Vice President JD Vance hosted a podcast episode of "The Charlie Kirk Show" on Monday to "pay tribute" to his friend.
Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative political influencer and long-time ally of the vice president and President Donald Trump, was shot and killed on Wednesday while speaking at a Utah Valley University event in Orem, Utah.
The show opened at noon ET with a montage video of different clips of Kirk speaking at various events and photos of him with different political figures.
"The last several days have been extremely hard," Vance began. "The thing is, every single person in this building we owe something to Charlie."
Vance said he was broadcasting from his office on the White House grounds. The show included other guests from President Trump's cabinet like White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Kirk founded Turning Point USA, a right-wing political nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school and college campuses across the U.S. — making him a major figure and voice within the young conservative movement, with millions of followers across his various social media platforms.
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Vance has credited Kirk for helping to advance his political career, and said on the podcast show Monday that he was "critical" in getting him and President Trump elected to the White House.
During her first public statement since her husband's death, Erika Kirk thanked Vance and his wife for their support.
"Charlie was one of the first people I called when I thought about running for senate in early 2021. I was interested but skeptical there was a pathway. We talked through everything, from the strategy to the fundraising to the grassroots of the movement he knew so well," Vance wrote on X last week. "He introduced me to some of the people who would run my campaign and also to Donald Trump Jr. 'Like his dad, he's misunderstood. He's extremely smart, and very much on our wavelength.' Don took a call from me because Charlie asked him too."
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Vance had Kirk's remains flown from Utah to his home state of Arizona on Air Force Two, accompanied by him, Second Lady Usha Vance and Kirk's family members.
In another post on X last week, Vance said, "Charlie Kirk was a true friend. The kind of guy you could say something to and know it would always stay with him. I am on more than a few group chats with Charlie and people he introduced me to over the years. We celebrate weddings and babies, bust each other's chops, and mourn the loss of loved ones. We talk about politics and policy and sports and life. These group chats include people at the very highest level of our government. They trusted him, loved him, and knew he'd always have their backs. And because he was a true friend ,you could instinctively trust the people Charlie introduced you to. So much of the success we've had in this administration traces directly to Charlie's ability to organize and convene. He didn't just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government."
