CJ Pearson to Newsmax: Charlie Kirk Sparked a Spiritual Revival

The Presidential Medal of Freedom, being awarded to slain conservative leader Charlie Kirk on Tuesday, which would have been his 32nd birthday, serves as a call to action for a new generation of conservatives to "show up" and keep his message alive, political adviser and podcast host CJ Pearson tells Newsmax.

"It is an incredible recognition of a man who lived a life larger than anyone I've ever come to know," Pearson, host of the Family Matters Podcast, told "Wake Up America."

Kirk, he added, was "not just evangelical about his political beliefs and ideals, but evangelical about his faith," but inspired "a spiritual revival in this country unlike anything we've ever seen before."

President Donald Trump is returning from the Middle East on Tuesday to posthumously present Kirk the medal, honoring the late Turning Point USA founder with the nation's highest civilian honor in the White House's East Room.

Newsmax will broadcast the ceremony live on Newsmax and its streaming Newsmax2 channel online streaming platform. Live coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. ET.

The medal comes as the nation observes a "National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk" after a resolution was brought forth by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and passed unanimously in the Senate last month.

Pearson on Tuesday urged young conservatives to take Kirk's challenge personally.

"It's not just about what's next, who's next — but let the answer be that we are all next," he said. "It's going to take all of us coming together, fighting for this country to beat back the radical left."

Pearson recalled that Kirk often told young audiences that becoming the next Charlie Kirk "starts today simply by showing up."

He added that "America's young people must continue to show up and fight, because we have a country to save. It won't be saved from sitting on the sidelines."

Pearson also discussed his podcast, which features "a rotating panel of Black conservatives" tackling real conversations within the Black community.

"There's a revival happening," he said, adding that critics misrepresented Kirk after his death. "People rushed to call him racist or a white supremacist … but we have two Black guys with a lot of great things to say about the Charlie Kirk we knew."

He said Kirk's message resonated far beyond political circles:

"Charlie Kirk's prominence and relevance didn't just resonate with MAGA Republicans. It resonated in places you probably wouldn't expect because people are thirsty for truth in a world where there's a bullseye on those who tell it."

Turning Point USA contributor Anthony Watson, also on Tuesday's program, added that the Medal of Freedom ceremony shows how deeply Kirk's influence continues to be felt.

"It only goes to show you the impact that Charlie had on a lot of young people around the world and around the country," Watson said. "You see young people now taking the mantle and continuing his legacy. The question is never what's next? It's who's next."

He said Kirk's message of faith and patriotism "wasn't buried with him," but lives on through those he inspired.

"Charlie's not dead. He's more alive than he's ever been now because he was a believer," Watson said.

"This was common sense," he added. "This was truth. This was patriotism. It took one person to show that what people thought was just an idea could become a reality and now it's going to take all of us to continue making that dream a reality."

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