Vice President JD Vance will fly with the casket carrying Charlie Kirk‘s body on Air Force Two from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Phoenix, Arizona, later Thursday.
Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, will also meet with Kirk’s family and close friends in Salt Lake City. They will then travel to Phoenix with the vice president, the Washington Examiner confirmed.
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Kirk was assassinated during an event at Utah Valley University. He leaves behind his wife and two young children.
The vice president traveled to Salt Lake City on Thursday after canceling his plans to attend a 9/11 event in New York City.
CHARLIE KIRK SHOT DEAD: TURNING POINT USA FOUNDED FUELED TRUMP’S RISE THROUGH ‘COMMON SENSE’ MESSAGING
Vance, who was acquainted with Kirk, posted a lengthy tribute to the Turning Point USA co-founder on social media hours after his death.
“I was in a meeting in the West Wing when those group chats started lighting up with people telling Charlie they were praying for him,” the vice president wrote on X. “And that’s how I learned the news that my friend had been shot. I prayed a lot over the next hour, as first good news and then bad trickled in.”
“God didn’t answer those prayers, and that’s OK. He had other plans. And now that Charlie is in heaven, I’ll ask him to talk to big man directly on behalf of his family, his friends, and the country he loved so dearly,” he continued. “You ran a good race, my friend. We’ve got it from here.”
VANCE PAYS TRIBUTE TO ‘TRUE FRIEND’ CHARLIE KIRK AND CANCELS 9/11 TRIP TO FLY TO UTAH
President Donald Trump also honored Kirk in numerous messages. On Thursday morning, he announced that Kirk would be awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
The manhunt remains ongoing for the unidentified gunman responsible for Kirk’s death. The FBI asked the public for tips on information regarding his identity and offered a $100,000 cash reward to anyone who could provide information leading to the suspect’s arrest.