On Tuesday, President Donald Trump posthumously awarded conservative activist Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the nation’s highest civilian honor—on what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday. His widow, Erika Kirk, accepted the award on his behalf.
Trump also proclaimed October 14, 2025, a National Day of Remembrance for Kirk, describing him as a “Christian martyr” and “titan of the American conservative movement.”
In the proclamation, Trump honored Kirk’s life and condemned what he called a “devastating wave of political violence” following the 31-year-old’s assassination on September 10 in a campus courtyard. The president called on Americans to gather in places of worship to “pray for peace, truth, and justice” and to “advance the values for which he laid down his life.”
Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was remembered in the statement as a devoted father and husband who “defended truth, encouraged debate, and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” The president urged Americans to continue his mission “with joyful and steadfast resolve.”
