are mocking his children and the people that are skipping around that he’s dead, you can’t unify with that, and that’s fine. I’m not whining about it, but I say don’t look for unity. We are about victory.”

Bannon called Kirk a modern-day historical figure and said the funeral will be talked about for decades.

🚨 WTF?! “Protestors” in New York City are BLOCKING ROADS and screaming “F*** CHARLIE KIRK” in Times Square

“He was a RACIST,” one of the degenerates screamed

A STRAIGHT UP LIE being pushed by Democrats

These people are SICK pic.twitter.com/oxZIyvevEa

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) September 19, 2025

“I’ve had the opportunity to work with Andrew Breitbart and Charlie Kirk, and both of those are generational talents. They cannot be replaced. And people run around trying to replace them, you’re just wasting your time. These guys come along once a generation,” he said.

The event is also drawing the attention of law enforcement and security experts who are concerned that it will lead to violent protests and clashes on college campuses where Turning Point USA has organized.

We should be clear about who Charlie Kirk was: a man who believed that the Civil Rights Act that granted Black Americans the right to vote was a “mistake,” who after the violent attack on Paul Pelosi claimed that “some amazing patriot out there” should bail out his assailant, and… https://t.co/zm6kxIxLZk

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 19, 2025

George Washington University Law Professor John Banzhaf told Secrets that he expects both sides to feed off the funeral and possibly become violent.

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“Many, although Kirk advocated against violence, will probably want to ‘get even,’ ‘avenge his death,’ ‘stand up for Charlie,’” he suggested.

And protests sparked by Kirk’s murder are “likely to trigger counter protests by organizations and students who lean to the left, especially since surveys have demonstrated that most students (and also faculty) at major universities identify as liberal, progressive, or even radical,” he added.