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Thousands Line Up To See JD Vance, Erika Kirk Pick Up Charlie’s Mantle In Emotion-Packed Rally

by | Oct 30, 2025 | Top Ten

US-POLITICS-VANCE

(Photo  JONATHAN ERNST)

 

By Reagan Reese  Daily Caller

THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI — Seven weeks to the day since Charlie Kirk was assassinated on a college campus in Utah, Erika Kirk and Vice President JD Vance took the stage at another university, honoring the late founder of Turning Point USA in an emotional, packed rally.

Long lines of students snaked around the Sandy and John Black Pavilion arena ahead of the event, which was filled to the brim an hour before Erika Kirk took the stage. The 10,000 students in attendance donned MAGA hats, waved American flags and posters reading, “I am Charlie Kirk.” In the corner of the stage was a chair with a “freedom” t-shirt draped over it and a microphone, a tribute to Charlie, who was assassinated Sept. 10.

The students were there to see the vice president and Erika, but they were also there to memorialize Charlie and learn how they could carry on his legacy.

The new CEO of TPUSA took the stage after students sang “God Bless the USA,” wiping her eyes as a video of her late husband introducing her played. She was wearing a “freedom shirt,” the same design Charlie was wearing when he was assassinated.

As Erika gathered herself behind the lectern, a shout broke through the silent area.

“We love you!” a student in the upper seating section yelled.

Ole Miss students remained standing for the entirety of Erika’s speech, which lasted 30 minutes.

The packed stadium of 10,000 students was dead quiet, fixated on her every word. She is wearing a freedom shirt. She prayed about appearing at this stop alongside Vance, saying she heard Charlie in her heart urging her to do the campus tour, to “reclaim the territory” from the opposition.

“You guys are the heartbeat of Turning Point USA. You’re the heartbeat of this organization,” Erika told the crowd of students, switching between telling stories of her late husband and encouraging them to get involved and profess their conservative values.


“I want to encourage you, especially the students here, find your voice. You are the courageous generation. That’s what you are,” Erika told the students.

“All of you, Gen Z, you are the courageous generation. Hear me when I say that my husband believed that to his core, that’s why he went on campuses. That’s why he was trying to reach you. You are the courageous generation. Own it,” she continued.

Following her address, Erika introduced Vance, a close friend of Charlie Kirk’s who flew to comfort and support the widow and her family in wake of the TPUSA founder’s murder.

Vance’s role at the event wasn’t really to lecture the students, but was to pick up Charlie’s mic and take questions from college students who disagree with him, to debate them and hopefully change their minds, like the Turning Point Founder set out to do years ago.

The vice president first memorialized his friend, before spending a majority of his time on stage taking questions from students. The line of kids waiting to ask Vance a question never shortened in length, wrapping around the inside of the arena. The vice president continuously remarked that he would take as many as he could, returning to Washington, D.C. an hour and a half later.

Though some students asking questions voiced their support for Vance, others disagreed with the vice president or sought his explanation on various administration moves, or even his own personal beliefs.

“I can tell that most of you apparently agree with a lot of what I said and I’m sure that a lot of you disagree with some of the things I said. That’s O.K,” Vance said.

“We don’t need in our political movement people who agree with us on every single issue,” Vance continued. “What we need is people of good faith, who love the United States of America and are willing to work hard to save it.”

Students asked Vance to clarify his position on abortion, with one girl expressing that she felt the vice president had changed his stance. Another student challenged the administration’s position on Israel. The vice president was pressed on why Trump wants to primary Republican Rep. Thomas Massie. One student wanted to know how Vance raised his children in an interreligious marriage.


The vice president drew cheers, “U-S-A” chants and laughs with each answer.

Following his remarks, the arena broke out in a “48” chant, a nod at Vance potentially succeeding Trump in the White House.

“Now let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Vance laughed.

Throughout the night, Erika and Vance emphasized how Charlie’s assassin didn’t end Turning Point USA or its mission Sept. 10. The arena was one example. And the students who lined up in droves to hear how they could continue on the mission of Charlie Kirk were another.

“I think one of the critical lessons of Charlie Kirk’s life to his dying breath, this was a man who never lost hope in his Creator and never lost hope in the United States of America,” the vice president said to cheers. “So let’s remember that and carry that forward.”

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