Charlie Kirk's Widow Raises Eyebrows After Ultra-Bizarre Hug With Trump at Memorial

Mourning the loss of a loved one is a bizarre public experience that no one is prepared for. This is doubly true if you are famous and have to grieve not just publicly, but under a microscope of public scrutiny.

Erika Kirk, widow of right-wing activist and podcaster Charlie Kirk, has had to navigate exactly that.

While there's no playbook on how to grieve appropriately, especially under a microscope, there are some behaviors that many consider beyond the pale during grief. Erika seems to have displayed some of those during Charlie's highly publicized memorial service, including one eyebrow-raising hug that she shared with President Donald Trump.

During Charlie's memorial, a number of high-ranking political figures stood up to give their thoughts, including Stephen Miller, Robert F Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump, and more.

But it wasn't the speeches that drew the most attention.

It was the unusual hug shared between Trump and Kirk's widow. At one point during the ceremony, Erika turned and wrapped her arms around the President, laying her cheek on his shoulder.

After a moment, Trump reached up to return the hug.

As his hand came up, Trump sucked his teeth, and Erika turned her body against the President in an unusual posture, head still curled under the President's chin.

The internet exploded in the wake of the hug, with social media users collectively asking, "WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"Oh, the South Park creators are gonna LOVE this," one person wrote of the strange interaction before another added, "Everything that woman does is a performance. I've never seen anything like it. Insane."

A third chimed in, "This is the most insincere hug that has ever happened. He was annoyed by it and wanted to be able to talk about what he wanted to."

However, even though the unusual hug garnered significant attention, that doesn't mean that there weren't noteworthy speeches; there most certainly were.

Erika, who spoke emotionally but seemed to struggle to summon a tear, offered forgiveness for her husband's alleged killer, Tyler Robinson.

Erika told the audience, "The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us" (excerpts via Newsweek).

Trump, on the other hand, crowed about tariffs and winning, promising political victories, and even scoffed at Charlie's memory and legacy.

Trump slammed his political enemies even as he seemed aware that Charlie would be upset with him for espousing hate at his memorial.

The President said, "He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That's where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent, and I don't want the best for them. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Erika. But now Erika can talk to me and the whole group and maybe they can convince me that that's not right. But I can't stand my opponent."

He added, "Charlie's angry. Looking down, he's angry at me now."

But that didn't stop Trump, whose speech stood in such stark contrast to Erika's speech about forgiveness and reconciliation.