As expected, Donald Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the late Charlie Kirk on Tuesday.
The ceremony took place on what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday, and his widow, Erika Kirk, accepted the medal on his behalf.
The newly appointed CEO of Turning Point USA, Erika has become a divisive figure in the weeks since her husband’s death, with some praising her courage and others accusing her of rank opportunism.
Erika Kirk’s comments, demeanor receive mixed response
“God began a mighty work through my husband, and I intend to see it through,” Erika said at the event. “The torch is in our hands now. It’s in mine. It’s in yours. It’s in all of yours. It’s in all the students with Turning Point USA.”
As with her address at last month’s Charlie Kirk memorial service, Erica’s comments at the Medal of Freedom ceremony left observers divided.
Many praised her candor, while others were put off by what they saw as promotions of the Kirks’ business interests and an inappropriately lighthearted tone.
“May you one day know the kind of happiness Erika Kirk found in ‘widowhood,” one X user wrote, alongside a collage of photos of Erika laughing and smiling.
“Everything she says and does looks like a performance,” another added.
“Erika Kirk is to grieving, as Trump’s ear is to gunshot wound,” a third chimed in.
For his part, Trump delivered a speech that veered between solemn remembrance of Kirk and firebrand rhetoric about recent controversies, including the White House’s decision to deploy National Guard troops in US cities.
“They have the devil’s ideology, and they’re failing. And they know it, they feel it, and they become violent,” Trump said, referring to his political opponents.
In one of the ceremony’s most odd moments, Trump admitted that he nearly rescheduled the event but had a last-minute change of heart.
“I was going to call Erika and say, ‘Erika, could you maybe move it to Friday?’” he told the crowd.
From there, the president revealed that Charlie once praised him for dodging a sniper’s bullet at a 2024 campaign event.
“I made a turn at a good time. I made a turn at a good time, I turned to the right. Charlie couldn’t believe it, actually,” Trump told the crowd.
“He said, ‘How the hell did you make that turn?’ I said ‘I don’t know.'”
The president also challenged Erika’s claim that Charlie was a man who “loved his enemies,” prompting Erika to reply:
“He did pray for his enemies. I saw him do it.”
Erika has not spoken publicly about the criticism surrounding her recent appearances.