Wednesday night, hundreds of University of Mississippi students braved the weather to hear Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, and Vice President JD Vance speak as part of the Turning Point USA campus tour in The Pavilion at Ole Miss.
Erika Kirk gave opening remarks and introduced Vance as a "very, very dear friend." Kirk continued,
He and his wife, they are incredible. No one will ever replace my husband, but I do see some similarities of my husband in Vice President JD Vance. That's why I'm so blessed to be able to introduce him tonight, because he understands the fight we are up against. And he can articulate that in a way that transcends race, that transcends demographic background. He is an amazing man.
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As VP Vance took the stage, Charlie Kirk was the voiceover for a video montage of the Vice President in all his pivotal moments. Erika Kirk greeted him with a warm hug, and the packed crowd inside The Pavilion excitedly chanted "JD," "48," and "USA."
The crowd at this Turning Point event is chanting “48” for VP @JDVance 👀 pic.twitter.com/HE3fL3GJWK
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 30, 2025
Vance greeted the crowd with: "Ole Miss, I got a question. Are. You. Ready!"
The crowd chanted back:
Hell Yeah! Damn Right!
Hotty Toddy, Gosh Almighty,
Who The Hell Are We? Hey!
Flim Flam, Bim Bam
Ole Miss By Damn!.
🚨 BREAKING: Incredible moment as Erika Kirk brings Vice President JD VANCE on stage at University of Mississippi and the two embrace
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 30, 2025
The crowd is going CRAZY and broke into chants of "USA!" 🇺🇸
"Ole Miss, I got a question - Are, you, READY?" 🔥 pic.twitter.com/fpjI750U08
Vance gleefully applauded, saying,
Wow, that was impressive. They told me that would be impressive, and they were exactly right.
Vance thanked Erika Kirk and honored her as an "amazing inspiration to the entire country." Vance then recognized the Mississippi elected officials in the room.
And most importantly, we have got more than 10,000 students from across Mississippi, we are proud to have you and we know that you are the future of Charlie Kirk's legacy, so thank you for being here.
Vance said he had a speech written, but decided to speak from the heart, "because that was what Charlie would so often do."
Vance talked about the news of Charlie Kirk's assassination and how initially they thought he had a chance, but ultimately, Charlie took his last breath and went home to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. After the news of his passing, Vance said he remembered thinking, "What a terrible tragedy for that family. And the second thing I thought was what a terrible tragedy for the United States of America."
Vance continued,
Because Charlie wasn't just a political figure. He wasn't just a guy who went around campus and said very interesting things, and hosted all of these debates. He was a person, who particularly to the young people of this country, to all of you, he had the very best of advice. And I think that's the most important way for me to honor Charlie which is to repeat that advice. Something that I have found true in my own life.
Charlie wanted all of you, whatever life path you chose, whatever career you chose, whatever you ultimately did for a living, Charlie wanted you, more than anything, to invest in the things that were worth having. To build a life that was worth building. And that started the most important advice he ever gave you was: Fall in love. Get married, and start a family. And I can't honor Charlie without repeating that most important advice.
Vance then honored his bride, Second Lady Usha Vance, and expressed his love.
If you're as lucky and blessed as I have been, it hits you with a ton of bricks. And I found that person in my lovely wife, Usha, our second lady who is here with us today. I love you honey.
Vance continued with Charlie's advice.
"And have children. That was something that Charlie always told." Vance discussed that one of his regrets was not having children earlier. Vance joked about his being a "geriatric Millennial," then discussed the penchant for college students to party, and that the incredible energy that helps young people bounce back from those excesses was really meant for raising children.
"While you're young, have those babies if you're able to. That's something that Charlie said all the time," Vance said.
Vance ably moved from the micro to the macro. Why Charlie gave this advice and why it matters for our country.
But if you think of that advice: Charlie wanted you to get married, he wanted you to fall in love, he wanted you to build a family, he wanted you to find a vocation, that was the advice that he gave on campuses, but that's not just about you. That is also about our country and about our government. Because while you have the freedom to live life as you so choose, I have got a responsibility as your vice president to make the American Dream as accessible as possible.
Vance talked about the role he has been tasked with and the decisions the Trump administration has made to try and restore the American Dream to all American citizens.
And this is why, my friends, this is why we care about all the things that we care about. Why do I care so much about having a secure border in the United States of America? It's because I believe that when you let in a flood of illegal immigration, what it does is it drives down the wages of young people and makes housing unaffordable for the entire American population. That's why we closed down the border.
These statements received huge cheers, shouts, and applause.
The Left will say our immigration policy is about hating immigration, hating immigrants. We don't hate anybody, we love our fellow citizens, and because we want them to have the American Dream, we shut that border down the very first day that Donald J. Trump was the President of the United States.
Vance received even more cheers, and he continued, speaking to how the Trump administration was working hard to fix the broken policies of the Biden administration and to make housing more affordable. Vance spoke to the veterans in the room and said,
But part of America First is ensuring that we never ask you to go and do America's business unless it's in the interest of the United States of America and that's how we honor the sacrifice of our troops.
And that my friends, that why we care so much about free speech. As Charlie lived and died for the basic principle that we ought to be able to talk about our differences, we ought to be able to debate 'em and we oughta have faith that the best way to make sure that the best idea wins is to actually just have a discussion. And that is what this event is all about, that is what Turning Point USA is all about, and I am so proud. And most of all I'm so grateful to each and every person, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, for coming out and honoring one of the most important parts of Charlie's legacy. 'Cause we're going to have a discussion tonight, and that is what Charlie would want us to do.
Vance said that he would not take up much more time because he wanted to give as much time as possible for the Q&A. He wanted to end with some final points about Charlie's legacy and politics.
"The most important thing about Charlie is that he was a great husband and a great father," Vance said. He then spoke about Erika's devastation over Charlie's death, but how she spoke glowingly about Charlie's role as her friend and husband. Vance continued,
If you've ever known anybody who is grieving, sometimes they're unable to even hold a single thought for more than a few seconds. And when Erika told me... and I'm going to get a little emotional, is that she said that Charlie never yelled at her, he never cussed at her, and that to me is a great legacy to leave as a husband and a father, for your wife to be able to say that my husband was always good to me, and Charlie was a good man.
Then Vance revealed a conversation with Charlie shortly before his death, and how that conversation made an impression regarding the administration's foreign policy decisions. Vance related the conversation,
But he also had the legacy of believing in political debate, and he was the most effective person in politics that I have ever seen. And by the way, that's not because Charlie always agreed with me and the president's policies. I remember, one time in particular, when Charlie Kirk called me, and guys, he was mad. It was one... I wouldn't say the last conversation I had with him, but it was in the last few months of his life and he called me and he said, "JD, I'm really worried. I'm really worried that what's going on in the Middle East right now is going to lead the United States into a protracted military conflict."
I've never told anybody that: That Charlie was really worried about that in the final months of his life. Now, here's the thing. Charlie was so affected, and he was so, so trusted, by both me and the President of the United States, when Charlie made that phone call, I didn't say, "Screw you, you don't know what you're talking about," I listened to him. And 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. Charlie Kirk.
Vance paused, visibly moved, then continued.
So, that was a great moment for our country, it was a great moment for my friendship with Charlie Kirk. Because friendship is not just about telling everybody what they want to hear. It's not just about agreeing with everybody all the time. It's about having the trust in another human being that you can tell them they're wrong and actually encourage them to change their mind. Or in that case, not necessarily even tell us that we were wrong, but make sure we were thinking about all the options. And of course, under the president's leadership, we were doing exactly that. But Charlie was so good at that.
Vance ended his remarks by speaking to how each and every person could honor Charlie Kirk's legacy and seek to live a life of consequence.
And I think that's one of the ways in which I want all of you to honor your legacy. Obviously you care about our great nation, or you wouldn't be here. A lot of you will go on to become future leaders in business or in politics. A lot of you will run campaigns, a lot of you will work on campaigns, a lot of you will be future leaders. There might even be a lowly, future vice president of the United States in this very room.
But here's the thing that I want all of you to remember: Charlie wasn't effective just because he had opinions. A lot of people have opinions. Charlie was effective because he was courageous, because he worked very hard, and because he made his vision a reality. And so if you care about this country as I know all of you do, don't just complain about [it on] social media, get up and get involved in a campaign. If you want a better policy outcome, even from an administration that you voted for, then get out and get involved in making your voice heard. If you care about this country, love it enough to get involved in the process and how we govern it. That is the only way we are going to save the United States of America, and that is perhaps the greatest contribution that you can make to Charlie Kirk's legacy is getting involved in saving this country. I'm in the fight, and I know every single one of you are with me.
God Bless you and thank you for having me.
The questions asked by the students were thoughtful, respectful, and insightful, as were Vance's responses.
WATCH:
Vice President JD Vance Delivers Remarks at a Turning Point USA Tour Event https://t.co/iABTiWnP4k
— Vice President JD Vance (@VP) October 29, 2025
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