Charlie Kirk receives posthumous Medal of Freedom on birthday

Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News on Oct 14, 2025

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Charlie Kirk posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom Tuesday on what would have been the right-wing activist’s 32nd birthday.

The Turning Point USA founder was fatally shot while speaking on the Utah Valley University campus on Sept. 10. President Donald Trump said a day later that he intended to honor the “giant of his generation” with the nation’s most revered civilian award.

He did just that with a late Tuesday afternoon White House event where Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, accepted the honor on her late husband’s behalf.

Fresh off a trip to the Middle East, where the president helped broker a peace deal between Israel and Hamas, Trump said he thought about asking Erika if they could postpone the event, then realized Tuesday would’ve been the honoree’s birthday.

“He was so wise beyond his years. You know, I would talk to him sometimes and say, ‘This guy is, like, a young guy,” Trump said. “He was really a wise man.”

Kirk was a loyal Trump supporter and worked tirelessly to put the president back in office in the 2024 election.

“Donald Trump is on a rescue mission to revive your birthright, one your grandparents and those before them gave everything to hand down to you,” Kirk said during his speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Trump said on Tuesday that, like Kirk, he knew what it was like to be shot at while promoting his views and vowed to continue advancing the political goals he and Kirk shared. He then handed the mic to Kirk’s widow, who has since taken over the organization her husband founded in 2012 to organize young conservative voters.

“Thank you for making this event a priority amid the peace process in the Middle East,” Erika Kirk said, addressing Trump. “Charlie always admired your commitment to freedom and that’s something that both of you shared, so thank you.”

The president previously spoke at Kirk’s memorial in late September, where he praised the Illinois native as a patriot whose legacy will endure.

“He was violently killed because he spoke for freedom and justice, for God and country, for reason and for common sense,” Trump said. “On that terrible day, September 10th, 2025, our greatest evangelist for American liberty became immortal. He’s a martyr now for American freedom.”

Trump awarded 24 people the Presidential Medal of Freedom during his first term in office, including radio host Rush Limbaugh a day after the conservative pundit announced he was battling advanced lung cancer. Limbaugh died less than two weeks after being presented with the medal during the president’s 2020 State of the Union address.

Trump said in September that he also plans to honor former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

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