In 2012, a teenager named Charlie Kirk made his live TV debut on “Fox & Friends.”
That morning, the 18-year-old sat across from Ainsley Earhardt and announced he had launched a group where young Americans concerned about the direction of the country could find a home.
The group was called SOS Liberty.
It was a nascent form of what would later become Turning Point USA.
On Thursday, the day after Kirk’s assassination in Utah, Fox News shared the interview on X.
The network wrote: “FLASHBACK: In 2012, a teenage Charlie Kirk made his live TV debut on @foxandfriends — a moment that launched his path to founding Turning Point USA and becoming a leading voice for young conservatives.”
The clip instantly went viral.
What was apparent at the time was how eloquent the then-teenager was at communicating his message.
Kirk spoke about reining in spending and mobilizing young people to get engaged on the issues that would affect their lives.
He did it with charisma and charm.
FLASHBACK: In 2012, a teenage Charlie Kirk made his live TV debut on @foxandfriends—a moment that launched his path to founding Turning Point USA and becoming a leading voice for young conservatives. pic.twitter.com/CIQPxxC7yp
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 11, 2025
And looking back, that interview was more than a TV spot. It was the country’s introduction to one of the most influential people of his generation.
Kirk showed Fox’s viewers a blueprint for what he wanted to do, and then he spent the next 13 years methodically building something huge.
An 18-year-old took a rough sketch on Fox News and spent his life turning it into a reality.
Brick by brick, speech by speech, campus by campus, he followed the blueprint he revealed to America that day.
He would go on to fly aboard Air Force One, have the ear of the White House, and still find time to talk to students face-to-face on campuses nationwide.
Knowing how Kirk’s life played out and ended is both inspiring and heartbreaking, and the Fox News clip evokes a lot of emotion.
Even though Kirk was taken from his family and the world on Wednesday by an assassin, his first interview should inspire us.
It should remind us that great dreams begin as passionate ideas, and that great men who have the courage to build them can succeed.
Charlie Kirk was one of those men.
He was always going to be a star, no matter what he decided to do.
The millions of us he inspired are blessed that he chose to devote his life to sharing our messages and values in a way only he could do.
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