What specific quote did Charlie Kirk make about Lia Thomas?

1. What the most-cited direct quotes say

The Advocate’s compilation reports that in a September 2023 speech Kirk called trans people “a ‘throbbing middle finger to God’” and then directly addressed Lia Thomas, deadnaming her and saying “you’re an abomination to God” ^[1]. A separate piece cited in other roundups similarly records Kirk referring to trans people with the “throbbing middle finger” formulation and linking Biblical language to condemnations of people like Thomas ^{[2] [1]}.

2. Context: when and where some remarks were delivered

Accounts tie these lines to public appearances and speeches during 2022–2023 as Kirk escalated his attacks on transgender athletes and policies; one long-form profile and collections of Kirk quotes place a “tough guy” hypothetical—“a line in front of [Lia] Thomas and saying, ‘Hey, tough guy, you want to get in the pool?’”—in a 2022 discussion about Thomas onstage or on his show ^[3]. The specific “throbbing middle finger” phrasing is repeatedly dated to September 2023 in several outlets ^[1].

3. How outlets and compilations present the material

News outlets and quote roundups (Vanity Fair, The Advocate, opinion pieces) present these remarks as emblematic of a broader pattern of incendiary language by Kirk; Vanity Fair highlights the “tough guy” imagining as an example of rhetoric encouraging confrontation, while The Advocate assembled the Biblical-delegitimizing wording and the “throbbing middle finger” line as part of a list of anti-LGBTQ comments ^{[3] [1]}. An opinion piece likewise summarizes Kirk’s language as calling trans people an “abomination” and a “throbbing middle finger to God” ^[2].

4. Fact-checking and verification notes

FactCheck.org and other verification-focused outlets have cataloged viral claims about Kirk’s words and traced many of the quotations to reported events and recordings; they note the broader circulation of these lines after his death and connect them to recorded appearances at conferences and on his show ^[4]. That source documents the same scriptural appeals and identifies reporting that locates such comments at Turning Point events in 2023 ^[4].

5. Disagreements, gaps, and editorial framing

Available sources agree on the broad content and tone of Kirk’s statements—Biblical invocations, demeaning language toward transgender people, and specific references to Lia Thomas—but they vary in how verbatim the transcriptions are and in which exact event each quote originated ^{[1] [3] [4]}. Some pieces are explicit compilations or opinion framing ^{[2] [1]}, while others present selected verbatim lines from speeches or shows ^{[3] [4]}. Full verbatim transcripts or primary video links are not provided in the set of sources here; reporting relies on published quotations and reportage ^[4].

6. Why the precise wording matters—and what reporters emphasize

Journalists and critics emphasize that the phrasing—calling trans people a “throbbing middle finger to God” or labeling an individual “an abomination to God”—is not neutral critique but dehumanizing language with moral and religious condemnation, which several outlets highlight as part of a pattern that drew widespread attention after Kirk’s remarks were circulated ^{[1] [2]}. Vanity Fair and other outlets underscore the rhetorical effect by pairing such lines with hypothetical or provocative imagery ^[3].

7. Bottom line for a reader seeking the exact quote

Multiple reputable outlets quote Kirk as saying trans people are a “throbbing middle finger to God” and as addressing Lia Thomas with language that included calling her “an abomination to God,” and they report an additional onstage hypothetical—“Hey, tough guy, you want to get in the pool?”—aimed at Thomas ^{[1] [2] [3]}. If you need primary-video-verbatim confirmation beyond these published reports, the available sources here do not provide embedded primary footage or full transcripts to quote word-for-word beyond the published excerpts ^[4].