Vance Promises Crackdown on Liberal Groups During Takeover of ‘The Charlie Kirk Show’

Vice President JD Vance hosted a live, two-hour White House takeover of ‘The Charlie Kirk Show’ on Monday, using the occasion to mourn the conservative activist and lash out at the Democrats he said he believes are responsible for the assassination of his friend.

After a who’s who of senior White House staff stopped by the show to pay their respects, Vance shifted tone and suggested that the Trump administration was planning a widespread crackdown on left-wing advocacy groups and media organizations following Kirk’s death.

“There is no unity with the people who celebrate Charlie Kirk’s assassination, and there is no unity with the people who fund these articles, who pay the salaries of these terrorist sympathizers who argue that Charlie Kirk, a loving husband and father, deserved a shot to the neck because he spoke words with which they disagree,” Vance said, specifically mentioning the George Soros-founded Open Society Foundations and the Ford Foundation as likely targets.

“We can only have [unity] with people who acknowledge that political violence is unacceptable and when we work to dismantle the institutions that promote violence and terrorism in our own country,” he added.

Kirk, 31, was killed Wednesday while speaking at an event hosted by the political organization he founded, Turning Point USA, at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Authorities identified and arrested the alleged shooter, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, two days later.

Broadcasting live to around 260,000 viewers Monday, Vance’s guests included deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The group widely credited Kirk for helping President Donald Trump win the 2024 election through his youth organizing, calling the effort “inspiring.”

“The president has said it himself, the president’s massive gains with young Americans across the country was in no small part because of the efforts of Charlie Kirk,” Leavitt said on Monday. “Just watching Charlie from a distance was so inspiring to me as a young conservative woman.”

Following two hours of friendly interviews with White House officials about their fond memories of Kirk, Vance took a much sharper tone, blaming Democrats for the environment that led to Kirk’s death. Miller agreed, promising to use the full weight of the federal government against Democrats and liberal groups.

“With God as my witness, we are going to use every resource we have at the Department of Justice, Homeland Security and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, eliminate and destroy this network and make America safe again for the American people,” Miller said.

Vance also blamed the opposition party for normalizing political violence, citing a survey from U.K. polling firm YouGov that found 26% of young liberals say political violence is sometimes justified, compared to 7% of young conservatives.

“The data is clear, people on the left are much likelier to defend and celebrate political violence,” Vance said. “While our side of the aisle certainly has its crazies, it is a statistical fact that most of the lunatics in American politics today are proud members of the far left.”

“This is not a ‘both sides’ problem. If both sides have a problem, one side has a much bigger and malignant problem, and that is the truth we must be told,” the vice president continued. “These people are creating an environment where things like this are inevitably going to happen.”

Charlie Kirk speaks moments before he is shot during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)

Minutes earlier, RFK Jr. noted that “ironically,” Kirk wouldn’t have supported the current crackdown on Americans’ First Amendment rights.

“I think Charlie would revolt against that because he hated censorship,” Kennedy said. “He said the answer is conversation and dialogue, and we need to learn to do that if our democracy is going to survive. If we’re going to survive, we need to talk to each other even though all these things are telling us not to.”

“Yes, yes,” Vance agreed.

But as he concluded the episode, Vance argued against Kennedy’s point and encouraged supporters to continue calling out those “celebrating” political violence.

“When you see someone celebrating Charlie’s murder, call them out, call their employer,” Vance said. “We don’t believe in political violence, but we do believe in civility, and there is no civility in the celebration of political assassination.”

Since Kirk’s death, across the public and private sectors, employees are losing their jobs for posting inflammatory remarks about Kirk’s death — including a Washington Post columnist, multiple university professors, an Office Depot employee, and employees at major corporations including Nasdaq and Delta Airlines. Federal employees across agencies are being warned the Trump administration is “tracking” social media posts.

Monday’s episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show” marks the second posted since his death. Over the weekend, Erika Kirk delivered a 17-minute address behind a lectern beside her husband’s desk.

“To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die. It won’t, I refuse to let that happen. … All of us will refuse to let that happen,” Erika Kirk said. “No one will ever forget my husband’s name, and I will make sure of it.”

Monday’s show is just the latest display of public mourning from the White House, where many staffers knew Kirk personally. Trump has said he plans to attend Kirk’s funeral this weekend in Arizona.

Wrapping up Monday’s episode, Vance said he is “desperate” for the country to unify around Kirk’s death, but said a purge of liberal groups is needed before the country can properly heal.

“Our government, you heard me talk to Stephen Miller about this, will be working very hard to do exactly that in the months to come,” Vance said. “We’re not always going to get it right. We will sometimes move more slowly than you would like. We will sometimes move more slowly than I want us to, but I promise you that we will explore every option to bring real unity to our country and stop those who would kill their fellow Americans because they don’t like what they say.”