In a tribute to Charlie Kirk posted on X Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance said that after he became the nominee and his children were struggling with how their lives were changing, Kirk was always there for him, "constantly calling and texting, checking on our family and offering guidance and prayers." Today, Vance is there for Kirk's family, the Washington Post reports. Sources tell the Post that after Kirk was fatally shot at Utah Valley University, the vice president immediately dropped plans to attend a 9/11 memorial service at Ground Zero. Instead, the sources say, Vance will travel to Salt Lake City with second lady Usha Vance to be with Kirk's family and close friends. A source tells the Wall Street Journal that Vance and Kirk's family will travel to Phoenix with Kirk's casket on Air Force Two.
Kirk and Vance were friends and close allies in the MAGA movement, Politico notes. In his post on X, Vance recalled how Kirk, whose name he barely knew at the time, contacted him after a 2017 appearance on Tucker Carlson's Fox show to tell him he had done a great job. "That moment of kindness began a friendship that lasted until today," Vance wrote.
- "Charlie was fascinated by ideas and always willing to learn and change his mind," Vance wrote. "Like me, he was skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016. Like me, he came to see President Trump as the only figure capable of moving American politics away from the globalism that had dominated for our entire lives."
- Vance said Kirk was one of the first people he called when he was considering a Senate run in early 2021. "I was interested but skeptical there was a pathway," he wrote. "We talked through everything, from the strategy to the fundraising to the grassroots of the movement he knew so well." Years later, Vance said, Kirk advocated for him as VP nominee "both in public and private." He said some of the most successful events during the 2024 campaign were organized not by the campaign, but by Kirk's Turning Point USA organization. "And after every event, he would give me a big hug, tell me he was praying for me, and ask me what he could do."
- "Because he was a true friend, you could instinctively trust the people Charlie introduced you to," Vance wrote. "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."
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