By Mike Bedigan

Copyright independent

JD Vance hailed Charlie Kirk as “the smartest political operative I ever met,” as he hosted his podcast, “The Charlie Kirk Show”, from the White House in honor of the conservative commentator who was shot dead last week.

The vice president called Kirk a “joyful warrior for our country,” and partially blamed his assassination on an “incredibly destructive movement of left wing extremism” that he said had grown within the U.S. over the past few years.

Vance hosted the show at noon Monday on X and Rumble, less than one week after Kirk, 31, was shot dead during a college campus visit in Utah. Suspect Tyler Robinson has been charged with murder though authorities are still searching for a motive.

A montage of clips of Kirk speaking at various events, and pictures of him with his family and members of the Trump administration including Vance and Donald Trump, played before the vice president went live.

White text on a black background read: “Dear Charlie, thank you.”

“Hey everybody, JD Vance here, live from my office in the White House and filling in for somebody who cannot be filled in for but I’m going to try to do my best,” the vice president said at the top of the show. “Every single person in this building, we owe something to Charlie. He was a joyful warrior for our country. He loved America. He devoted himself tirelessly to making our country a better place.

“He was a critical part of getting Donald Trump elected as president, getting me elected as vice president, and so much of our success over the last seven months is due to his efforts, his staffing, his support and his friendship.

“I don’t think that I’m alone in saying that Charlie was the smartest political operative I ever met.”

Vance has previously described Kirk as a long-term friend and someone who supported him closely in his push to become Trump’s running mate ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

The vice president and his wife, Usha Vance, accompanied his casket on Air Force Two as it was taken from Salt Lake City back to Phoenix last Thursday, a day after Kirk’s assassination. Right-wing advocacy group Turning Point USA, which was founded by Kirk, is due to hold a memorial service for him at State Farm Stadium in Glendale Arizona on Sunday.

Discussing the arrest of murder suspect Tyler Robinson, Vance noted it was important he be brought to justice, but added: “We have to talk about this incredibly destructive movement of left wing extremism that has grown up over the last few years and, 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. And everybody knows that they can speak their mind about the issues of the day without being cut down by a murderer’s gun.”

Vance’s tribute also comes after other members of the Trump administration paid tribute to Kirk at a memorial service Sunday. Speakers included House Speaker Mike Johnson, Intelligence boss Tulsi Gabbard, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, and Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr., who described Kirk as his “spiritual brother.”

Memorials to the MAGA broadcaster have also been set up in Washington, D.C., Phoenix, Arizona, and Utah Valley University, with U.S. flags, flowers, and letters laid in tribute.