Vice President JD Vance has withdrawn from a scheduled Turning Point USA (TPUSA) event alongside Erika Kirk, weeks after she left him alone on stage at a similar gathering in Georgia. TPUSA confirmed to The Daily Beast that Kirk, the widow of TPUSA co-founder Charlie Kirk, will now appear solo at Iowa State University on Thursday.
Background of the Incident
The cancellation comes after an embarrassing experience for Vance at the University of Georgia, where he faced heckling while addressing a largely empty arena. Kirk had pulled out of that event at the last minute, citing security concerns. In a post on social media, she explained, 'I was so looking forward to tonight’s event at the @universityofga with our Vice President @JDVance, but after all our family has been through, I take my security team’s recommendations extremely seriously.'
Vance's Response
Vance acknowledged her concerns during the Georgia event, telling the sparse audience, 'I love Erika, and I know that she did get some threats.' He added, 'About two hours ago... I was a little worried that we were going to have to cancel the event because Erika was not going to come, and she was very worried about it.'
The Georgia event also saw Vance confronted by a heckler who shouted, 'Jesus Christ does not support genocide,' referencing the ongoing war in Iran. Vance replied, 'Yes, I agree, Jesus Christ certainly does not support genocide... I think that’s a pretty easy principle,' before the heckler retorted, 'You’re killing children, you’re bombing children!'
Recent Security Concerns
Thursday’s event follows the attempted assassination of Donald Trump and other administration officials during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C. Both Vance and Kirk were present; footage shows Vance being escorted off the dais by Secret Service agents after gunfire erupted, while Kirk was led away appearing distraught.
Kirk later wrote, 'Saturday was yet another traumatic example of the evil in our country and the continued rise in political violence. I’m taking time to spend with my family.'
Clarification on Cancellation
The Independent has contacted the White House and TPUSA for comment on whether Vance’s absence is linked to the recent attack. However, a TPUSA spokesperson told CBS News that the cancellation is unrelated to security concerns. 'To be clear, this is not due to security concerns related to recent events. This is simply a matter of scheduling conflicts,' the spokesperson stated.
