Charlie Kirk (right) onstage with Donald Trump at America Fest 2024 in Phoenix on Dec. 22, 2024. JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment Just a day after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking during an event at Utah Valley University hosted by his nonprofit political organization, President Donald Trump announced he would be posthumously awarding Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Kirk, the co-founder of the conservative organization Turning Point USA, was fatally struck in the neck by an assassin's bullet on Wednesday. He was discussing mass shootings in the United States at the moment he was shot. Trump made the remarks at the start of a 9/11 commemoration service at the Pentagon, marking 24 years since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Related Stories News MSNBC's Matthew Dowd Fired Following Charlie Kirk Shooting Comments News Political Figures and Hollywood Notables React to Charlie Kirk's Death: "He Was Loved and Admired" "Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people," said Trump. "We miss him greatly, yet I have no doubt that Charlie's voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on." Trump had announced Kirk's death on social media, praising the 31-year-old as "great, and even legendary," adding, "No one understood or had the heart of the youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by all, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us." In a Wednesday night video address from the Oval Office where he paid tribute to Kirk, the president took aim at the "radical left," stating, "For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie Kirk to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals. This type of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now." The person who fired the gunshot that killed Kirk remains at large at the time of this story's publication, after two separate people were taken into custody and then released. The Associated Press on Thursday reported that authorities recovered a high-powered rifle, and that the shooter appeared to be of "college age" and is believed to have blended in on the university campus. "I can tell you this was a targeted event," Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City, told the outlet. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up Jerry Seinfeld Jerry Seinfeld Compares "Free Palestine" Movement to the KKK Rambling Reporter The Little Round Pill That's Winning Awards Season united kingdom J.R.R. Tolkien Estate to Be Represented by London-Based Agency Curtis Brown Heritage tom hanks Trump Slams "Woke, Destructive" Tom Hanks After Award Ceremony Canceled Toronto Film Festival Idris Elba Expands Vision for African Cinema With 'Dust to Dreams' Drama Kate McKinnon Kate McKinnon Reveals Geographic Tongue Diagnosis: "It's Gross" Jerry Seinfeld Jerry Seinfeld Compares "Free Palestine" Movement to the KKK Rambling Reporter The Little Round Pill That's Winning Awards Season united kingdom J.R.R. Tolkien Estate to Be Represented by London-Based Agency Curtis Brown Heritage tom hanks Trump Slams "Woke, Destructive" Tom Hanks After Award Ceremony Canceled Toronto Film Festival Idris Elba Expands Vision for African Cinema With 'Dust to Dreams' Drama Kate McKinnon Kate McKinnon Reveals Geographic Tongue Diagnosis: "It's Gross"