Erika Kirk, wife of slain conservative commentator Charlie Kirk and the new CEO of Turning Point USA, reacts as she takes the stage. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
The New York Times is being criticized for giving Erika Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA and the widow of slain MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk, a platform at their2025 DealBook Summit Wednesday in New York City.
During her interview with NYT financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin, Kirk discussed her new leadership role, the murder of her husband and her views on "career-driven" women.
Kirk also "said her pain at losing Mr. Kirk had 'morphed into a form of purpose that you see will outlive you,' and that realization offered her comfort," the Times reports.
According to the event's official X account, "Kirk called it 'ironic' that so many women voted for Zohran Mamdani in New York's mayoral election" at the 2025 DealBook Summit. She expressed concern that career-driven women view the government as a "replacement" for family, potentially leading them to delay marriage and having kids."
Journalist Jonathan Cohn called the newspaper of record out on X, saying, "The anti-feminist grift going back to Phyllis Schlafly is to travel the country, run a well-funded nonprofit, and ignore their own children in order to focus on telling other women that they belong in the kitchen."
"Erika Kirk: Has multiple degrees and is currently studying for a doctorate • Got married in her early 30s and had children in her mid-30s, on her own timeline • Was 5 years older than Charlie Kirk • Is a CEO and businesswoman …She’s not going to 'end' feminism. She is a product of feminism," noted X user Jamie Bonkiewicz.
Another X user wanted to know "why is the New York Times giving Erika Kirk a platform to tell the women of nNew York (a place she doesn’t live) to not be career driven (as she grifts off her husband’s death)?" to which another X account replied, "She’s was most likely prepped with a bunch of questions. It’s so obvious she’s so well rehearsed. She doesn’t know what the average young woman is facing because if she did, she would have a completely different view."