A huge line stretched around the Kennedy Center on Sunday, waiting to enter the premier cultural center of the U.S. to hear Trump administration officials, lawmakers, and some of Kirk’s closest friends pay tribute to him. A small group of protesters gathered outside the police cordon, playing loud metal music and blasting sirens.

Before the main speakers began, a band led the crowd in Protestant Christian worship songs. The vast majority of the crowd knew the lyrics and sang along, with some of the particularly pious raising their hands in prayer.

Attendees were decidedly mixed in their dress code — some came in their Sunday best while others preferred more casual wear, sporting several different variations of MAGA hats. Several brought American flags, some worn as capes while others were draped over the top levels of the hall.

According to event organizers, the event owed its existence to Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell and the Kennedy Center staff.

After an opening prayer, pledge of allegiance, and worship songs, event organizers Malia Shirley and Charlotte Perez, Arizona state Sen. Jake Hoffman, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., acting United States Agency for Global Media CEO Kari Lake, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) all gave speeches. Each was greeted by uproarious applause.

While all speeches featured personal recollections of Kirk and the praising of his impact, most gave unique versions of how to best honor him.

Hoffman, a personal, longtime friend of Kirk, hailed the vigil as proof of Kirk’s world-historical impact.

“Some of the most powerful people on Earth are here in this room tonight,” he said, thanks to Kirk, including 85 members of Congress.

He took his time at the podium to highlight Kirk’s huge impact on the youth, a group fittingly overrepresented among attendees.

“If you’re here under the age of 35 and Charlie Kirk touched your life, make some noise,” he said. The hall was immediately overcome with cheers and applause.

Johnson was next on the podium, praising Kirk’s convictions, deep Christian faith, and debating skills.

Kirk believed that the United States was the greatest country in the history of the world, he said, interrupted by applause. And though many tried to argue against this, “Charlie could beat them all,” he said to laughs.

“We know exactly where Charlie is right now,” Johnson said. “What he was trying to do was to bring people back from the abyss. Not just to save a country, but to save souls. That’s what Charlie Kirk was about.”

Kirk’s impact, he held, was “immeasurable.” His passion, faith, and hard work earned him a spot alongside some of the U.S.’s greatest figures, the House speaker said.

“I think Charlie Kirk offered more productive content to the free marketplace of ideas than anyone in this generation and, arguably, in the last 100 years of U.S. history,” Johnson said to applause.

He closed his speech with a prayer, asking God to help everyone continue to honor Kirk’s legacy.

Leavitt began her speech by hailing Kirk as a “legendary American,” noting that many of his personal friends were in the room that night.

“He is clearly present in this room tonight. You can feel the spirit moving and working in this room, as we remember Charlie’s life and his legacy,” she said.

Leavitt went so far as to fully credit Kirk with her current job. Without Kirk, she argued, the political tide wouldn’t have turned among the youth, which delivered Trump his victory in November.

She recalled how Kirk was the only one in Republican politics who took her seriously when she launched her congressional campaign to represent New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District in 2022. He used his PAC to lend her extensive support and introduce her to donors, giving her the staying power that led to her current prestigious position.

Gabbard’s speech was filled with biblical references, using verses from the book of Corinthians to assure the audience that Kirk was “at home with the Lord.”

She portrayed Wednesday’s assassination as one of the greatest acts of terrorism in modern U.S. history, directly comparing it with 9/11.

“Charlie was killed on Sept. 10. On Sept. 11, we observed the 24th anniversary of the Islamist terrorist attack on our country, 24 years ago,” Gabbard said.

“And these events have something in common: they were both carried out by those who hold on to ideologies that cannot stand up to scrutiny and challenge, so they feel like the only recourse is to commit an act of violence to silence those who oppose them, and to intimidate and terrorize others into silence,” she continued.

“This is the definition of terrorism. We cannot allow ourselves to be terrorized into silence,” Gabbard said.

The director of national intelligence gave a clear outline of how she believes everyone should react to Kirk’s assassination.

Tapping into her home state, the former Hawaii senator explained the meaning of “Aloha,” the Hawaiian greeting, with a dual spiritual meeting. To live in love, she argued, doesn’t mean “being a pacifist, or rolling over when our ideas are challenged, or when our freedoms are under attack. Actually, it’s the exact opposite.”

“It means standing up, fueled by love, to defeat hate, to defeat that evil and that darkness, and to speak the truth and defend our fundamental freedoms, that are granted to us by God. Charlie embodied this,” she said.

Gabbard recalled a friend saying that Kirk’s death showed that his approach didn’t work, but she argued the opposite — Kirk was killed because his approach did work.

“If only 10 of us committed ourselves to continuing Charlie’s mission, that well would be incredible, to be that fertilizer and that water that will help spread this light that is inspired by God’s love. But there are far more than 10 of us,” she declared, to agreement and applause.

Kennedy took the stage after, with him and the DNI head receiving two of the biggest applauses of the night.

The HHS secretary began by sharing an anecdote about his 17-year-old niece, who left for Europe to go to college. As she was packing, her mother noticed a Bible in her bag and asked her why she was bringing it.

“I want to live like Charlie Kirk,” she responded.

Kennedy recalled his first interaction with Kirk, when the Turning Point USA leader had him on his podcast.

“I think we approached each other with a lot of trepidation at that time. By the end of the podcast, we were soulmates, we were spiritual brothers, we were friends,” he said. “Over the next couple of years, our friendship blossomed.”

Kennedy revealed that Kirk was the primary architect of his unification with Trump, and the one behind the famous photo of the two shaking hands at a Scottsdale, Arizona, rally — he insisted on placing the sparklers on the stage.

Kennedy praised Kirk’s message of reaching across the aisle and discussing ideas, “without vitriol,” saying this was essential for healing the country.

Among the praises given to Kirk by Kennedy related to one of his central issues.

“Charlie, more than any figure in this country, led the resistance that restored freedom of speech in this country,” he said to applause.

“Now, it’s our job, now that he’s no longer here to lead us, to rush in and fill the breach, to win this battle for our country, for God, and for our families,” Kennedy concluded.

Lake gave the longest speech, beginning by quipping that Kirk “can still draw a crowd.” She noted disapprovals he would have, however, such as a lack of smoke machines and confetti.

The USAGM president gave one of the most explicitly political speeches of the night, blaming colleges for “indoctrinating” the suspect in Kirk’s assassination, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, and leading “the most horrific brainwashing campaign in the history of mankind.” She called on all parents not to send their children to college, which she derided as “indoctrination camps.”

She later gave a grand evaluation of the fight they currently face, saying it was a “battle between good and evil.”

“I wish there’d be a compromise, but you can’t compromise with evil,” Lake said.

KIRK ASSASSINATION SUSPECT TYLER ROBINSON CHARGED WITH MURDER AFTER BEING TURNED IN BY FAMILY

Later, Lake appeared to echo the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard’s famous quote: “The tyrant dies and his reign ends. The martyr dies and his reign begins.”

“I believe that Charlie will live an even bigger life after Wednesday than he would have before Wednesday, and I hate to say that because I miss him. But God is using him in such powerful ways. Charlie is not dead, he’s got everlasting life,” she said, to massive applause.