In the wake of right-wing thought leader Charlie Kirk’s death on Sept. 10, conservative influencers rushed to online platforms to mourn and celebrate his efforts toward their political movement.
Many of them live in Nashville.
Over the last five years, Music City developed its reputation as a hub for conservative and Christian media. Ben Shapiro’s The Daily Wire publicly announced its relocation from Los Angeles to Nashville in 2020, citing reasons like political favorability and Tennessee’s lack of an income tax.
The nation’s leading Christian media nonprofit Educational Media Foundation — behind KLOVE, Air1 and plenty of Christian musicians — also moved to the area in 2021. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee even broadcasted his talk show from the Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Hendersonville studios until recently.
While Kirk and his organization remained located in Phoenix, Arizona, many of his friends, coworkers and supporters followed the migration to Tennessee or were based here already. They include influencers and conservative media contributors Candace Owens, Dave Ramsey, Theo Von and Riley Gaines.
‘Charlie Kirk would have been president’
Moments after President Donald Trump confirmed on social media that Kirk died after sustaining a gunshot wound on campus at Utah Valley University, Daily Wire contributor Michael Knowles went live to over 2.5 million followers on X. He relocated to Nashville with his employer in 2020.
“Charlie Kirk would have been president,” Knowles said. “His friends knew it. His many, many admirers knew it, and his enemies, to whom he was always so gracious, they knew it too.”
The Daily Wire host Michael Knowles (left) at the Courage Under Fire Gala, a fundraiser for Regina Caeli Academy, on Friday, May 24, 2024 at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. Knowles is among several prominent, conservative Catholics who have coalesced in Nashville.
Among the reasons Knowles noted were Kirk’s height, good looks and sharp wit. Knowles said that certainty about Kirk’s future made it hard for him to believe the news of his death during a speaking event in Utah.
“He wasn’t afraid. There was no servile fear whatsoever, so sometimes he could seem almost politically reckless the way he was willing to debate any idea,” Knowles said. “He was always willing to talk to people about anything. That was what this tour was about.”
Following the livestream, The Daily Wire announced that it would cancel the remainder of its programming for the day.
“We are heartbroken and devastated over the loss of our friend and partner in the conservative movement,” the organization said in a statement. “We ask that you join us in prayer for Charlie’s family and our nation.”
Candace Owens, Dave Ramsey respond to Kirk’s death
Nashville-based political influencer Candace Owens worked closely with Kirk, running communications for Turning Point USA from 2017-2019, before producing her own content and starting a podcast.
As news of the shooting began circulating, Owens called for her followers to stop what they were doing and pray for Kirk. Once his death was confirmed, Owens posted another statement on X.
“I can’t process this,” she said, followed by a broken heart emoji.
One of Nashville’s most popular content creators, businessman and podcaster Dave Ramsey also posted a simple statement to social media that read: “Mourning the loss of our friend today. Charlie Kirk.”
Podcaster calls Sept. 10 one of ‘the darkest days in American history’
Nashville comedian and podcaster Theo Von said he was praying for Kirk’s family, adding that the situation itself is “heartbreaking.”
Another Nashville-based podcaster Riley Gaines said Kirk’s death made Sept. 10 one of “the darkest days in American history.”
“I don’t any words right now & I probably won’t for a long time,” Gaines said in a post on X. “Lord be with his family, TPUSA staff, all who knew him, and all who admired him. No one loved this nation, God, or the truth more than Charlie.”
Hadley Hitson covers business news for The Tennessean. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to The Tennessean.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville influencers, conservative media mourn Charlie Kirk’s death