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Topics: Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump, News, US News, Social Media
Gerrard Kaonga
Topics: Charlie Kirk, Donald Trump, News, US News, Social Media
People have been baffled by Donald Trump’s opener at the Charlie Kirk memorial as the president goes off topic.
Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at an event at Utah Valley University in September and resulted in many right wing individuals and politicians speaking about his influence.
US president Donald Trump even commented his sorrow at the news and previously announced that he would be bestowing Kirk with the highest civilian award in the US.
On Tuesday (October 14), the same day as Kirk’s birthday, a ceremony was held for him at the White House and Trump posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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However, the way Trump began the ceremony has been raising some eyebrows and people on social media have been condemning the president.
Trump opened his speech by breathlessly asking everyone to take a seat before going off on a tangent about the improvements he has made to the White House.
He said: “This is the first time we have been at the new and improved Rose Garden.
“People are loving it, they are loving it like they have not loved a lot of things.
“We have the presidential walk of fame, which you just saw and it just opened, we wanted to get it opened for this occasion.
“We were hoping to get outside and the weather allowed us to...it was supposed to be a terrible rainy day, I was telling Erika, 'God was watching and he didn’t want that for Charlie, he just didn’t want that.'”
People were less than keen on Trump for turning what should be a celebration about Kirk into something about himself.
On a video showing Trump’s opener, one Twitter user wrote: “Way to make a memorial about himself... again.
“Small surprise, I suppose, when the original Charlie Kirk memorial was effectively a campaign rally.”
Another added: “Once again, Trump makes this all about himself and what he has done to the Rose Garden. How Pathetic!
With a third writing: “He never sets the right tone, he doesn't know how to he respectful, - he truly is incapable of thinking about anyone but himself.”
With another simply writing: “It’s an eulogy but first let’s talk about me!”
Kirk’s wife Erika Kirk, accepted the award in her husband’s honor and got tearful during the ceremony.
One particularly emotional moment, Erika said she asked her 3-year-old daughter what she would say to her father for his birthday.
She recalled that she said: “’Happy birthday daddy. I want to give you a stuffed animal. I want you to eat a cupcake with ice cream. And I want you to go have a birthday surprise. I love you.’”