Don Jr.'s Unexpected Speech At Charlie Kirk's Memorial Has People Divided

For many in the MAGA movement, the late Charlie Kirk wasn't just an influential pundit — he was a friend. Vice President JD Vance had a close relationship with Kirk, and first son Barron Trump was reportedly quite emotional about the loss. It's clear Barron's oldest brother, Donald Trump Jr., was grieving over the assassination, but he had a unique way of showing it while on stage at Kirk's memorial service on September 21.

Donald Trump Jr. does an impression of his father, President Trump, at Charlie Kirk's memorial service. pic.twitter.com/XTTUyJBFsU

— Fraser Jackson (@FrazJ) September 21, 2025

Of course, memorials don't have to be completely devoid of levity, and it's not uncommon for mourners to treat these tributes as opportunities to celebrate the life of the person who was lost. However, Trump Jr. bizarrely took this opportunity to discuss his own bad behavior on social media and his father's interventions when things go too far. And perhaps most oddly, he decided to imitate dear old dad during his speech, pulling out a DJT impression for the books. The internet thought it was quite the choice to give his comedy a trial run at this particular moment, and social media commenters were quick to call him out on it.

Conservatives have been rallying around one another, so it wasn't necessarily surprising when fellow right-wing commentator Tomi Lahren took to X to say, "Donald Trump Jr: The comedic relief we needed." Someone else agreed, writing, "That was wonderful... Charlie would have loved it!"

But others were quick to call out Donald Trump Jr. for doing what Trumps do best: talk about the Trumps. As one X user exclaimed, "They literally can't help but make it about themselves," followed by the laugh-cry emoji. Another X commenter echoed almost the exact same sentiments, writing, "Horrible taste. Don got up there and thought how can I make this about myself."

Some might argue Trump Jr. could use a lot of work on his delivery — and that it's strange that he, of all people, would struggle with mimicking his own father's signature affect and cadence. Timing is key in comedy too, and if the joke itself wasn't awkward enough for some people, then the protracted pause to give the audience more than enough time to clap for his performance sure was. It's fair to say the bit was giving Jeb Bush "please clap" energy and many found the setting to be a bold choice for the routine.

Charlie Kirk made huge inroads with young voters via his Turning Point USA organization, which was particularly focused on recruiting high school and college students into the conservative political sphere. So when he was murdered, it was a foregone conclusion that the entire right wing was going to unite to commemorate their deceased ally (and even if that wasn't obvious from the beginning, Charlie Kirk's wife, Erika Kirk, directly stated as much in her first video statement after his death). It's no surprise that his memorial became an hours-long lives-treamed event in an arena full of supporters, politicians, and the president himself. 

Luckily for Don Jr., he was only one in a long line of speakers who took to the podium to lament the loss of one of the most influential MAGA figures of all time. And, when the other eulogizers are people like Tucker Carlson, Vice President JD Vance, and President Donald Trump, it's likely that Donald Trump Jr. won't have the most memorable moment of the memorial. In fact, after Erika tried to tone down the rhetoric about right versus left, the president snapped, "I hate my opponent and I don't want the best for them... Sorry, Erika."