Erika Kirk Dumps On Her 'Tradwife' Branding & Reactions Are Unanimous

Erika Kirk doesn't want you calling her a tradwife. Sure, she may have taken on a more traditional role in her marriage to Charlie Kirk, while actively championing conservative family ideals, but that doesn't mean the new Turning Point USA CEO wants to be labeled or confined by a certain stereotype. At least, that's what she told "Fox News Sunday" on juggling her new role, raising her kids alone (Erika had two with Charlie Kirk), and coping with the loss of her late husband. "Yes, I am grieving," Erika confirmed on the December 29, 2025 episode, which was hosted by Shannon Bream. "Yes, [I'm] running Turning Point USA. Yes, I'm raising my babies. And you don't separate those into different boxes. They can all coexist." 

Suddenly, Erika doesn't seem to believe that wives should live to please and submit to their husbands. "We live in the greatest country where you can be so many different things," she argued. "You can be a mother. You can be an author. You can be a nurse. You can be a teacher in one full lifetime. You don't have to just be one thing." Of all these, motherhood is what Erika considers her most meaningful and fulfilling role.

But, apparently, the former pageant queen never saw herself as just a wife and mother. As she argued, "There's a way to cohesively blend your life in a way that's honoring to the Lord and what he's blessed you with, but also to what he's held you responsible for." Unsurprisingly, those watching at home weren't impressed with her take. 

Just a few months back, Erika Kirk had a very different idea of a woman's role in a marriage. Joining her husband on his eponymous podcast "The Charlie Kirk Show," in April, the mom-of-two offered her take on traditional gender roles. "Your husband has to be the one that goes out into the world and builds and battles and comes home. Conquers," she proclaimed, in agreement with Charlie. "And the wife [should be] like, 'Welcome home, babe, whatever you need, we're here.'" Never mind the fact that she grew up seeing her own mother juggle both work and home responsibilities all by herself after Erika's parents separated when she was a baby. The Turning Point USA CEO professed that women shouldn't concern themselves with family matters other than child-rearing and serving their husbands. So, to now see Erika suddenly encouraging women to break the glass ceiling earned the ire of Christian viewers. 

"She actually single handedly destroyed [Charlie's] mission," one YouTuber complained. Another wrote, "She was never meant to [be] at home baking sourdough bread [...] Charlie thought that's what [he's] getting, [or] that's what [she] pretended [at least]." A third user added, "Where in the bible does a widow become a ceo?" In the same breath where Erika argued that women should be allowed to follow their ambitions, the former beauty queen also insisted that being completely submissive to your husband isn't a sign of weakness but rather an act of trust and commitment to your marriage. As she explained to Shannon Bream, of her relationship with her late husband, "I'm the guardian of the home. He's the head of the household," adding, "We complement each other. We're not in competition with one another," (via YouTube).