Trump Praises Kirk: The ‘Martyr for American Freedom’

On Sunday, President Donald Trump delivered a powerful eulogy to “our greatest evangelist,” a man to whom we owe a “profound and eternal debt of gratitude now,” Charlie Kirk.

America is now “a nation in grief, a nation in shock,” Trump began, because it “was robbed of one of the giants of our nation.” Trump declared that “none of us will forget Charlie Kirk, and neither now will history.” Charlie Kirk, Trump continued, “was violently killed because he spoke for reason and for justice,” and “he argued brilliantly without apology.” The president described the work and legacy of a man he dubbed a true “martyr for American freedom.”

Trump promised that “his voice on earth will echo through the generations,” and thanked Charlie’s widow Erika, promising to work for her and her children to create “a land where there father is honored and revered as a great American hero.” He spoke directly to Charlie’s parents and described how Charlie went from being a teen with no money or connections to the leader of a history-shaping movement in a little over a decade.

As Trump stated, Charlie “in his 31 years [did] than most people…can bring in a lifetime.” And as Kirk loved America, so “America loved Charlie Kirk.”

Trump praised the faith of the crowd, labeling it “like an old time revival.” And while “it is agonizing and unthinkable to say goodbye to a patriot whose heart still had so much to give,” Trump said, we must carry on his work. For instance, Trump recalled that one of Charlie’s last messages was, “Please sir, save Chicago,” which Trump aims to do. “Inspired by faith and his love of freedom Charlie did something remarkable,” he “devoted his life to converting young people to the conservative cause,” and “the young man from Illinois whom no one had ever heard of started an organization” that launched him to international fame.

In the early days, Charlie wouldn’t accept a paycheck and wore Goodwill clothes, working around the clock, as “he was always in it for the mission.” Trump described Charlie as “actually a master builder, a master builder of people…it was Charlie who stood up for persecuted Jews and Christians,” who fought censorship, who “helped unite MAGA” and created the union of Robert F. Kennedy’s health movement with MAGA. When Trump makes an important health announcement, he “will be missing [Charlie] tomorrow.” Charlie also urged Trump to take notice of JD Vance.

The president remembered with fondness how Charlie would call him up at night during the election campaign and ask, “Do you think you can come speak at the event [tomorrow]?” Trump said he would usually object, then often agree, because “you never wanted to let Charlie down, he worked so hard” and “he made me feel guilty…he always gave more than he took.”

Not only that, but “no one was too small for him to notice,” and Kirk even agreed to appear on a fourth grader’s podcast! Kirk worked tirelessly; “he did this until his dying breath.” Trump said that when Kirk was assassinated, he ordered some very important people out of the Oval Office to focus on Charlie.

TPUSA under Trump’s leadership became “a juggernaut of American politics,” and “Charlie didn’t just bring young people into the movement,” he delivered a historic number of young votes for Trump in 2024.

Even the day he was assassinated, when warned that Utah Valley University had hostile students and staff, Kirk declared, “I want to know them and love them.” This made him “a missionary with a noble spirit and a great, great purpose.” With a flash of humor, Trump admitted, “that’s where I disagree with Charlie, I hate my opponent.”

But “the more success Charlie had,” Trump said, “the more dangerous his mission became.” Leftist violence is a growing threat, which Trump plans to address. Charlie “knew the risks,” but he was determined to go on without fear, and “he was winning, and he was winning big, he was taking over college campuses….They lied about him because they did not want you to listen to him….Je won the hearts, he won the minds, and yes, he won the elections.”

The 2024 GOP election victory was Charlie Kirk’s win. Trump remembered how when the results came through, Charlie “was overcome with emotion…his eyes were filled with tears,” and he put his face in his hands until his beloved Erika ran to give him a hat. Charlie “had a tremendous heart,” and when he finally looked up on Election Day he said, “I am humbled by God’s grace.”

Trump urged everyone to think how twisted must be the “soul of a man who would kill a man like Charlie,” so charitable and good. “Charlie’s murder was not just an attack on one man,” the president said, but on “our entire nation…The gun was pointed at him but the bullet was aimed at all of us.” Yet Charlie is bigger than ever and “the depraved assassin who” killed Charlie, “God willing, he will receive the full and ultimate punishment.”

Trump marveled at the hypocrisy of people who claim preferred pronouns are morally necessary but “were filled with glee at the murder of a young father.” Democrat rhetoric is to blame. “If speech is violence, some are bound to conclude that violence is [the response] to speech,” he cautioned. In spite of all the violence, our liberties are “among the most treasured achievements of civilization, and we will carry forward the torch of liberty that Charlie Kirk held,” working for “a spiritual reawakening,” because “without borders, law and order, and religion you really don’t have a country anymore.” So “we want God back.”

The marvel was that “within minutes of the gunshot in Utah millions of Americans young and old dropped to their knees” to pray for Charlie, Trump said. While Charlie died, “those prayers for a miracle have already been answered…his legacy has touched so many millions around the world,” as we have seen. Therefore, Trump said, “you should never underestimate what one man can do with …a righteous spirit” and “the will to fight, fight, fight.”

While Charlie Kirk “started with only an idea,” Trump added, he ended up “changing history.” So “we grieve for the friend and leader that we have lost but we go forward …[to] defend the country he fought for.”

And as Trump stood with his arms around Erika Kirk, facing that stadium, one could not doubt that he will try to carry on the legacy that Charlie Kirk left to him. May the same be said of us.

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