J.D. Vance 'Learned' About 'True Friend' Charlie Kirk's Death Via a Group Chat: 'I Prayed a Lot'

J.D. Vance took to X to reveal how he learned of Charlie Kirk’s death and pay tribute to him.

“A while ago, probably in 2017, I appeared on Tucker Carlson's Fox show to talk about God knows what,” Vance began. “Afterwards a name I barely knew sent me a DM on twitter and told me I did a great job. It was Charlie Kirk, and that moment of kindness began a friendship that lasted until today.”

Vance noted Kirk was “fascinated by ideas and always willing to learn and change his mind.”

“Like me, he was skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016,” he continued. “Like me, he came to see President Trump as the only figure capable of moving American politics away from the globalism that had dominated for our entire lives. When others were right, he learned from them. When he was right — as he usually was — he was generous. With Charlie, the attitude was never, ‘I told you so.’ But: ‘welcome.’”

Vance noted Kirk was one of the “first people” he called when he decided to run for Senate in 2021.

“We talked through everything, from the strategy to the fundraising to the grassroots of the movement he knew so well,” Vance shared. “He introduced me to some of the people who would run my campaign and also to Donald Trump Jr. ‘Like his dad, he's misunderstood. He's extremely smart, and very much on our wavelength.’ Don took a call from me because Charlie asked him to.”

J.D. said Charlie ended up having him speak to donors at a Turning Point USA event. Although Charlie had “no reason to do this,” he did so because they were friends and Kirk was a “good man," the VP noted.

“When I became the VP nominee — something Charlie advocated for both in public and private — Charlie was there for me,” J.D. elaborated. “I was so glad to be part of the president's team, but candidly surprised by the effect it had on our family. Our kids, especially our oldest, struggled with the attention and the constant presence of the protective detail. I felt this acute sense of guilt, that I had conscripted my kids into this life without getting their permission. And Charlie was constantly calling and texting, checking on our family and offering guidance and prayers.”

J.D. said Charlie was not “just a thinker” but a “doer” who turned “big ideas into bigger events,” which helped his campaign.

“Charlie genuinely believed in and loved Jesus Christ,” J.D. said. “He had a profound faith. We used to argue about Catholicism and Protestantism and who was right about minor doctrinal questions. Because he loved God, he wanted to understand him.”

J.D. then turned his attention to Charlie's death, saying someone had “pointed out” Charlie “died doing what he loved: discussing ideas.”

“He would go into these hostile crowds and answer their questions,” J.D. continued. “If it was a friendly crowd, and a progressive asked a question to jeers from the audience, he'd encourage his fans to calm down and let everyone speak. He exemplified a foundational virtue of our Republic: the willingness to speak openly and debate ideas.”

“Charlie had an uncanny ability to know when to push the envelope and when to be more conventional,” J.D. stated. “I’ve seen people attack him for years for being wrong on this or that issue publicly, never realizing that privately he was working to broaden the scope of acceptable debate.”

J.D. said the president enjoyed spending time with Charlie.

“President Trump observed that Charlie really loved his family,” J.D. shared. “The president was right. Charlie was so proud of Erika and the two kids. He was so happy to be a father. And he felt such gratitude for having found a woman of God with whom he could build a family."

“Charlie Kirk was a true friend,” he continued. “The kind of guy you could say something to and know it would always stay with him. I am on more than a few group chats with Charlie and people he introduced me to over the years. We celebrate weddings and babies, bust each other's chops, and mourn the loss of loved ones. We talk about politics and policy and sports and life. These group chats include people at the very highest level of our government. They trusted him, loved him, and knew he'd always have their backs. And because he was a true friend, you could instinctively trust the people Charlie introduced you to.”

J.D. also credited Charlie for not only helping them win in 2024, but helping the administration to “staff the entire government.”

As for how J.D. learned his friend had been attacked, he said, “I was in a meeting in the West Wing when those group chats started lighting up with people telling Charlie they were praying for him. And that's how I learned the news that my friend had been shot. I prayed a lot over the next hour, as first good news and then bad trickled in.”

“God didn't answer those prayers, and that's OK,” he elaborated. “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.”

“You ran a good race, my friend,” J.D. concluded. “We’ve got it from here.”

Charlie was speaking at an event at Utah Valley University when he was shot in the neck from 200 yards away. He died soon after.