Vance’s Leading Role After Kirk Killing Fueled by Personal Bond

As President Donald Trump and a slew of White House officials prepare to attend the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s memorial service in Arizona on Sunday, no one in the administration has been a more public face on the mourning than Vice President JD Vance.

Vance’s leading role — arguably the most prominent of his stint as vice president so far — comes as no surprise to people who knew both men, with multiple members of Congress speaking of the close bond between the two. The spotlight could enhance Vance’s image among activists as jockeying begins to eventually succeed Trump and showcases his reliability to the hard-right on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said Vance’s efforts have not gone unnoticed, and he’s “handling himself well” as the administration’s lead on responding to Kirk’s death.

“He is a good friend to Charlie. That’s why you see him doing the things he’s doing,” Jordan said. “It’s just a testament to how close their relationship was.”

“They were very close and very good friends,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), a close Senate ally of Vance’s.

“The vice president credits his early start in politics to some of the advice and help of Charlie Kirk, so I think it’s very personal and heartfelt.”

A White House official, speaking anonymously to describe the vice president’s thinking, said to Bloomberg Government that Vance’s response to Kirk’s death isn’t political, and added the 31-year-old was a “dear friend” to the Vance family.

In the wake of Kirk’s death, Vance posted a rare personal and long tribute to Kirk, going back to when the two were initially skeptical about Trump’s entrance into politics in 2016. In the post, the vice president also said Kirk helped him and Trump’s sweeping win last year and was influential in staffing their current administration.

Most notably, Vance also traveled to be with Kirk’s family after the killing and helped carry and transport Kirk’s casket aboard Air Force Two when it was being flown from Utah to Arizona.

The death of the 31-year-old conservative activist has also sparked a national conversation about free speech, as well as worrying trends of politically motivated violence becoming the norm. Vance is positioned to be one of the leading voices as those conversations take off.

During his first public interview since Kirk’s death on Fox News, Vance vowed to “leave no stone unturned” in Kirk’s investigation and spearhead efforts to find funding sources and organizations online that are radicalizing people to attack government officials.

“If your movement is telling you to commit acts of violence for speaking words you don’t like, number one, you’re evil, and number two, you are engaged in a terrorist movement and this is part of what we need to root out of the White House,” Vance said.