President Trump posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the government's highest civilian honor — to conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on Tuesday, over a month after he was fatally shot on a Utah college campus.
During a ceremony in the White House's Rose Garden on what would have been Kirk's 32nd birthday, Mr. Trump called Kirk a "fearless warrior for liberty" and credited the political activist with helping him win a greater share of the under-30 vote in last year's presidential race.
The president also spent part of his speech railing against "radical left violence" — a frequent theme for his administration in recent weeks, particularly since Kirk's assassination.
Mr. Trump also argued that the fight over the government shutdown "would have been over already" if Kirk had been involved.
"He would have had a march on the Capitol by people whose average age is about 21, because there's nobody that had that relationship with young people," the president said.
Erika Kirk speaks after President Trump posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Charlie Kirk in the Rose Garden of the White House on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025.
Alex Brandon / AP
The medal was accepted by Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, who now leads Turning Point USA. During an emotional speech, she called the medal "the best birthday gift he could ever have" and said at one point: "Surprisingly enough, he did pray for his enemies" — after Mr. Trump said earlier that the activist "didn't necessarily love those enemies so much."
The president and Kirk were allies for almost a decade. Kirk was a staunch supporter of Mr. Trump during all three of his presidential campaigns. Kirk worked closely with Donald Trump Jr. in 2016. He remained close to Mr. Trump following his loss to President Joe Biden in 2020 and helped lead grassroots organizing efforts in 2024.
Kirk also helped to shape last year's presidential ticket, and by extension, the second Trump administration. He encouraged Mr. Trump to pick Vice President JD Vance as his running mate, and he brokered an alliance between Mr. Trump and former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Mr. Trump announced plans to give Kirk the Medal of Freedom one day after the shooting at Utah Valley University. The president also spoke at an Arizona memorial service for Kirk last month, where he called the assassination "an attack on our entire nation."
Prosecutors in Utah last month charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson with aggravated murder in Kirk's death and have signaled plans to seek the death penalty.
Kirk is the first person to formally receive the Medal of Freedom in Mr. Trump's second term. The president has also promised to give the award to former New York City mayor and former Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.
Some 670 people have been awarded the Medal of Freedom since its inception 80 years ago, according to the Congressional Research Service. Mr. Trump granted the award to 24 people during his first term, including conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, professional golfer Tiger Woods and, posthumously, Elvis Presley, Babe Ruth and Antonin Scalia.
