President Donald Trump posthumously awarded Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, at the White House on Tuesday.
Kirk’s assassination shocked the nation a little more than a month ago, after he was killed while debating with students and others at Utah Valley University. Trump held the ceremony Tuesday in the White House Rose Garden, attended by members of TPUSA, as well as friends and Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk.
“Today we are here to honor and remember a fearless warrior for freedom, a beloved leader who galvanized the next generation like no other. [has] “Five weeks ago, our nation was deprived of this extraordinary champion.”
Just a day after Kirk’s assassination, Trump announced that he would award his friend the Medal of Freedom.(RELATED: TPUSA Isn’t Going Anywhere – And the Left ‘Should Be Terrified’)
The award, presented on Kirk’s birthday, was accepted by Erika Kirk, who gave a moving speech about her husband’s legacy.
“But now I can say with confidence, Mr. President, that you gave him the best birthday present he could ever have,” Erika Kirk said. “It’s such an honor and recognition of a life lived to defend freedom, and that’s what Charlie fought for until his last breath. It was written on his chest in those final moments on one of his simple T-shirts that always had one message, and this one had one word, freedom.”
President Donald Trump posthumously awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the late Charlie Kirk as he presents the medal to his wife Erika Kirk. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“It was the banner of his life, and that shirt was a statement. The same statement he made in every speech, every campus visit, every time he shared the gospel in a church, every sleepless night he spent praying for the young people of this nation and planning for the future of our country and making them understand that when we defend freedom, we defend the soul of our nation,” Erika Kirk added.
On September 21, TPUSA held a service for supporters and friends at Arizona’s State Farm Stadium, with thousands gathering to honor the 31-year-old’s legacy. During the event, supporters told the Daily Caller News Foundation how Kirk shaped their lives, with some becoming emotional.
In addition to this award, Trump signed a proclamation declaring October 14 “National Charlie Kirk Memorial Day.”
“On the afternoon of Wednesday, September 10, 2025, pure evil struck when the legendary Charlie Kirk was murdered in broad daylight on a campus courtyard, unleashing a wave of righteous fury across our nation,” the proclamation reads.
“Today, our nation honors the immortal memory of Charlie – a father, a husband, a Christian martyr, and a titan of the American conservative movement,” the proclamation continued. “We honor his life, we send our condolences to his beautiful family, and we are committed to advancing the values for which he gave his life.”
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