President Trump on Thursday said he will posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, to Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old conservative activist who was shot to death during a Wednesday event in Utah.
Mr. Trump called Mr. Kirk a “giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people.”
“We miss him greatly. Yet I have no doubt that Charlie’s voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on,” the president said at the Pentagon where he delivered remarks to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom recognizes people who have made “an especially meritorious contribution to the security or the national interests of the United States.”
The president said the day of the Medal of Freedom ceremony will be announced later.
“I can only guarantee you one thing, that we will have a very big crowd. Very, very big,” Mr. Trump said.
The president called the shooting death of Mr. Kirk a “heinous assassination.”
“Our prayers are with his wonderful wife, Erika, and his beautiful children,” he said.
Mr. Kirk, the founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, was a top podcaster and close ally of Mr. Trump. He led the effort to reshape the GOP’s get-out-the-vote effort in 2024 by persuading young voters to support Republicans.
He was assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem. The gunman is still at large, but the FBI said Thursday it recovered what is believed to be the weapon used in the fatal shooting.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom was created by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to “the national security interests of the United States, world peace or cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.”
The award is not limited to U.S. citizens.
It has been awarded to 672 people, or an average of 11 per year. Among the most notable recipients are Neil Armstrong, Walt Disney, Joe DiMaggio, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Teresa.
The award was meant to be a nonpartisan tribute to citizens who have contributed to the country, yet it has become increasingly political in recent years.
President Biden last year bestowed the medal on several political allies in the Democratic Party. Of the 19 he selected for the honor, five were high-profile Democrats who supported his agenda, including one who worked in his administration. That list included former Vice President Al Gore, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Secretary of State John Kerry, who served as the Biden administration’s “climate czar.”
In his first term, Mr. Trump awarded the medal to Miriam Adelson, the wife of GOP super donor Sheldon Adelson. The Adelsons donated hundreds of millions to electing Republicans, including Mr. Trump.
The president also famously bestowed the medal on talk-show host Rush Limbaugh at the 2020 State of the Union address as well as on conservatives such as former Sen. Orrin Hatch, Utah Republican, and supply-side economist Arthur Laffer.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.