“Is that Charlie?”: Trump questions pacifist Kirk characterization at Medal of Freedom ceremony

President Donald Trump posthumously awarded Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday, but not before objecting to frequent characterizations of the late political organizer as a pacifist.

Kirk, an influential Republican operative who was celebrated for his youth outreach, was assassinated during an event on a college campus in Utah last month. In the wake of his death, Kirk’s peers (and several of his enemies) rushed to paint the activist as a peaceful believer in the power of debate and the First Amendment. Trump pushed back against the idea during a speech on Tuesday.

“You know, I heard he loved his enemies,” Trump said. “I said, ‘Wait a minute, is that the same Charlie that I know? I’m not so sure.’ But I didn’t want to get into it.”

Later in the ceremony, Trump stood behind Kirk’s widow as she countered the president’s remarks.

“Surprisingly enough, he did pray for his enemies,” Erika Kirk said, as Trump offered a grin and a theatrical shrug. “I saw him do it. He never did it in front of anyone else, but I can attest to that.”

Erika Kirk to Trump:He did pray for his enemies. He did. pic.twitter.com/Jp4Bf0IB89

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 14, 2025

Elsewhere in the ceremony, Trump boasted about his good luck to survive an assassination attempt on the campaign trail. After accusing his left-wing political opponents of having “the devil’s ideology,” he marveled at his good fortune.

“They seem to become very violent on the left,” he said. “They’ve fired sniper rifles at ICE agents and me. I made a turn at a good time. I turned to the right. Charlie couldn’t believe it, actually. He said, ‘How the hell did you make that turn?’ I said, ‘I don’t know.’”

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Trump: They have the devil’s ideology. They seem to become very violent on the left pic.twitter.com/akFAFZ0WRe

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 14, 2025