Erika Kirk's Slip Of The Tongue At AmFest 2025 Will Be Sure To Give Her Haters Fuel

Ever since controversial conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk was killed during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University, in September 2025, his wife has been making headlines. From Erika Kirk's statement making outfits to her cozy embrace with Vice President JD Vance, which jumpstarted a messy MAGA rumor about Erika moving on from Charlie a bit too soon, she's consistently garnered a lot of attention. The former pageant queen took over as the CEO of Turning Point USA, the organization that her late husband founded, which promotes conservative viewpoints to high school and college kids. 

As such, Erika was a featured speaker at AmericaFest, aka AmFest, Turning Point USA's annual event. Of course, when she used the word "grift" instead of "grit" in one of her speeches at the event, it lit up social media. Erika was presenting the new Charlie Kirk Courage Award to Utah Valley University student Caleb Chilcutt at the time, when she said: "Despite the devastating loss of Charlie Kirk, my incredible husband at UVU, Caleb has persisted with the same grift, excuse me, grit..." The mother-of-two quickly caught herself and, looking embarrassed, she explained the slip by admitting, "It has been a long day." 

Erika Kirk: "Despite the devastating loss of Charlie Kirk, my incredible husband, at UVU, Caleb has persisted with the same grift, excuse me, grit..."

This is the greatest Freudian slip of all time. pic.twitter.com/WMLhCqhnrg

— Richard Hanania (@RichardHanania) December 21, 2025

Netizens immediately seized on the jaw-dropping moment, with many describing it as a Freudian slip, which is when someone misspeaks in a way that's thought to show a glimpse into their unconscious desires. As one user on X, formerly known as Twitter, posted, "The truth came out, then she tried to cover it up by saying the right word, and then faking it to make it sound like she's confused because she's tired. She's a practiced con-artist." Another snarked, "Charlie Kirk gone, but the grift lives on like a family heirloom."

Erika Kirk's slip-up might have been a bit awkward in the moment, but she had plenty of defenders online to counteract the many very vocal detractors. Some people refused to believe the video was authentic, assuming that it was an AI creation. Likewise, a Reddit user thought it was intentional trolling on the new Turning Point CEO's part, arguing, "I'm pretty sure that isn't a Freudian slip. She's toying with her audience and baiting the left. The right's too stupid to realize, and the left will throw a hissy fit. In the end she stays relevant." Naturally, though, this verbal flub is just one more thing for critics to use against Erika.

Obviously, we know that there's no right way to grieve, but there are those who haven't really understood the former pageant queen's public response to Charlie Kirk's death, with some people even seeing it as more performative (consider her entrance to her husband's memorial service, which featured elaborate pyrotechnics). Others aren't impressed with the fact that Erika received millions from donations in the wake of his death, as reported by the Daily Mail. And there are those who are baffled by Erika Kirk's transformation into a public figure, particularly since she has spoken about a woman's place being in the home.