‘A Dark Moment for America’: Donald Trump’s Medal of Freedom, Created to Honor Peace and Progress, Will Go to Influencer Famous for Racist and Sexist Vitriol
President Donald Trump is drawing criticism for his plan to posthumously award slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The award is presented at the president’s discretion to people who have made “an especially meritorious contribution” to the security or national interests of the country, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.
Trump announced the decision on Thursday morning, hours after Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Reports said a sniper fired once from approximately 200 yards away, the bullet striking Kirk in the neck just as he answered a question about the state of mass shootings in America.
The gunman, who has not been identified, fled the scene and remains at large amid a nationwide manhunt.
At first, Trump publicly mourned Kirk on social media and avoided politicizing the tragedy.
“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” he wrote. “He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me.” The message reflected not only political respect but a personal bond, one that members of Trump’s inner circle described as close, almost familial.
Later, Trump issued an angry declaration from the Oval Office and posted the video to his Truth Social platform, expressing rage over Kirk’s death while getting ahead of the investigation and blaming the “radical left.”
He also ordered the lowering of U.S. flags to half-staff in honor of the slain conservative activist.
Kirk’s death sent shock waves through the White House, the Republican Party and the broader conservative movement, and MAGA figures like Elon Musk and Steve Bannon were declaring war on podcasts and across social media.
Meanwhile, Trump’s harshest critics also went to work online, pointing out that Kirk was infamous for his racist and sexist rhetoric. Many also highlighted his stance and lack of empathy for school shooting victims, calling out the irony of his on-campus death.
A video compilation of Kirk’s most racist soundbites quickly made the rounds on social media.
🗣️ I WILL NEVER IN LIFE HAVE SYMPATHY FOR A RACIST ASS BIGOT!!! HELL NO!!! NEVER!! pic.twitter.com/KLohemBwHU
— 1 of Kamala's 75,017,626 Votes! (@todd_butler) September 10, 2025
Kirk lit a firestorm in June after taking aim at Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, dismissing her as a “diversity hire” just hours after she penned a blistering dissent in a ruling that handed Trump a massive immigration win. Kirk’s swipe at Jackson, a Harvard-educated jurist with decades of experience, triggered immediate backlash, with critics quick to drag his own lack of credentials.
Following Kirk’s murder, Trump addressed the nation, mixing grief with political accusations.
“This is a dark moment for America,” Trump declared from the Oval. He described Kirk as a “martyr for truth,” and in his next breath accused “the radical left” of likening conservatives to “Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals.” That rhetoric, he argued, was “directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today and it must stop right now.”
Trump vowed to pursue “each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity,” including groups he said “fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials and everyone else who brings order to our country.”
While announcing his desire to award Kirk the highest civilian award on Thursday, Trump said, “Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty, and an inspiration to millions and millions of people.”
But many Americans voice different opinions.
“He inspired hate, division and violence he’s no hero but you’re determined to make him a martyr for the cause,” one X user wrote.
However, Kirk’s death was swiftly condemned across party lines. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, called it “a political assassination” and urged Americans to reflect on the nation’s trajectory.
“There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now,” former President Joe Biden wrote on X.
Known for clashing with Kirk on issues ranging from education to gun policy, California Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the killing, calling it “disgusting, vile, and reprehensible.”
Former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt in 2011, said she was “horrified” by the shooting.
“Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence,” Giffords said.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren later dismissed a reporter’s question about calls for Democrats to tone down their own rhetoric, instead blaming Trump for fueling the nation’s toxic climate from the highest office. “Oh, please. Why don’t you start with the president of the United States? And every ugly meme he’s posted and every ugly word.”
Unlike Warren, Kirk was an avid Trump supporter — a trusted friend and a key adviser who helped shape the president’s connection with younger conservative voters. A frequent visitor to the White House, Kirk had influence few outsiders could claim, offering his perspective openly, even when it challenged Trump’s decisions. In June, he cautioned the president that a planned strike on nuclear sites in Iran had the potential to alienate young supporters drawn to Trump’s promise to end foreign wars."
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