Point of View September 8, 2026 – Hour 1 : In His Own Words

[00:00:04] Across America, live, this is Point of View. Kerby Anderson Thank you for joining me. This is the Tuesday edition here of Point of View. Hope you enjoyed the Labor Day weekend and certainly we want to encourage you to be listening all week because this is quite a week if you think about this.

[00:00:33] September 10th, a year ago is when Charlie Kirk was killed and we're going to spend some time talking about that in the first hour. And then of course on September 11th, 25 years ago was of course the 9-11 TAC. We will talk about that in the second hour and of course throughout this week we will have various times to dip into some of those issues.

[00:00:55] So even though we're starting the week out on Tuesday because of Labor Day weekend, we certainly have an opportunity to get into some very important issues. And later on we might open up the phones to give you a chance to join our conversation maybe with some of your reminiscence as well. The first particular focus we're going to have is of course on Charlie Kirk. And for those of you watching online, a hold up this book. It is Charlie Kirk in his own words.

[00:01:24] 240 page book as you can see for those of you watching online and others you will see if you go to our website. 240 pages, about 20 chapters but just chock full of testimonies, some of his own words, lots of pictures. It's a heavy book I might mention in various ways in which the word heavy is used. And so I thought it would be very appropriate to spend an hour talking about that with the author as the book is coming out today.

[00:01:51] So you can be looking for it in your local bookstore but we also have, as you might imagine, a link there as well. The author is Christy Edwards and she is a conservative entrepreneur. She is an individual who has been a Christian and certainly been very much involved in speaking to these issues. She got to know Charlie Kirk back when, as some of us did, not the whole world knew who he was. Remember doing an interview with him when he was a teenager, which dates me as well.

[00:02:20] And was first introduced to him at a Trump fundraiser in Jackson Hole. And again, got to know him and this in some respects is something that would be a great resource for you. It's kind of like a coffee table book and if nothing else, 100% of the author proceeds from this book go to Carry the Torch, a non-profit. She started to fund young leaders in the memory of Charlie Kirk. Christy, thank you first of all for joining us and thank you for writing the book.

[00:02:50] Oh, thank you for having me. Let's see if we can talk about the first time you got a chance to meet him. He is even taller than I am and I think he has quite a presence even at that young age when you met him. And again, I think it tells us a little bit about why you decided to devote so much time and energy to put this book together. Yeah, the book came about organically. I actually wasn't planning on writing a book at all.

[00:03:21] I was grieving and missing Charlie's voice and his words and his show was not on the next day as far as obviously Charlie. And as I was grieving, I just started to go back into my phone. I started to go back through his words, his messages, his emails, our videos. And that was too painful because I wasn't ready.

[00:03:46] And then I just went through X just to see his tweets and of course I think a lot, I'm sure the whole world. You know, I wanted to go back what his last tweet was. What was his last message to the world? And then I, over the weeks and months, I just started over time to go through an archive. It was too painful for me to go back through like some of our personal messages. And so I just, over time as I was grieving, I started to just kind of build things. I have a huge political network of family and friends, which I'm sure a lot of people do.

[00:04:15] And I just started to open up and talk to them. And then they started sending me messages and emails and it turned into kind of testimonials. And so over time it kind of formed itself organically. And I was like, this is a beautiful like tribute. This is going to be a tribute. And I put it together and I happen to be a coffee book table fan. So many in my person, in my home.

[00:04:42] And I, as I got in touch with people that also knew Charlie and were there from the very beginning, I kind of thought, this has to be, this has to be put together. So I was going to maybe put it together for just some inner circle people. When I got in touch with also one of the people that was one of Charlie's mentors, Brent. He was also the author that authored his first book, Time for a Turning Point. He's the one that said, hey, this should be published. And so he submitted it to a publisher, Postal Press.

[00:05:12] And they, within five minutes, took it and it got published. And so it really was just an organic thing, but it's just beautiful images of Charlie from my phone. I never before seen images from literally day one, day one from the time I met him. And I just archived them in my phone. I never, I've never posted them. I've never done anything with them. And then also images from, you know, his career and testimonials from people all over the world of what Charlie meant to them.

[00:05:41] And then also what his death impacted their lives and how they were dealing with it. And then, of course, the statements that were made from people like President Trump, of course, Elon Musk, the Trump family, Gavin Newsom, Rob Reiner. And, you know, people were wondering why I included that. And it was like, well, Rob Reiner was killed like two weeks later.

[00:06:06] And then he had a beautiful tribute to Charlie the day Charlie died. And then Gavin Newsom, yeah, he did. I mean, and the timing of that. And then Governor Newsom was the one that had the first statement out that day after Charlie was assassinated. He was the first one to tweet. And Charlie had done an hour long interview with Gavin Newsom and loved it. He loved that interview. And it actually went viral.

[00:06:35] And Gavin Newsom's son was a fan of Charlie Kirk. And so I did, I did put that in the book as well. And so, yeah, just kind of turned into this project. Gavin Newsom, I just mentioned that as you read through this and you don't know me, but one of the things I do is I look at every single page. And it takes a while to go through 240 pages because every one of them makes you stop. And you're looking at the picture and you're looking at the quote and you're looking at that testimony. You're looking at something else.

[00:07:03] I mean, it's a it's a long process to go through the book. And I was grateful that I had it days ahead of time to do so. And I might just mention since we're coming to a break, what we're going to do is come back and get in some of the details.

[00:07:15] But just to give you a feel in case you are interested in the book, I mean, there are sections, I guess I should say, on faith and key Bible verses, free speech, immigration, Gen Z, schooling, gun control, even the COVID lockdowns and vaccines, the whole issue of Trump and turning point and all of the rest.

[00:07:34] And so, as I said before, 240 pages, lots of pictures, lots of testimonies, as you just pointed out a minute ago, from friends and people who politically would be considered enemies, but still counted him as a individual that they respected, though they may have disagreed with him. And I think it's just a great way to, in some respects, the year later, remind ourselves of the impact that he has had.

[00:08:03] And just as we're coming to a break, you have, if you have been listening to Point of View any length of time, know that in the past we have posted some of our videos. And one of those videos is the speech he gave at the 50th anniversary of Point of View, in which we had Ben Carson and a variety of other individuals. But we gave the award, what was called the Marlon Maddox Award, to Charlie Kirk.

[00:08:28] And we did and have included the speech that he gave when he received that first award that we gave at our 50th anniversary banquet. So, a lot of information about this book, a lot of information about Charlie Kirk on the website. We'll take a break, come back with more right after this.

[00:09:00] This is Viewpoints with Kirby Anderson. Last month, Jim Garrity wrote about the five non-debt problems that the United States government is largely ignoring. Most of those problems resulted from the decline in the U.S. birth rate. He documents how this decline will have ripple effects in the country. The first effect will be a population that will peak and begin declining in the 2050s.

[00:09:25] Americans believe they will have at least two children or more, but the total fertility rate is 1.6 children per woman. Second, the K-12 enrollment collapse has already begun. Fewer children born mean that five years down the line there will be fewer children entering kindergarten and the school system. And fewer children means smaller budgets since funding is based on enrollment. It also means a decline in toy manufacturing and children's book publishing. Third, the higher education enrollment cliff has already begun.

[00:09:55] Back in 2008, when the Great Recession started, the U.S. birth rate entered a steep decline. It is now 18 years later, and there are fewer 18-year-olds around. Fewer high school seniors are applying to college, and many are deciding not to go to college and take on overwhelming student debt. It's also worth mentioning that the impact on the nation will not be uniform. If you overlap a map of where colleges are located with projections of high school graduates, you will notice a disconnect.

[00:10:23] The Northeast and Midwest have the highest density of college campuses, but also have the biggest declines in high school graduates. Colleges cannot relocate when the nearby population shrinks. Sociologists claim that demography is destiny. That is exactly what you see with the declining birth rate in America. I'm Kirby Anderson, and that's my point of view.

[00:10:49] Go deeper on topics like you just heard by visiting pointofview.net. That's pointofview.net. You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth. To join our conversation today with Christy Edwards, and again, the book, Charlie Kirk in His Own Words. As I've pointed out before, 240 different pages, 20 different chapters.

[00:11:17] But, Christy, for just a minute, since you mentioned some of the testimonials, you open up the book, and the first testimonial is from Melania Trump with a beautiful picture of her, then one from Elon Musk, one from Ivanka Trump. If you go a little bit further, you, of course, have the one that you mentioned from Rob Reiner, and then just a veritable who's who of other individuals who took the time to actually give a testimonial

[00:11:41] that either you pulled from the website or some other particular email, or in some cases were actually contributing to this. And it, I think, illustrates again that someone 31 years of age certainly made quite an impact, didn't he? Yes, he did. Obvious global, extremely global. I'm not sure people understand, or the media certainly didn't speak on it.

[00:12:08] But, you know, the president of Japan changed the law that day that he was killed. And, you know, I have a testimonial in there about someone who was in Japan, or not Japan, I'm sorry, India, and wasn't sure what was happening that day and had to stop and find out because people were stopping dead in the streets. And he wasn't sure, so he had to stop and find out. And they said, oh, Charlie Kirk had been shot. And so, I mean, I think all over the world people came to a dead stop that day.

[00:12:38] And that's incredible that a 31-year-old who wasn't a president, who wasn't a global leader, so to speak, as far as his title, but was someone who was sitting on college campuses having conversations, I think the entire world came to a stop. And you had global leaders from all over the world sending condolences, issuing statements, let alone to speak on his funeral. I mean, it was, what, a five-hour that spilled an entire stadium? Mm-hmm.

[00:13:08] You know, the fact that a U.S. president, you know, came, let alone, you know, Elon Musk, who obviously has other things to do, they all stopped and had to change their schedules and come millions and millions and millions of people who tuned in. And everyone stopped, stopped what they were doing to honor this man's life. I mean, that speaks for itself. You certainly don't need me to tell you what that means. I think it's just a great illustration.

[00:13:36] And, again, I would imagine most people will remember where they were this time a year ago. And, of course, next hour we're going to be talking about everybody's certainly going to remember where they were, if they were alive, during 9-11. And that, I think, says something as well. There are certain pivotal events for some of us that are older, when John F. Kennedy was shot, when the Challenger blew up. You know, there's just all sorts of times. 9-11 is one of those. But Charlotte Kirk is another one.

[00:14:05] I think it's just a great illustration of that as well. And I thought it was interesting, over the weekend, of course, we had sports. And one of his posts that you put in here is the double standard, because he says, you know, the Packers and Eagles are scheduled to play this Friday in Brazil. Where X has been banned in a sweeping crackdown on free speech. And he says, let me get this straight. The Major League Baseball took the All-Star Game from Atlanta because Georgia passed their voter integrity laws.

[00:14:30] The NCAA boycotted North Carolina because they had a law to keep mentally ill men out of girls' bathrooms. 30 years ago, the NFL took the Super Bowl away from Arizona because voters didn't vote to make Martin Luther King Day a paid holiday. Why is the NFL bringing its roadshow to Brazil while the country is at war against free speech? And he had this ability to pull together bits and pieces, which once you hear it, you go, oh, yeah, that's right.

[00:14:56] And that was, again, something that was masterful about the way in which he was able to communicate, either on the radio or even before he had a radio program, how he would communicate if we would interview him or how he would communicate on Twitter. And as a result, that just shows, again, the incredible intellectual facility that he had at that young age, given the fact that he always made the point about, I never really went to college. Absolutely. Absolutely.

[00:15:25] Well, and I think that's one of the reasons he was hated is he simplified his level of intelligence and his quick wit and his memory recall, and let alone his own personal IQ. But he said things that it was almost impossible to win a debate or win an argument against him, even though he wasn't trying to hurt you or make you look stupid. That was never his goal, and if you watch any of his clips, you can actually see that.

[00:15:52] He literally was just simplifying things that the left is trying to overcomplicate. There are two sexes, not seven. There are, there's one man, one woman. There are, you know, things that just are completely dumbed down where it's completely overcomplicated. And Charlie would just state simple facts. I actually enjoyed going back through his tweets.

[00:16:21] The guy that I hired to do this, he actually is an ingenue himself. He's highly intelligent. He was, of course, 22. And we had a good time categorizing it because obviously we could not print all of them. The book would have been 1,000 pages. And so we had to select them. But as we were reading them, I finally had a little bit of levity because reading Charlie's tweets, they are hilarious. I mean, he has a really good sense of humor. And so it was kind of nice to see all of them. But you're exactly correct.

[00:16:50] He was absolutely brilliant at just pointing out how absolutely ludicrous and ridiculous things got over the last 15 years. And actually, if you look at his first text, his first tweet in 2011, which I do have in the book, you know, he, well, I started laughing when I thought, but one of his very first tweets, I think it was like his first three tweets, he said, social media will drive a man insane.

[00:17:16] And I was like, wow, how ironic is that, you know, that that was his first one, you know. And the fact that his last tweet was about, you know, Irina, who had her neck sliced open on a public bus ride home after she worked a full shift. The fact that that is even an argument. I mean, the fact that that's something that people, that he got off. I mean, that guy wasn't even punished. He walks onto a bus. I don't give a rat's ass what color his skin is. I don't care.

[00:17:43] You murdered a woman in cold blood. You know, the color of his skin shouldn't ever even be discussed. If you committed cold-blooded murder in its first degree, he needs to be put behind bars for the rest of his life or the death penalty. I don't care which. And Charlie wouldn't have either. And he spoke on it. And he tweeted, that was his last tweet, was about Irina. And I hope they're up in heaven comforting each other. But also think about the trial with this woman with her three children.

[00:18:11] She murdered all three of her children. I would have loved Charlie's thoughts on this. I'm sure we all can assume. But that's the part is I'm missing Charlie in the future now. You know, I won't ever get to hear his thoughts, his tweets, his opinions on everything else that our country is going through now and in the future. Well, let's talk about the impact that he's having on that generation because you have a section, I should say, not necessarily a chapter, but a section on Gen Z.

[00:18:37] Also one that relates to strong men, strong nation because he says we've waged a war on masculinity and celebrate mental illness. And we need strong men and individuals that certainly want to be the kind of people that God wanted them to be. And then he talks about the fact that many of them were affected by the lockdown, the pandemic, anxiety, depression, and the rest. And as a matter of fact, tomorrow we will even have one of our next generation roundtables

[00:19:05] because, Christy, we're concerned about the next generation. And yet at the same time, we've talked about this Charlie Kirk effect. Anybody that goes out at all and looks at any of the video that's on YouTube of the number of athletes in all these college sports this weekend that were praying in the end zone after the game, sometimes before the game, those who were having signs, the fact that we have

[00:19:32] an increase, slight increase, I don't want to overplay this, of young men going to church. A lot of that we attribute to what we call the Charlie Kirk effect. Well, praise God. I mean, Charlie will be celebrating in heaven. And I know he would take that bullet a million times over if even 10 people came to Christ because of him. And that's exactly what our country needs. Our world needs the Bible. There is a God. He is real. And get on your knees and start talking to him. Open.

[00:20:01] And that is exactly what Charlie would want. And I praise God for those athletes. I mean, I just saw an article today that Disney is getting rid of all of its woke crap and that they're going back to the original and simplicity. And it all boils down. And Charlie was exactly right to there is a God. There is accountability. There is morality. He talks about people, you know, the Holy Spirit that was inside of you. But why do you feel shame about things? Why do we feel bad about things?

[00:20:29] Charlie said something beautiful on a video the other day that I just, and he said, why does it feel good when we hear music that makes us uplifted? You know, music is from the Lord. And there's a reason when we hear a hymn or if we're in church or even someplace else. Or there's songs. Why do you think all of a sudden the music that's on Instagram or when music is attached to a video, why are people crying? Why does it uplift us? That's the Holy Spirit. That's God. You wouldn't start having emotions if it wasn't for Christ. And Charlie was big on this. He talked about it a lot.

[00:20:59] He was exactly right. And so I think it's fantastic. Let's take a break because we do have some more to cover. By the way, if you have a comment, we might be able to put a few comments on the air because we certainly want to hear from Christy. But if you'd like, 1-800-351-1212. Most importantly, if you'd like to know about this book, this is now available. Of course, we also have a link to carrythetorch.io so you can find out more about that as well. So as we go to a break, check out some of the information on our website.

[00:21:29] We'll be right back. Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. Those are the words of President Ronald Reagan, a staunch defender against socialism. Sadly, too many Americans have failed to educate this generation about the dangers and failures of socialism. Surveys show that a majority of young Americans hold favorable views of socialism.

[00:21:58] And here's what's really surprising. More than a third of churchgoers prefer socialism to capitalism. How can we prevent freedom's extinction? It's up to patriotic Americans like you, those who believe in the existence of truth, to band together and defend freedom's legacy. Thankfully, there is a team dedicated to doing just that, the Truth Team. And we have a spot for you.

[00:22:28] Join us in defending freedom's legacy. Learn more by visiting pointofview.net or call 1-800-347-5151. That's pointofview.net and 800-347-5151. Point of View will continue after this.

[00:23:00] You are listening to Point of View. The opinions expressed on Point of View do not necessarily reflect the views of the management or staff of this station. And now, here again, is Kirby Anderson. Back once again as we talk with Christy Edwards. And the book is entitled Charlie Kirk in His Own Words. If you would like to find out more about that, we have some links to the website.

[00:23:25] In many places you'll see it says pre-order, but since it's out today, you can actually order it and obtain it. Of course, you may be able to find it in your local bookstore. One place where people, Christy, can find out a little bit more, we also have a link, carrythetorch.io. You don't even have to remember all that. Just click on the picture next to you. We also, of course, have Instagram, which is ChristyIsRight. And we also have X, which is ChristyIsRight. But most importantly, let's talk for just a minute because, as I mentioned at the outset,

[00:23:54] but it's worth mentioning again, the proceeds from this book will go to Carry the Torch, which is funding young leaders in Charlie's memory. So as people go to that website, they can see what you are engaged in. But can you give us a little bit of an overview? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I, of course, wasn't planning on taking any money. And so I wanted to do, I was watching Charlie build Turning Point from the very beginning.

[00:24:23] And I saw what he could do with a very small donation of $10,000. And that was way back then. And so I knew with Carry the Torch, that's very easy. And so we wanted to set up small grants, starting at $1,000, $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, and $25,000. And you can just simply go to the website, apply for it. There's no restrictions or requirements. And just let us know what you're doing, what you'd like to do. I mean, Charlie was a high school student that had just graduated and launched Turning Point.

[00:24:51] And that's what we'd like to know, whether it's a college you can't afford to go to or a plan you can't quite get done or a business plan or you want to run for office or whatever it is, just to further the movement or help America, help the United States. So whatever you want to tell us, we would like to help be a part of that and we would like to help fund that mission. And, you know, I watched Charlie do it. And so there's other kids out there that I know are probably trying to do the same thing.

[00:25:20] One of the things I have is Ted Cruz's testimony. You've got some from different members of Congress. But he said, Heidi and I are devastated and heartbroken. Charlie Kirk's murder was an act of unspeakable evil. But the point I want to get to is he said, Charlie was a close friend. We first met when he was just 18. And Turning Point was a nascent idea. Charlie was courageous, brilliant, compassionate, powerfully honest. He was a strong Christian who boldly proclaimed the gospel. I remember, and this, again, dates me, but that goes back many years,

[00:25:50] when we did interview this young man on Point of View. It was Marlon Maddox, I believe, and I think Pentodextra might have done one of those interviews when he was just kind of getting going. And then I kind of lost track of him. And then our good friend Kelly Shackelford said, Oh, I went out to Phoenix. I got to Scottsdale. I went to see what it was, and he told me more about that. And then not so long ago, we had a good friend that I've worked with for many years. He calls me out of the blue and said,

[00:26:17] I have the opportunity to work with Turning Point in their educational program because he actually was the headmaster of a school that Charlie had gone to. They didn't know each other at the same time, but he knew about him later, wanted to know my thoughts. So in some respects, you and I and some of the listeners have seen the incredible transformation of a young 18-year-old with a great vision

[00:26:44] actually making an incredible impact by the time he turns 30 and 31. And I think that's something that comes through your book as well, doesn't it? Oh, absolutely. And Ted Cruz was at, I can't tell you how many events my children, my son's a few years younger than Charlie when I met him. And so my teenagers got to grow up with Turning Point USA. I had them at every single event that I could possibly get them to. It didn't matter what state they were in. My children were on it.

[00:27:15] So, again, just a great opportunity. I wanted them to see what Charlie was doing. We were a huge supporter of Charlie. And as I was going through my old archive, and I was always at those events and speaking and doing things great. I enjoyed Ted's speeches that were there. I'm sorry, I should probably shouldn't call it these. Excuse me, teenagers, young adults.

[00:27:43] And I was always appreciative because there was a lot of the senators and, like, Ana Polina now who's in Congress. And a lot of those people, and that time with that time, you're not someone who can vote yet. It was Carl at that time. He only cursed that we knew that at that time. And he was still a homer.

[00:28:10] And how little I really – and these were all donors, too, including me. Seemed to be losing you a little bit, so I hope you speak more into the microphone. Yes. Yes. Is that better? Yes. That would be very helpful. Can you hear me better? Yes. Yes, we can. But, you know, he was still a candidate. And so the entire Trump family were a huge support as well.

[00:28:41] And, you know, looking back at all that time, I just realized there were so many people also helping build Turning Point with Charlie. And, obviously, Charlie was, you know, a wonderful leader and definitely at the helm of that ship. But, yeah, it was just very interesting to look back and see the beginning days. That's why building the book was very, you know, going back down memory lane. I just had somebody else text me just a minute ago.

[00:29:06] He's printing an off for the anniversary of Charlie, and he was one of the ones from day one. You know, Charlie, I mean, this was a major effort for Charlie, and it was the entire nation. I mean, I think he had contacts in all 50 states, and he had people that were helping, donating, donating their time, wanting to start chapters. And, I mean, Charlie, when I say he was traveling 360 days a year, that's exactly what he was doing. So, I know he has contacts in all 50 states, but he did not stop.

[00:29:37] Since I mentioned, certainly, Senator Cruz, let me mention Representative Anna Paulina Luna, because it's, again, one of those backstories that I did not know until I actually was able to read your book. Because she says, I will never forget the first phone call I had with Charlie. He was calling to convince me, this is Anna Paulina Luna, to not go to medical school and to join Turning Point USA.

[00:30:03] And when I decided to run for office, and no one would help me, my own party worked against me. That is true. He endorsed me. He was the reason I'm in office today. Sometimes there are no words to describe the barrage of emotions that come with the news, but if nothing else, of course, heartbroken. But here's a good example, and I think only on the other side of heaven will we know all the stories of all the individuals

[00:30:26] that we've influenced either through phone calls, comments, radio programs, books, and everything else. But here was an individual that I was unaware of had had such a contact with Charlie Kirk and originally was going to go to medical school and, of course, now serves in Congress. So it's the kind of stories that you have in your book that as people turn the page, they're going to go, oh, I didn't know he said that, or oh, I didn't know that happened, or oh, I didn't know that person was influenced by him.

[00:30:56] It's just the influence of one solitary life, isn't it? Okay, so we're going to come back and get to her in just a few minutes. While we're doing so, let me, if I can, see what I can do to kind of give you a little bit more of an update. And that is there's some chapters I thought was so appropriate on the subject of schooling and those kinds of issues. So whether it's what's happening with the school board, what was happening during the pandemic and the lockdown,

[00:31:24] those kinds of issues, certainly the case. And I believe we have Christy back, don't we? Well, maybe we don't. Is she on the line? Yes. There we go. Yep. I heard everything you said about the schooling and Ana Polina and everything. Yes. Well, again, that's one of the things that I would not have thought was in the book.

[00:31:47] But there's a whole section there dealing with vaccines, dealing with the pandemic, dealing with, of course, the impact that it's had on Gen Z. And that's part of the experience as well. We went through it. Charlie Kirk went through it. The younger generation went through it. And they're paying the price now in terms of educational performance, aren't they? Yes, absolutely.

[00:32:11] I wanted the book to be a little bit of a history book where I constantly, even though I do posts and I'm very involved in politics, I was tired of scrolling, scrolling, scrolling on X trying to find what Charlie said about something. And I wanted to be able to do it. And I'm a little bit older. I'm 49. I'm getting middle-aged. And so I wanted to be able to have something tactile that I could just quickly go and say, what did he say about that? What was his comments about that?

[00:32:39] And so that's why I wanted to make sure everything, like even when we just had the governor that signed on for the third-term abortions, I quickly went to the book, looked at the abortion chapter. When we had war with Iran, I wanted to quickly go to what Charlie talked about warfare in Iran. He spoke about Iran a lot. I wanted to be able to, during the Fauci hearings, which were just ridiculous, I wanted to be able to go right to Fauci, right to COVID. And so it was so, I got to be honest, I mean, I use my book. It's referenced a lot.

[00:33:05] I've written all over my book because it's just easy to go to who my political compass was Charlie Kirk until September 10th of last year. And so it was easy for me now. I grab my book and I go right to what Charlie said about whatever topic. Now, I don't know how long that will stand the test of time. I do know, kind of like Rush Limbaugh, I still go back to my Rush Limbaugh books. I go back to things Rush has said. And I do know what Charlie Kirk has said will stand the test of time. Let's take a break.

[00:33:33] We'll come back and finish off some of the comments. But again, if you have not seen it, let me hold it up again. Charlie Kirk in his own words. And let's take a break. We'll come back with our friend Christy Edwards right after this.

[00:33:58] You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth. For a few minutes while we talk with Christy Edwards about the book, Charlie Kirk in his own words. Christy, one of the chapters is on elections and fraud. And we are in the midst of an election season. I think it is great that that book comes out on the anniversary of his death and reminding people of his impact. But it also comes out during these midterm elections.

[00:34:24] And anybody that's listened to Charlie Kirk, and I was fortunate oftentimes when I would finish doing Point of View, I would turn on the Salem Radio Network, and I would actually get a chance to hear him talk about chasing ballots, registering individuals, whether it was in the national election two years ago or whether it was even what was going on in Arizona. And you point out in the book that he took elections seriously because he thought that the basics were slipping away.

[00:34:50] And if there's anything that we've needed for the younger generation, it is, number one, to teach them some of the basics of how to run for office, how to get an individual elected and the rest, and also to not give in to this fatalism that says, well, my vote doesn't count. And Charlie Kirk actually wrote quite a bit about that. And you've got a whole section in your book about elections and election fraud. Well, yeah.

[00:35:19] I mean, I think Charlie brought up, I mean, really good points. First of all, you know, there wasn't accountability going on. I mean, Charlie was really good at getting 50 states, making sure there were teams, talking to the youth, making sure to get out the vote. I think a lot of youth didn't think that the vote was, and even down to every single vote. I know even during the first presidential Trump presidency, you know, Charlie was not sitting in the New York Hotel like the rest of us that were for Trump victory.

[00:35:49] Trump, Charlie was in Michigan making sure every single last youth vote was cast. And there's a lot of people in the first-person credit. Charlie, you know, he knew the statistics. He knew how important it was used out to vote. And I think last in 2020, I don't think anyone, at least on our trial, would be 1 million votes.

[00:36:27] We seem to be losing you again. Yep. Having a little bit of problem with the connection there, but if nothing else, again, we'll see if we can get that a little stronger. But, again, the book is entitled Charlie Kirk in His Own Words, A Memorial 1993-2025. And Christy Edwards is, of course, our guest. And, Christy, maybe just since we're having a little trouble with the connection, maybe you could just conclude by talking about how you would hope people would want to use this book.

[00:36:53] Because you've just pointed out the way you use it is oftentimes you find an issue in the news, and you then use the book to go back and say, I wonder what Charlie Kirk had to say about that. And that gives you some direction, doesn't it? Yes. I don't know if this is any better. You know, there's a lot of people out there that don't want to be at this point and have a lot of trouble to really hurt.

[00:37:21] And I'm hoping, you know, for one of those people, he said, I shouldn't see him probably hurt more. And so that was one thing that I saw. And he now has his lap all the time. He's like, you know, favorite foods, his favorite scripture, his favorite book to read. Read them. Like, they will change your perspective on things.

[00:37:50] I mean, Charlie was very into education, and he was very good at it. And so I just, I think if you were a fan of Charlie, I think you're going to love this book and enjoy it. It's just a tribute to Charlie. I think so. Will, first of all, I want to just say thank you for writing the book. Thank you for giving us an hour. I'm sorry some of the connection didn't work out well. But we also have the highlights of Point of View, and we'll put some of the ones and the very good comments you've put in there on Spotify, and people can listen to that as well.

[00:38:18] So, Christy, I appreciate you writing the book. And, again, thank you for joining us here on Point of View. Well, thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it. God bless. One of the other things that I thought was interesting in the book is the whole question of invitation to debate. And that is, if you've ever been around Charlie Kirk or you've been at any of the Turning Point events, some of the things on campus, that was the case.

[00:38:42] And it points out that Charlie Kirk liked the part of politics where you cannot hide a microphone, a chair, a crowd, and a clock. Debate forced clarity. Of course, we've seen him do formalized debates at Oxford. We've, of course, seen a lot of just the give and take that he did on various campuses. And he really trusted, as it says, the format because it rewarded preparation and exposed some of the slogans. You would get some of these slogans that some of these university students would have,

[00:39:12] or they would just say discouraging, disparaging things. And he'd say, well, do you have a better argument than that, rather than just to talk about, you know, my face or my ears or that I'm a fascist or whatever. And so, in some respects, those campus debates were very important. And as somebody who spent many years before actually doing this radio program speaking on campus,

[00:39:36] I'm well aware of the fact that many times those debates were closed down. Even opportunities to speak to students were sometimes closed down. But he was smart to simply say, well, if we can't go into the classroom, if we can't go into the auditorium, we can just set up a card table right here in the mall of the particular campus and start speaking.

[00:40:00] Because, after all, universities are supposed to be a place where we have free speech and free thought and open dialogue. And so, in some respects, that got even more frustrating for some of the campus liberals because students would then show up with the idea that we can embarrass this dummy. And very quickly, that didn't work out so well. As the article points out here, he really enjoyed his craft.

[00:40:27] Quick recall, humor under pressure, staying calm while being baited, turning a hostile moment into a clear point. He built a whole system around that skill. And, again, just a great illustration of the fact that we can, if we are given even an opportunity, and in some cases he had to make the opportunity because the campus wasn't necessarily open to presenting another side, we then, if we are given an opportunity or we make our own opportunity,

[00:40:55] we can then put these arguments and these slogans out in the light and in daylight where there's no censorship and no hiding and an opportunity to turn some of these ideas and discussions around in a way that would be very effective. So, let me, again, mention that we have some great resources for you today. First of all, of course, the book has just come out. And if you click on the picture of the book, Charlie Kirk and His Own Words,

[00:41:24] you can perhaps order it online. I would encourage you to go to your bookstore if they carry these kinds of books, which I hope they would, and this would be a way in which you could support them. If you'd like to know a little bit more about this organization that Christy Edwards has put together, it is one which is a real goal to actually put in the hands of some of the, if you will, future Charlie Kirks some resources so that they can build a system like this as well.

[00:41:54] And so the goal is 100 Young Leaders, 100 Reasons to Hope, and how you can be a part of that if you would like. And, of course, if you'd like to know more about that, you can simply go to carrythetorch.io, and all of that is available at our website at pointofview.net. Let me just mention real quickly that we're going to take a break, but my commentary today, my Viewpoints Commentary, is about birth rate effects.

[00:42:22] There was a very good piece that Jim Garrity put out the other day, Five Non-Debt Problems the United States Government Largely is Ignoring, and at least three and almost four of those five have to do with the fact that we have a declining birth rate and the impact that's happening in various schools. So let me just encourage you to find that Viewpoints Commentary. Of course, we also have our Take Action item on a number of different issues. And, of course, I mentioned some of the videos, including the one that we had in the past,

[00:42:52] which was a video of Charlie Kirk speaking at the 50th anniversary of Point of View. It was three years ago. Hard to believe. We come back. We're going to talk about 9-11, what was happening at that time, and we're going to have a chance to talk with Sujo John in studio right after this. I'm sure that you've noticed that social media is now filled with information generated by AI.

[00:43:20] Dramatic descriptions of politicians and music stars supposedly making statements about a current issue, leaning into the microphone, looking into the lens, opponents silenced. It's powerful. It's riveting. And it's all lies. Even several national television networks were recently found using enhanced pictures, meaning manipulated, falsified, literally not giving a true picture.

[00:43:48] So many liars. So much deception. Where can we turn for truth? Right here from Kirby and the team at Point of View. We need your support. Please join the Point of View Truth team today with a monthly gift of $30 or more. Together, we can shine the light of truth and dispel the darkness and deception of this day. Give now at pointofview.net

[00:44:16] or call 1-800-347-5151 pointofview.net and 800-347-5151 Point of View will continue after this.