Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance will be traveling to Salt Lake City in order to meet with Kirk’s family, including his wife, Erica and his two young children, in addition to some close friends. They will then travel to Phoenix with the vice president, according to a report from the Washington Examiner.
The Vances had been scheduled to attend a ceremony at Ground Zero in New York City commemorating the 24th anniversary of the September 11.
Vice President Vance was a close friend of Kirk’s and issued a touching eulogy in the hours following his murder. Shortly before midnight on Wednesday, the vice president shared the memory of first hearing from Kirk after appearing as a contributor on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News program.
It was “that moment of kindness” that “began a friendship that lasted until today,” he wrote.
“Charlie was fascinated by ideas and always willing to learn and change his mind. Like me, he was skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016. Like me, he came to see President Trump as the only figure capable of moving American politics away from the globalism that had dominated for our entire lives,” Vance continued.
“When others were right, he learned from them. When he was right–as he usually was–he was generous. With Charlie, the attitude was never, ‘I told you so.’ But: ‘welcome.’”
Vance further revealed that when he first explored the possibility of running for U.S. Senate, Charlie Kirk was among the first to speak with him.
“I was interested but skeptical there was a pathway. We talked through everything, from the strategy to the fundraising to the grassroots of the movement he knew so well,” Vance stated, adding that Kirk was the one who introduced him to members of the Trump family for the first time. “He introduced me to some of the people who would run my campaign and also to Donald Trump Jr. ‘Like his dad, he’s misunderstood. He’s extremely smart, and very much on our wavelength.’ Don took a call from me because Charlie asked him to.”
“Long before I ever committed (even in my mind) to running, Charlie had me speak to his donors at a TPUSA event. He walked me around the room and introduced me. He gave me honest feedback on my remarks. He had no reason to do this, no expectation that I’d go anywhere. I was polling, at that point, well below 5 percent. He did it because we were friends, and because he was a good man.”
Kirk continued to assist Vance long after he became a rising political star. When he was selected as President Trump’s running mate, the vice president shared that his young children struggled with the massive adjustment in their lives. Charlie Kirk then played a primary role in sharing ways he helps to adapt to such a public life for his own young family.
“Our kids, especially our oldest, struggled with the attention and the constant presence of the protective detail. I felt this acute sense of guilt, that I had conscripted my kids into this life without getting their permission. And Charlie was constantly calling and texting, checking on our family and offering guidance and prayers,” Vance said. “He wasn’t just a thinker, he was a doer, turning big ideas into bigger events with thousands of activists. And after every event, he would give me a big hug, tell me he was praying for me, and ask me what he could do.”
“Now that Charlie is in heaven, I’ll ask him to talk to the big man directly on behalf of his family, his friends, and the country he loved so dearly.”
“You ran a good race, my friend.”
“We’ve got it from here.”
