Vice President JD Vance filled in for his "dear friend" Charlie Kirk on his program following last week's assassination of the popular conservative leader.
Livestreaming from his office on Monday, Vance began "The Charlie Kirk Show" by expressing how the last several days "have been hard" for him, his family, the country, those who personally knew Kirk, and especially Kirk's widow Erika and their children.
"The thing is, every single person in this building, we owe something to Charlie," Vance said. "He was a joyful warrior for our country. He loved America. He devoted himself tirelessly to making our country a better place. He was a critical part of getting Donald Trump elected as president, getting me elected as vice president, and so much of our success over the last seven months is due to his efforts, his staffing, his support and his friendship."
VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE ESCORTS CHARLIE KIRK'S CASKET BEFORE FLIGHT ON AIR FORCE TWO FROM UTAH TO ARIZONA
He continued, "I don't think that I'm alone in saying that Charlie was the smartest political operative I ever met. Everyone knew him as this fearless debater, this guy who would take the conservative message into hostile places and inspire younger generations to have courage. One thing that's hit a lot of those young Americans over the last week was how Charlie was there for them when others were not, when they were afraid to speak their minds, when they were afraid of what a professor would say, when they were afraid that they would be shouted down by their peers. Charlie was there showing them that they could be courageous and that they could be bold."
The vice president went on to call Kirk a "visionary" and a "luminary," crediting him for creating "a whole social network for an entire generation of young people."
"I know people who met their husband, who met their wife, who met the best men at their wedding at a TPUSA event, because, as you guys all know, it's not just about speaking our mind, it's about making friends along the way and creating that support network that won an election and that staffed the current federal government. I owe so much to Charlie," Vance said.
COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CHARLIE KIRK
Vance revealed he had been receiving messages and screenshots of texts Kirk had made to others showing his effort to get Trump to pick Vance as his running mate during the 2024 election, saying how after Kirk advocated for him, he wanted to spend the show "to advocate for Charlie" and what he meant for the conservative movement.
He praised Erika Kirk's first public remarks last week, saying the country saw "raw grief and incredible courage all in the same moment," insisting "that's what we need right now." He also reflected on an exchange he had with her when he flew to Utah to help escort Kirk's casket to his home in Arizona.
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"She said to me that Charlie never raised his voice, that he never cussed at her, that he was never cross or mean-spirited to her," Vance said. "And look, I'm a husband. I'm proud of being a husband. I think that, on the great balance of things, that I'm a pretty good husband, but I can never say that I was never unpleasant with my wife. I can never say that I've never raised my voice to my wife. Like most husbands, even the good ones, we're sometimes imperfect. And I took from that moment that I needed to be a better husband, and I needed to be a better father."
"Because of all these moments that I shared just the last few days, the books that I've read to my kids, going up to their bedroom and kissing them and hugging them before bed, I just realized that all of these moments that I get to have, Charlie is not able to have them anymore, and Charlie's kids and his beautiful wife are not able to have them anymore. And maybe the best way that I can contribute and the best way that I could honor my dear friend is to be the best husband that I can be, to be the kind of husband to my wife that he was to his," he continued.
"We talked all the time about the most important thing you could do is not vote for a particular candidate, it was to become, if you were a young man, a husband and a father," Vance added. "He talked about the joy that came from fatherhood, the joy that came from raising a family and being part of their growth and their development, and all the incredible things that happen when you get to be a husband and father. And that is the way that I'm going to honor my friend is to be the very best at that most important job that I can be."
Vance spent the rest of the program chatting with top Trump administration officials as well as friends of Kirk to discuss Kirk's towering legacy. More than 250,000 people tuned in on Rumble towards the start of the livestream.
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