What to Know
Regardless of what you think about Erika Kirk, her alleged tear drops at public appearances, and her general attitude following Charlie Kirk‘s death, the girl cannot catch a break. Does that mean everyone cares that she can’t catch a break with her harshest critics? Eh, not really. So when she showed up at the State of the Union Address and Donald Trump gave her a shoutout in his speech, her tears over Charlie didn’t do much for her haters.
They didn’t fly to social media to suddenly pour their hearts out for the window Kirk. Instead, people left lots of comments on a post on X (formerly Twitter) with a video from the State of the Union Address. In the video, Erika dabs at her eyes with a tissue after Trump talks up Charlie. And, as Erika’s haters tend to do, they accused her of pretending to be sad.
Trump: Erika. Please stand. Thank you. Erika. pic.twitter.com/DoOFNpkShb
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 25, 2026
People don’t understand why Erika Kirk was at the State of the Union Address.
From what Erika wore to the event versus her funeral attire for Charlie to her reaction to Trump’s words about her late husband, people just weren’t buying it after the State of the Union Address aired live on television. Some questioned why Erika was even in attendance at the event, which is usually reserved for politicians and important figures in politics in general.
In a way, Erika is, because of her role in Turning Point USA and the legacy that Charlie left behind in the eyes of conservative individuals who hung on the podcast host and right-wing activist’s every word. Erika was at the State of the Union Address because Trump planned to pay tribute to Charlie and Charlie’s work, which he did. But come on. Everyone had to expect that everything Erika said and did would be scrutinized. She has too many haters to just get away with being there.
Some think she was “fake crying.”
On X, one user pointed out that Erika wore the traditional black funeral clothing to the State of the Union Address event rather than to Charlie’s funeral.
“She wore white to her husband’s funeral and wore all black to the sotu?” They wrote. “I didn’t watch, but if this image is from this evening, it looks like performative dressing to me.”
Someone else added, “She still pretending to be sad and distraught?”
To that, a user responded that they were waiting for Erika to take out her “crusty” tissue. You know, the one that materializes any time Erika sheds a tear. Or, in this case, according to critics, her fake tears.
Others who responded to the video on X claimed that they couldn’t detect real tears from Erika in the shots of her at the event. Others said she had “fake tears.” Whether that means nonexistent tears or some sort of fake tear solution is unclear, but hey, why not both?
“Erika stands, limbs heavy with grief, tears sparkling in her eyes but not smearing her makeup, and smiles beatifically at the adoring crowd,” another person wrote in the thread.
