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They first met in middle school—when they were 10, 11, or 12. Back then, Americans couldn’t easily separate themselves based on their beliefs.
“Even then, he was political,” Christina Lorey wrote on social media after Charlie’s death. “A Republican—not an extremist. He was funny, friendly, and always the first to debate anything and everything.”
Lorey, a left-leaning journalist who now lives in Wisconsin, grew up with Charlie Kirk in the suburbs of Chicago. On September 10th, a shooter killed Charlie Kirk, 31, on the campus of Utah Valley University.
Years after their paths diverged, Lorey is paying tribute to her childhood friend. She declined further interviews out of respect for his family.
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In her post, Lorey mentioned that they “became friends,” but not best friends. They worked well together on school projects and had fun doing it.
Then, at the end of 6th grade, both were voted “Most Likely to Become President.” Charlie was much more excited about this than she was.
In high school, they shared a memorable AP Government class during an election year. Former Presidents Barack Obama and John McCain were on the ballot.
Lorey said their government class had only five people, which was rare for a public high school in Illinois. They launched a schoolwide campaign to lower the price of chocolate chip cookies in the cafeteria. Even though she doesn’t remember if it was successful, Charlie’s passion stayed with him until the end.
Before they graduated from Wheeling High School, both were voted “Most Likely to Become President” again. After graduation, Lorey went to college while Kirk started Turning Point USA that summer, an organization advocating conservative politics on high school and college campuses.
“We didn’t talk much besides occasional check-ins,” Lorey said. “I was amazed at the middle school boy who always wanted to debate building something impressive.”
Lorey now boasts 125,000 Facebook followers while sharing good news across Wisconsin.
Last year, 12 summers after graduation, Kirk spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, following an assassination attempt on President Donald Trump. Then, a public assassination attempt happened again when Charlie was killed on a sunny summer day in Utah.
“Fast-forward to today, we didn’t agree on much,” Lorey wrote. “But one thing is for sure—political violence is never okay. EVER. Sending hugs to Charlie’s parents, his sister, wife Erika, and their children.”
We grow up with each other, graduate from high school, and go our own ways. The bonds we shared break, but sometimes we look back on who we were together when tragedy strikes in small towns and city streets across America.
