During Sunday’s memorial service honoring Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, his widow, Erika Kirk, recounted a comforting moment she shared with second lady Usha Vance shortly after his tragic death, describing Vance as a “precious woman.”

Erika Kirk expressed her feelings to Vance, revealing her uncertainty about coping with the loss of her husband and the father of their two children.

Vance provided an analogy, likening the experience to the last 15 minutes of a rough airplane journey, where a parent’s sole focus is on making it through to the landing.

The second lady “told me, you will get through these 15 minutes and the next 15 minutes after that,” Erika Kirk described. “Usha, I don’t think you realized it then, but those words were exactly what I needed to hear.” 

Vice President JD Vance also addressed the packed crowd at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, earlier in the evening, delivering a stirring tribute to his close friend.

“They tried to silence our dear friend Charlie Kirk,” JD Vance said. “And tonight, we speak with Charlie and for Charlie, louder than ever.”

The vice president praised Charlie Kirk’s unwavering defense of the family and traditional values as the foundation of a thriving society.

“Charlie brought the truth that young people deserve to stake (in) the future, and that they deserve to have a voice,” JD Vance said. 

But JD Vance stressed that Charlie Kirk’s true legacy was not just in what he said publicly, but in the life he lived daily. 

“Charlie, he did so much more than tell the truth. He lived it,” JD Vance remarked, adding that the conservative activist’s passion for history and ideas gave him a vision for America’s future. 

“In this he showed all of us how to carry on after his death,” the vice president concluded.

Charlie Kirk was a close confidant of JD Vance’s, both personally and politically.

The Turning Point USA founder was considered by JD Vance to have been pivotal in President Donald Trump’s decision to choose him as a running mate in the 2024 election.

Following Charlie Kirk’s assassination, JD Vance and Usha Vance accompanied Erika Kirk aboard Air Force Two to return his casket to Arizona.

In Salt Lake City, the vice president walked alongside the flag-draped casket of his friend as it was carried across the tarmac.

JD Vance also filled in for his “dear friend” on “The Charlie Kirk Show” where he similarly expressed his thoughts about his assassination.