Sources familiar with the plans confirmed them to Breitbart News. The Vances visited with Kirk’s family in Utah on Thursday ahead of the flight to Phoenix.
Vance issued a touching tribute to Kirk on X Wednesday night, reminiscing on their nearly decade-long friendship.
“He wasn’t just a thinker, he was a doer, turning big ideas into bigger events with thousands of activists. And after every event, he would give me a big hug, tell me he was praying for me, and ask me what he could do. ‘You focus on Wisconsin,’ he’d tell me. ‘Arizona is in the bag.’ And it was,” Vance wrote, referring to the 2024 presidential campaign.
He underscored Kirk’s strong faith in Jesus Christ while recalling their good-spirited denominational debates.
“Charlie genuinely believed in and loved Jesus Christ. He had a profound faith. We used to argue about Catholicism and Protestantism and who was right about minor doctrinal questions. Because he loved God, he wanted to understand him,” Vance said.
He also noted that Kirk died while doing what he loved to do, engaging in an open debate about ideas:
Someone else pointed out that Charlie died doing what he loved: discussing ideas. He would go into these hostile crowds and answer their questions. If it was a friendly crowd, and a progressive asked a question to jeers from the audience, he’d encourage his fans to calm down and let everyone speak. He exemplified a foundational virtue of our Republic: the willingness to speak openly and debate ideas.
President Donald Trump announced earlier Thursday that he will be honoring Kirk posthumously with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor.
“Our prayers are with his wonderful wife, Erika, and his beautiful children, fantastic people they are. We miss him greatly, yet I have no doubt that Charlie’s voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on,” he said.
“I’m pleased to announce that I will soon be awarding Charlie Kirk posthumously the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The date of the ceremony will be announced, and I can only guarantee you one thing: that we will have a very big crowd, very, very big,” he added.
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