President Trump made an appearance on stage at Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest event in Phoenix, Arizona, with a video message paying a heartfelt tribute to the late Turning Point founder and CEO, Charlie Kirk.
Kirk was assassinated at 31 years old in September after building the most prominent youth political organization in American history.
Following his tragic passing, President Trump posthumously awarded Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, where he was recognized as a “Martyr for Truth and Freedom” in the official citation. President Trump also signed a proclamation, designating October 14, 2025, as a “National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk.”
WATCH: Charlie Kirk Posthumously Honored as “A MARTYR FOR TRUTH AND FREEDOM” During White House Ceremony
On Sunday, President Trump said in a video message to the thousands in the AmericaFest crowd and millions across the world that he was “proud” to recognize Charlie, who he remembered as “an incredible patriot, a generational leader, and a friend, who was stolen from us much too soon,” with the Medal of Freedom.
Trump further thanked the Turning Point crowd and Charlie Kirk for helping him to get elected President in 2024 and touted his record on immigration, the economy, foreign wars, and ending woke transgender insanity.
“We will make America greater than ever before. We’re going to do that. We’re going to do it in honor of Charlie Kirk,” the President said. “So, thank you, thank Turning Point, and God bless the USA.“
WATCH:
Trump: A very big hello to everyone gathered in Phoenix for turning point USA’s AmericaFest 2025. This year, we honor and remember an incredible patriot, a generational leader, and a friend, who was stolen from us much too soon. He was a fantastic person, the one and only Charlie Kirk. Charlie was a warrior for God and Country, and he gave everything he had, even his life, in the fight to save America from those who would destroy it.
That’s why I’m proud to posthumously award Charlie our nation’s highest civilian honor. There’s nothing like this one. It’s called the Presidential Medal of Freedom. We continue to grieve Charlie’s horrific murder, and as you can see in Phoenix, we carry on this fight with the help of his thousands of fellow warriors and Charlie’s courageous and wonderful widow, Erika, a special, special woman.
No one was more excited about what our movement has achieved this year than Charlie Kirk. He was right at the forefront. Starting on day one, we secured our southern border and stopped the invasion of our country. 2.5 million more American-born workers are employed today than when I took office, an incredible number. Think of that. 2.5 million more Americans are employed, and these are American workers, and we have more people working now than at any time in the history of our country.
We passed the largest tax cut in history, the largest regulatory cuts in history, and the largest spending cuts in history. And we’re making America affordable again with big wage gains and falling prices for gasoline, energy, mortgages, groceries, and other pillars of the American dream. We have it down to a science. We made eight peace deals in nine months. Think of that. We stopped eight wars in nine months. We ended the war in Gaza.
We got critical race theory and transgender insanity out of our schools, and we got men out of women’s sports. We don’t have men playing in women’s sports anymore. Every day of my administration, we will keep on fighting for Charlie and the country he gave his life to defend. He loved our country so much, and he loved you so much, and we will make America greater than ever before. We’re going to do that. We’re going to do it in honor of Charlie Kirk. So, thank you, thank Turning Point, and God bless the USA.
Then Donald Trump Jr. took the stage, telling the crowd of 30,000+, “I wanted to call in a little guest. He may not be here today, but I wanted to make sure he had a chance to say, Hi.” He then addressed his father, saying, “Mr. President?” and the crowd erupted in applause.
The crowd erupted in “USA” chants.
WATCH:
Trump: I want to be with you, but I’ll be with you soon. And I just want to say that nobody did more for me than Charlie, and there’s nobody better than Erika, and you are the greatest people on Earth. We won in a landslide, and we’re going to continue to do it. And I just want to thank everybody. You got out there and they voted, and they pressed doorbells, and I just want to thank you all. And I hope my son’s doing a good job representing me, otherwise, I’ll have to say, You fired, Don, you’re fired! So, thank you very much. And have a great day. And I hope Don makes a great speech. If he doesn’t make a great speech, let me know about it, and I’ll give him hell!
The post WATCH: President Trump Addresses AmericaFest Crowd in Phoenix Via Video Message and Phone, Pays Tribute to Charlie Kirk appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.