Erika Kirk, the chairwoman and CEO of Turning Point USA, recently pulled out of an event with Vice President JD Vance, citing “very serious threats.” Her spokesman, Andrew Kolvet, announced her withdrawal to the crowd, at the Akins Ford Arena in Athens, Georgia. Kirk was originally scheduled to interview Vance on stage at the University of Georgia event.
Kolvet told the audience that Kirk had “received some very serious threats,” calling it “a terrible reflection on the state of reality and the state of the country.” Kirk later confirmed this on X, writing, “I was so looking forward to tonight’s event at the [University of Georgia] with our Vice President [JD Vance], but after all our family has been through, I take my security team’s recommendations extremely seriously.”
Vance, who was present at the event, acknowledged the threats and said Kirk was “worried.” According to Unilad, he considered cancelling his own appearance but decided to continue after consulting with the Secret Service. He said, “You know what? Let’s let Erika do what she needs to do for herself and her family, I’m sure Andrew will fill in, and let’s go and make this an amazing event.”
Candace Owens accused Kirk of lying about the threats, pointing to the arena’s visibly poor turnout as evidence
According to The Independent, right-wing commentator Candace Owens quickly pushed back, claiming Kirk actually pulled out due to poor ticket sales. “This is exhausting,” Owens wrote on X. “You pulled out because of bad ticket sales…Were there actually a viable threat, the Vice President would not have continued the event.”
Videos and photos circulating on social media showed large sections of the 8,500-person capacity arena empty. The backdrop to Kirk’s withdrawal is the death of her husband, conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot last September at age 31 while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. Erika Kirk took over the leadership of Turning Point USA after his death and has since faced significant criticism online for her public activities.
Vance strongly defended Erika Kirk at the Georgia event, calling the attacks against her “preposterous” and “disgusting.” He said, “Everybody is attacking her over everything, and they’re lying about her, and it’s one of the most disgraceful things that I’ve ever seen in public life.” He added, “The people telling you that Erika wasn’t grieving her husband are full of st.”
Kolvet also said threats against Kirk are taken “extremely seriously” because she “has to live with this constant reality that her kids are one parent away from being orphans.” There has also been public speculation about the relationship between Vance and Erika Kirk, particularly after the two shared a hug on stage at a Turning Point event in Mississippi last October.
Kirk said she saw “similarities” between Vance and her late husband. Vance’s wife, Usha Vance, dismissed the speculation as a “fever dream” created by the media, saying, “I’d rather just sort of live in my marriage and in the real world.” Kirk also downplayed it, telling podcaster Megyn Kelly, “My love language is touch, if you will. Whoever is hating on a hug needs a hug themselves.”
Beyond the controversy over Kirk’s absence, Vance also addressed his disagreement with the Pope at the event, who had criticized the administration over the ongoing Iran war, stating that “God does not bless any conflict.” Vance, a Catholic himself, respectfully disagreed, saying, “I like that the pope is an advocate for peace. That’s certainly one of his roles.
On the other hand, how can you say that God is never on the side of those who wield the sword?” He argued this contradicts “more than 1,000 years” of Christian just war theory, citing American soldiers fighting Nazis in WWII as an example. Vance had previously returned from Iran nuclear talks in Pakistan without a deal, leaving questions about what comes next.
During his speech, a heckler criticized Vance over Israel’s war in Gaza, yelling, “You’re killing children!” Vance responded by taking credit for ending the conflict, saying, “We’re the administration that solved that problem,” and adding, “Right now, you see more humanitarian aid coming into Gaza than at any time in the last five years.”
While Vance was scrambling for an Iran deal in Islamabad, Trump was notably absent from the effort. He also pushed back on predictions that Republicans would lose the House in the 2026 midterms, calling such claims “cynical, pessimistic garbage pushed by people who want us to completely give up.”
Published: Apr 15, 2026 02:45 pm