Absolutely worth three minutes of your time.
Dan Lanning with a lot of really poignant thoughts on the Charlie Kirk assassination.
"The US could learn a lot from our locker room... You walk in that locker room you've got guys of different races, backgrounds, religions, and you've got a team that loves each other."
H/T @MattPrehm for the question
A while ago, probably in 2017, I appeared on Tucker Carlson's Fox show to talk about God knows what. Afterwards a name I barely knew sent me a DM on twitter and told me I did a great job. It was Charlie Kirk, and that moment of kindness began a friendship that lasted until today.
Charlie was fascinated by ideas and always willing to learn and change his mind. Like me, he was skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016. Like me, he came to see President Trump as the only figure capable of moving American politics away from the globalism that had dominated for our entire lives. When others were right, he learned from them. When he was right--as he usually was--he was generous. With Charlie, the attitude was never, "I told you so." But: "welcome."
Charlie was one of the first people I called when I thought about running for senate in early 2021. I was interested but skeptical there was a pathway. We talked through everything, from the strategy to the fundraising to the grassroots of the movement he knew so well. He introduced me to some of the people who would run my campaign and also to Donald Trump Jr. "Like his dad, he's misunderstood. He's extremely smart, and very much on our wavelength." Don took a call from me because Charlie asked him too.
Long before I ever committed (even in my mind) to running, Charlie had me speak to his donors at a TPUSA event. He walked me around the room and introduced me. He gave me honest feedback on my remarks. He had no reason to do this, no expectation that I'd go anywhere. I was polling, at that point, well below 5 percent. He did it because we were friends, and because he was a good man.
When I became the VP nominee--something Charlie advocated for both in public and private--Charlie was there for me. I was so glad to be part of the president's team, but candidly surprised by the effect it had on our family. Our kids, especially our oldest, struggled with the attention and the constant presence of the protective detail. I felt this acute sense of guilt, that I had conscripted my kids into this life without getting their permission. And Charlie was constantly calling and texting, checking on our family and offering guidance and prayers. Some of our most successful events were organized not by the campaign, but by TPUSA. He wasn't just a thinker, he was a doer, turning big ideas into bigger events with thousands of activists. And after every event, he would give me a big hug, tell me he was praying for me, and ask me what he could do. "You focus on Wisconsin," he'd tell me. "Arizona is in the bag." And it was.
Charlie genuinely believed in and loved Jesus Christ. He had a profound faith. We used to argue about Catholicism and Protestantism and who was right about minor doctrinal questions. Because he loved God, he wanted to understand him.
Someone else pointed out that Charlie died doing what he loved: discussing ideas. He would go into these hostile crowds and answer their questions. If it was a friendly crowd, and a progressive asked a question to jeers from the audience, he'd encourage his fans to calm down and let everyone speak. He exemplified a foundational virtue of our Republic: the willingness to speak openly and debate ideas.
Charlie had an uncanny ability to know when to push the envelope and when to be more conventional. I've seen people attack him for years for being wrong on this or that issue publicly, never realizing that privately he was working to broaden the scope of acceptable debate.
He was a great family man. I was talking to President Trump in the Oval Office today, and he said, "I know he was a very good friend of yours." I nodded silently, and President Trump observed that Charlie really loved his family. The president was right. Charlie was so proud of Erika and the two kids. He was so happy to be a father. And he felt such gratitude for having found a woman of God with whom he could build a family.
Charlie Kirk was a true friend. The kind of guy you could say something to and know it would always stay with him. I am on more than a few group chats with Charlie and people he introduced me to over the years. We celebrate weddings and babies, bust each other's chops, and mourn the loss of loved ones. We talk about politics and policy and sports and life. These group chats include people at the very highest level of our government. They trusted him, loved him, and knew he'd always have their backs. And because he was a true friend ,you could instinctively trust the people Charlie introduced you to. So much of the success we've had in this administration traces directly to Charlie's ability to organize and convene. He didn't just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.
I was in a meeting in the West Wing when those group chats started lighting up with people telling Charlie they were praying for him. And that's how I learned the news that my friend had been shot. I prayed a lot over the next hour, as first good news and then bad trickled in.
God didn't answer those prayers, and that's OK. He had other plans. And now that Charlie is in heaven, I'll ask him to talk to big man directly on behalf of his family, his friends, and the country he loved so dearly.
You ran a good race, my friend.
We've got it from here.
For anyone who thinks they “know” about the details of the Epstein files why don’t YOU expose them? You all just want to think the way media lead you to believe. We will probably never know the real truth. So yes, a witch hunt is under way because we will never know.
Humility is discouraged in sports today. Everyone is encouraged to promote themselves and grab as much attention as possible to get as many endorsements as possible. Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler is the best golfer on the world and can’t stop talking about how normal he is, how he’s nothing special, and sometimes it’s difficult for him to even understand why he cares so much about golf because it’s of so little importance. He’s the best role model of my lifetime. I hope he dominates for the next decade so I can show my kids how a real athlete and man of God conducts himself.
“My faith & my family is what’s most important to me… I have the same friends I had growing up, I don’t think I’m anything special because some weeks I’m better at shooting a lower score than other guys are.” — Scottie Scheffler
🚨🚨HUGE BREAKING: A "complete ceasefire" has been agreed to by Israel and Iran beginning in approximately 6 hours in what history may very well refer to as "The 12 Day War."
Pray for a lasting peace in Israel, Iran, and the entire Middle East.
Heavenly Father,
This morning, we lift up our nation.
Heal the wounds in our country.
Unite us not by party or personality, but by purpose, integrity, and love for one another.
Let peace begin with us today.
Amen.
Good morning, everyone!
15 minutes in the sauna.
3x a week.
● Lowers cortisol
● Clears toxins
● Increases growth hormone
It’s not just “self-care.”
It’s mitochondrial therapy.
Are you a dry sauna or infrared person?
BREAKING: DOGE is looking into federal workers who have a high net worth despite having a low salary, according to Elon Musk.
🔥🔥
"We find it sort of rather odd that there are quite a few people in the bureaucracy who who have a salary of a few hundred thousand dollars, but somehow manage to accrue tens of millions of dollars in net worth."
"We're just curious as to where it came from..."
Reducing the federal deficit from $2T to $1T in FY2026 requires cutting an average of ~$4B/day in projected 2026 spending from now to Sept 30.
That would still result in a ~$1T deficit, but economic growth should be able to match that number, which would mean no inflation in 2026.
Super big deal.
where was the Selena Gomez crying video when those poor innocent girls were dragged from the music festival on October 7th, screaming in terror, bloodied and brutalized, paraded through the streets while terrorists chanted in their faces?
it’s been 478 days since they were taken—some of them are still being held hostage
and now, less than a week into deporting actual criminals, the left is in full meltdown mode—where’s the outrage for the girls who are still missing? for the real victims?
the left cherry-picks what matters, crying over criminals while ignoring actual atrocities... the hypocrisy is staggering
I don’t ever want to hear another Democrat say they are the party of law and order ever again.
Joe Biden is corrupt and CLEARLY Democrats are above the law in our country.
Hunter Biden should have gone to prison.
This is pure political corruption.
Rules for thee, not for me.
Every single J6er better get a pardon now.
Every. Single. One.
More than half of American voters voted for Trump. He won the popular vote by a decisive margin!
Cutting someone off just because they voted for the other candidate is close-minded and just plain mean.