After conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s murder, his widow Erika Kirk‘s every move has turned into a headline. Unfortunately, her hug with Vice President JD Vance at a Turning Point event a month ago, invited more attention than it warranted.
On Oct. 29, JD Vance attended a Turning Point event as a guest of honor at the University of Mississippi. But when Erika Kirk invited him on stage, their warm embrace went viral. It was deemed a little too intimate by people online, who were also taken aback by Erika’s choice of words to introduce JD. “No one will ever replace my husband. But I do see some similarities of my husband in JD,” she said.
The 5-second clip caused outrageous rumors to fly around, including speculations of an affair between Erika and JD. There was, obviously, no ground for these rumors. But JD’s speech during the same event about his wife of 11 years fueled the fire. While speaking about his faith, the VP accidentally gave the impression that he wants Usha to convert to Christianity.
Erika Kirk addresses the hug with JD Vance
JD, Erika, and Usha have become a hot topic of discussion since then. But Erika finally decided to address the controversial hug and clear the air on what really happened. During an interview with Megyn Kelly in Arizona on Nov. 24, she expressed her frustration. “Whoever is hating on a hug needs a hug themselves,” she said. “I will give you a free hug anytime you want a hug,” she told the audience.
The crowd soon erupted into cheers at Erika’s words. Despite the rumors being disrespectful to her, she decided to address them calmly and kindly. The screen behind then displayed pictures of her controversial hug with JD, while she declared, “My love language is touch.” Diving straight into the matter, she decided to give the audience “a play-by-play” of the hug:
“They just played the emotional video. I’m walking over, he’s walking over. I’m starting to cry, he says, ‘He’s so proud of you.’ And I say, ‘God bless you,’ and I touch the back of his head.”
Erika claimed that’s her signature hugging style
Erika then clarified that whenever she hugs and touches the back of someone’s head, she always says “God bless you.” She asserted that it’s simply her way of hugging and showing affection, and it was taken out of context. She simply dismissed people making anything out of her hug with JD, saying, “That, to me, shows that you need a hug more than anyone else.”
To lighten up the mood, Kelly then joked, “They were acting like you touched the back of his ass.” To which Erika wittingly replied, “I feel like I wouldn’t get as much hate if I did that.” She also revealed how the ordeal has made her cautious while hugging people now. “Now when I go and hug people,” she said, “I’ll bring them back in and be like, I obviously didn’t give you the right hug.”
Erika’s explanation has finally cleared all rumors
Erika’s explanation came just a day after Second Lady Usha Vance’s pictures went viral, showing her without a wedding ring. They were taken on Nov. 19 at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, where she went for an event with First Lady Melania Trump. While many took Usha’s bare fingers as a hint at trouble in marriage with JD, her spokesperson dismissed the rumors.
“Usha is a mother of three young children, who does a lot of dishes, gives lots of baths, and forgets her ring sometimes,” her spokesperson told PEOPLE. With Erika’s words on record, too, the outrageous rumors about her and JD might end for good.
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