Erika Kirk with The New York Times: Charlie Kirk’s wife hits back at Jessica Grose’s article, defending traditional family values
Erica Kirk, widow Charlie Kirk and leaders turning point americaThe Times responded to a New York Times newsletter on Friday saying it failed to capture fundamental issues surrounding marriage and children.
“This @nytimes op-ed completely misses the purpose of marriage and children and completely misrepresents my perspective on the process. The entire article views family through the lens of money and career, as if these things bring fulfillment and purpose,” Kirk wrote.
“When you’re on your deathbed, your money and career won’t whisper ‘I love you’ in your ear as you take your last breath. The material possessions and possessions of this world mean nothing as we move toward our eternal resting place.”
New York Times reporter Jessica Gross quoted Erica Kirk in her article
Jessica Grose, Opinion staff writer new york timeswrote an article titled “The Gap Between the Families We Have and the Families Conservatives Want,” in which she quoted Kirk’s speech at Hillsdale College’s May commencement ceremony.
According to Gross, Kirk mentioned that if her late husband were still alive, he would promote young marriage.
Gross further noted that Charlie would suggest, “Have more kids than you can handle.” She highlighted criticism of Kirk’s comments, which come amid rising gas and grocery prices.
“Kirk promotes her message as countercultural, and in a sense, it is. In June, a 21-year-old married speaker told the Turning Point Women’s Leadership Summit that she was breaking the culture by declaring her husband the head of the household and calling feminism a “psychiatrist.” But young marriage is not what most Americans want,” Gross wrote.
Erica Kirk defends her views on marriage and children
Kirk noted in her post that the author “conveniently omitted the part in my Hillsdale commencement speech where I said, “Marry young, not in a hurry, but young.”
“Encouraging more Americans to start families does not necessarily mean a stubborn, reluctant return to patriarchal, medieval Christian views of marriage,” Gross said. “Conservatives use outdated terms to describe ideal 21st century relationships, ignoring the stark reality of how Americans really want to live and live.”
In his reply, Kirk said individuals should not delay having children.
“We serve a God of order, and when you live an orderly life, there is double grace. That means marriage first, then kids, and everything else. Timing is important because life is shorter than you think, and you never know what’s going to happen. The point is, don’t procrastinate. If it’s not right, don’t rush it or force it, but don’t procrastinate either,” Kirk wrote in response to Gross’s article.
Kirk married her husband in 2021, when she was 32 and Charlie Kirk was 27. She doesn’t think the age difference is too big; however, she expressed her hope that they would meet sooner and start a family sooner.
“There is no such thing as a perfect time to have a baby. Financial hardship is a part of life, but the problem is that many Americans are self-reliant, not self-sacrificing, and they expect to live a very unique lifestyle based on what they see online. When Charlie encourages young people to have more kids than they can afford, he’s not talking about the recklessness of bringing kids into the world and letting them live on welfare. He’s saying that once you hit a certain tax bracket threshold, kids are not a luxury. You don’t need a mansion to start a family,” she said.
