Lucky Usha Vance. For if any good is to come out of the shock death of Charlie Kirk, it’s that her husband, JD Vance, has promised to honor the right-wing activist by no longer being mean to her.
The vice president’s surprise pledge to be nicer came while guest-hosting Kirk’s podcast, The Charlie Kirk Show.
Vance, 41, opened the tribute program by recounting a private moment he had with Erika Kirk—at which his own wife was present—after her husband was gunned down on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University.
Vance said Erika told him Kirk “never raised his voice… never cussed at her… never [was] mean-spirited,” adding that he himself couldn’t claim the same.
“I think that on the great balance of things, that I’m a pretty good husband,“ Vance said, before adding, ”but I can never say that I was never unpleasant with my wife. I can never say that I’ve never raised my voice to my wife.
“Like most husbands, even the good ones were sometimes imperfect.”
Usha Vance is the brilliant daughter of immigrant professionals, who was a clerk at the Supreme Court after studying at Yale and Cambridge universities. JD met her at Yale after a difficult childhood, which he drew upon for his book Hillbilly Elegy.
Kirk’s apparently peaceful relationship with his wife was a model Vance vowed to emulate in remembrance of his murdered friend.
“Maybe the best way that I can contribute, and the best way that I could honor my dear friend, is to be the best husband that I can be, to be the kind of husband to my wife that he was to his.”
But it wasn’t long before Vance pivoted Monday’s show to politics, promising to “talk about how to dismantle” what he called “left-wing extremism,” and to ensure “the killer is brought to justice.”
“We have to talk about this incredibly destructive movement of left-wing extremism that has grown up over the last few years,” he declared. “I believe is part of the reason why Charlie was killed by an assassin’s bullet.”
Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested two days after the shooting and may face a capital case, while investigators continue to probe the motive.
Robinson reportedly admitted his guilt to online friends hours before his arrest. He is expected to appear in court to face official criminal charges on Tuesday.
The Daily Beast has contacted the Office of the Vice President for comment.
