Charlie Kirk’s parents made their first public appearance since his tragic death on September 10, attending a White House ceremony where President Donald Trump posthumously awarded their son the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The event, held on what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday, showed a visibly emotional family as “Amazing Grace” played.

Online viewers quickly noticed the body language between Kirk’s widow, Erika, and his parents. One commenter asked, “Why is the widow not standing next to the parents??” while another wrote, “Something very off on this with Charlie’s parents not embracing Erika.” Others noted the parents’ grief: “His mother looks terribly sad and distraught,” and “The dad has been crying for many weeks.”

Trump honored Charlie as “an American patriot of the deepest conviction, the finest quality and the highest caliber.” He praised Erika’s strength and described Kirk’s death as “a horrible, heinous, demonic act of murder.”

The Rose Garden ceremony drew major political and media figures, including Vice President JD Vance, Tucker Carlson, and Argentine President Javier Milei.

Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was remembered as a fearless advocate for liberty and faith — “a warrior for freedom whose message now resonates even more strongly.”