President Donald Trump has awarded Charlie Kirk the Medal of Freedom, marking what would have been his assassinated friend’s 32nd birthday.
Charlie’s widow Erika wiped away tears as Trump handed her the highest civilian honor at a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday.
‘You have given him the best birthday gift he could ever have,’ the mother of two said as Trump beamed at her.
The president, who returned from a whirlwind Middle East peace mission late last night, said: ‘I raced back halfway around the globe. I was going to call Erika and ask, “Could you maybe move it to Friday?” but I didn’t have the courage to call.
‘But you know why I didn’t call? Because I heard today was Charlie’s birthday.’
Cabinet members including JD Vance and his wife Usha, the president’s son Don Jr., and conservative media stars Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham, attended along with Kirk’s family and friends.
Erika fought back tears as she revealed she had asked their daughter ‘what she would like to say to Daddy’ on his birthday.
‘And she said, “Happy birthday Daddy, I want to give you a stuffed animal. I want to eat a cupcake with ice cream and I want you to come home for a birthday surprise. I love you.’
Trump praised Charlie for always believing that peace in the Middle East could be done.
The president, who yesterday speculated on the afterlife as a reporter questioned him on Air Force One, said: ‘[Charlie] is gonna make heaven. I said, I’m not sure I can make it. But he’s gonna make it. He’s there, looking down on us right now.’
The president also paid a touching tribute to Erika, now the CEO of Charlie’s Turning Point USA foundation that inspired young people across college campuses.
‘I was with him before I met Erika. And he told me he was going to get married. He said, “You won’t believe how beautiful she is”‘, Trump recounted.
‘But then he also said, “And you know what? She’s like the smartest person I know.”
‘See, they do go together on occasion. Not often. Not often. But on occasion, they go together.’
For the past month, senior members of the team rallied to Erika’s side to help bolster Kirk’s organization Turning Point USA, the conservative behemoth organization built to help motivate and inspire young people.
Although the president’s attention has been directed at the successful Israeli peace deal with Gaza, he was determined to get back to the White House in time for Tuesday afternoon’s ceremony.
Kirk was fatally shot on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University during the first stop of his campus speaking tour.
Trump announced his intention to posthumously award Kirk the nation’s highest civilian honor during remarks at the Pentagon commemorating the 9/11 attacks, just days after the assassination.
Kirk had built Turning Point USA into one of the most influential conservative youth organizations in America, known for its campus activism and annual conferences that drew thousands of young conservatives.
After Kirk’s death, Erika publicly delivered a statement vowing to carry on his work as the new CEO of the organization.
Trump memorably eulogized Kirk at his memorial service days later and comforted Erika who mourned the loss of her husband.
‘We know the weight of this monumental loss is almost unbearable,’ he said.
‘But even in the midst of heartache and pain too great to even fathom, you have somehow found the strength and deep faith to be a comfort to millions and millions of people.’
More than 60,000 people attended the service which was held at State Farm Stadium, which hosts the Arizona Cardinals NFL team.
