U.S. President Donald Trump has posthumously awarded Charlie Kirk with a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Kirk’s widow, Erika, accepted the award- the highest civilian award in the U.S.- in his honour, during a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden. Today would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday.
Kirk, a conservative activist and the founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed while addressing Utah Valley University students on Sept 10. Tyler Robinson, 22, is accused of killing Kirk and is facing charges of aggravated murder and other related offences.
Erika could be seen tearfully accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump.
“Thank you, Mr. President, for honouring my husband in such a profound and meaningful way,” she said. “And thank you for making this event a priority amid the peace process in the Middle East.”
During Kirk’s memorial ceremony, Trump said that he wished Kirk was still alive to fight against “radical left lunatics.”
“We’re dealing with some radical left lunatics. I just wish Charlie was here to fight us. I think the fight would’ve been over already. You would’ve had a march on the Capitol by people whose average age is about 21.”
He continued, saying that “there’s nobody that had that relationship with young people,” in reference to Kirk’s strong relationship with his young audience.
During his speech he said that people on the left have the “devil’s ideology,” and they know that they’re failing”.
“They become violent. They seem to become very violent on the left,” Trump added.
Recently Trump has condemned the leaderless far-left group Antifa, short for antifascist.
On Sept 22, he signed an executive order designating the group as a “domestic terrorist organisation.”
“Antifa is a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law,” part of the executive order reads.
He’s accused Antifa of recruiting, training, and radicalising young Americans to perpetuate political violence. Trump has said in recent weeks that federal law enforcement will be “very threatening” in going after the movement.
When was the Presidential Medal of Freedom first awarded?
The Presidential Medal of Freedom was first awarded in 1963. Since its creation, 670 individuals have received the honour.Previous recipients have included Audrey Hepburn, Milton Friedman, Walter Cronkite and Edward Kennedy.
Charlie Kirk’s legacy
Founded in 2012, Turning Point USA is an American nonprofit organisation that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses.
Kirk and his wider movement were credited with rallying Gen Z voters to help re-elect Donald Trump as president last November.
Although he was hailed as a right-wing icon in many conservative spaces, Kirk was also deemed a controversial public figure due to his anti-transgender rhetoric, as well as his scepticism surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, and pro-gun views.