Vice President JD Vance declared Monday that there can be “no unity” with those celebrating or excusing the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Vance delivered the remarks as he guest-hosted the Charlie Kirk Show from the White House. He said the country could only come together once the reality of political violence from the Left was acknowledged and confronted.
“I really do believe that we can come together in this country. I believe we must, but unity, real unity, can be found only after climbing the mountain of truth,” Vance said. “And there are difficult truths we must confront in our country.”
Vance argued that political violence is not equally a “both sides” issue. He cited the attempted assassination of Donald Trump and the 2017 shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise as evidence of a deeper problem on the Left.
“By celebrating that murder, apologizing for it, and emphasizing not Charlie’s innocence, but the fact that he said things some didn’t like—even lying about what he said—many of these people are creating an environment where things like this are inevitably going to happen,” Vance said. “There is no unity with someone who lies about what Charlie Kirk said in order to excuse his murder.”
Vance urged Americans to call out those celebrating Kirk’s death, noting that everyone from airline pilots to university professors had already faced consequences for mocking the killing. “So when you see someone celebrating Charlie’s murder, call them out, and hell, call their employer,” he said.
He added that the Trump administration would be working to dismantle “institutions that promote violence and terrorism in our own country” and encouraged political engagement. “I can’t promise you this is gonna be easy. I can’t promise you that all of us will avoid Charlie’s fate. But the best way to honor him is to shine the light of truth like a torch in the very darkest places.”
Vance closed by citing Scripture. “Let all of us put on the full armor of God and commit ourselves to that cause for which Charlie gave his life—to rebuild the United States of America and to do it by telling the truth.”