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, 36, 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.’
US President Donald Trump and Erika Kirk (L), Charlie Kirk’s widow, participate in a Medal of Freedom Ceremony for late US right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in the Rose Garden
Charlie and Erika Kirk at Mount Rushmore in a family photo
Erika Kirk wipes her eyes as a military aide reads the citation before President Donald Trump posthumously awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Erika Kirk’s eyes well up with tears as Trump pays tribute to her late husband in the Rose Garden of the White House, Tuesday
Erika Kirk (L), wife of late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, arrives with U.S. President Donald Trump as he posthumously awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk during a ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House
Trump arrives with Erika Kirk to posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk in the Rose Garden
Erika Kirk (L), wife of late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, arrives with U.S. President Donald Trump as he posthumously awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk
U.S. President Donald Trump walks with Erika Kirk, wife of slain conservative commentator Charlie Kirk
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.
Vice President JD Vance sits with his wife Usha Vance prior to a Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House
Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend Bettina Anderson arrive at the Rose Garden
Fox News Channel Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity arrive at the Rose Garden
Political commentator Tucker Carlson attends a ceremony held by U.S. President Donald Trump to posthumously award the Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, left, greets Attorney General Pam Bondi, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick looks on, before President Donald Trump arrives to present the Presidential Medal of Freedom for Charlie Kirk
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro attends
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth talks to his wife Jennifer Rauchet
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Rose Garden
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel
US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R), Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (2nd R), Donald Trump Jr. (2nd L) and his girlfriend Bettina Anderson attend a Medal of Freedom Ceremony for late US righty-wing political activist Charlie Kirk
Pete Hegseth sits near Argentina’s President Javier Milei as they attend the ceremony for Charlie Kirk
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles arrives before President Donald Trump posthumously awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk
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.
