JD Vance hosts ‘The Charlie Kirk Show,’ paying tribute with top White House officials
Vice President JD Vance took the mic on Monday to host The Charlie Kirk Show, just five days after the 31-year-old right-wing activist was shot and killed in Utah.
The two-hour livestream, with Vance at the helm, marked a striking reminder of how the White House viewed Kirk, both as a leader in the young conservative space and as a behind-the-scenes political player who they said helped shape President Trump’s second term in office.
“The last several days have been extremely hard for our country,” Vance said at the start of the broadcast. “The thing is, every single person in this building, we owe something to Charlie.”
It featured appearances from several key Trump administration officials, including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy. They were joined by Kirk’s former colleagues and friends, who reflected on the activist’s legacy and discussed how leaders can sustain the movement he built over the past 13 years.
But ever-present throughout the episode was also a sense of loss and deep anger surrounding Kirk’s death, with Vance and others repeatedly arguing that past criticism of Kirk from the left stoked the violence taken against him, despite authorities having yet to announce a known motive in his killing.
In his closing comments, Vance lambasted what he described as the “far-left” movement, referencing the assassination attempts against Trump’s life last year and the shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., in 2017. But he omitted more recent acts of violence targeting Democrats, such as the June attack in Minnesota that killed a Democratic state lawmaker and her spouse, and left another Democratic lawmaker wounded.
“This is not a both-sides problem. If both sides have a problem, one side has a much bigger and malignant problem, and that is the truth we must be told,” he said.
“I can’t promise you that all of us will avoid Charlie’s fate,” he added. “Can’t promise you that I will avoid Charlie’s fate, but the way to honor him is to shine the light of truth like a torch in the very darkest places. Go do it.”
Built to spill: The life of a crash test dummy
Automotive crash test dummies are born in Ohio, brought to "life" near Detroit, and then sent around the world to make cars safer.
Teachers are using software to see if students used AI. What happens when it’s wrong?
School districts from Utah to Ohio to Alabama are spending thousands of dollars on these tools, despite research showing the technology is far from reliable.
Republicans divided on policy toward Afghan immigrants after shooting
The signs of Republican pushback come as President Trump has pursued a campaign of mass deportations and crackdown on migration from certain countries.
Mahmood Mamdani on how Uganda’s history shaped his belonging — and his son’s moment
NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Professor Mahmood Mamdani about his new book, "Slow Poison." The book is a firsthand report on the tragic unraveling of Uganda's struggle for independence.
Chain restaurants are hit by tariffs and inflation. How do they control costs?
Inflation, rising food prices and the high cost of living has been top of mind for consumers all year. But then Olive Garden offers an unlimited pasta meal or a chain steakhouse restaurant sells a steak dinner with two sides for less than 30 bucks. So, how are chains are able to keep prices as low as they do in this economy?
U.S. military says strikes on 3 boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean kill 8 people
The U.S. military said Monday that it attacked three boats accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing a total of eight people as scrutiny is intensifying in Congress.
