From PBS NewsHour.
Erika Kirk thanked President Donald Trump on Tuesday for presenting her late husband, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, with the nation’s highest civilian honor on what would have been his 32nd birthday.
“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,” she said during an emotional speech at the White House ceremony. “The very existence of the Presidential Medal of Freedom reminds us that the national interest of the United States has always been freedom.”
Charlie Kirk was assassinated in September while speaking outdoors to a crowd during an event at Utah Valley University. The suspected gunman has been charged with aggravated murder, among other charges, and faces the possibility of the death penalty.
“I know that you’re celebrating in heaven today,” she said of Charlie as President Donald Trump stood next to her at the podium. “But, gosh, I miss you. We miss you, and we love you, and we promise we will make you proud.”
Charlie Kirk was an influential and divisive figure, who valued debating in open forums and both drew supporters and alienated critics with controversial statements on topics like civil rights, gender roles, Islam and gun violence.
Trump called the Turning Point USA founder “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.”
The medal, created in 1945 by President Harry Truman and renamed and modified in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy, honors people who have made commendable contributions to U.S. security or national interests, world peace, culture or other enterprises.
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