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A handshake at Charlie Kirk’s memorial unites Trump and Musk, fulfilling the late activist’s vision of reconciliation.
When the rift between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk seemed irreparable, Charlie Kirk worked tirelessly to bring the two titans back together. Months before his untimely death, Kirk expressed his determination to broker peace, telling Megyn Kelly, “I am hopeful, optimistic and will do everything I possibly can to try and bring this back together.”
On Sunday in Phoenix, at Kirk’s memorial service, his efforts bore fruit. For the first time since their feud, Trump and Musk were seen side by side, shaking hands and conversing. A symbolic gesture, it represented the unity Kirk had long sought to restore.
Kirk, who openly pledged loyalty to Trump while still admiring Musk, often spoke about the importance of reconciliation. He praised Musk’s acquisition of Twitter as “the most important purchase since the Louisiana Purchase” and believed both men could find common ground in their shared battle against the political left.
Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of Kirk’s podcast, shared a photo of the handshake, writing: “Charlie so badly wanted these two men to come back together. I hope they’re saying to each other, ‘For Charlie.’”
Musk echoed the sentiment, posting his own photo with Trump captioned simply: “For Charlie.” Hours later, the White House account followed suit, reinforcing the symbolic power of the moment.
Asked about the encounter aboard Air Force One, Trump insisted the handshake wasn’t orchestrated by Kirk’s memory but welcomed the gesture nonetheless: “Well, Elon came over and said hello … I thought it was nice that he came over. We had a very good relationship, but it was nice that he came over.”
Musk, meanwhile, has shown signs of softening his stance toward Trump, despite his recent talk of launching an “America Party.” While speculation around the third party lingers, Musk has been posting more positively about Trump and even embraced Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow, at the service.
In one of the most powerful moments of the memorial, Erika Kirk forgave her husband’s killer, saying, “The answer to hate is not hate … the answer is always love.”
Moved by her words, Musk echoed the message on X, quoting the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Charlie Kirk’s death left a void in the conservative movement, but his influence was unmistakable on Sunday. The sight of Trump and Musk together—once fierce adversaries—was a testament to Kirk’s ability to connect, mediate, and inspire reconciliation.
In life, he sought to heal divides. In death, he achieved one of his most ambitious goals.
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