Erika Kirk urged graduating students at Hillsdale College in Michigan on Saturday, 9 May, to 'marry young' and 'have more kids than you can afford', as critics accused the Turning Point USA chief of hypocrisy for accepting an honorary degree from a college system her late husband, Charlie Kirk, had long attacked as a 'scam'.
The ceremony was Hillsdale's first commencement since Charlie Kirk, founder of the conservative youth organisation Turning Point USA, was assassinated in September 2025. Erika Kirk, now the group's chief executive, accepted an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree for herself and a posthumous degree on her husband's behalf. Because the couple built much of their public identity around attacking mainstream higher education as costly and ideologically skewed, the decision quickly drew scrutiny.
