President Donald Trump sent a message to his late friend Charlie Kirk, engraved on the back of the Presidential Medal of Freedom with his name and cross.
During a ceremony Tuesday at the White House Rose Garden, Trump posthumously awarded Kirk the nation's highest civilian honor, presenting Erica Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Kirk would have turned 32 on Tuesday if he had not been killed by a gunman on the Utah Valley University campus on Sept. 10.
Charlie Kirk was killed in the prime of his life for speaking the truth, living his faith, and fighting relentlessly for America.
That's why today President Trump posthumously awarded Charlie Kirk our nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Bqd1hr9byX
— White House (@WhiteHouse) October 15, 2025
Later, speaking with Fox News' Jesse Watters about the ceremony, Benny Johnson, a pal of the late Turning Point USA founder, told the host that Trump clearly understands “the power that Charlie Kirk brought to the development of the kingdom of Christ, because Erica Kirk showed me something wonderful in the White House right before she came here to do your show.”
🚨NEW: Benny Johnson UNVEILS Charlie Kirk's PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM with a CRUCIFIXION engraved on the back… A FIRST EVER 🚨@BennyJohnson: “This is a historic moment—for the first time ever, religious iconography has appeared on this award—and it was done in honor of Charlie… pic.twitter.com/GzLm4iU4Eh
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) October 15, 2025
A month later, friends share memories of Charlie Kirk and WH will honor him on a truly special day
“She opened the Freedom Medal…and then she turned it over, and what you can see here on the back is the first Christian cross…ever engraved on a Freedom Medal presented by a President,” Johnson said.
“This is a historical moment. This is the first time that religious iconography has been included in this award,” he added. “And it’s in honor of Charlie Kirk. And Erica told me that this is to promote what Charlie Kirk and his work are for the Kingdom of Christ. And the President understood this so deeply that he gave him this great honor.”
INCREDIBLE: For the first time in American history, a Christian cross was engraved on the Presidential Medal of Freedom in honor of Charlie Kirk.
Erica Kirk wanted to share this with you as a testimony of Charlie's powerful work in advancing the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
✝️🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/oOetxMzkqQ
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 14, 2025
The host noted that it was interesting to see that after Kirk's assassination, the president talked about Heaven more than ever, even since that fateful day a year ago when Trump almost died at the hands of an assassin if he had not turned his head at that exact moment.
After doing some research, we couldn't find any other example of an engraved cross on the back of the Freedom Medal, so this is truly incredible.
Like RedState reportedKirk's ceremony at the White House earlier in the day was touching and emotional.
SEE: Coffee shop that faced backlash after honoring Charlie Kirk has bad news for haters
President Trump spoke about the great patriot we lost and why he wanted to honor him with this award.
“Charlie was a champion in every way, he didn't like to lose… He loved this country and that's why I am honored to posthumously award Charles James Kirk, our nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.” — @POTHUS 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/e60VpdOiHQ
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 14, 2025
“Charlie was a champion in every way; he didn’t like to lose… He was killed in the prime of his life for courageously speaking the truth, for living his faith and fighting tirelessly for a better and stronger America,” Trump said. “He loved this country, and that is why I am honored to posthumously award Charles James Kirk, our nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
When it was Erica's turn, she talked about her husband, his legacy, and even told President Trump, after all her years of trying to come up with the perfect birthday gift, that he had just given Charlie, along with a medal, the greatest gift he could ever receive.
“Honestly, President Trump, I spent 7.5 years trying to find the perfect birthday gift for Charlie… but I can now say with confidence, Mr. President, that you gave him the best birthday gift he could ever receive.” ❤️ – Erica Kirk. pic.twitter.com/ogCWdJXBar
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 14, 2025
“Honestly, President Trump, I spent 7.5 years trying to find the perfect birthday gift for Charlie… but I can now say with confidence, Mr. President, that you gave him the best birthday gift he could ever receive.”
Following the ceremony, the White House sent out a message naming October 14, 2025, “National Charlie Kirk Memorial Day.”
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