While presenting the inaugural Charlie Kirk Courage Award to Utah Valley University student Caleb Chilcutt on Saturday, the right-wing activist’s widow got tongue-tied and said: “Despite the devastating loss of Charlie Kirk, my incredible husband at UVU, Caleb has persisted with the same grift.”
After trying to correct herself, Kirk said “gift” and then finally got to the word “grit.”
“It has been a long day!” she said before turning to Chilcutt and telling him, “Trust me, you’re not a grifter, honey. It’s all good.”
“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.
Watch Kirk’s verbal fumble around the 7:00 minute mark here: