"I Would Not Be Vice President If It Weren't For Charlie Kirk": JD Vance
JD Vance said while hosting Charlie Kirk's radio show that he is "desperate" for national unity after the conservative political activist's killing but that finding common ground with people who celebrated the killing of his friend is impossible.
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US Vice President JD Vance hosted an episode of the Charlie Kirk Show at the White House on Monday, stepping in for his late friend.
Vice President JD Vance expressed Monday that he is "desperate" for national unity following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, while acknowledging the impossibility of finding common ground with those who celebrated his friend's killing. The vice president took over hosting duties for "The Charlie Kirk Show" from his ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House.
The two-hour program was livestreamed in the White House press briefing room and featured appearances by various administration officials who had personal connections to the 31-year-old Kirk. The broadcast showcased the deep ties between Kirk and the Trump administration.
Vance, who personally transported Kirk's remains from Utah to Arizona on Air Force Two, began the show acknowledging he was "filling in for somebody who cannot be filled in for." He shared moving conversations with Kirk's widow, Erika, who remembered her husband as kind and loving.
In his concluding remarks, Vance denounced what he characterized as falsehoods about Kirk that he believed contributed to the killing. He affirmed the Trump administration's commitment to act against political violence. Some critics had previously described Kirk's comments over the years as anti-immigrant, racist, or misogynistic.
"I'm desperate for our country to be united in condemnation of the actions and the ideas that killed my friend," Vance stated during the broadcast. "I want it so badly that I will tell you a difficult truth. We can only have it with people who acknowledge that political violence is unacceptable."
Vance's temporary role as radio host, broadcast from the White House complex, underscored Kirk's significant relationship with the Trump-Vance team and highlighted the valuable contribution Kirk's organization made in mobilizing young voters during the campaign.
The 41-year-old Republican vice president shared a particularly close bond with Kirk, who founded Turning Point USA, one of the nation's largest political organizations with chapters across high school and college campuses. Their friendship began nearly a decade ago, with Kirk advocating for Vance to become Trump's running mate last year. Kirk was also known to have considerable influence with former President Trump.
During Monday's show, Vance reflected on sitting with Erika Kirk last week, feeling at a loss for words. He shared that she told him something unforgettable—that her husband, father to their two young children, had never raised his voice to her or been "cross or mean-spirited" toward her.
Vance admitted he couldn't say the same about himself. "I took from that moment that I needed to be a better husband and I needed to be a better father," the vice president said on the program, which was streamed on Rumble. "That is the way I'm going to honor my friend."
Several administration officials joined Vance on the program, including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
With Miller as the first guest, the conversation turned to addressing what Vance described as "festering violence on the far left."
"With God as my witness, we're going to use every resource we have at the Department of Justice, Homeland Security and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, dismantle and destroy these networks," Miller declared. "It will happen, and we will do it in Charlie's name."
Law enforcement officials have indicated they believe the suspect in Kirk's killing acted alone.
Vance, who stated, "I owe so much to Charlie," elaborated on their friendship in a detailed social media post following Kirk's death. Their connection began around 2017 after Vance appeared on Tucker Carlson's program. Kirk sent Vance an encouraging message saying he'd done a "great job."
"And that moment of kindness began a friendship that lasted until today," the vice president wrote.
Vance recalled that both he and Kirk were initially "skeptical" of Donald Trump during his 2016 campaign but eventually became supporters of the two-term president.
Kirk was among the first people Vance consulted in early 2021 when considering a run for the U.S. Senate, demonstrating Kirk's significant role in Vance's political ascent.
"We talked through everything, from the strategy to the fundraising to the grassroots of the movement he knew so well," Vance shared. "He introduced me to some of the people who would run my campaign and also to Donald Trump Jr., who took a call from me because Charlie asked him to."
Vance noted that Kirk arranged for him to address Kirk's donors at a Turning Point USA event when Vance's polling numbers were low, "but he did it because we were friends, and because he was a good man."
Vance and others attribute much of Trump's reelection success to Kirk's efforts and influence.
"So much of the success we've had in this administration traces directly to Charlie's ability to organize and convene," Vance stated in his post. "He didn't just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government."
He added during the program, "If it weren't for Charlie Kirk, I would not be the vice president of the United States... it's one of the reasons why I feel so indebted to him."
Jody Baumgartner, a political science professor at East Carolina University, suggested that Vance's hosting role was likely possible because vice presidents generally have more discretionary time than presidents.
"If President Trump had time to do something like this, don't you think he would?" Baumgartner questioned. "It's an interesting question with respect to resources and time, but a vice president has the time that a president doesn't."
After Kirk was fatally shot last Wednesday at Utah Valley University, Vance canceled his scheduled appearance at the 24th annual observance of the September 11 attacks in New York. Instead, he flew to Orem, Utah, with his wife, second lady Usha Vance.
The couple then accompanied Erika Kirk and Charlie Kirk's casket to Arizona aboard Air Force Two.