On Thursday night, Erika Kirk addressed a crowd of students at the University of Mississippi.
Before bringing Vice President J.D. Vance onto the stage, the Turning Point USA CEO opened up about her feelings seven weeks after the murder of her husband, Charlie Kirk.
“You guys have no idea how helpful it is to have all of you in my life … you make me feel even more connected to my husband,” Erika told the crowd at one point, adding:
“He didn’t leave us empty-handed. He built a machine. And all of you are a part of that.”
Erika Kirk takes the stage with J.D. Vance
After a speech of nearly an hour, Kirk introduced Vance. And her comments about the vice president have received a fair amount of criticism.
“When our team asked my dear friend, Vice President JD Vance, to speak today, I really prayed on it because, obviously, it’s a very emotional, emotional day,” Kirk said.
“But I could just hear Charlie in my heart. I could just hear him say, ‘Go reclaim that territory, babe.’ The battle’s already won. God’s love conquers. And that’s why I’m here today.'”
Kirk went on to say that while no one could “replace” her husband, she saw important “similarities” between Charlie and Vance.
For his part, Vance praised Kirk for his political ability, noting that the podcast host urged the Trump administration not to strike nuclear sites in Iran.
Trump did so, but Vance claims that Charlie was pleased when the plan worked out.
“I really believe that one of the reasons why the president of the United States knocked out the Iranian nuclear facilities, but never got the United States into a protracted military conflict and never lost a single American in a Middle Eastern conflict is because we had the wisdom and the good sense to recognize that the American people are done with American troops dying in unnecessary foreign conflicts … but Charlie Kirk reminded me of that,” Vance said.
The crowd responded with chants of “48,” a clear endorsement of Vance as Donald Trump’s successor in the White House.
There was a wide variety of criticism of the Kirk-Vance event, with some arguing that it’s inappropriate for Erika to compare her late husband to another man, and others complaining about the continued politicization of Charlie Kirk’s death from those who seek to gain office.
“Publicly simping over another man one month after husband’s murder. The American values MAGA wants to preserve,” wrote one X user.
“This is sick… it’s been barely a month since Charlie passed,” another tweeted, alongside a photo of Kirk and Vance embracing on stage.
“Starting with ‘no one can ever replace my husband… but JD Vance’ is a very deliberate choice,” a third chimed in.
“No one will ever replace her husband, though she seems to be giving it a solid try,” a fourth remarked.
Neither Vance nor Kirk has publicly responded to the criticism of their onstage interaction.