WASHINGTON (TNND) -- The assassination of activist Charlie Kirk has sparked a wave of tributes and calls for increased safety measures for public figures. President Donald Trump, speaking at a 9/11 remembrance event at the Pentagon, announced plans to award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.
"The date of the ceremony will be announced, and I can only guarantee you one thing: we will have a very big crowd, very, very big," Trump said. "Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty, and an inspiration to millions and millions of people. Our prayers are with his wonderful wife Erika, and his beautiful children, fantastic people they are."
Kirk, whose conservative Turning Point USA organization has helped Republicans connect with young people, was close with several GOP members on Capitol Hill and in the White House.
"People simply disagreed with him, not because he made laws, but because they didn't agree with his point of view. And that was enough to assassinate him?" said Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla. "Regardless of whether you're a Republican or Democrat, because both sides have added to the temperature of the political environment, it's time to reset and say okay, guys, there's a better way to do this."
The rise in political violence has led members of Congress to question their own safety. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La, emphasized the need for protection, saying they were reviewing their options.
"We've got to protect people who run for public office or no one will, and that's heavy on our hearts and minds as we also work through the trauma of what happened," he said.
Vice President JD Vanceshared a personal message on social media, reflecting on his friendship with Kirk and expressing, "you ran a good race my friend. We've got it from here." Vance and his wife traveled to Utah to visit Kirk's family, and Kirk's casket will be brought back to Arizona on Air Force Two.
While the president attributed Kirk's death to rhetoric from the left, condemnation of the murder has been bipartisan.
"This is a time that all Americans should come together and feel and mourn what happened. Violence, which affects so many different people of so many different political persuasions, is an affliction of America and coming together is what we ought to be doing," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also commented on Kirk's death, drawing a parallel to his father's assassination, writing, "Once again, a bullet has silenced the most eloquent truth teller of an era."