All it took was one word to flip the tone of an entire room — and light up the internet.
Erika Kirk was on stage at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest this weekend for what was supposed to be a carefully scripted, emotionally resonant moment. As she presented the inaugural Charlie Kirk Courage Award to Utah Valley University student Caleb Chilcutt, the goal was to honor perseverance and reinforce the movement’s sense of purpose after the death of its founder.
Instead, Kirk delivered a line no one was expecting.
“Despite the devastating loss of Charlie Kirk, my incredible husband at UVU, Caleb has persisted with the same grift.”
The pause that followed said everything. Kirk quickly tried to walk it back, swapping in “gift,” then finally landing on the intended word: “grit.” She waved it off with, “It has been a long day!” before turning to Chilcutt and adding, “Trust me, you’re not a grifter, honey. It’s all good.”
But the moment was already gone. The word had escaped, and it landed with a thud — especially among critics who believe it accidentally said the quiet part out loud.
Within minutes, clips began circulating. Commentators didn’t treat it like a harmless verbal stumble. They treated it like a tell.
“This is the greatest Freudian slip of all time,” author Richard Hanania noted on X.
“Erika Kirk, a grift that keeps grifting,” Canadian comedian Deven Green, who portrays Mrs. Betty Bowers (America’s Best Christian) online, wrote on BlueSky.
“Erika Kirk for the win. Closes out the year as the queen of one of the all time worst Freudian slips,” attorney and documentarian Gary Douglas wrote on Threads.
The reason the reaction was so intense has less to do with the word itself and more to do with the moment in which it was said.
Since Charlie Kirk’s high-profile assassination in September, Erika Kirk has rapidly become the public face of Turning Point USA. She’s taken on a nonstop schedule of speeches and media appearances, vowing to continue her late husband’s mission and double down on a nativist, fundamentalist Christian vision of the country.
That transformation hasn’t been universally embraced. Critics have openly accused Kirk of capitalizing on tragedy, arguing that grief has been folded into branding, fundraising, and political momentum. Fair or not, that narrative has been simmering — and when “grift” slipped into her speech, it poured gasoline on the fire.
Erika Kirk tried to laugh it off. The internet did what it always does: replayed it, dissected it, and turned it into a symbol.
Watch Kirk’s verbal fumble below:
