{"id":32159,"date":"2026-06-16T16:22:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T20:22:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=32159"},"modified":"2026-06-16T16:22:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T20:22:38","slug":"what-jd-vance-learned-about-fatherhood-and-faith-from-charlie-kirk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/06\/what-jd-vance-learned-about-fatherhood-and-faith-from-charlie-kirk","title":{"rendered":"What JD Vance Learned About Fatherhood and Faith From Charlie Kirk"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Gage Skidmore \/ Flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vice President JD Vance is opening up about the deep personal lessons he learned from late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, sharing how his friend\u2019s faith, family life and tragic death reshaped the way he thinks about fatherhood and the Christian life.<\/p>\n

In an excerpt from his upcoming book Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith<\/em>, published by The Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/a> ahead of the book\u2019s June 16 release, Vance reflected on the aftermath of Kirk\u2019s assassination last September and the emotional conversations he had with Kirk\u2019s widow, Erika.<\/p>\n

Kirk was killed during an event at Utah Valley University, and Vance traveled to Utah shortly afterward to comfort the grieving family. According to Vance, Erika\u2019s greatest concern in those heartbreaking moments was not her husband\u2019s political influence or public platform \u2014 it was her children.<\/p>\n

\u201cErika\u2019s thoughts kept returning to her kids,\u201d Vance wrote, noting she worried her children \u201cwould have few, if any, personal memories of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vice president said the moment forced him to reevaluate what truly matters in life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized that in such moments, everything worldly we value fades to nothing,\u201d Vance wrote. \u201cErika didn\u2019t care that her husband was politically influential or had the president\u2019s ear. She cared about her babies and the fact that an assassin had stolen Charlie from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vance also shared how Erika\u2019s description of her husband convicted him personally. She reportedly told him that Kirk \u201cnever yelled, cursed or lost his temper\u201d with her or their children.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the impromptu eulogy of her deceased husband, Erika convicted me,\u201d Vance admitted. \u201cHad I ever yelled or lost my temper with the kids? Indeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The experience led him to think deeply about the kind of legacy he is leaving behind for his own family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found myself wondering what my wife and kids would say about me if an assassin took my life,\u201d he wrote. \u201cMostly good things, I thought. But none of them will care that I was the vice president.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vance also revealed that the tragedy unexpectedly impacted his own growing family. He shared that his wife, Usha, had long resisted having another child as public life brought increased scrutiny and pressure. But after Kirk\u2019s death, something changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot long after we buried my friend, she became pregnant with our fourth child, a boy,\u201d Vance wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne life was stolen from us, but another was given,\u201d he continued. \u201cI don\u2019t know why God does things like this. But I am grateful to Him that there will soon be another source of joy in our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vice president, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, also praised Kirk\u2019s Protestant faith and said their friendship helped him appreciate the broader body of Christ.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take from Charlie a certain charity about the body of Christ,\u201d Vance wrote. \u201cThere are things we Catholics can learn from Protestants, and vice versa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calling Kirk \u201can amazing example of Christian charity,\u201d Vance stressed the unity believers share despite their differences.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Christians, we are all, together, part of the same Church,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

Vance also recalled a private conversation with Kirk during the 2024 presidential campaign when he admitted his young son was struggling with the sudden spotlight and media attention surrounding the family.<\/p>\n

\u201cDad, I just want everyone to go back to treating us like they used to,\u201d Vance remembered his son saying.<\/p>\n

Rather than dismissing the hardship, Kirk encouraged him to acknowledge it honestly.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust try to take some solace in the fact that it\u2019s a worthy sacrifice,\u201d Kirk told him, later promising to pray for the family.<\/p>\n

According to Vance, that advice helped his son slowly adjust to their new reality \u2014 one more example, he said, of the lasting wisdom his late friend left behind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vice President JD Vance is opening up about the deep personal lessons he learned from late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, sharing how his friend\u2019s faith, family life and tragic death reshaped the way he thinks about fatherhood and the Christian life. In an excerpt from his upcoming book Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":462,"featured_media":32162,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat JD Vance Learned About Fatherhood and Faith From Charlie Kirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"JD Vance shares how Charlie Kirk\u2019s faith, fatherhood and tragic death reshaped his view of family, sacrifice and Christianity.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/06\/what-jd-vance-learned-about-fatherhood-and-faith-from-charlie-kirk\" \/>\n<meta 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