Vice President JD Vance announced he will host “The Charlie Kirk Show” from the White House on Monday to “pay tribute” to his friend Charlie Kirk, less than a week after Kirk was fatally shot while visiting a college campus in Utah.
Vance posted a photo on X showing a microphone setup and said the eponymous program will air at noon. Vance and Kirk were longtime friends who remained close long before Vance entered public office, and Vance was among those who accompanied Kirk’s body back to his home state following the shooting.
In a letter that was shared after the shooting, Vance reflected on his relationship with Kirk and on Kirk’s role in his political rise. Vance wrote that Kirk was one of the first people he contacted when he decided to run for the U.S. Senate in 2021, that Kirk helped connect him with allies who assisted his campaign, and that Kirk was a key advocate during his political ascent. Vance also said Kirk helped guide the selection of a vice presidential candidate for Donald Trump until they settled on Vance.
Officials and associates said the vice president learned that Kirk had been shot via text messages received during a West Wing meeting. Several of those messages, Vance wrote, were from group chats that included Kirk. “God didn’t answer those prayers, and that’s OK. He had other plans. And now that Charlie is in heaven, I’ll ask him to talk to big man directly on behalf of his family, his friends, and the country he loved so dearly,” Vance wrote.
Vance attended a Turning Point USA inaugural-eve event on Jan. 19, 2025, where he personally thanked Kirk for his efforts in organizing support for Donald Trump during the 2024 campaign, according to Vance’s remarks and archival accounts of the event. After the shooting at Utah Valley University, Vance served as a pallbearer during the return of Kirk’s remains from Utah to Arizona, where Kirk was from.
White House officials did not immediately provide additional details about the format of Monday’s broadcast or whether other guests will participate. Vance framed the appearance as a personal tribute to a longtime friend and political ally, and announced it publicly on his social media account in the hours after posting the image of the microphone.
The announcement comes amid ongoing attention to the shooting's circumstances and the response from conservative political circles. Vance’s decision to host the program from the White House underscores the personal and political ties between the vice president and Kirk, and it follows Vance’s public statements mourning Kirk and describing his influence on Vance’s career.
The show is scheduled to air at noon Monday from the White House as a tribute; additional programming or events connected to the funeral or memorial arrangements have not been detailed by Vance’s office.