Erika Kirk, the widow of slain Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, has come forward with her own account of the moment that set social media on fire: her “super-intimate” onstage hug with Vice President JD Vance.
The embrace took place on October 29, only seven weeks after Charlie’s assassination.
Erika had stepped into her new role as CEO of TPUSA and opened the event with a tribute to her husband before inviting Vance on stage.
“No one will ever replace my husband,” she told the crowd. “But I do see some similarities of my husband in JD… Vice President JD Vance. I do. And that’s why I am so blessed to be able to introduce him tonight.”
When Vance walked out, the two shared a tight, emotional hug that immediately set the gears of conspiracy theorists turning.
Erika Kirk addressed the rumors about her hug with Vice President JD Vance
Image credits: Flickr/Gage Skidmore
Erika placed her hand behind his head, and he rested his hands briefly on her waist. The moment went viral instantly, with users dissecting screenshots and arguing over whether the greeting was appropriate for a grieving widow and a married vice president.
Despite having previously talked about the incident, Erika decided to comment on the hug once again.
Image credits: Getty/Brad Vest
Addressing the controversy last Saturday (November 22) during a sit-down with Megyn Kelly in Phoenix, Erika said she was stunned by the level of scrutiny.
Image credits: Getty/Pool
“My love language is touch, if you will,” she told the crowd at the Desert Diamond Arena, the same venue where Charlie’s memorial service had been held two months earlier.
Image credits: Getty/Anna Moneymaker
“They just played the emotional video. I’m walking over, [JD] is walking over. I’m starting to cry,” she said. “He says, ‘I’m so proud of you.’ And I say, ‘God bless you,’ and I touch the back of his head.”
Image credits: Fox News
She explained that the gesture was not unique to Vance.
“Anyone whom I have hugged, that I have touched the back of your head when I hug you, I always say, ‘God bless you.’”
Megyn Kelly reacted with a laugh.
“They were acting like you touched the back of his a*s.”
Erika agreed.
“I feel like I wouldn’t get as much hate if I did that.”
Kirk’s detractors kept pushing the rumors forward, unaffected by anything the people involved had to say
Image credits: RavenBeaumSki
The rumors intensified when Erika appeared at the swearing-in of Sergio Gor, the new US Ambassador to India, just over a week after her hug with Vance.
Image credits: Flickr/Gage Skidmore
Cameras captured her embracing Gor the same way, her hand again placed behind his head. The images circulated quickly as proof that her gesture with Vance was habitual.
This only fed a second wave of commentary online.
Image credits: Flickr/Gage Skidmore
“Her embrace seemed inappropriate given that he is married. It’s important to maintain respectful distance,” a reader wrote.
“Hahaha! Jeffry Epstein’s ‘love language was touch’ too. Sorry girl,” another said.
“Has anyone ever seen a newly young widow dressed so provocatively on a public stage while giving a married man a full frontal tight hug?” a viewer asked.
The rumors were made worse by a photo of JD Vance’s wife, Usha, taken without her wedding ring
Image credits: Flickr/Gage Skidmore
The timing of the chatter collided with a separate discussion when JD Vance’s wife, Usha, was photographed without her wedding ring during a visit to Camp Lejeune on November 19.
Image credits: Getty/Anna Moneymaker
In the span of hours, screenshots traveled from one platform to another. Posts speculated about her marriage, her state of mind, and her role in the vice president’s life.
Netizens replied with comments filled with words like “infidelity” and “divorce.”
Image credits: vp
The appearance forced an official response from a spokesperson for the Second Lady.
”Usha is a mother of three young children, who does a lot of dishes, gives lots of baths, and forgets her ring sometimes,” they told People Magazine.
Image credits: vp
By then, both narratives had merged into one broad storyline that seemed to suggest Vance was cheating on his wife with Kirk, with the only proof being one ringless appearance by Usha—and a hug.
Image credits: Flickr/Gage Skidmore
More neutral netizens reacted with disgust, expressing their disappointment at what they saw as a carousel of commentary that treated both women as characters in a telenovela rather than people.
“We have to dissect a hug now? C’mon guys,” a user wrote.
“There was nothing wrong with that hug. Some of you haven’t gone through losing your hubby. I have! To say bad remarks at a time like this shows much disrespect,” another added.
“JD is her ticket.” Kirk’s detractors kept sharing new rumors about the hug
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