Erika Kirk accepts Presidential Medal of Freedom for late husband Charlie

At a White House Rose Garden ceremony Tuesday on her husband’s 32nd birthday, Erica Kirk accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom on behalf of Charlie Kirk and offered a powerful personal tribute to his life and legacy.

“Thank you, Mr. President, for honoring my husband in such a profound way,” she began. “Charlie has always admired your commitment to freedom.”

She thanked the First Lady, the Vice President, and friends and family “watching from around the world,” along with Turning Point USA employees and affiliates across the country. “You are the beating heart of this future and this movement,” she said. “Everything Charlie built lives through you.”

Erika added that the Presidential Medal of Freedom itself is rooted in America’s founding. “The mere presence of the Presidential Medal of Freedom reminds us that the national interest of the United States has always been freedom,” she said.

Charlie Kirk was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom on his 32nd birthday

“Our Founders engraved them in the preamble of our Constitution, and these words are not a relic of slavery. They are a living covenant. The blessings of freedom are not the invention of man. They are a gift from God.”

I remembered how Charlie often wrote about freedom. “He believed that freedom was both a right and a responsibility,” Erika said. “He used to say that freedom was the ability to do what is right without fear. That’s how he lived.”

“His name Charles literally means ‘free man.’ “And that’s exactly what my husband is,” she continued. “Since I met him, and I sat interviewing him about politics and philosophy and theology, I saw the fire in his soul. There was this divine anxiety within him that came from knowing that God had put him on this earth to protect something so sacred. “He never stopped fighting for people to experience freedom.”

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Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erica Kirk, receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom on behalf of her husband at the White House on October 14. (Fox News)

Erica remembered Charlie often saying that “without God, freedom is chaos” and that freedom could only survive “when it is grounded in truth.” She recalled him telling the audience: “The opposite of freedom is not law. It is captivity. The freest people in the world are those whose hearts belong to Christ.”

Reflecting on the years he spent building Turning Point USA, she said, “While he was building an organization, he was also building a movement: a movement calling people back to God, back to truth, and a movement full of courage.”

She described him as a man who loved life’s simpler pleasures: quiet walks, shelves full of books, Saturday mornings in the sun with decaf coffee and his phone off for Saturday. She recalled that his birthday tradition was mint chocolate chip ice cream, which he only enjoyed on July 4, his birthday.

“Last year, his only birthday wish was to see the Oregon Ducks play Ohio State — and they won,” she said. “Mr. President, I can confidently say that you gave him the best birthday present he could ever have.”

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US President Donald Trump posthumously awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk as he presents the medal to his wife Erica Kirk (L) during a ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House on October 14, 2025 in Washington, DC (Kevin Deitch/Getty Images)

Turning to his final moments, Erica said: “It was written on his chest in those last moments on one of his simple shirts that always had a message on it – and that shirt had one word on it: Freedom. That was the banner above his life.”

She said her husband never told anyone what to say, but always encouraged them to “think outside conventional political labels, grounded in wisdom and truth.”

“Charlie didn’t just admire freedom,” Erika said. “He wanted to double it.” “He wanted young people to taste it, understand it, and champion it. He wanted them to see that freedom is not a selfish indulgence — but self-government under God.”

I remembered that he lived every day with fearless conviction. “He was not afraid of being slandered. He was not afraid of losing friends. He stood for truth and stood for freedom. Everything else was just noise to him. This was because his confidence in Christ was absolute.”

Erica said Charlie only lived “31 years this side of heaven”, but was filled with purpose every day. “He fought for what was right when it was unpopular. He stood up for God when it was costly. He prayed for his enemies. He loved people when it was inconvenient. He ran his race with patience, and kept the faith. And now he wears the crown of a good martyr.”

She told the audience: “Heaven has gained what the earth can no longer contain – a free man who has become completely free. To all viewers, this is not a celebration. This is an assignment. I want you to be the embodiment of this medal. I want you to free yourselves from fear. I want you to stand courageously in the truth. And remember that although freedom is inherent in this country, each of us must be intentional stewards of it.”

Before closing, Erika shared her daughter Gigi’s birthday message: “Happy birthday, Dad. I want to give you a stuffed animal. I want you to eat a cupcake with ice cream. And I want you to go get a birthday surprise. I love you.”

She also gave her little son his own gift, “deciding to become the man of the house and be fully potty trained when he turns 16 months.”

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“I know you’re celebrating in heaven today, but oh my God, I miss you,” she said, crying. “We miss you and love you. We promise we will make you proud. Charlie’s life was proof that freedom is not a theory. It is a testimony. He showed us that freedom does not begin in the halls of power, but in the heart of a man surrendered to God.”

It ended with a final tribute: “To live free is the greatest gift, but to die free is the greatest victory. Happy Birthday, Charlie. Happy Freedom Day.”