Erika Kirk Pays Tribute to Late Husband Charlie in Moving White House Tribute: ‘A Free Man Made Completely Free’
At a White House ceremony in the Rose Garden on Tuesday on what would have been her husband’s 32nd birthday, Erika Kirk accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom on behalf of Charlie Kirk and paid a powerful and deeply personal tribute to his life and legacy.
“Thank you, Mr. President, for honoring my husband in such a profound way,” she began. “Charlie has always admired your commitment to freedom.”
She thanked the first lady, the vice president, friends and family “who are watching from all over the world,” and Turning Point USA staff and chapters across the country. “You are the heart of this future and this movement,” she said. “Everything Charlie built lives through you.”
Erika added that the Presidential Medal of Freedom itself is rooted in the founding of America. “The very existence of the Presidential Medal of Freedom reminds us that America’s national interest has always been freedom,” she said.
“Our Founders engraved it in the preamble to our Constitution, and these words are not relics on parchment. They constitute a living covenant. The blessings of liberty are not the invention of man. They are God’s endowment.”
She remembers that Charlie often wrote about freedom. “He believed that freedom was both a right and a responsibility. And he said that freedom is the ability to do what is right without fear. And that’s how he lived,” Erika said.
“His name, Charles, literally means “free man”. And that’s exactly who my husband was,” she continued.
“From the moment I met him, sitting across from him for an interview about politics, philosophy and theology, I saw the fire in his soul. There was this divine concern in him that came from knowing that God had put him on this earth to protect something very sacred. He never stopped fighting for people to know freedom.”
Erika remembers Charlie often saying that “without God, freedom becomes chaos” and that freedom can only survive “when it is anchored in truth.” She remembers him telling an audience: “The opposite of liberty is not law. It’s captivity. And the freest people in the world are those whose hearts belong to Christ. »
Looking back on her years building Turning Point USA, she said, “While he was building an organization, he was also building a movement: a movement that called people back to God, to the truth, and a movement filled with courage. »
This is an extract from an article by Jasmine Baehr of Fox News.
