Earlier, we told you about the beautifully moving tribute Vice President JD Vance posted on X in memory of his friend, Charlie Kirk. Vance credited Kirk with helping his political career take off, as well as with winning the 2024 election, calling Kirk his friend and "a good man."
Kirk was assassinated at the first stop on "The American Comeback Tour" in Orem, Utah.
Vice President Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance flew to Utah to meet with Charlie Kirk's family today. We also learned the Vances will escort Charlie Kirk's casket back to Phoenix, Arizona on Air Force Two.
WATCH:
🚨 BREAKING — Charlie Kirk's casket will be flown onboard Air Force 2 from Utah to Arizona.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 11, 2025
The sendoff he deserves. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/BRZJFBooHA
Vice President JD Vance plans to escort Charlie Kirk’s body and his wife Erika, some of their family members and close friends aboard Air Force Two to Arizona on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the arrangements.
Vance and his wife Usha traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, on Thursday to pay their respects and will continue to where Kirk lived in Phoenix. The Vances had been scheduled to attend a ceremony at Ground Zero in New York City commemorating the 24th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
The vice president was a longtime friend of Kirk and eulogized him on X hours after he died, discussing his importance to the White House and the broader MAGA movement.
“So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene,” Vance wrote. “He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”
This is just the latest in a series of heartfelt tributes to Kirk. President Trump issued a proclamation honoring Kirk and ordered flags lowered to half-staff until September 14 and also announced he will posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States.
Vigils were held across the country last night in memory of Kirk, including in Seattle.
Meanwhile, the FBI reported this morning that they have recovered a bolt-action rifle in the woods near the campus where Kirk was shot, and the agency issued photographs of a "person of interest."
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