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Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk took surprise inspiration from comments made by liberal MS NOW host Rachel Maddow, drawing a parallel between the ongoing anti-ICE protests and the revival that has taken place following her husband’s assassination.
Speaking at the kickoff to TPUSA Faith’s inaugural Make Heaven Crowded tour in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Kirk cited an exchange Maddow had with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel earlier this month she said was shared in a group chat with “The Charlie Kirk Show” staff.
“I can’t even believe saying their names in a church,” Kirk jokingly told the crowd at LA’s Harvest Church.
Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk speaks at the kickoff of the “Make Heaven Crowded” tour in Los Angeles, California on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Screenshot/Turning Point USA)
In the exchange, Kimmel asked Maddow whether she believed anything would come from the protests that have erupted against the Trump administration, to which Maddow firmly responded, “Yes, I do.”
“In political science terms, there’s what’s called the ‘3.5% Rule,’ which is that if you look at the authoritarian regimes of various kinds all over the world over the last century, once you have 3.5% of a population protesting nonviolently against a dictator or an authoritarian, that is essentially an unstoppable force that they can’t oppose, and that precludes them from consolidating dictatorial power.”
“It’s not that much larger a number than what we’re already seeing in the streets against Trump,” Maddow added.
MS NOW host Rachel Maddow invoked the “3.5% Rule” regarding the long-lasting impact she believes the protests against the Trump administration will have. (Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images)
Kirk shared her own takeaway from that exchange.
“It was interesting because he asked her the question, ‘Do you think these protests are helping?’ Personally, I do not. I think it’s demonic. But I understood the sentiment of what she said,” Kirk said.
“She was basically saying that when you have 3.5% of the population protesting peacefully, and you’re in nonviolent protest mode, it is very hard for that to go unnoticed. And it’s very hard for that to be tucked back in. It just kind of sparks something,” she continued. “And I thought to myself — Charlie, in a way, in a healthy way… he believed deeply in the power of a faithful few that would rise up and stand for Christ, stand for the church, stand for what’s good and what’s beautiful in this world, and fight against evil. And it only just takes a small percentage, 3.5%.”
Kirk then pointed to the major turnout at her husband’s memorial service, which filled an entire stadium of Christians of every denomination, saying, “All of us came together.”
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Erika Kirk pointed to her husband’s memorial service as proof that Charlie Kirk ignited a movement among Christians. (Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images)
“It did not matter if you were Baptist. It did not matter if you were – I don’t know, give me another one – Pentecostal, Catholic, it didn’t matter. You were all there under the banner of Christ. That was important,” Kirk said. “And I say that because I want this —this is why this tour exists. It’s unifying. It’s trying to pull together that collective of 3.5%. And you showed the difference of when 3.5% of this nation rises up and prays for this nation and is in revival compared to the other side of what they think can change this nation but actually destroy it. The view of that is striking. It’s striking. And Charlie knew that.”
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“And I just want us — I just want us to understand and realize that the fire of the Holy Spirit is not supposed to be contained within the four walls of the church. It’s not,” she went on to say. “If we want to continue the wildfire of this revival across the nation, our mission is simple. It’s always been simple. It’s always been simple. Bring people to Jesus. Make heaven crowded. Very simple.”
