One year after Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University, Fox News contributors Miranda Devine and Ben Domenech told Larry Kudlow the Republican Party still hasn't replaced what he brought to it.
The show marked the anniversary with a live report from the campus, then pivoted straight into Trump's midterm-convention speech from the night before, treating grief and campaign strategy as two halves of the same segment.
"That's something that is impossible to replace."
Devine is a New York Post columnist and Fox News contributor; Domenech is a Fox News contributor reporting live from the Republican midterm convention in Dallas.
I listened to the full segment so you can skip it.
Here are the 4 moments that matter.
👤 Guests: Miranda Devine, New York Post columnist and Fox News contributor, and Ben Domenech, Fox News contributor
👥 Also on: Matt, a Fox News correspondent reporting from Utah Valley University
🎙️ Host: Larry Kudlow, former Director of the National Economic Council under the first Trump administration
📰 Published: 10 September 2026 on Fox Business, and on the Kudlow podcast feed
🟣 Apple Podcasts | ⏱️ 46 min
Key Takeaways
Domenech says what Charlie Kirk brought to the GOP is impossible to replace
His read: Kirk's unique connection to young conservatives, not any organizational role, is what's gone
Utah Valley University marked the anniversary with a moment of silence and a new statue unveiled at Turning Point USA's Phoenix headquarters
Trump used his convention speech to attack Roy Cooper and Abdul El Sayed by name, calling Democrats' midterm slate "the most extreme and dangerous group of candidates"
Devine credits Trump with reframing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's Senate primary in the speech
Both panelists think Republicans have an opening to buck historical midterm trends, tied to how radical they say the Democratic coalition has become
1. One Year Since Charlie Kirk
A Fox correspondent named Matt reported live from Utah Valley University, where Kirk was killed a year earlier.
The campus marked the moment itself. A bell rang and a moment of silence was held in the courtyard at the exact time of the killing; the massive American flag put up after the assassination was raised again for the anniversary
Charlie's signature white tent, which filled the courtyard last year, was back, and Turning Point USA was hosting an all-day campus event, "Beat of Freedom Built to Last," with no classes held to mark the anniversary
Matt reported that some students had objected to Turning Point USA returning to campus, and that university leadership said it welcomes all types of organizations
A new statue of Kirk was unveiled the same day at Turning Point USA's headquarters in Phoenix, where friends gathered for prayer and worship
Matt relayed that Erika Kirk, Charlie's widow, planned to mark the day privately with family, and had written publicly that grief is universal regardless of politics and never fully disappears, even as life continues alongside it
2. What the GOP Lost
Kudlow asked Domenech whether Kirk's absence damages the Republican Party's ability to reach voters, and whether the party loses the benefit of the organization he built without his leadership.
Domenech said most people today are focused on Erika Kirk and what she's endured over the past year, and that people close to Charlie are praying for her and her family
His answer on the loss itself: "That's something that is impossible to replace." He added that not everyone has the skill Kirk had for urging people toward conservative values, both through how he lived and through his eloquence
He framed the mood in Dallas as more hopeful than the loss alone would suggest: Republicans see a narrative building that could let them buck historical midterm trends against a Democratic coalition he called radicalized by its own leadership
3. Trump's Closing Argument
Devine, who watched Trump's nearly two-hour convention speech in person, called it close to his final major campaign speech before he leaves office.
"I think you did. He was optimistic," Devine said when asked whether Trump made his economic and political case to the country
She said the speech reframed the Republican Senate primary in Texas. Kudlow played a clip of Trump attacking Democrats by name over their midterm slate: "The Democrats have nominated the most extreme and dangerous group of candidates. The Democrat nominee is Abdul El Sayed." Trump went on to accuse El Sayed of wanting to pack the Supreme Court with far-left justices, then named North Carolina's Roy Cooper, saying Cooper "worked with anti- police radicals to release thousands and thousands of dangerous criminals, murderers"
Devine credited Trump with recasting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's image for his own Senate primary, despite what she called Paxton's rough public persona, arguing his legal record makes him one of the best attorneys general in the country
She also cited policy lines she said the public had forgotten, including making English the official language of the United States, alongside the border, crime and economic material Trump leaned on
4. Can They Buck History?
Kudlow closed by asking whether Republicans can defy the historical pattern of the president's party losing seats in a first midterm.
Domenech pointed to John Fetterman introducing his Senate colleague Dave McCormick as a signal moment of the convention, arguing Republicans have a little more than 50 days to reassert themselves in a unified way against the tide Democrats have been hoping for since the start of the cycle
Devine said Trump is uniquely suited to sell the message himself: no one, in her view, "can sell the country better than him." She said the audience responded to his patriotism and his description of the political opposition as "a little dark cloud hanging over America" that Republicans intend to clear
She called the $5,000 dividend a mistake worth dropping, but said the roll of the dice could pay off if Republicans somehow hold the House, and pointed to the individual tax cuts on tips and overtime as the more durable growth message alongside border security and falling crime
Bonus Insights
Kudlow's own aside connected the segment's two halves. He noted that between the Kirk anniversary and Trump's speech, "America belongs to those who love it" was the line he most wanted Republicans to keep repeating through the campaign
Devine's closing dig was aimed at Texas Democrats. She said "the dream of every left-winger is to carry Texas" and predicted state Senator James Talarico would not realize that dream this cycle, however he tries to remake his image
Devine and Domenech's shared bottom line is that Trump remains the party's best messenger heading into the midterms, even as both acknowledge Kirk's absence and the $5,000 dividend as real liabilities.
Products, Companies & Tools Mentioned
Turning Point USA (The organization Charlie Kirk founded; hosted the anniversary campus event and unveiled his statue at its Phoenix headquarters)
New York Post (Where Miranda Devine is a columnist)
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