Trump Honors Charlie Kirk with Medal of Freedom, Erika Says He Likely Would’ve Run for President
President Trump returned to Washington Tuesday morning to honor Charlie Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a moving Rose Garden ceremony that marked what would have been the Turning Point USA founder’s 32nd birthday.
“Charlie Kirk was a martyr for truth and for freedom,” Trump said, placing Kirk’s name among “those who change history the most,” from Socrates to Martin Luther King Jr. “He really did.”
Kirk was gunned down at a Utah Valley University speaking event on September 10. Prosecutors say his suspected killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, targeted him specifically over political disagreement.
Trump flew back from the Middle East hours before the event, telling the crowd he didn’t dare ask Erika Kirk to reschedule. “I didn’t have the courage to call,” he said. “But then I heard it was Charlie’s birthday. I said, ‘We’re going to have to forget about some of those very big, very rich countries that expected me to be there.’”
With the American flag flying high under a clear fall sky, Trump presented Kirk’s widow and daughter with the highest civilian honor, calling the conservative activist “special” and “eternal.”
“We’re entering his name forever into the eternal roster of true American heroes,” Trump said. “Instead of turning 32 today, he’s achieved something far more powerful.”
‘Best Birthday Gift He Could Ever Have’
Erika Kirk, who delivered a tearful tribute to her late husband, thanked Trump for the honor. “President Trump, I have spent seven and a half years trying to find the perfect birthday gift for Charlie,” she said. “Now I can say with confidence, you have given him the best birthday gift he could ever have.”
She also revealed that her husband had quietly considered running for president one day.
“If the moment had come, he probably would have run for president — but not out of ambition,” she said. “He would only have done it if he believed that’s what the country needed. From a servant’s heart standpoint.”
Erika also shared a message from their daughter, who wished her father a happy birthday.
‘Devil’s Ideology’ and Left-Wing Violence
Trump tied Kirk’s murder to what he described as a disturbing rise in political violence, specifically from far-left extremists.
“They have the devil’s ideology and they’re failing,” Trump said. “And they know it. They feel it, and they become violent.”
The president also invoked the recent scandal surrounding Virginia Attorney General candidate Jay Jones, who reportedly fantasized in texts about murdering a Republican legislator and his children.
“We’ve seen that a candidate for attorney general in Virginia boasted that he would want to see the Republican legislator shot in the head, and to see his children murdered,” Trump said. “And now he continues to run for office. That’s a bad one.”
He added, “Especially in the wake of Charlie’s assassination, our country must have absolutely no tolerance for this radical-left violence, extremism and terror.”
A Somber Celebration
The event had the feel of both a funeral and a Fourth of July celebration, as guests celebrated Kirk’s legacy while mourning his absence. Trump made clear that, in his eyes, Kirk died for a cause — and that his influence would live on.
“I think he’s looking down on us right now,” Trump said. “He fought for America. He fought for truth when it was unpopular. And we will never forget him.”