Erika Kirk, widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, made an emotional return to the stage Wednesday night alongside Vice President J.D. Vance at the University of Mississippi, marking her first campus appearance since her husband’s assassination seven weeks ago, as reported by The New York Post.
“When our team asked my dear friend, Vice President J.D. Vance, to speak today, I really prayed on it because, obviously, it’s a very emotional, emotional day,” Kirk told the crowd of more than 10,000 students.
Ole Miss welcomes Erika Kirk as she takes the stage at the This Is the Turning Point Tour@MrsErikaKirk @tpusastudents pic.twitter.com/QM8MxbjeyL
— Turning Point USA (@TPUSA) October 30, 2025
“But I could just hear Charlie in my heart. I could just hear him say, ‘Go reclaim that territory, babe.’”
Kirk, who now serves as president of Turning Point USA, called the event “a spiritual reclaiming of territory” in honor of her late husband’s legacy. “The battle’s already won. God’s love conquers. And that’s why I’m here today,” she said.
POWERFUL: Erika Kirk on stage at Ole Miss for tonight’s Turning Point USA event:
“Being on campus right now for me is a spiritual reclaiming of territory. And the more that I am coming to grips with the permanency of this nightmare, the more that I’m starting to realize and… pic.twitter.com/tfzqtml3Je
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 30, 2025
Kirk thanked students for their support in the weeks following her husband’s death at Utah Valley University, where he was shot and killed during a TPUSA event in September.
“You guys have no idea how helpful it is to have all you in my life … you make me feel even more connected to my husband,” she said. “He didn’t leave us empty-handed. He built a machine. And all of you are a part of that.”
The mother of two described Vance, who served as a pallbearer during Charlie Kirk’s funeral and accompanied his body aboard Air Force Two from Utah to Arizona, as “a very, very dear friend.” She added, “No one will ever replace my husband — but I do see some similarities in J.D.”
Vance received a standing ovation when he took the stage to address the crowd, speaking for more than an hour and fielding questions on faith, immigration, and U.S. foreign policy.
Responding to a student’s question about his wife’s Hindu background, Vance explained, “Yes, my wife did not grow up Christian. I think it’s fair to say that she grew up in a Hindu family, but not a particularly religious family in either direction.”
He said their family decided to raise their children Christian. “Everybody has to come to their own arrangement here,” he said. “I hope eventually my wife becomes Catholic, but if she doesn’t, God says everyone has free will. That doesn’t cause a problem for me.”
On immigration, Vance said he would like to “severely restrict legal immigration into the U.S. until migrants already in the country better assimilate.”
The vice president also reflected on his friendship with Charlie Kirk, describing him as “the most effective person in politics that I have seen.” Vance recalled a conversation with Kirk shortly before President Trump ordered airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this year.
“He was mad,” Vance said. “He told me, ‘J.D., I’m really worried — really worried — that what is happening in the Middle East right now is going to lead to a protracted military conflict.’”
Vance said Kirk’s counsel influenced how the administration approached the conflict.
“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,” Vance said.
