Vance Says 'Left-Wing Extremism' Must Be Dismantled After Kirk Death While Hosting Podcast From VP Office

Topline

Vice President JD Vance cast blame on “left-wing extremism” Monday for Charlie Kirk’s death, doubling down on a divisive narrative President Donald Trump and his allies have fueled without clear or public evidence, while hosting Kirk’s podcast from his VP office.

US Vice President JD Vance hosts an episode of the Charlie Kirk Show in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington, DC, on September 15, 2025.(Photo by DOUG MILLS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

Vance, while hosting the slain conservative influencer’s podcast, “The Charlie Kirk Show,” from his ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, opened the show by denouncing what he called “this incredibly destructive movement of left-wing extremism that has grown up over the last few years and I believe is part of the reason why Charlie Kirk was killed.”

“We’re going to talk about how to dismantle that,” he said.

Trump has repeatedly attributed Kirk’s death to “radicals on the left,” despite some in his own party calling on him to tone down the rhetoric, with the president telling reporters Sunday “you look at the scum that speaks so badly of our country, the American flag burning all over the place, that’s the left. That’s not the right.”

When asked if he would investigate left-wing groups, Trump said, “we’ll see,” and added that “a lot of the people that you would traditionally say are on the left, they’re already under investigation.”

Other Republicans, however, have called for unity in rejecting political violence regardless of the perpetrators’ ideological leanings, with Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., telling CNN on Sunday, “When there is a fire, you pour water on it, not gasoline,” while Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, told ABC, “To me, this is not right. This is not left. We’re talking about radicals. That’s where we need to put our attention.”

Tangent

Vance, who was a close friend of Kirk’s, interviewed multiple federal government officials during the program, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, who vowed to use “every resource” of the federal government to “dismantle and destroy” what he referred to as a “vast domestic terrorist network,” without explaining who he was referring to or what evidence he had. Tucker Carlson was also a guest.

Key Background

While Trump and many in his MAGA base have claimed the left is a more prominent source of political violence, Democrats have also been targets in multiple high-profile recent incidents. Democratic Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in June by a gunman who kept a hit list that included other Democrats and abortion-rights advocates. Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s, D-Calif., husband, Paul, was also attacked in 2022 by a hammer-wielding suspect radicalized by right-wing conspiracy theories, including QAnon, and Trump supporters stormed the capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after the president falsely claimed he was the true winner of the 2020 election. At least 140 police officers were injured and four Trump supporters in the crowd died that day.

What Do We Know About Kirk Suspect Tyler Robinson?

There are signs Tyler Robinson, 22, was influenced by internet gaming culture in recent years, authorities have said, though his specific political affiliations are murky. Casings left with a gun uncovered at the scene were inscribed with “Hey fascist! Catch!” according to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, and he reportedly told family members he “didn’t like” Kirk in the lead-up to the shooting. Robinson lived with a “boyfriend who is transitioning from male to female” in Washington County, Utah, about 260 miles from the shooting location, according to Cox. Voter records suggest Robinson did not vote in the 2024 presidential election, according to The New York Times. Robinson was taken into custody Thursday, more than 24 hours after Kirk, 31, was shot while speaking at a Utah Valley University event Wednesday afternoon. He is being held on initial charges of aggravated murder, federal discharge of a firearm and obstruction of justice, CNN reported, citing a local police source. He is expected to be formally charged Tuesday.