Transcription
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded to Charles James Kirk. Accepting on behalf of Charlie is his wife, Mrs. Erica Kirk.
Charlie Kirk was one of the most influential American political figures of his generation. At just 18 years old, he founded Turning Point USA and grew it into the largest conservative youth organization in the nation. For over a decade, he tirelessly traveled the country leading a movement to restore respect for our founding principles, reawaken our national identity, and inspire a renewed spirit of religious devotion. He was one of the great debaters and communicators of his time. Despite receiving repeated threats, he remained undeterred and modeled courage, logic, humor, and grace to the next generation.
On September 10th, 2025, at age 31, Charlie Kirk was assassinated while addressing a group of students. The United States honors him as a martyr for truth and freedom.
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Thank you, Mr. president for honoring my husband in such a profound and meaningful way and thank you for making this event a priority um with amid the peace process in the Middle East. Thank you. Very grateful Charlie excuse me Charlie always admired your commitment to freedom and that's something that both of you shared. So, thank you. Your support of our family and the work that Charlie devoted his life to will be something I cherish forever. So, thank you. Thank you >> to our gracious first lady in her office for making this event possible. Thank you as well. It's beautiful. Um to vice president and the lovely Usha fans, your friendship has been an unbelievable encouragement. Thank you. Um and to all our friends and family that are here and watching from all around the world, thank you for loving us. Thank you for praying for us and for believing in what Charlie believed in. And to our Turning Point USA staff and the Charlie Kirk Show staff, we love you more than you could ever know. And to the Turning Point USA chapters that are watching all across America right now, you are the heartbeat of this future and of this movement. Everything that Charlie built, you guys are the legacy holders of that. You are living proof that his mission did not die with him. It lives through you. And Charlie always said, "The next generation will decide whether freedom endures. And because of you, I know that freedom will endure." It will.
And today we're gathered not only to celebrate Charlie's birthday, but to honor a truth that he gave his entire life to defend, and that's freedom. The very existence of the Presidential Medal of Freedom reminds us that the national interest of the United States has always been freedom. Our founders etched it into the preamble of our Constitution. And those words are not relics on parchment. They are a living covenant. The blessings of liberty are not man's invention. They are God's endowment. Charlie lived for those blessings, not as abstract words, but as sacred promises. He used to love to journal about this topic all the time and and with such a heart postured of gratitude and he believed that liberty was both a right and a responsibility and he used to say freedom is the ability to do what is right without fear and that's how he lived. He was free from fear. who's free from compromise, free from anything that could enslave his soul. His name Charles literally means free man. And that's exactly who my husband was. He was a free man. And from the time I met him, sitting across from him, being interviewed on politics and philosophy and theology, anything that Charlie loved, any topic he loved, and I just saw the fire in his soul, and there was this divine restlessness within him that came from knowing God placed him on this earth to protect something very, very sacred for all of us. And he never stopped fighting for people to experience freedom. He didn't.
Charlie often said that without God, freedom becomes chaos. And he believed liberty could only survive when anchored to truth. And I remember in one of his speeches he told the audience that the opposite of liberty isn't law. He said it's captivity and that the freest people in the world are those whose hearts belong to Christ. But what's so powerful is that Charlie had the ability to communicate so brilliantly across all generations. And he reminded us that in a world that tells us freedom is, you know, doing whatever you want to do, the real freedom is the power to live freely and to do what is right. And in one of his journal entries, he wrote that he wanted everyone to know that you can't have liberty without moral responsibility. Freedom divorced from faith eventually just destroys itself. And what's so fascinating about all of this is looking back these past 12 years of Turning Point USA and his mission, there's almost this veil of of sacredness. Because what I realized is that while he was building an organization, he was also building a movement, one that called people back to God, back to truth, and a movement that was filled with courage. And ironically, for a man who impacted millions, Charlie never desired to be the center of attention. He just wasn't.
My husband was not a man of extravagance. He loved simple but deeply meaningful things. Truly, he he loved his late night walks. He loved buying more books than he could ever read because he felt there was no such thing as a a book budget. And he loved being able to read to our kids the same bedtime story on repeat cuz he knew it was their favorite. And but to him that was special. and he loved to sit in the sun on a Saturday morning with his cup of decaf coffee and his phone was off cuz he was honoring the Sabbath. And for him it was that moment to catch his breath and just be in peace cuz he was unreachable at the moment and he preferred quiet birthdays. But that never stopped me from telling him. I told him every single year. I said, "Baby, I love your birthday." I said, "Because it's a day that God knew the world couldn't go another day without you." And so the rhythm of our usual birthday celebration for him was mint ice, mint chocolate chip ice cream. He only had it twice a year on his birthday in 4th of July. And um and then after that it was back to work as usual. But last year his one birthday wish was to see the Oregon Ducks play the Ohio State. And they won. Oregon won that night. And it was by far one of the most memorable nights of his birthday experience of his life until today. And so honestly, President Trump, I have spent seven and a half years trying to find the perfect birthday gift for Charlie. And it's so difficult. And those of you that have spouses or loved ones, you know how difficult it is sometimes to buy a gift for someone that you love because he wasn't a materialistic man. So that also did not help. But now I can say with confidence, Mr. President, that you have given him the best birthday gift he could ever have. It's such an honor and the recognition of a life lived for defending freedom. And that's what Charlie fought for until his last breath. And it was written across his chest in those final moments on one of his simple t-shirts that always carried a message. And this one bearing a single word, freedom. That was the banner over his life. And that shirt was a declaration. The same declaration he made in every speech, every campus visit, every time he shared the gospel at a church, every sleepless night that he would spend praying for the youth of this nation and planning for the future of our country and just oppressing upon them that when we defend liberty, we defend the soul of our nation.
My husband never told anyone what to say. He never did. He never told anyone what to say. He would just encourage them to think. He would encourage them to think outside of the traditional political labels. He would want them to think in a way that was anchored in wisdom and truth. But he would never tell anyone what to say. Charlie wasn't content to simply admire freedom. He wanted to multiply it. He wanted to multiply freedom. He wanted young people to taste it and to understand it and defend it. He wanted them to see that liberty isn't self-indulgence. It's self-governance under God. He wanted them to see that. And every day I'd see him getting ready for work. He'd put on his cross necklace. He'd put his ring on his finger. And the the boldness in his demeanor was always fearlessness. He wasn't afraid. He was never afraid in his daily actions, whether in office or on campus or at a church. It was always without fear. That was his creed. That is that is how he lived out every single day. He didn't fear being slandered. He did not he didn't fear losing friends. I can tell you that. He didn't he didn't care. He stood for truth and stood for freedom. And he did not everything else was just a noise to him. And it's because his confidence in Christ was absolute. That's why there was no limit. No limit to what he would have sacrificed to defend freedom for all. And if the moment had come, he probably would have run for president, but not out of ambition. He would only have done it if that was something that he believed that his country needed from a servant's heart standpoint. And Charlie lived only 31 short years. Now he's 32, but on this side of heaven, but he lived. He lived every single second. He lived. He filled every single day with purpose. And he fought for truth when it was unpopular. And he stood for God when it was costly. But that's what we're called to do. Surprisingly enough, he did pray for his enemies, which is very hard. But he did. He did. I He did. No one else. I mean, I saw him do it. No, he never did it in front of anyone else, but I can attest to that. But he also loved people when it was inconvenient. And he ran his race with endurance, and he kept the faith. And now he wears the crown of a righteous martyr. And for me and for our children, the the truth really studies our grief because heaven gained what earth could no longer contain. A free man made fully free.
To all watching, this is this is not a ceremony. This is a commissioning. And my message is simple. I want you to be the embodiment of this medal. I do. I want you to free yourself from fear. I want you to stand courageously in the truth. Listen for the still small voice of God. And remember that while freedom is inherited in this country, each of us must be intentional stewards every single day. God began a mighty work through my husband and I intend to see it through. And the torch is in our hands now. It's in mine. It's in yours. It's in all of yours. It's in all the students with Turning Point USA. And before I close, I'll share with you that I asked our daughter what she would like to say to daddy for his birthday. Excuse me. She said, "Happy birthday, Daddy. I want to give you a stuffed animal. I want you to eat a cupcake with ice cream. And I want you to go have a birthday surprise. I love you is what she said. And while our son is precious, he can't yet speak. In classic Kirk family fashion, his actions spoke louder than his words. And his gift to you, Charlie, and myself for that matter, was deciding to become the man of the house and be fully potty trained at 16 months. But Charlie, baby, I know that you're celebrating in heaven today, but gosh, I miss you. We miss you, and we love you, and we promise we'll we'll make you proud. And Charlie's life was proof that freedom is not a theory. It's a testimony. He showed us that liberty begins not in the halls of power, but in the man of 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. Happy birthday, my Charlie. Happy freedom day. God bless you.
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