From pageants to politics: Erika Kirk’s rise as the new face of the Maga movement
Nothing makes a politician more potent – and palatable – than a strong dose of improbability. And no political figure in the US was as improbable as Erika Kirk. Barely a month ago, the 36-year-old mother of two was a veritable unknown to most Americans over 40 or removed from the political right. She was beloved by followers of her late husband, Charlie, the 31-year-old conservative leader who was killed at a Utah rally earlier this month.
Despite their relative obscurity to most of the nation, the Kirks were a very big deal. At Charlie’s memorial, none other than US president Donald Trump stood alongside Erika as she eulogised and lionised her husband, who founded youth-focused conservative organisation Turning Point USA in 2012.
In the wake of her husband’s assassination, the almost saint-like status unanticipatedly bestowed on the Kirks has not been lost on the group. While there is little doubt that the widow is now is poised to propel the conservative movement beyond Charlie’s image, does she possess a strong enough presence of her own for Turning Point – and young conservatism – to succeed without her husband? Turning Point certainly believes so. It swiftly named her the group’s new CEO – a move, says the organisation, that Charlie “wanted in the event of his death”.
As a former beauty queen and college basketball player, Erika is just as fluent as her husband in the intricacies of public image. Her professional career is disparate, if not random. Podcaster, estate agent, streetwear brand founder and PhD student all form parts of her CV, which, despite its variety, reads relatively thin.
But that is in some ways by design. Erika and Charlie Kirk had an “Ephesians 5”-style marriage. The phrase, largely unknown beyond traditional Christian circles, takes its name from a verse in the Bible that calls on women to “submit” to their husbands.
Erika was, first and foremost, a wife and mother. But she had also absorbed the optics of the conservative ideology – high heels, Maga-blonde hair and make-up that only a beauty-pageant winner could achieve. More than merely understanding the power of image, she has long lived it. And this, most of all, will aid her in overseeing both her own and Turning Point’s evolution.
Most crucially, she has unlimited support from the most implausibly successful politician of the modern era. Like her, the president landed into politics without experience. Their paths, believe pundits, might well have crossed when Trump owned the Miss USA pageant, in which Erika unsuccessfully competed in 2012. This is not necessarily a new relationship, then, but it could define a new Maga era.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has learned from the mistake of his first term to promptly (and radically) enact the agenda of his second. As such, he is poised to protect Erika from any potentially damaging missteps. As much as she clearly benefits from her association with Trump, he also benefits from the arrangement. Notoriously misogynistic, the presence of powerful-looking women within his inner circle helps to soften and humanise him. With Ivanka Trump apparently retired from politics, Erika provides a millennial replacement with a strong moral case and none of the First Daughter’s political baggage.
Indeed, the only person to lose out as a result of Erika’s rise is Lara Trump, a news commentator and former co-chair of the Republican National Committee, who is causing a stir among the Maga crowd. Both have been spoken about as future elected officials for – and they might very well become so. The Republicans lack a clear succession plan for the 2028 election. A Lara Trump/Erika Kirk ticket remains wildly improbable. But improbability is what seems to get the Trumps elected.
David Kaufman is a writer and journalist based in New York. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.
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