Charlie Kirk’s Final Thanksgiving Message: Why It Still Resonates in 2025

Communio president JP De Gance says Charlie Kirk's 2024 Thanksgiving message — delivered weeks after the presidential election and cited nearly three months after his death — remains relevant in 2025. De Gance praised Kirk's call to gratitude, humility before God, and the need to disconnect from digital distractions to focus on family. Both men urged Americans to invite those who are lonely to Thanksgiving tables and to center the holiday on prayer and community.

08:22 AM, 11/28/2025Culture

Charlie Kirk’s Final Thanksgiving Message: Why It Still Resonates in 2025

Nearly three months after his death, Charlie Kirk's 2024 Thanksgiving remarks continue to inspire Americans toward gratitude, prayer and community, according to Communio president JP De Gance. Delivered just weeks after the presidential election, the message stressed humility before God, the value of meaningful family time, and the importance of reaching out to those who may be alone during the holiday.

Gratitude, Humility and Hope

De Gance said Kirk's words echo longstanding themes tied to national hardship and recovery.

"I think Charlie's message repeats those messages of Thanksgivings long ago: when we've had setbacks as a country, sufferings and losses, the message of Thanksgiving is that in all things we can be grateful,"

De Gance said. He added that gratitude allows people to look to God for blessings and that difficult times often shape people into stronger, more compassionate individuals.

Kirk described Thanksgiving as a "uniquely American tradition" that invites people of all faiths to pause and express thanks. He argued that gratitude improves society while ingratitude harms it, saying,

"The ungrateful make the world worse; the grateful make the world better."

He also tied thankfulness to faith:

"Gratitude is the fruit that makes everything else taste sweet. But then you must be thankful to whom? To the Almighty God."

Disconnect to Reconnect

In his final address, Kirk urged families to set aside devices and digital distractions during Thanksgiving in order to better connect with one another. De Gance endorsed that counsel, warning that the "noise" of modern technology often prevents people from being fully present with those around them and calling for a deliberate disconnection during the holiday.

Invite the Lonely

Reflecting Communio's mission, De Gance encouraged people to use Thanksgiving as an opportunity to reach out to those who may be alone. He pointed to what he called an "epidemic of loneliness" and urged readers to invite neighbors, coworkers, first responders or anyone who might be far from family to share a meal and a moment of gratitude.

To honor Kirk's memory this Thanksgiving, De Gance suggested embracing the principles Kirk emphasized: gratitude, prayer and community. He recommended attending church over Thanksgiving weekend and gathering with loved ones for prayers of thanks.

As Kirk put it in his last Thanksgiving message:

"The fundamental story of Thanksgiving is to understand that there is a God and that you are not above him. We must have the humility to know that God is sovereign."