CBS News' Bari Weiss to host town hall with Erika Kirk

“I am eager to speak to her—and thrilled to be doing so in front of a group of Americans who I know will elevate the conversation,” Bari Weiss said

By Natalia Mittelstadt

Published: December 4, 2025 12:32pm

CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, in her on-air debut, will host a town hall with Erika Kirk on Dec. 13.

The event with Kirk, the widow of late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, will preempt the 28th annual Family Film and TV Awards, which will now run Dec. 20, according to The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday.

“Like so many people around the world, I will never forget the moment that Erika Kirk forgave her husband’s killer,” said Weiss, who was hired for the top post in October by CBS News parent company Paramount, a Skydance Corporation

"I am eager to speak to her—and thrilled to be doing so in front of a group of Americans who I know will elevate the conversation," Weiss also said.

Kirk took over Turning Point USA after her husband was assassinated at Utah Valley University in September. She forgave her husband's assassin at his memorial, telling the New York Times and CNBC on Wednesday that the moment came from the heart, and was not written in the prepared remarks.

“That was a gametime, second-to-second moment that was not pre-planned, because I’m not going to say something that I don’t truly believe,” Kirk said.