Washington [US], September 16 : Vice President JD Vance began Monday's episode of The Charlie Kirk Show by recalling his role in the Trump-Vance campaign and crediting him with helping secure his place on the ticket.
"I owe so much to Charlie," Vance said, describing how Kirk had urged President Trump to select him as running mate. The vice president added that later in the programme he would address "this incredibly destructive movement of left-wing extremism" which he argued played a role in Kirk's assassination.
"I believe, is part of the reason why Charlie was killed by an assassin's bullet. We're going to talk about how to dismantle that and how to bring real unity, real unity that can only come when we tell the truth," Vance added, stressing that Kirk's killing must be viewed in the context of wider political violence.
Several senior figures from the Trump administration also joined the broadcast to honour Kirk's memory, including White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
Vance said multiple guests would appear on the programme to share their thoughts, describing Kirk as a close ally to President Trump and the administration.
The episode comes after Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and a prominent conservative activist, was fatally shot while hosting an event.
The alleged gunman, Tyler Robinson, was taken into custody by the FBI late Thursday evening, shortly after the incident.
Speaking to media on Sunday (local time) about Kirk, President Trump said, "We lost a great person. I'll be going on early Sunday morning. We're going to Arizona, taking some people with us, on Air Force One. Maybe you people are going to be with us, I don't know, but we're going to be going Saturday early, early on Sunday morning."
Trump had earlier blamed the "radical left" for the shooting during an address on Thursday and told NBC News on Saturday that the group obstructed efforts to unify the country.
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