in-town pool report #14 - event wraps/quotes/no questions
- From
- John Bennett
- Sent
- Tuesday, October 14, 2025, 4:57 PM
POTUS wrapped his remarks at 5:10 p.m., and a military aide read a citation posthumously awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the late Charlie Kirk. POTUS handed the medal, in a dark case, to Mrs. Kirk at 5:12 p.m.
Invited officials and guests applauded and stood. The president said something to Mrs. Kirk before she began speaking at 5:13 p.m.
The speaking portion of the event ended at 5:29 p.m. POTUS did not take questions, nor were any shouted. An instrumental version of “Amazing Grace” played as Trump escorted Mrs. Kirk back to her seat, where he stood silent — sometimes closing his eyes — as the song was played by the small military band positioned to our left. Trump greeted guests in the front row near Mrs. Kirk for several minutes. He and the Kirk family returned to the Oval Office at 5:37 p.m. POTUS escorted her in at the front of the group.
The mood in the Rose Garden was still and somber as Mrs. Kirk spoke, only her words and a light breeze audible at times.
Mrs. Kirk said Charlie Kirk likely would have one day sought the presidency: “And if the moment had come, he probably would have run for president, but not out of ambition. He would only have done it if that was something that he believed that his that his country needed from his servant's heart.”
She called him a “righteous martyr.”
Mrs. Kirk on her late husband and POTUS remarks: “Thank you, Mr. President, for honoring my husband, and such a profound and meaningful way. And thank you for making this event, a priority. With amid the peace process in the Middle East, thank you very grateful. … So thank you, your support of our family and the work that Charlie devoted his life to will be something I cherish forever. So thank you.
…
“And to the Turning Point USA chapters that are watching all across America right now: You are the heartbeat of this future and of this movement. … And everything that Charlie filled, you guys are the legacy holders of that. You are living proof that his mission did not die with him. It lives through you. … He was free from compromise, free from anything that could enslave his soul.”
She called the PMOF the “best birthday gift he could ever have,” and thanked Trump for giving it to him.
See video and/or transcript for full comments by POTUS and Mrs. Kirk.
Among the other topics POTUS covered in his remarks: Chicago crime; DC crime; DC safety; sirens going by in the distance; DC restaurants; attacks on Ubers; the LA fires and related destruction; and several other topics.
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John T. Bennett
White House Correspondent & Editor-at-Large
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