After Erika Kirk's Embrace With JD Vance, Folks Are Wondering If She Flew on Air Force 2

Folks want to know if the widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, Erika Kirk, flew on Air Force 2. The question arose after Vice President JD Vance spoke at an event for the right-wing organization at the University of Mississippi, and he and Kirk shared an embrace.

Images of Kirk and the vice president hugging at the event on Oct. 29, 2025, had people speculating about their relationship. Kirk was seen caressing the back of Vance's head during their hug onstage at the event, and the moment went viral. Kirk was also wearing very tight black leather pants at the event and made a strange comment about Vance, which didn't help the speculation, and people wondered if she flew home with the vice president on Air Force 2 following the event.

No, it does not seem that Erika flew with the vice president to or from the University of Mississippi on Air Force 2, per the Hindustan Times. The Second Lady, Usha Vance, was seen boarding Air Force 2 with her husband at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, before the event. JD and Usha were also seen leaving Oxford, Miss., on Air Force 2, and Erika was not seen boarding the plane with them.

However, Kirk was on Air Force 2 on Sept. 10, the day her husband was murdered. Charlie Kirk was shot to death in Orem, Utah, while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University about gun violence. His body was flown home on Air Force 2, and his casket was accompanied by his wife and the vice president, per The New York Post.

Speculation about Erika and the vice president began after their hug at the event in Mississippi. The widow also used some language that helped to fuel the rumor that they were romantically involved.

"No one will ever replace my husband. No. But I do see some similarities of my husband in JD, in Vice President JD Vance. I do," she said.

JD also made some comments at the Turning Point USA event that had folks scratching their heads. The vice president made a comment about hoping his Hindu wife would convert to Christianity, and people quickly began speculating that he was going to divorce her and marry Erika.

"Now, most Sundays, Usha will come with me to church," he said. "As I've told her, and I've said publicly, and I'll say now in front of 10,000 of my closest friends — do I hope eventually that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved by in church? Yeah, I honestly do wish that because I believe in the Christian Gospel, and I hope eventually my wife comes to see it the same way."

"If she doesn’t, then God says everybody has free will, so that doesn’t cause a problem for me," he added. "That’s something you work out.”