President Donald Trump on Tuesday posthumously awarded America's highest civilian honor to Charlie Kirk, the assassinated activist who inspired a generation of young conservatives and helped push the nation's politics further to the right.
The ceremony coincided with what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday. It came just over a month after the Turning Point USA founder was fatally shot while speaking to a crowd at Utah Valley University.
In a sign of Kirk's close ties to the administration, he was the first recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in Trump’s second term. The president also spoke at Kirk’s funeral in September, calling him a “great American hero” and “martyr” for freedom, while Vice President JD Vance accompanied his body home to Arizona on Air Force Two along with Kirk's widow, Erika.
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Inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale before the memorial service for Charlie Kirk on Sept. 21, 2025.
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Inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale before the memorial service for Charlie Kirk in Sept. 21, 2025.
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Inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale before the memorial service for Charlie Kirk in Sept. 21, 2025.
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The crowd inside State Farm Stadium before the funeral of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 21, 2025.
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Mourners line up for Charlie Kirk's funeral in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025.
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Mourners line up for Charlie Kirk's funeral in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025.
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Mourners line up for Charlie Kirk's funeral in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025.
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Mourners line up for Charlie Kirk's funeral in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025.
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Mourners line up for Charlie Kirk's funeral in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025.
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Mourners line up for the Charlie Kirk memorial in Glendale before 8 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2025.
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Mourners line up for Charlie Kirk's funeral in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025.
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Mourners line up for the Charlie Kirk memorial in Glendale before 8 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2025.
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Mourners line up for the Charlie Kirk memorial in Glendale before 8 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2025.
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Mourners line up for the Charlie Kirk memorial in Glendale before 8 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2025.
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Mourners line up for the Charlie Kirk memorial in Glendale before 8 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2025.
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Mourners line up for the Charlie Kirk memorial in Glendale before 8 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2025.
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Mourners line up for the Charlie Kirk memorial in Glendale before 8 a.m. on Sept. 21, 2025.
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
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Outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sept. 21, 2025, before the funeral of conservative activst Charlie Kirk.
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President Donald Trump speaks at the Charlie Kirk memorial on Sept. 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
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Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, speaks at the Charlie Kirk memorial on Sept. 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
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Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, speaks at the Charlie Kirk memorial on Sept. 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
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Vice President JD Vance speaks at the Charlie Kirk memorial on Sept. 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
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“We’re here to honor and remember a fearless warrior for liberty, beloved leader who galvanized the next generation like nobody I’ve ever seen before, and an American patriot of the deepest conviction, the finest quality and the highest caliber," Trump said Tuesday afternoon.
Of Kirk's killing, Trump said, “He was assassinated in the prime of his life for boldly speaking the truth, for living his faith and relentless fighting for a better and stronger America.”
The Presidential Medal of Freedom was established by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 for individuals making exceptional contributions “to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”
Trump returned to the U.S. in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday after a whirlwind trip to Israel and Egypt to celebrate a ceasefire agreement in Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza that his administration was instrumental in brokering.
Trump joked that he almost requested to reschedule the ceremony because of the trip.
“I raced back halfway around the globe," Trump said. “I was going to call Erika and say, ‘Erika, could you maybe move it to Friday?' And I didn’t have the courage to call. But you know why I didn’t call? Because I heard today was Charlie’s birthday.”
In a sign of Trump's crowded schedule, Argentine President Javier Milei, who had been visiting with the president at the White House earlier, stayed on to attend the ceremony.
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Lucas Miles, pastor and senior director of TPUSA Faith, speaks during a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
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Turning Point USA Vice President of Field Operations Andrey Sypher speaks during a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
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Turning Point USA Chief Operating Officer Tyler Bowyer speaks during a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
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Jack Posobiec speaks during Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
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Jack Posobiec speaks during Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
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Center for Arizona Policy President Peter Gentala speaks during Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
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“MAGA Hulk” Stephen Davis speaks during Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
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Attendees shine their phone flashlights during Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
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Rob Clements, pastor and director of ASU Catholic Newman Center, speaks at Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
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Attendees stand during Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
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Signs decorate the stage at a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. COO Tyler Bowyer said the center sign was from one of Turning Point’s first events at ASU.
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Ashlee Davis speaks to KJZZ reporter Camryn Sanchez before Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
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Carson Carpenter speaks to KJZZ reporter Camryn Sanchez before Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
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Bella Keenan speaks to KJZZ reporter Camryn Sanchez before Turning Point USA’s candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
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Turning Point's Arizona State University chapter holds a vigil event for Charlie Kirk on the Tempe campus Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
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Turning Point USA staffers register voters during a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
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Turning Point USA staffers and volunteers wore “I am Charlie” shirts during a candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk at Desert Financial Arena on ASU’s Tempe campus on Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.
Tim Agne/KJZZ
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A memorial outside Hansen Mortuary in Phoenix on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, where the motorcade carrying Charlie Kirk's casket went from Phoenix Sky Harbor.
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People visit a memorial for Turning Point USA CEO and Co-Founder Charlie Kirk outside the group’s headquarters in Phoenix on Sept. 11, 2025. Kirk was killed a day earlier during an event at Utah Valley University.
Alexandra Medina/Cronkite News
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Mourners stand with flags across the street from the Phoenix mortuary that received Charlie Kirk's casket on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025.
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A memorial outside Hansen Mortuary in Phoenix on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, where the motorcade carrying Charlie Kirk's casket went from Phoenix Sky Harbor.
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A memorial outside Hansen Mortuary in Phoenix on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, where the motorcade carrying Charlie Kirk's casket went from Phoenix Sky Harbor.
Chelsey Heath/KJZZ
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Mourners gather to honor Charlie Kirk outside the Turning Point USA offices in Phoenix on Sept. 11, 2025.
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Mourners gather to honor Charlie Kirk outside the Turning Point USA offices in Phoenix on Sept. 11, 2025.
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Mourners gather to honor Charlie Kirk outside the Turning Point USA offices in Phoenix on Sept. 11, 2025.
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People visit a memorial for Turning Point USA CEO and Co-Founder Charlie Kirk outside the group’s headquarters in Phoenix on Sept. 11, 2025. Kirk was killed a day earlier during an event at Utah Valley University.
Alexandra Medina/Cronkite News
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Mourners gather to honor Charlie Kirk outside the Turning Point USA offices in Phoenix on Sept. 11, 2025.
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A memorial to Charlie Kirk at the Turning Point USA campus in Phoenix on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025.
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Charlie Kirk speaking with attendees at the 2025 Student Action Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida, on July 11, 2025.
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People pay their respects to Charlie Kirk at a makeshift memorial at the national headquarters of Turning Point USA in Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday.
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The Turning Point USA campus in Phoenix on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
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Armed Phoenix police officers guard the Turning Point USA campus in Phoenix on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, after the fatal shooting of CEO Charlie Kirk.
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Cars parked outside Turning Point USA's Phoenix campus to honor Charlie Kirk on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, after he was shot and killed on Wednesday.
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The Turning Point USA campus in Phoenix on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
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Shane Besore, a Charlie Kirk supporter, is emotional outside the Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix on Sept. 10, 2025. Kirk, the group’s co-founder, was shot and killed hours earlier at an event in Utah.
Sydney Lovan/Cronkite News
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Charlie Kirk speaking with attendees at the 2025 Chapter Leadership Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida, on July 11, 2025.
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Charlie Kirk speaking with attendees at the 2025 Student Action Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida, on July 13, 2025.
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Charlie Kirk speaks with attendees at the 2019 Teen Student Action Summit hosted by Turning Point USA in Washington, D.C.
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Charlie Kirk speaking with attendees at an Arizona for Trump rally at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale on Aug. 23, 2024.
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Charlie Kirk speaking with attendees at the 2024 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center.
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Charlie Kirk speaks at Turning Point USA's annual event, AmericaFest, on Dec. 19, 2024, at the Phoenix Convention Center.
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Turning Point Founder Charlie Kirk and Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance speak with attendees at a Chase the Vote rally in Mesa on Sept. 4, 2024.
Gage Skidmore/CC BY 2.0
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Charlie Kirk speaking with attendees at the 2023 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix on Dec. 19, 2023.
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Trump has awarded a string of presidential medals going back to his first term, including to golf legend Tiger Woods, ex-football coach Lou Holtz and conservative economist Arthur Laffer as well as to Yankees Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera and conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, the latter of which came during the 2020 State of the Union. He awarded posthumous medals to Babe Ruth and Elvis Presley.
This term, Trump has also announced his intentions to award the medals to Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and a close former adviser, and to Ben Carson, who served as Trump's first-term secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012. Trump praised Kirk as one of the key reasons he was reelected.
But Kirk's politics were also often divisive. He sharply criticized gay and transgender rights while inflaming racial tensions. Kirk also repeated Trump’s false claims that former Vice President Kamala Harris was responsible for policies that encouraged immigrants to come to the U.S. illegally and called George Floyd, a Black man whose killing by a Minneapolis police officer sparked a national debate over racial injustice, a “scumbag.”
Trump wrote in a social media post hours before the event that he was moving the ceremony from the White House’s East Room to the Rose Garden to accommodate a crowd he said would be “so big and enthusiastic.”
When it started, he noted how the weather had cleared up after it was expected to be raining and said: “I was telling Erika, God was watching. And he didn’t want that for Charlie.”
More Charlie Kirk news
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The memorial event honoring conservative activist Charlie Kirk was held at State Farm Stadium on Sept. 21, 2025. See KJZZ's coverage from Glendale. -
The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority owns the stadium in Glendale. An authority spokesperson says event contracts, done by a separate stadium manager, are confidential. -
Charlie Kirk was like many Arizonans, an out-of-state transplant who made his home in the Valley. Here, he expanded a grassroots organization into a nationwide behemoth. -
Former state lawmaker Paul Boyer penned an op-ed for The Arizona Republic calling Charlie Kirk “the best of us” despite the fact that Boyer was at odds with Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA. -
Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk will be memorialized this weekend at State Farm Stadium in Arizona. For some context on Kirk’s legacy, The Show recently spoke with someone who knew Kirk personally. -
Turning Point USA, the organization Charlie Kirk founded to mobilize young, Christian conservatives, has seen a massive surge in interest and support since the activist's assassination last week.
