Full Text of United States of America Secretary of State, Marco Rubio as he remembers Charlie Kirk's impact on young Americans and shares the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ

Full Text of United States of America Secretary of State, Marco Rubio as he remembers Charlie Kirk's impact on young Americans and shares the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ 

September 25, 2025 

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Notes: Revival in the United States of America — the last great awakening 

About…maybe 10 or 12 years ago, a person I

knew very well, had been very helpful to

me in my campaigns when I was in the

Senate, came to me and said she had met

this very impressive young man and he

was going to start this group to go on

college campuses

and try to convince young Americans

that ours was the greatest country in

the history of the world and that

Marxism was bad.

And I remember thinking back then, I was

I'm going to admit to you guys, I was a

little skeptical. I said, "College

campuses, you're going to do that? Why

don't you start somewhere easier, like

for example, communist Cuba?" You know,

but my skepticism was proven wrong.

and place after place over the last 12,

14, 16 years, we've seen this

renaissance. 

Understand where we were at

that time in our history.

Understand where we are still today in

many places where young Americans are

actively told that everything that they

were taught that all the foundations

that made our society and our

civilization so grand, they were all

wrong, they were all evil, that marriage

is oppressive, that children are a

burden, that America is a source of

evil, not of good in the world. And here

was this voice that inspired a movement

in which young Americans were told that

is not true. The highest calling we are

called to is to be in a successful

marriage and to raise productive

children.

And a movement that taught them that

ours was not a great country, but the

greatest, most exceptional nation that

has ever existed in the history of all

of mankind—and that it's worth fighting

for—it’s worth defending. It's worth

preserving. And it's worth passing on to

the next generation.

This was the mission and the work of

Charlie Kirk.

And a couple things that stand out about him. He led this movement, but he did so

with incredible knowledge. It's unbelievable how much he knew.

He came to me very recently. He said some quote. He said, I said, "Who said

that?" He said, "Marcus Aurelius." I said, "What district does he represent?"

I kind of knew who it was, but he said back, "No, it's a Roman, you know,

philosopher king or emperor." His incredible knowledge. Let me tell you

that one of the last messages I had with him was just a few days before his

passing where he wrote me from overseas. I'm in South Korea. I have many concerns

I want to share with you when I get back. He was constantly expanding his

horizons, but he just didn't have knowledge. He had wisdom. An uncanny

amount of wisdom for a man as young as he was. Wisdom that sometimes it takes a

lifetime to accumulate. He had it in just 31 years.

He was also bold. It is so easy. And listen, I've been guilty of it. I think many of us have

been guilty of this. You hide behind the walls and you surround yourself with

people that agree with you. We do it as a society all the time.

Increasingly, people are moving into neighborhoods with other people that

agree with them politically and isolate themselves from people that do not agree

with them. But Charlie Kirk was bold. He actively sought out to engage

peacefully, respectfully those who he disagreed with. As recently as two days

ago, we learned of one of the hosts on CNN who said that one of the messages he

had gotten just a few days before Charlie's passing was from him inviting

him to dialogue. And he did this on campuses. He did this on podcasts. He

did this on radio shows. He did this on television shows. Time and again, he

sought to engage those he disagreed with because he understood that we were not

created to isolate ourselves from one another, but to engage. The irony in all

this is that what our nation needs, one of the many things it needs is the

ability to discuss our differences openly, honestly, peacefully,

respectfully. And Charlie Kirk did that more than anyone alive in America today

is doing.

And Charlie Kirk was impactful. Impactful because of all the things I've

said. But look around this place. There's a hundred something thousand

people here. The president of the United States is here. His entire cabinet is

here. Television outlets and media outlets from all over the world are

covering this. I just came from overseas and every country I stopped, they gave

us their condolences for his passing. Impactful in just 31 years of life. He

made a difference. He mattered and he will matter now more

than he ever has before. 

And let me close with this.

How do you remember? This is a memorial service. It's to honor him. How do you

best remember it? I'll take the liberty of saying what I think we can best do.

Look, I think he had an tremendous impact on young Americans in general. I

think he had a very special and direct impact on young men in this country.

That's one of the greatest developments I've seen. It's been very positive. I

think we remember him for that. I think we remember him for constantly

saying, "You want to live a productive life, get married, start a family, love

your country." These are powerful messages.

But I hope many who are watching, I

imagine there are people watching here

tonight that didn't know much about

Charlie Kirk until 11 days ago. Maybe

they were disengaged from politics.

Maybe they were partially engaged. I

hope one of the things they take from

this is that the movement Charlie Kirk

led and started and gave fuel to was

about politics, but not only about

politics. It was deeper. It was broader.

And I would say that taking the liberty,

but I'm confident he would agree. One of

the things he wants us to take away from

this, from all of this, is the

following:

His deep belief that we were all created, every single one of us, before the beginning of time, by the hands of the God of the universe, an all-powerful God who loved us and created us for the purpose of living with Him in eternity. But then sin entered the world and separated us from our Creator. And so God took on the form of a man and came down and lived among us and he suffered like men and he died like a man. But on the third day, He

rose unlike any mortal man. And then, and to prove any doubters wrong, He ate with His disciples so they could see, and they touched His wounds. He didn't rise as a ghost or as a spirit, but His flesh. And then hHe rose to Heaven, but He promised He would return. And He will. And when He returns, because He took on that death, because He carried that cross, we were freed from the sin that separated us from Him. And when He returns, there will be a new Heaven and a new earth. And we will all be together. And we are going to have a great reunion there again with Charlie and all the people we love. 

Thank you, and God bless you.

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