President Donald Trump awarded Charlie Kirk a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom engraved with a cross during a Tuesday ceremony in the White House Rose Garden to commemorate what would have been the late conservative activist's 32nd birthday.
"Today, we're here to honor and remember a fearless warrior for liberty, a 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: the late, great Charlie Kirk," Trump said during the ceremony, which had approximately 100 people in attendance.
Trump, who said he "raced back halfway around the globe" during the early morning hours to honor Kirk's birthday after signing a peace deal in Israel, characterized the TPUSA founder as an irreplaceable leader of his generation, whose contributions were both political and spiritual.
"Charles James Kirk was a visionary and one of the greatest figures of his generation,” he said, adding that Kirk "knew that the fight to preserve our heritage is waged not only on the battlefield, and in the halls of power [...] but also in the hearts of our nation's youth."
Trump characterized Kirk as a martyr who was "assassinated in the prime of his life for boldly speaking the truth, for living his faith, and relentlessly fighting for a better, stronger America." He noted that "God was very important to Charlie," who believed Christianity was foundational to the United States.
"He would say, 'You know, if you don't have religion, you're not going to have a strong country.' It's true. He was so wise beyond his years."
Trump, who made headlines this week for suggesting he might not get to Heaven, said he believes Kirk definitely did, highlighting his outspoken Christian faith.
"Charlie never missed an opportunity to remind us of the Judeo-Christian principles of our nation's founding, or to share his deep Christian faith," he said. "In his final moments, Charlie testified to the greatness of America and to the glory of our Savior, with whom he now rests in Heaven."
"I said, 'I'm not sure I can make it,' but he's going to make it," Trump said. "He's there. He's looking down on us right now. So incredible." He noted the dreary weather forecast ended up turning into beautiful weather, which he suggested was fitting.
"As I said on the day that he was assassinated, Charlie Kirk was a martyr for truth and for freedom."
Trump suggested that Kirk's murder has only made his testimony more powerful, but warned that the radical left is exhibiting a satanic ideology that is growing increasingly violent and desperate.
"In the days since Charlie's killing, we've seen exactly why our country so dearly needed his example," he said. "We've watched legions of far-left radicals resort to desperate acts of violence and terror, because they know that their ideas and arguments are persuading no one."
"They know that they're failing," he said. "They have the devil's ideology and they're failing, and they know it."
When Kirk, who co-founded TPUSA in 2012 when he was 18, was fatally shot in the neck on Sept. 10 at the hands of an alleged 22-year-old shooter at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, he left behind his wife, Erika, and two young children.
After Trump spoke during the ceremony, Erika Kirk accepted the medal on her husband's behalf and delivered tearful remarks. She offered heartfelt reflections on the legacy and worldview of her husband, exhorting his admirers, "This is not a ceremony; this is a commissioning."
"Charlie's life was proof that freedom is not a theory, it's a testimony," she said. "He showed us that liberty begins not in the halls of power, but in the end, a heart surrendered to God."
"And so today, as we honor Charlie with this incredible Presidential Medal of Freedom on his birthday, I stand here with tears and just a humbled heart and spirit, because his story reminds us all that to live free is the greatest gift, but to die free is the greatest victory," she added.
Kirk’s death prompted prayerful vigils around the world last month, including most prominently at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sept. 21, when Trump honored Kirk as a "missionary with a noble spirit" and Erika publicly forgave her husband's murderer.
Originally published by The Christian Post
