Summary
- JD Vance hosts Charlie Kirk podcast as tribute and legacy.
- Vance calls “left-wing extremism” partly behind assassination.
- Emphasizes Kirk’s role in conservative movement and friendship.
- Podcast episodes streamed Monday on Rumble and audio platforms.
In an X post on Sunday, Vance declared that he had been given the "honor of hosting the Charlie Kirk Show" in order to "pay tribute to my friend." As he opened the show Monday, Vance said he was "filling in for somebody who cannot be filled in for" from his office in the White House complex.
“We have to talk about this incredibly destructive movement of left-wing extremism that has grown up over the last few years, and I believe, is part of the reason why Charlie was killed by an assassin’s bullet,”
Vance said on The Charlie Kirk Show.
“We’re going to talk about how to dismantle that and how to bring real unity, real unity that can only come when we tell the truth,”
the vice president added.
Vance stated that he will invite several people to discuss Kirk, a strong associate of President Donald Trump and other administration officials, on the program.
Kirk, a conservative activist, was killed last week during an event held at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, that was organized by his group, Turning Point USA. The 31-year-old, President Trump, and his family were close to Vance.
Following his passing, Kirk's remains were transported to his native Arizona aboard Air Force Two, the vice president's aircraft. In order to fly to Utah to pick up Kirk's body, Vance postponed a planned trip to New York to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack. Vance expressed his gratitude on Monday for the opportunity to "take Charlie's remains from Utah to Arizona."
Vance has talked about how he and Kirk have been friends for a long time and how Kirk helped him advance politically. Following Kirk's passing, Vance wrote on X that the conservative activist who was killed was among the first individuals he called when he was thinking about running for the Senate in 2021.
The vice president described Kirk as a "true friend." On Monday, Vance called Kirk "the smartest political operative I ever met," saying
"I owe so much to Charlie."
Republicans' most recent remembrance of the conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder, who was shot and killed while arranging an event at
In remembrance of Kirk, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is also anticipated to host a vigil on Monday night for congressional members to attend.
What does the shooting mean for political dialogue?
It highlights an alarming escalation of violence and threats against public figures in the United States motivated by politics, as part of the larger trend of hostility growing in US political systems.
They warn that highly profiled murders may incite extremists on both political extremes and lead to retaliatory cycles of violence.
The event further exacerbates the polarization, as both of the political extremes are collectively being directed to blame an excessive amount of the political actions of the opposing ideological side to mean that an emotional hatred for each other is more appropriate than discussion. Social media creates the context to amplify extreme discourse and subsequently allows groups on both sides of the political extreme to promote the assassination and revenge, increasing the likelihood they would donate to civil unrest.