“Filling in for somebody who cannot be filled in for,”: Vice President JD Vance hosts the Charlie Kirk Show after his death

Following the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, the Vice President of the US, JD Vance, hosted the Charlie Kirk Show on Monday. The founder of Turning Point USA was killed on September 10 after he was shot in the neck during a debate event at Utah Valley University. Vice President Vance paid Charlie Kirk a tribute in his September 10 post on X and shared about his friendship with the conservative activist.

On September 14, Vance announced that he would be hosting The Charlie Kirk Show on Monday. On September 15, JD Vance hosted Kirk's show from his White House office and introduced himself as "longtime friend of Charlie Kirk."

The vice president began the show by remembering the late political commentator and said:

"Hey everybody, JD Vance here live from my office in the White House complex and filling in for somebody who cannot be filled in for, but I'm going to try to do my best... The last several days have been extremely hard for our country. They've been hard for me, hard for my family, hard for the countless people in this building who knew and love Charlie Kirk."

Further in the show, Vance was joined by several White House officials who knew Kirk. The Vice President discussed the issue of violence with them.

JD Vance credits Charlie Kirk for Trump’s presidency and his VP role

The Vice President called the TPUSA founder a "visionary" who brought people together. While paying tribute to Kirk, the vice president credited him with providing crucial support in both the presidential and vice-presidential elections.

"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."

The Vice President further added that some of his friends had reached out to him with messages and screenshots of exchanges they had with Kirk before he was selected by the president as his vice-presidential running mate. He added that it was an "honor" to see Kirk had expressed support for him.

JD Vance also recalled that he met the late activist's family in Utah and said that they "didn't deserve to have this happen to them." He shared that he took Kirk's remains from Utah to Arizona. Vance called it an "honor" to be welcomed by political commentator's family at their moment of grief. The Vice President also recounted meeting Kirk's wife.

"When I first met Erica, his lovely wife and such an incredibly brave soul. I'm not sure if you saw her remarks after Charlie died. And if you haven't, I would encourage you to go and see them because you see this raw grief and incredible courage all in the same moment. And that's what we need right now. We need to grieve, but we also need this courage in this moment more than we've ever needed it," JD Vance said.

Concluding the episode, JD Vance added that people owed it to Charlie Kirk to ensure that his killer was not only prosecuted but also punished and added that the worst punishment was not the "death penalty" but the "knowledge" that Kirk’s mission would "continue after he was gone."

In other news, Charlie Kirk's murder suspect, Tyler Robinson, is currently detained at Utah County Jail and is expected to appear before the court soon.

On Monday, the FBI director informed Fox News that Robinson’s DNA was detected on a towel used to wrap the suspected murder weapon. Officials further reported finding his DNA on a screwdriver recovered from the rooftop, thought to be the location of the shooting.

Also read: What did Karen Attiah say about Charlie Kirk? Washington Post columnist accuses publication of firing her for her 'remarks'

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