President Trump posthumously awarded Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday, on what would have been the late conservative activist’s 32nd birthday.
The president presented America’s highest civilian honor to Kirk’s widow, Erika, during a ceremony in the newly renovated Rose Garden at the White House.
Erika Kirk said the Medal was “the best birthday gift” and that her husband “probably would have run for president” had he not been assassinated last month.
“There was no limit, no limit to what he would have sacrificed to defend freedom for all. And if the moment had come, he probably would have run for president, but not out of ambition,” she said in the Rose Garden.
“He would only have done it if that was something that he believed that his country needed, from a servant’s heart standpoint. Charlie lived only 31 short years on this side of heaven, but he lived every single second, every single day with purpose, and he fought for truth when it was unpopular, and he stood for God when it was costly. But that’s what we’re called to do.”
Watch the clips below:
President Donald J. Trump posthumously awards Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
A true American patriot. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/HYvinbxO4e
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 14, 2025
Take the time to watch Erika's complete speech.
Powerful words.
God Bless the Kirk's. pic.twitter.com/i8J0K63ta4
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) October 14, 2025
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