Vice President J.D. Vance stepped up his divisive rhetoric after the killing of Charlie Kirk as he hosted the late conservative activist’s radio show and podcast.
Vance took over the Charlie Kirk Show from the White House on Monday, and administration officials who knew Kirk, who was on the two-hour show, repeatedly called for compensation.
Among the guests was White House counsel Stephen Miller , who vowed to direct “righteous anger” at “left-wing organizations” following Kirk’s death.
The vice president continued in a similar vein during his exit monologue, where he made claims about left-wing violence and implied, without evidence, that Kirk’s killer was motivated by far-reaching ideology.
In a sign that the Trump administration is preparing for a crackdown on liberal and leftist groups, Vance said unity in America will only emerge “when we work to dismantle the institutions that fuel violence and terrorism in our own country.”
Among the many remarks made, Vance falsely claimed that it was a fact that “people on the left are much more likely to defend and celebrate political violence.”
“This is not a problem for both sides. If both sides have a problem, one side has a much bigger and more malignant problem, and that’s the truth,” he said.
He went on to argue that “while our aisle certainly has its lunatics, it is a statistical fact that the vast majority of lunatics in American politics today are proud members of the left.”
Vance also attacked the progressive magazine The Nation and accused it of misrepresenting Kirk.
He blasted “the well-funded, well-respected magazine, whose publishing history goes back to the American Civil War. George Soros’ Open Society [Foundations] funds this magazine, as do the Ford Foundation and many other wealthy titans of the American progressive movement.”
“Charlie was shot in broad daylight, and the well-funded leftist institutions lied about what he said to justify their murder,” Vance claimed.
Vance noted the Ford Foundation and a nonprofit run by Democratic mega-donor Soros receive “generous tax treatment,” suggesting they could be targeted for any crackdown.
Bhaskar Sonkara, the nation’s president, made it clear to the Journal that “Soros or the Open Society Foundations have not funded it, not a single dime.”
On his show, Vance also asked his followers to identify anyone who was happy about Kirk’s death so they could be fired.
“When you see someone celebrating Charlie’s murder, call them out and hell, call their employer,” he told The Local. “We don’t believe in political violence, but we believe in citizenship.”
Earlier in the show, Trump aide Miller vowed to “use all of our resources” to “identify, disrupt, dismantle and destroy” left-wing networks and “make America safe again for the American people.”
“It will happen, and we will do it in Charlie’s name,” he added.
