Without slain conservative leader Charlie Kirk’s behind-the-scenes presence in Republican politics, many of the right’s most influential figures would not be where they are today, including Vice President JD Vance, said Erika Donalds, Center for Education Opportunity chair at the America First Policy Institute, on Newsmax, Tuesday.
Vance, who first met Kirk in 2017, guest hosted Kirk’s show on Monday, identifying himself as “a longtime friend” of the assassinated Turning Point USA CEO. As he addressed the show’s audience, Vance said that “if it weren’t for Charlie Kirk, I would not be the vice president of the United States.”
“What a tribute to Charlie for the vice president of the United States, who then credited Charlie Kirk for his position with [President] Donald Trump on the ticket, as many have done over the past few days,” Donalds said on “National Report.” “We saw at the vigil in D.C. [White House press secretary] Karoline Leavitt attributing her position and rise in politics to Charlie. Congresswoman [Anna Paulina] Luna also crediting Charlie for pulling her, within 24 hours of going to medical school, to now being one of the most prominent, especially young, figures in Congress.”
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