Trump posthumously awards Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom Donald Trump
Donald Trump posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, to assassinated far-right commentator Charlie Kirk at the White House on Tuesday.
Kirk, who was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University in September, was among the most important right-wing activists of the modern political era, galvanizing a younger generation of conservatives to get involved in politics and support Trump’s candidacy ahead of the 2024 election.
But Kirk was also polarizing with his rhetoric, which often criticized gay and transgender rights. He made suggestions that passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a “mistake.” Some critics argued that his praise raised divisive extremist views.
“A month after Charlie’s death, we still feel the terrible shock and pain of his loss, as I can’t think of anyone else,” Trump said from the Rose Garden, where Kirk’s widow, Erika, accepted the award on her late husband’s behalf. “Charlie Kirk was one of a kind, and he was unstoppable.”
“As I said the day he was assassinated, Charlie Kirk was a martyr for truth and freedom,” Trump said.
Kirk’s party was held on his 32nd birthday. Trump returned to the United States early Tuesday morning in time for the event after an impromptu trip to Israel and Egypt to seal victory after Israel and Hamas agreed to an initial ceasefire deal last week.
At times, in emotional and religiously tinged statements, Erica Kirk expressed her loss and recounted her children’s birthday letters to her late husband. She added: “Now he wears the crown of the righteous martyr.”
The Presidential Medal of Freedom was first awarded in 1963. Previous winners have included Audrey Hepburn, Milton Friedman, Walter Cronkite, and Edward Kennedy. Trump has often given it to supporters, such as Rush Limbaugh, and last month said he would give it to Rudy Giuliani, his former personal lawyer.
Trump also used Kirk’s killing as an opportunity to justify deploying National Guard troops in major cities run by Democrats, despite their objections. At one point, Trump deflected from talking about the “beautiful” siren sounds that could be heard from the Rose Garden.
Trump said: “We have watched hordes of left-wing extremists resort to desperate acts of violence and terrorism because they know that their ideas and arguments convince no one. They know they are failing. They have the ideology of Satan and they are failing. And they know it. They feel it, and they become violent.”
Kirk became a key Trump ally through his organization Turning Point USA and its various affiliates, including Turning Point Action, which actually ran the Trump campaign’s ground game operation in the key battleground state of Arizona, which Trump won.
In recognition of Kirk’s close ties to the Trump orbit, guests included J.D. Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Besent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, while Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles sat in one of the front rows.
Also in attendance were some of Kirk’s closest political associates, including lobbyists Arthur Schwartz and Jeff Miller, former Trump deputy chief of staff Taylor Bowdewich, Trump strategist Alex Brusewicz, Tipping Point adviser Andrew Colvitt, and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Kirk’s introduction to Trump’s world came about a decade ago. In the early days of Trump’s 2016 campaign, Kirk held a meeting at Trump Tower and offered advice to Don Jr. on how to appeal to young voters.
That meeting led to Kirk being immediately hired as a personal assistant to Don Jr.’s campaign, but Kirk’s affinity for Trump grew in the wake of the 2020 election when he became a leading voice in pushing baseless claims that the election was stolen.
Kirk was also one of the few political operatives who stuck by Trump while he was in exile at Mar-a-Lago after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, which Trump remembered as a remarkable display of personal loyalty at one of the lowest points for the president.
During the 2022 midterm election cycle, Kirk encouraged Trump to endorse Vance’s Senate campaign — and then two years later urged Trump and Don Jr. to select Vance as his running mate before the 2024 Republican National Convention. After his death, Vance accompanied Kirk’s casket to Arizona on Air Force One.