Vice President JD Vance shared a deeply private remembrance of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot Wednesday whereas talking at Utah Valley College.
In a prolonged publish on X, Vance honored his late good friend as a person of “braveness,” “religion” and profound loyalty.
Kirk, the co-founder and CEO of Turning Level USA, was a detailed confidant of Vance’s each personally and politically.
Their friendship stretched from early skepticism about Donald Trump in 2016 to the heights of the 2024 marketing campaign path.
Vance’s candid social media reflection gave a uncommon glimpse into Kirk’s affect not solely on the conservative motion but additionally on the very formation of the Trump-Vance crew.
“Charlie was fascinated by concepts and all the time prepared to study and alter his thoughts,” wrote the Vice President. “Like me, he was skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016. Like me, he got here to see President Trump as the one determine able to shifting American politics away from the globalism that had dominated for our total lives.”
“Charlie was one of many first folks I referred to as after I considered operating for senate in early 2021. We talked by means of all the pieces, from the technique to the fundraising to the grassroots of the motion he knew so properly. He launched me to among the individuals who would run my marketing campaign and likewise to Donald Trump Jr.”
Kirk, a longtime advocate for younger folks within the conservative motion, was described by Vance as pivotal to President Trump’s decision-making course of in his choice as operating mate in 2024.
“After I turned the VP nominee—one thing Charlie advocated for each in private and non-private—Charlie was there for me… Charlie was consistently calling and texting, checking on our household and providing steerage and prayers,” Vance added.
He additionally highlighted the father-of-two’s sturdy religion in Christ, saying, “Charlie genuinely believed in and liked Jesus Christ.
He had a profound religion. We used to argue about Catholicism and Protestantism and who was proper about minor doctrinal questions. As a result of he liked God, he needed to know him.”
His “true,” friendship and loyalty have been valued by Vance, with the Vice President recalling Kirk as “a real good friend. The sort of man you can say one thing to and know it could all the time stick with him.”
Vance additionally credited Kirk with serving to energy the Trump motion in 2024, noting that “a lot of the success we’ve had on this administration traces on to Charlie’s potential to arrange and convene.”
After reviews got here out Wednesday afternoon, the Vice President stated he spoke with President Trump about Kirk candidly.
“I used to be speaking to President Trump within the Oval Workplace in the present day, and he stated, ‘I do know he was an excellent good friend of yours.’ I nodded silently, and President Trump noticed that Charlie actually liked his household,” stated Vance. “The president was proper.”
“I used to be in a gathering within the West Wing when these group chats began lighting up with folks telling Charlie they have been praying for him. And that’s how I discovered the information that my good friend had been shot,” recalled Vance.
“God didn’t reply these prayers, and that’s OK. He had different plans. And now that Charlie is in heaven, I’ll ask him to speak to massive man immediately on behalf of his household, his pals, and the nation he liked so dearly.”
“You ran a superb race, my good friend. We’ve received it from right here,” Vance concluded.
In a resurfaced video, Kirk as soon as stated he needed to be remembered “for braveness, for my religion.” For these now mourning, that legacy is strictly how he can be remembered.
