Vice President JD Vance will host an edition of “The Charlie Kirk Show” Monday night in tribute to the conservative activist who was shot and killed at a university event last week aged 31.
Announcing the move on X Sunday night, Vance said hosting the show would be a an honor and an opportunity to “pay tribute to my friend.” The show will be posted at 12 p.m. ET.
Vance has already paid tribute to Kirk as a key figure in the MAGA movement and credited him with helping him become vice president and introducing him to President Donald Trump.
Vance and his wife Usha were close to Kirk and accompanied his casket on a flight to Phoenix, Arizona, last Thursday, a day after the shooting.
Turning Point USA, the influential youth-focused political group founded by Kirk, will hold an enormous memorial service for him at State Farm Stadium in nearby Glendale on Sept. 21.
On Friday, police arrested and charged 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, from Utah, on suspicion of murdering Kirk during a speaking event Wednesday at Utah Valley University.
He faces charges of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and obstruction of justice.
Members of the Trump Administration and Congress spoke at a prayer vigil held for Kirk at the Kennedy Center on Sunday night.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said that Kirk’s death cast a “dark shadow” over Capitol Hill, calling his legacy “immeasurable.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt credited Kirk and Turning Point with helping “fuel” Trump’s win in the 2024 election and said that she speaks on behalf of the president in saying that he “loved” Kirk.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called Kirk his “spiritual brother” and said that the two bonded over their opposition to stay-at-home regulations during the Covid pandemic.
Referring to Kirk’s alleged killer, Kari Lake told the event that colleges had become “indoctrination camps” thanks to the “most horrific brainwashing campaign in the history of mankind.”
Some of the speakers became emotional while remembering Kirk, specifically Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ). Both told personal stories about time spent with Kirk and offered prayers for his family.
Kirk’s widow, Erika, vowed on Friday to continue her late husband’s mission. “If you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea,” she said in a video. “You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country and this world.”
Eleanor Skelly contributed.