Trump gives late Charlie Kirk a huge shoutout for winning over young voters
WASHINGTON, DC: Late Charlie Kirk’s legacy lives on in President Donald Trump’s heart.
At the Kennedy Center Honors, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump made a red-carpet appearance and spoke with reporters on Sunday, December 7.
He posthumously thanked Kirk for rallying young voters in the 2024 presidential election. This comes just three months after Kirk’s tragic death at Utah Valley University in September 2025.
Donald Trump praises Charlie Kirk's support in 2024 election
A video shared by Trump supporters on X shows President Trump taking questions from reporters at the Kennedy Center Honors. Reflecting on his 2024 election victory, he credited the late conservative commentator Charlie Kirk for mobilizing young voters. Trump told reporters, “Young people are respecting us again, too. I won the young vote.”
He admitted, “Republicans never win the young vote,” before giving a shoutout to Kirk: “I want it easily. And, uh… I want to thank Charlie. There’s a lot of reasons for [it].” He added, “But there has never been a Republican who won the young vote,” and concluded, “So that is… that’s a good sign.”
Another reporter questioned the president, “Do you think it will eventually be named the Trump Kennedy Center?” He answered, “I hear that but I don’t know. It’s not up to me. It’s up to the board.”
The Kennedy Center Honors raised a record $23 million for its 48th annual celebration, nearly doubling the $12.7 million raised in 2024 under former President Joe Biden. Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell told Fox News that this year’s total is historic and described the Honors as “one of our nation’s highest celebrations of the performing arts.”
Donald Trump made a playful remark while talking about the naughty list
.@POTUS presents medallions to the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors recipients: George Strait, Michael Crawford, Gloria Gaynor, Sylvester Stallone, and Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley (accepted by his daughter). pic.twitter.com/T7Z8A1R36M
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) December 6, 2025
During a photo op at the Kennedy Center Honors, a reporter asked Trump, “Who’s on your naughty list?” He replied, “Oh, it’s a long list. I better not tell you. It’s still a problem out there in the world.”
He quickly moved from joking to talking about the country. “No, we have a pretty big naughty list, but our country is doing well with the hottest country anywhere in the world right now. And a year ago, we were a dead country,” he said.
🚨 NOW — Q: Who’s on your naughty list?
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 7, 2025
PRESIDENT TRUMP: “Oh, it’s a LONG list…I better not say, or it’ll cause absolute chaos out there in the world!” 😂😂
MULTIPLE Deep State Democrats on the list, including Adam Schiff! pic.twitter.com/q5XFWYSZkw
Instead of watching from the Opera House box, Trump took the stage to lead the celebration honoring Sylvester Stallone, KISS, Gloria Gaynor, George Strait, and Michael Crawford. When reporters asked how he prepared, he said, “I did not really prepare very much. I have a good memory, so I can remember things, which is very fortunate. But I wanted to just be myself. You have to be yourself. Johnny Carson, he was himself.”
Trump agreed to host the event back in August. The night before the ceremony, at a State Department dinner, he said he accepted the role “at the request of a certain television network” and predicted that the December 23 broadcast on CBS and Paramount Plus would achieve “its best ratings ever.”
