During a Monday afternoon news conference in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump called Erika Kirk over and kissed her on the cheek. The moment came two months after her husband, Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot and killed on September 10 at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. The shooting happened while he was attending an event hosted by his business, Turning Point USA. After his death, his widow became the organization’s CEO, igniting a national discussion about free speech.
Following Kirk’s death, Republican politicians have sought to memorialize the right-wing political activist. President Trump and Vice President Vance were among the prominent Republicans who spoke at the large-scale broadcast burial.
Kirk’s widow, Erika, 36, recently discussed how, since her husband’s passing, she has developed close relationships with Vice President Vance, 41, and Second Lady Usha Vance, 39. Additionally, the late right-wing activist was personally acquainted with the vice president.
Shortly before her awkward on-stage physical embrace with the vice president, she said on Fox News that her relationship with him “has been a blessing” and that the second family has shown her “genuine love.”
Trump called for Erika Kirk and kissed her on the cheek in the Oval Office today pic.twitter.com/xHFFMINT12
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) November 10, 2025
“He’s been a blessing,” Erika told Fox News host Jesse Watters before the event. “Him and Usha, they are the most incredible people. Incredible, with such genuine love.” “I mean, just everything they did for us was so humanized. They just, they were there for us. They’ve been there for us.”
Kirk gave an emotional speech at the University of Mississippi in late October to begin a tour with Turning Point USA. She told Watters that the event had been planned before her husband’s passing and that she decided to continue with the tour because “we just wanted to keep everything in motion that Charlie wanted.”
She added, “With everything that JD and Usha did for myself and Charlie afterwards, how could you not?” Her tearful speech was mainly devoted to her late husband and his political goals. However, she received online criticism for a comment she made about the vice president before he took the stage that many critics thought was out of the ordinary.
J.D. Vance hugs Erika Kirk at a “Turning Point event “— fingers in hair, hands on hips — while also saying he hopes his wife sees Christianity his way. Grief, politics, faith: two worlds collide. Respect or optics gone off script? #Politics #Faith #Power
What’s your take ? pic.twitter.com/UyoGpaKfd6
— TheRealestJaraya (@x_yxzs_z0) November 1, 2025
“No one will ever replace my husband, but I do see some similarities of my husband in JD Vance— in Vice President JD Vance. I do,” she told the crowd. “And that’s why I am so blessed to be able to introduce him tonight.”
She slid her hand to the back of his head, and he briefly put his hands on her hips as the vice president joined her on stage for a private embrace.
Online users questioned whether or not the interaction was appropriate when it went viral. Additionally, the moment was analyzed by several body language experts, who pointed out that their hug revealed a strong emotional connection between the couple, leading to allegations of adultery and derogatory remarks about the public figures.
