Today would have been the 32nd birthday of Charlie Kirk. He should be celebrating with his family. Instead, he is being posthumously remembered and honored by the president after his horrible assassination.

President Trump had announced after the assassination that he would be awarding Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom. This honor would have probably been given to Charlie at the end of the Trump administration, or in decades in the future. Since he was robbed of those years to come, the award is a posthumous thank you from President Trump for all that Charlie Kirk did for him, for his outreach to college students, and all over the world. Many people recognized Charlie’s passion and purpose today, on his birthday, in advance of this ceremony.

David Engelhardt, lead pastor of Kings’ Church in New York City and board member of TPUSA, said that it’s a “privilege” to watch Kirk be honored with the award.

“Charlie is the right recipient to the Medal of Freedom because he believed that God’s moral order found in faith is not a limit to freedom but the soil it grows in,” Engelhardt told Fox News Digital. “People who destroy that soil in the name of safe-spaces and to protect against ‘dangerous ideas’ will soon find their land barren. Charlie stood for freedom rightly ordered and founded in the gravity of God’s system.”

Mulitple elected officials and leaders also recognized Charlie’s impact on this day.

Charlie Kirk should still be here, celebrating his 32nd birthday with his friends and family.

Charlie left an incredible legacy of faith, freedom, and debate. We will never forget him or the Kirk family. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/kNqWGIuTaa

— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) October 14, 2025

On what would have been his 32nd birthday, we honor the life and legacy of Charlie Kirk. His impact on the next generation of young leaders will live on. My prayers continue to be with his wife, Erika, and their children. pic.twitter.com/G9yfH8UOcD

— Leader John Thune (@LeaderJohnThune) October 14, 2025

President Trump himself escorted Erika Kirk to the Rose Garden, which is where the ceremony was moved after the weather held and the crowd in attendance was too large for indoors.

President Trump and Erika Kirk arrive to the Medal of Freedom Ceremony for Charlie Kirk ❤️🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/6aRc4TOTRt

— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) October 14, 2025

The entire ceremony can be seen here.

The president gave a speech recalling some of the same things that he said at the memorial for Charlie Kirk, and how Charlie worked tirelessly during the election.

The president described Kirk as a fearless warrior for liberty and beloved leader who “galvanized the next generation.”

“Five weeks ago, our nation was robbed of this extraordinary champion,” Trump said. “He was a champion in every way. I got to know him so well. … He was assassinated in the prime of his life for boldly speaking the truth for living his faith and relentlessly fighting for a better and stronger America. He loved this country.”

The president added while he thought it was going to be close, Kirk “helped make it happen” by mobilizing citizens to vote.

“Without him, … maybe you’d have Kamala standing here today,” Trump said. “That would not be good. … With his help, in 2024, we won more people than any Republican by far in the history of our country.”

In her remarks, Erika Kirk said that Charlie experienced “a divine restlessness” that kept him always in motion, and broke hearts all over the country with her grief and her daughter’s birthday wishes for her daddy.

“President Trump, I have spent seven and a half years trying to find the perfect birthday gift for Charlie, and it’s so difficult,” Erika Kirk said as he posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“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.”

“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,” she said in the Rose Garden.

“He would only have done it if that was something that he believed that his country needed, from a servant’s heart standpoint. Charlie lived only 31 short years on this side of heaven, but he lived every single second, 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.”

DEVASTATING: Erika Kirk reads what their young daughter “had to say to Daddy for his birthday.”

“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… pic.twitter.com/LHwu7vVp9I

— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) October 14, 2025

Charlie Kirk was a political powerhouse and a champion for truth, but he was also a beloved husband and father, and those closest to him will feel the loss forever. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an incredible honor, but it will never fill the holes left by an assassin’s bullet. Even as we remember Charlie on his birthday, and celebrate this posthumous honor, please remember his family in the days, weeks, and years to come.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click