Donald Trump Says Charlie Kirk Was in Awe of How He Turned to Dodge Sniper Bullet

President Donald Trump reflected on surviving an assassination attempt while honoring the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday.

Speaking during a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday, Oct. 14, Trump, 79, recalled his own close call with death, linking it to the violence that claimed Kirk’s life. Kirk died after being fatally shot during a campus event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.

The president told attendees that Kirk “couldn’t believe it” when he described how he narrowly avoided a sniper’s bullet fired by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks at his Pennsylvania campaign rally on July 13, 2024. “I made a turn at a good time,” Trump said. “I turned to the right. Charlie couldn’t believe it, actually. He said, ‘How the hell did you make that turn?’ I said, ‘I don’t know.’”

During his remarks, Trump also reflected on broader acts of violence, saying “sniper rifles” had been aimed “at ICE agents, and me,” while gesturing toward his right ear, where the bullet grazed him during the attack.

At Tuesday’s ceremony, Erika Kirk, 36, accepted the Medal of Freedom on behalf of her late husband. “Thank you, Mr. President, for honoring my husband in such a profound and meaningful way,” she said tearfully after receiving the award.

Trump also signed a proclamation declaring Oct. 14 a National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk.

The award presentation followed Trump’s earlier announcement that Kirk would receive the nation’s highest civilian honor. On Sept. 11, while visiting New York City to commemorate 9/11, Trump said, “I am pleased to announce that I will soon be awarding Charlie Kirk, posthumously, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The date of the ceremony will be announced, and I can only guarantee you one thing: that we will have a very big crowd. Very, very big.”

The Presidential Medal of Freedom, created by President John F. Kennedy in 1963, is given to individuals who have made “especially meritorious contributions” to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, or significant public or private endeavors.

Kirk, founder of the conservative organization Turning Point USA, was shot and killed while hosting his signature “Prove Me Wrong” event during the first stop of his American Comeback Tour in Orem, Utah. A video from the scene showed him being struck in the neck as he spoke to attendees under a white tent. He was transported to a nearby hospital but did not survive.

Trump announced Kirk’s death shortly afterward, writing on Truth Social, “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. 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.”

Authorities arrested Tyler Robinson, 22, on Sept. 12, two days after the shooting, following a tip from a family friend who recognized surveillance images released by the FBI.