WASHINGTON–President Donald Trump honored Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk posthumously with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday, which would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday, in a touching ceremony in the newly renovated Rose Garden.
Trump presented Kirk’s widow, Mrs. Erika Kirk, with the medal, as many of his friends throughout Republican politics and conservative media looked on.
“Eirka, your love and courage have been an inspiration to all of us, and we will always be here for you. We’re always going to be here for your gorgeous, beautiful children, and we’ll never forget what your family has sacrificed for our country,” Trump said in his remarks before bestowing the medal on Kirk.
He also stated that instead of Kirk celebrating his 32nd birthday, “Charlie is attaining a far more important milestone, we’re entering his name forever into the eternal roster of true American heroes.”
Trump proclaimed that the “Nation was robbed of this extraordinary champion” and that Kirk “Was assassinated in the prime of his life for boldly speaking the truth, for living his faith, and relentlessly fighting for a better and stronger America. He loved his country.”
On September 10, alleged assassin Tyler Robinson, 22, murdered Kirk after, according to authorities, inscribing phrases like “Hey fascist! Catch!” and ‘O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao”–an Italian song that has long been an anthem in Antifa circles–on bullet casings. Trump said Tuesday:
In the days since Charlie’s killing, we’ve seen exactly why our country so dearly needed his example,” Trump said. “We’ve watched legions of far-left radicals resort to desperate acts of violence and terror because they know that their ideas and arguments are persuading no one. They know that they’re failing. They have the devil’s ideology, and they’re failing, and they know it,
“They feel it, and they become violent. They seem to become very violent on the left. They’ve rammed vehicles into federal law enforcement, fired sniper rifles at ICE agents,” he added.
Trump also hailed Kirk’s legacy in building and growing Turning Point USA into a powerhouse organization and underscored its rapid growth in the aftermath of his assassination.
Speaking after her husband was bestowed with the highest civilian honor in the nation, Erika Kirk said that Trump had given her husband “the best birthday gift he could ever have.”
“He filled every single day with purpose, and he fought for truth when it was unpopular, and he stood for god when it was costly, bu that’s what we’re called to do. Surprisingly enough, he did pray for his enemies,” she said.
She also noted that Charlie “probably would have run for president” if he felt that America needed him to, “from a servant’s heart standpoint.”
Carlson, Turning Point USA Spokesman Andrew Kolvet, Human Events’ Jack Posobiec, Benny Johnson, NewsNation’s Bill O’Reilly, Fox News’s Jesse Waters, Laura Ingraham, and Sean Hannity, as well as X Strategies CEO Alex Bruesewitz, Glenn Beck, and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeannine Pirro were among those spotted in attendance.
After the ceremony, Trump signed a proclamation to make October 14, 2025, “National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk” alongside Erika Kirk in the Oval Office.
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