Trump Brags About Surviving Assassination Attempt at Charlie Kirk Ceremony
The Presidential Medal of Freedom places Kirk in the company of Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.
President Donald Trump has faced backlash after bragging about his ability to dodge bullets at an event honoring assassinated activist Charlie Kirk.
Speaking at a White House ceremony to posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Trump also talked up his Middle East peace deal and DC’s crime crackdown, vented against ABC veteran George Stephanopoulos and boasted about his 2024 election victory.
But it was the president’s comments about cheating death that raised the most eyebrows.
U.S. President Donald Trump posthumously awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to late conservative activist Charlie Kirk as he presents the Medal to his wife Erika Kirk (L) during a ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Speaking about political violence in America, Trump accused people on “the left” of ramming vehicles at federal law enforcement and firing sniper rifles at ICE agents - “and me.”
“But I made a turn at a good time. I made a turn at a good time - I turned to the right,” he said, referencing the life-saving moment he miraculously shifted his head and avoided the bullet of would-be assassin Thomas Michael Crooks in Pennsylvania last year.
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“Charlie couldn’t believe it, actually.”
The remark, made as Trump stood next to Kirk’s grieving widow Erika, was immediately criticized for being insensitive.
Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face after surviving an assassination attempt last year.
Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images
“He’s bragging he’s so much better at dodging bullets than Charlie. Unbelievable,” quipped one political observer on X.
“Only Trump could turn someone else’s tragedy into a story about his ear,” said another, referencing the way the president’s ear was only clipped by the bullet.
“Nothing says honoring someone else’s life like talking about yourself the whole f---ing time,” a Democrat from New Jersey fumed.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday.
Tuesday’s ceremony took place on what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday.
Charlie Kirk was assassinated on September 10, 2025.
Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images
It comes five weeks after the Turning Point founder was assassinated on stage during an event at Utah Valley University, which invited college students to debate hot-button issues such as trans rights and gun control.
Trump was the first to announce Kirk’s death, and immediately flagged that he would receive the presidential medal of freedom - the highest civilian honor in the United States.
The award now places Kirk in the company of luminaries such as Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks.
Kirk’s widow Erika received the award on her husband’s behalf during a ceremony on the White House’s newly paved “Rose Garden Club”, delivering tearful remarks on his life and legacy to an audience filled with family, friends and the MAGA faithful.
Fox News hosts Sean Hannity, Jesse Watters and Laura Ingraham were among the guests, along with their former colleague Tucker Carlson, right wing influencers Benny Johnson and Jack Posobiec, and Trump cabinet secretaries Kash Patel, Doug Burgum, Marco Rubio and Howard Lutnick.
“To live free is the greatest gift but to die free is the greatest victory,” Erika told the crowd.
“Happy birthday, my Charlie… Happy freedom day.”
Trump also paid tribute to Kirk, describing him as as “a fearless warrior for liberty, a beloved leader who galvanized the next generation like nobody has ever seen before, and an American patriot of the deepest conviction.”
He also talked about how Kirk had told him about wanting to marry Erika, and had described her to him as both beautiful and smart.
“See, they do go together,” Trump said, suggesting women could be smart, or beautiful, but not both.
“Not often, but on occasion.”
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