Trump honors Charlie Kirk with highest civilian honor: 'You have given him the best birthday gift'
President Donald Trump posthumously awarded Charlie Kirk the highest civilian honor following his horrific assassination on a college campus in September.
Trump honored Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday, the day that would have been the conservative activist's 32nd birthday. Erika Kirk, Charlie's widow, accepted the award at the White House Tuesday afternoon on his behalf.
'You have given him the best birthday gift he could ever have.'
"Five weeks ago, our nation was robbed of this extraordinary champion," Trump said during the address.
"It was a horrible, heinous, demonic act of murder," Trump added. "He was assassinated in the prime of his life for boldly speaking the truth. ... He loved this country. And that's why, this afternoon, it's my privilege to posthumously award Charles James Kirk our nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom."
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Erika also addressed the crowd, which was packed with friends and former colleagues of Kirk's, including Blaze Media's own Glenn Beck. Through tears, Erika remembered her late husband and expressed gratitude to the president and his administration.
"I have spent seven and a half years trying to find the perfect birthday gift for Charlie. ... But now I can say with confidence, Mr. President, that you have given him the best birthday gift he could ever have," Erika said.
Erika also shared her optimistic vision for the future, encouraging younger generations to carry on Kirk's legacy.
"You are the heartbeat of this future and this movement. ... You’re living proof that his mission did not die with him," Erika said.
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Kirk was horrifically assassinated on the Utah Valley University campus on September 10 on the first stop of his highly anticipated college campus tour. Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA, has frequently been credited with swaying the election in Trump's favor in 2024 because of his gift of coalition-building with demographics that don't traditionally vote red, particularly with young voters.
"We won more young people than any Republican candidate in the history of our country, including, for the first time, a majority of males under 30. Can you believe it?" Trump said during Kirk's memorial service.
"We did unbelievably with young people, and he was a big, big factor," Trump said of Kirk. "Unbelievable. But he made me work for it. ... But we did it, and we won."
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'We will stop you cold': Trump announces successful strike against 'narcoterrorist' vessel
The United States has been cracking down on drug trafficking and other illegal activities in the Western Hemisphere, specifically targeting Venezuela in recent months. Trump has consistently announced airstrikes against "narcoterrorist" boats, and Tuesday saw the most recent tactical strike.
Trump announced on Tuesday on Truth Social that the Department of War carried out an airstrike against a vessel off the coast of Venezuela, killing those aboard.
'The message is clear: if you traffic drugs toward our shores, we will stop you cold.'
"Under my Standing Authorities as Commander-in-Chief, this morning, the Secretary of War, ordered a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility — just off the Coast of Venezuela," he said in the post.
Trump explained the reason for the strike and its aftermath: "Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks, and was transiting along a known DTO route. The strike was conducted in International Waters, and six male narcoterrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike. No U.S. Forces were harmed."
Trump's post about the airstrike comes days after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the creation of a "new counter-narcotics Joint Task Force" in USSOUTHCOM's area of responsibility. The mission of the task force, according to Hegseth, is "to crush the cartels, stop the poison, and keep America safe."
USSOUTHCOM, or U.S. Southern Command, is one of 11 combatant commands under the Department of War. USSOUTHCOM's area of responsibility includes the land mass of Latin America south of Mexico, the waters adjacent to Central and South America, and the Caribbean Sea. It is also responsible for securing the Panama Canal, according to its website.
"The message is clear: if you traffic drugs toward our shores, we will stop you cold," Hegseth added.
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Records: Blue States Can’t Provide Any Evidence To Defend Anchor Baby Citizenship
A case that should have been thrown out immediately for lack of evidence supporting blue states' claims is now being appealed to the Supreme Court.
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