President Donald Trump posthumously awarded Charlie Kirk the highest civilian honor following his horrific assassination on a college campus in September.
Trump honored Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday, the day that would have been the conservative activist’s 32nd birthday. Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow, accepted the award at the White House Tuesday afternoon on his behalf.
‘You have given him the best birthday gift he could ever have.’
“Five weeks ago, our nation was robbed of this extraordinary champion,” Trump said during the address.
“It was a horrible, heinous, demonic act of murder,” Trump added. “He was assassinated in the prime of his life for boldly speaking the truth. … He loved this country. And that’s why, this afternoon, it’s my privilege to posthumously award Charles James Kirk our nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
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Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images
Erika also addressed the crowd, which was packed with friends and former colleagues of Kirk’s, including Blaze Media’s own Glenn Beck. Through tears, Erika remembered her late husband and expressed gratitude to the president and his administration.
“I have spent seven and a half years trying to find the perfect birthday gift for Charlie. … But now I can say with confidence, Mr. President, that you have given him the best birthday gift he could ever have,” Erika said.
Erika also shared her optimistic vision for the future, encouraging younger generations to carry on Kirk’s legacy.
“You are the heartbeat of this future and this movement. … You’re living proof that his mission did not die with him,” Erika said.
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Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Kirk was horrifically assassinated on the Utah Valley University campus on September 10 on the first stop of his highly anticipated college campus tour. Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA, has frequently been credited with swaying the election in Trump’s favor in 2024 because of his gift of coalition-building with demographics that don’t traditionally vote red, particularly with young voters.
“We won more young people than any Republican candidate in the history of our country, including, for the first time, a majority of males under 30. Can you believe it?” Trump said during Kirk’s memorial service.
“We did unbelievably with young people, and he was a big, big factor,” Trump said of Kirk. “Unbelievable. But he made me work for it. … But we did it, and we won.”
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