“Soul mates with an 8-year-old?”: Netizens confused after RFK Jr. claims he met Charlie Kirk in 2001

A somber vigil to commemorate late conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Washington, D.C., last night has triggered an unexpected controversy after US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seemingly implied that he had encountered Kirk many decades ago, decades before the activist became a household name across America.

During the memorial service, Kennedy said Kirk was an “architect” of his political relationship with President Donald Trump and spoke movingly about the young leader’s impact on his family.

At one point, Kennedy made a veiled reference to a discussion with Kirk about mortality and suggested that they had first made contact as far back as 2001 in a podcast interview.

"I met Charlie for the first time in July of 2001.I went on his podcast,approached each other with a lot of trepidation at that time,but by the end ofpodcast, we were soulmates, we were spiritual brothers,brothers, and we were friends," Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said (via NY Post).

Charlie Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA, was born in 1993 and would have been just eight years old in 2001. Social media users latched onto Kennedy’s comments, asking how such a meeting could have taken place.

"Soul mates with an 8 year old?" one X user questioned.

Soul mates with an 8 year old?

— 888 (@minimalisto88) September 15, 2025

"Kirk would've been 7, almost 8 years old. "Odd" is definitely an understatement," wrote another.

"Charlie was 8 years old and highly doubt he had a podcast in 2001," remarked one user.

"I don’t care for either of them but he obviously misspoke. The first podcast ever recorded by anyone was in 2003. RFK was on CK’s podcast in 2023," stated an internet user.

People online were also quick to defend Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with some users saying that he misspoke and that its common for some one at his age and stature.

"Pretty sure he meant 2021.....some people actually make mistakes when they give speeches. No big deal," one user said.

"Obviously he said the wrong date. You do you," remarked another.

More about what Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others said at the vigil

Kennedy called Kirk a “transformative figure” and said they spoke about going up against entrenched interests.

"I had a conversation once with Charlie. We were talking about the danger that we were both challenging entrenched interests, and he asked if I was scared of dying. And I said, ‘There’s a lot worse things than dying,'" the Health and Human Services Secretary said.

He also informed the audience that his niece decided to take a Bible with her abroad when she went off to college in Europe because, as she put it, “I want to be just like Charlie Kirk.” Kennedy’s emotional tribute was met with applause from the room but it left many confused by the timeline he referenced.

Once again, a bullet has silenced the most eloquent truth teller of an era. My dear friend Charlie Kirk was our country's relentless and courageous crusader for free speech. We pray for Erika and the children. Charlie is already in paradise with the angels. We ask his prayers for… pic.twitter.com/ReOdkT6VbV

— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) September 10, 2025

According to the New York Post, the vigil, which took place at the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall, was attended by some 2,500 people, including more than 85 members of Congress as well as officials from the White House and activists and students.

Describing the assassination of Kirk as casting “a dark shadow” over Capitol Hill, Speaker Mike Johnson lauded him for molding a generation of “happy warriors.”

Other speakers, such as Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Representative Anna Paulina Luna, told stories of how Kirk individually altered the course of their careers.

RFK Jr. hasn’t commented on whether he misspoke, or if he meant to the later meeting with Kirk. But the controversy underscores how, even in death, the legacy of a polarizing figure like Charlie Kirk can still inspire debate.