President Donald Trump is planning to return to Washington, D.C., next week to personally present the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
The White House ceremony will coincide with what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday, Breitbart News reported.
Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of The Charlie Kirk Show, confirmed the plan in a post on X.
“President Trump is moving heaven and earth to get back to D.C. to award Charlie the Presidential Medal of Freedom on what would be his 32nd birthday. Thank you, Mr. President. We see what it took to pull this off, and we’re incredibly grateful,” he wrote.
Trump first announced his plan to honor Kirk posthumously during a September 11 observance at the Pentagon, describing him as “a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions.” He noted that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor and said the upcoming ceremony would reflect the scale of Kirk’s impact on American civic life.
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University as part of his “American Comeback Tour,” which had drawn large student audiences across the country. His death prompted tributes from across the political spectrum and inspired a series of memorial events in the U.S. and abroad.
During a recent press conference, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to attend the upcoming event despite his demanding travel schedule.
“I’m coming back. I believe it’s Tuesday night for Charlie Kirk, a friend of mine, a friend of all of ours, a friend of a lot of the people right here. And we’re giving him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest honor you get outside of the Congressional Medal of Honor, one’s military, one’s civilian, but it’s, it’s the greatest honor,” the president said.
“And Erika his beautiful wife is going to be here, and a lot of people are going to be here. So it’s not easy for me to get back. It’s, a very quick trip, but I’ll be making two major stops, and then I’ll be on the plane trying to get back in time for Charlie. They’re going to have a great celebration at the White House, in the East Room of the White House,” Trump added.
Erika told fellow conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck late last month that she believes her husband was preparing her to take over the operation for some time.
In a video clip posted to X, Beck described a recent conversation he had with Erika following her husband’s shocking assassination at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, earlier this month, in which she told him, “I think Charlie prepared me for this and I didn’t even know it.”
Beck went on to say that Erika said her husband “left me the plans for 2028. He left me the budgets for the future. He left this for me.”
Erika also told the conservative broadcaster that her husband kept a daily diary that she didn’t know existed until she found it, along with his plans, after his murder.
Meanwhile, the Deseret News reported last week that Charlie Kirk’s daughter would always tune into his show because he would take one of her toys with him every time he went on the air.
“That was their little connection,” Erika told the outlet. “And he loved it too, because it was a little piece of her that he could have with her on the show.”
Following Charlie’s death, Erika immediately stepped up to fill his roles, with the TPUSA board voting to name her CEO of the organization.
“It’s surreal to actually be sitting, because last time I was standing …” Erika said, pausing, referring to her national address two days after Charlie’s assassination. “But yeah, it’s a little more emotional,” she added.
