This is too good -'His legacy is cringe': how Charlie Kirk became a meme among the young - even his supporters [View all]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/09/charlie-kirk-meme-young-supporters

Crude jokes about the Maga luminary are exploding online – less than a year after conservatives were suppressing any slander against him

The online noise also demonstrates how Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, has struggled to retain its grip on online discourse since his death – even with his widow, Erika, at the helm – and how quickly other rightwing influencers have sought to supplant him. (Turning Point did not respond to a request for comment.)

“The jokes about Charlie Kirk are symbolic of what have been pretty seismic shifts happening within the online culture,” said Eviane Leidig, director of research and outreach at the Center for the Study of Organized Hate.

A lot of young people [are] looking at him and the legacy of his messaging and thinking that it’s really cringe
Eviane Leidig

“After his passing, there was really a power vacuum when it came to who was going to be the next big voice for young conservatives and for Maga,” she continued. Figures such as Candace Owens and the white nationalist Nick Fuentes are among those who have jockeyed for clout.