In a recorded interview conducted on the day of Charlie Kirk’s memorial, Dennis Prager shares what he would have said had he been on stage, recounts his personal friendship with Kirk, and describes a recorded audio tribute he made for the ceremony. Prager highlights an anecdote from his high‑school friend, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, about how the children of the deceased often feel they are the most loved, linking it to the deep affection Kirk’s friends felt for him. He praises Kirk’s courage, extensive knowledge, and ability to answer challenging student questions, noting the remarkable impact Kirk had on his audience. Prager also comments on the high‑profile attendance at the memorial (including the president, vice‑president, and cabinet members) and uses a timber‑workers’ saying—"you never know the height of a tree until it falls"—to illustrate the magnitude of Kirk’s influence. The interviewer notes the flood of public messages urging Prager to speak, underscoring the audience’s desire to hear his perspective.
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So Dennis, we're sitting here today on the day of the memorial of Charlie Kirk. I came here because I wanted to sit with you knowing that it is very likely that if you could, you would have been on that stage speaking in memory of Charlie, but sadly you couldn't. And so the world still wants to hear what you have to say and maybe what you would have said if you were on stage.
Well, I think you're right. I think I, I would have been invited. Erica knew of our friendship and how much I had touched Charlie's life. As I mentioned earlier, he claimed to have listened to more of my talks and choruses than than probably anyone else, and he might be right. And he's dedicated his last book to me, and I was very moved by that. I did record something for them, but it was without video, and I'm not even sure she ever got to hear it. And in it, I commented on something I mentioned to you at the beginning. When my friend from high school, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, told me— and he's officiated at, I'm sure, at least 100 funerals. What he does is he speaks to the friends and the widow or widower and the children. And he was particularly moved when he would meet the children of the person who died, and they would each tell him that they believed that they were the most loved of the children. And that's what Charlie's friends think. We were all the closest friend that he had. And you heard at the memorial That's what people felt. That's what Charlie was able to achieve, which is a very great accomplishment. And I would have spoken about his courage, but not just courage, his knowledge. I mean, I would watch him respond to all these students who threw everything they had at him, and his responses were so excellent and so knowledge-based. I couldn't get over how much he knew and how much he retained. Anyway, it was all very remarkable.
Pretty amazing to see almost the entire cabinet, the vice president, the president, all gathered in one place, right?
What is most remarkable is even I, and I'm not sure Charlie knew how big his impact was. There's a saying among the timber workers in Oregon You never know the height of a tree until it falls. That's the case with Charlie.
Thank you for sharing. Thank you for your wisdom. I'll share with you that I have received hundreds and hundreds of text messages saying that you should have been on that stage and you would have been if you could have.
Yeah.
And, uh, I'm glad I got to sit with you here today. Being with you today was really a, a great honor, and I know that Many, many people wanted to hear from you, so it's a great pleasure to be here.
Being with you is an honor and a joy. You have really enabled PragerU to have the impact it has had.
