Conservative commentator Glenn Beck hosted The Charlie Kirk Show on Wednesday, delivering a tearful monologue about his longtime friendship with Kirk.
Sitting in Kirk’s studio chair, Beck opened the program visibly emotional.
“I knew this was gonna be difficult,” Beck began as his eyes welled with tears. “But to sit in the studio right next to his chair is more difficult than I had imagined.”
Beck recalled meeting Kirk when the Turning Point USA founder was about 17 years old, describing him as “amazing,” “so well read,” “so smart,” and “so clear.” He compared the experience to first meeting Ben Shapiro at a young age, but said Kirk stood out as something special.
Beck shared a story that he had not done so publicly, expressing regret that he “ran out of time” to share it with Kirk before his passing.
Beck said that when they first met, he asked Kirk what he wanted to do. Kirk responded, “I want to be you. I want to do what you do.” Beck explained to the audience, “Let me translate: he wanted to be Rush Limbaugh.” Beck said he thought at the time, “Well, kid, maybe someday. Because I think you have it.”
Following this remark, Beck placed Rush Limbaugh’s golden microphone, originally gifted to Beck by Limbaugh’s wife after his death, in front of Kirk’s microphone, which remains at his empty desk.
“I think it’s appropriate that it sits in front of Charlie’s microphone,” Beck said through tears.
“What I would have said to Charlie,” he continued. “Is you were thinking too small.” Beck stressed that Kirk was more than a radio commentator like Limbaugh or himself. Beck called him a “pastor,” a “political organizer,” and a “compassionate friend."
“He surpassed Rush Limbaugh by miles,” Beck concluded.
As Beck visited Turning Point USA’s headquarters to host the show, he also left handwritten notes on the desks of staff members with messages such as “we are with you,” and “keep changing the world.”
“Millions are praying for you too,” he wrote in another.
