Charlie Kirk’s Presidential Medal of Freedom was unique in a number of ways, including the sad nature of it: This was a man who should have been receiving it in his old age, not posthumously after a life that was sadly cut down in what felt like an incomplete state.
But it was unique in another way, personalized by President Donald Trump to remind us all that no life, however prematurely it seems to have been ended, is incomplete. As one of Kirk’s closest allies revealed on Fox News, the president made sure that Charlie’s honor was the first Presidential Medal of Freedom to explicitly feature the finished work of Christ on the Cross.
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The nation’s highest civilian honor was presented to Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, on Tuesday at the White House, a little over a month after the Turning Point USA founder was assassinated at an event at Utah Valley University.
The award was given on what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday.
“We’re here to honor and remember a fearless warrior for liberty, a beloved leader who galvanized the next generation like nobody I’ve ever seen before, and an American patriot of the deepest conviction,” Trump said in his remarks, according to NBC News.
“He was a champion in every way,” the president said, adding Kirk was “a visionary.”
“God began a mighty work through my husband, and I intend to see it through,” his widow said in her remarks.. “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.”
“He ran his race with endurance, and he kept the faith,” she added.
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And speaking about that faith on Fox News the night of the honor was Benny Johnson, who joined Turning Point USA in 2019 and knew Kirk — and his faith — well. He also attested to the fact that the president understood it, too.
“Donald Trump clearly understands Christendom and understands Christian doctrine,” Johnson said, along with “the power that Charlie Kirk brought the advancement of the kingdom of Christ.”
“Erika Kirk showed me something remarkable at the White House,” he continued. “She opened up the Medal of Freedom — as you can see there, that very few Americans get, there were only a few hundred given out, the highest civilian honor — and then she turned it around back.
“And what you can see here on the back is the first Christian cross, the first crucifix ever engraved onto a Medal of Freedom given by the president.
“This is a historic moment. It’s the first time that religious iconography has ever made it onto this award.”
Posting the clip to X, Johnson said that the move was “[a] powerful testament to Charlie’s enduring impact and unwavering dedication to his Faith.”
Kirk is the first Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree under Trump’s second administration — and while it’s not the ideal circumstances to be awarding it under, it’s certainly the right person and the right message. (This is doubly true when you look at the ghouls and partisans that Joe Biden honored on his way out the door: George Soros, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Bill Nye, and that’s just the last batch.)
And this isn’t a one-off. Consider the memorial service for Kirk in Glendale, Arizona, last month: Estimates said God was mentioned by speakers somewhere between 90 and 110 times; Jesus between 45 to 55 times, Christ between 25 to 35 times, and the Bible explicitly eight to 12 times.
“Charlie wanted his Savior to be the guest of honor,” said Pastor Rob McCoy, co-chair of Turning Point Faith.
And it wasn’t just the memorial; the weekend after Kirk’s death, churches across America reported being flooded with new congregants, with one pastor saying attendance was “unlike anything we’ve seen.”
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“We had more people give their life to Christ yesterday than we’ve ever had on a single Sunday, and it was absolutely incredible to watch,” said Convo Church lead pastor Craig Dyson, a friend of Kirk’s.
“We were filled, overflowing.”
May we continue to be filled to overflowing in faith by Kirk’s legacy — and may the history-making Presidential Medal of Freedom Erika Kirk was presented with be a reminder of this.
This article originally appeared on The Western Journal, and is reposted with permission.
