Trump awards posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk
By Kit Maher, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday posthumously awarded Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, saying he was entering the late conservative activist’s name “into the roster of true American heroes.”
Erika Kirk, Kirk’s widow and now the CEO of Turning Point USA, accepted the award on her husband’s behalf at the Rose Garden ceremony. Introducing the award, a military aide announced that the US honors Kirk as “a martyr for truth and freedom.”
Trump, who landed at the White House around 3 a.m. Tuesday after traveling to the Middle East, said, “I was going to call Erika and say, ‘Erika, could you maybe move it to Friday?’” But Trump said it was a “definite” to return in time for the ceremony Tuesday, which would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday.
“I would not have missed this moment for anything in the world, nothing,” Trump said.
Turning to Trump after accepting the award, Erika Kirk said, “Thank you, Mr. President, for honoring my husband in such a profound and meaningful way, and thank you for making this event a priority with amid the peace process in the Middle East.”
It has been just over a month since Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while debating with students on his “America Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University.
“He was assassinated in the prime of his life for boldly speaking the truth,” Trump said Tuesday, calling the assassination “a horrible, heinous, demonic act of murder.”
Vice President JD Vance, second lady Usha Vance, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, FBI Director Kash Patel and several other Cabinet members were in attendance. JD Vance, who was a close friend of Kirk’s, sat in the front row, and Erika Kirk in her remarks thanked the vice president and his wife, who flew to Salt Lake City to transport Kirk’s remains on Air Force Two.
Some Fox News hosts, former and present, also attended, including Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson. Other conservative online personalities were seen in the Rose Garden, including Jack Posobiec and Benny Johnson.
During his remarks, Trump credited Kirk with helping him win and mobilize young voters to get to the polls, joking that without him, former Vice President Kamala Harris might have been in the White House rather than him.
Trump mused that more political violence comes from the Democratic side of the aisle and laid blame on “far-left radicals,” who he said have the “devil’s ideology.”
“Especially in the wake of Charlie’s assassination, our country must have absolutely no tolerance for this radical left, violence, extremism and terror,” the president said, but made no mention of political violence against Democrats. As CNN has reported, the data doesn’t back up Trump’s claims that political violence is a bigger problem on the left.
Trump veered off topic at points, including speaking about his efforts to crack down on crime through federal interference in Democratic-led cities and what he deemed local mismanagement of Los Angeles wildfires.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, is presented to people who have made “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States,” world peace, or “other significant public or private endeavors.”
Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 24 people during his first term, including posthumously to Babe Ruth, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Elvis Presley.
Since the start of his second term, Trump announced that he would also award the Medal of Freedom to former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani and former Housing and Urban and Development Secretary Ben Carson.
In accepting the award, Erika Kirk spoke of her husband’s “fearlessness,” faith, defense of freedom and his “servant’s heart,” which she said likely would have led him to run for president.
“If the moment had come, he probably would have run for president, but not out of ambition. He would only have done it if that was something that he believed that his country needed from a servant’s heart standpoint,” Kirk said.
She also testified that her husband prayed for his enemies, which caused Trump to smile. At Charlie Kirk’s funeral, Trump said he differed from Kirk because “I hate my opponent, and I don’t want the best for them.”
Tearfully, Erika Kirk shared what her young daughter said she wanted to give her father for his birthday.
“She said, ‘Happy birthday, Daddy. I want to give you a stuffed animal. I want you to eat a cupcake with ice cream, and I want you to go have a birthday surprise,’” Kirk said.
In closing, Kirk said, “To live free is the greatest gift, but to die free is the greatest victory. Happy birthday, my Charlie. Happy freedom day.”
After delivering remarks, Erika Kirk hugged Trump and strings began to play “Amazing Grace.” Kirk stood next to Usha Vance, who comforted her as she held the Medal of Freedom and wiped away tears.
This story has been updated with additional details.
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