Erika Kirk, widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, canceled her planned appearance with Vice President JD Vance Tuesday night after receiving "serious threats," according to TPUSA spokesman and Charlie Kirk Show producer Andrew Kolvet.
The two were to appear in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of the "This is the Turning Point" tour.
🚨 HOLY CRAP! Erika Kirk had to BACK OUT of her planned event with JD Vance tonight at the University of Georgia due to "SERIOUS THREATS" on her life, per @VP and @AndrewKolvet
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 14, 2026
"Unfortunately, she has received some very serious threats in her direction...
It's a terrible… pic.twitter.com/4TfrGiICtC
As the event started, Kolvet took the stage with Vance and explained why he was there instead of Erika, then asked Vance for his thoughts on that development.
Mr. Vice President, I'm on stage here instead of our friend Erika Kirk because, unfortunately, she has received some very serious threats in her direction, which is terrible. It's a terrible reflection on the state of reality and the state of the country. But it underscores a larger point, that she has received a lot of attacks, from surprising places, perhaps. Tell us what you think about that, and some of the people that have made part-time jobs out of attacking Erika, and this is the net result.
Vance replied:
"Sure. Well, first of all, I love Erika, and I know that she did get some threats. And about two hours ago, as you know, Andrew, I was a little worried that we were gonna have to cancel the event, because Erika was not gonna come, and she was very worried about it. And I talked to the Secret Service, and obviously, these guys do a very good job, and I said, you know what, let's let Erika do what she needs to do for herself and her family.
Vance then continued:
"In so many ways, the last six months or so have been two separate living hells for Erika Kirk. And the first is, of course, that she lost her husband, she lost the father of her children.
. . .
"At the same time, you know, she's trying to make sure that Charlie's legacy doesn't die. And in that context, everybody is attacking her over everything, and they're lying about her, and it's one of the most disgraceful things that I've ever seen in public life. And I've seen a lot of crazy stuff in my life as a political leader. And I will tell you that the people who tell you -- I was there with her. I was holding her hand. My wife was hugging her while we loaded Charlie's body onto Air Force Two and said the Lord's Prayer. The people who tell you that Erika wasn't grieving her husband are full of s**t, and we need to be honest about that fact.
. . .
"The thing is, when you become a public figure, the natural thing -- I've talked to Erika about this privately -- is a ton of crazy people say a ton of things about you that simply aren't true. But the thing that makes it so egregious with Erika is that she's a grieving person who's trying to carry on her husband's legacy."
When she takes action in her role as CEO of Turning Point USA, Vance said, criticizing those actions is fair.
"If you want to criticize Turning Point USA for not taking this position or having this political disagreement, or maybe it should do this or that, that's all above board. But to say that Erika Kirk wasn't grieving her husband on that day, to say that Erika Kirk was somehow complicit in it, is so preposterous and so disgusting, and it's one of the things that has broken, I think, the American public conversation over the last six months.
"[T]he response to Charlie Kirk getting assassinated by a left-wing furry lover is -- the response should have been, let's go after left-wing violence and terrorism... But if you're going after Erika Kirk and not the people who are trying to destroy the United States of America, you're part of the problem, not part of the solution."
And to those who believe they're part of the Grieving Police, Vance told them to stay in their own lane.
Vice President JD Vance: “If your instinct is to go after NOT the left-wing radicals that are assaulting Savannah or not the people who shot Charlie Kirk. But if your instinct is to go after a young mother because she’s grieving in a way you find wrong, well, why don’t you stay… pic.twitter.com/hJouDHdqse
— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) April 14, 2026
Undoubtedly, people like Candace Owens will accuse Erika Kirk of making this up, or using this as some kind of "op" so that Kolvet could ask Vance about the attacks she's faced. And I'm sure others will say that she should have felt it was safe to attend if the Secret Service was going to secure the scene. However, her husband was just assassinated at a speaking event, and Secret Service protection didn't prevent the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump, so in this writer's opinion, she's perfectly justified in calling off the event.
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