JD Vance went into confessional mode. “I was telling somebody backstage that I always felt a little uncomfortable talking about my faith in public,” he said. “As much as I love the Lord, and as much as it was an important part of my life, I have talked more about Jesus Christ in the past two weeks than I have my entire time in public life.”
The crowd at rightwing political activist Charlie Kirk’s memorial service at a football stadium in Glendale, Arizona on Sunday rose to its feet and roared its approval.
The apparent ad lib by the US vice-president showed his ability to read the room. The service had put Kirk’s Christian faith front and centre. Vance’s moment of self-revelation could also have political utility if and when he runs to succeed Donald Trump as president in 2028.
Trump, a thrice-married New Yorker with little knowledge of scripture, secured the evangelical vote with promises that included a pliant supreme court. Candidate Vance would have to win them all over again, and knows the new generation of young Christians who idolised Kirk would be a good start.
The 41-year-old former Ohio senator has already taken a lead role in mobilising Kirk’s online army at Turning Point USA, likely to be a crucial part of the next Republican electoral coalition, and seeking to claim his mantle as “youth whisperer”.
After Kirk was shot dead at an event in Utah, Vance posted a heartfelt tribute on social media, describing him as “true friend” who had advocated for him to be Trump’s running mate.
He personally escorted Kirk’s casket from Utah to Arizona on the vice presidential plane Air Force Two. After disembarking, his wife Usha held hands with Kirk’s widow Erika – both dressed in all black and wearing sunglasses – as Vance followed dutifully behind.
Vance then guest-hosted Kirk’s podcast from his ceremonial office and demanded that anyone caught celebrating the murder be named and shamed. “Hell, call their employer,” he said.
Some of this may be the genuine response of a friend. But it is also impossible to ignore Vance’s ruthless ambition. The author of Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, drawing on his upbringing in Ohio and Kentucky, only joined the Senate in 2023 and is now vice-president.
In her new book, 107 Days, former Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris described Vance as a “shape-shifter” and “a shifty guy” who, in last year’s vice presidential debate against Tim Walz, “sane-washed the crazy” and played the role of “a mild-mannered, aw-shucks Appalachian”.
Vance’s presidential campaign for 2028 is already said to be in “soft launch” mode as he positions himself as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. He has reportedly expressed a desire for Susie Wiles, the White House of chief staff, to manage his potential campaign.
His most overt move came in March, when he was appointed finance chair of the Republican National Committee – a role unprecedented for a sitting vice-president. It positions him at the nexus of Republican money, allowing frequent interactions with mega-donors.
Vance has methodically built a profile that blends Trump’s populist bombast with a sharper focus on economic nationalism and cultural warfare. Vance is sceptical of foreign intervention in Ukraine and elsewhere. He bared his teeth in February when, sitting in the Oval Office, he berated Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for showing insufficient gratitude to Trump.
His media strategy builds on Trump’s “podcast election” playbook, emphasising unfiltered platforms to rally the base. His appearance on the memorial Charlie Kirk Show demonstrated a merger of Maga’s grassroots fervour with Turning Point’s youth-focused activism – a partnership likely to define the party’s outreach strategy in future elections.
Vance’s willingness to engage critics in online debate has an echo of Kirk’s go-everywhere, talk-to-anyone approach. When US forces recently struck a vessel allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, Vance wrote on X: “Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military.”
Brian Krassenstein, a podcaster and Trump critic, responded to Vance’s post by stating: “Killing the citizens of another nation who are civilians without any due process is called a war crime.” Vance shot back “I don’t give a shit what you call it.” (Rand Paul, a Republican senator, responded: “What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.”)
Charlie Sykes, a political commentator and author of How the Right Lost Its Mind, says: “The only question I have is whether JD Vance wants to be the heir apparent to Donald Trump or to Charlie Kirk.
“The line between people wanting to be influential podcasters and real political power is getting somewhat shaky. Apparently JD Vance has decided his route to power is to essentially try to fill Charlie Kirk’s shoes and engage in his kind of rhetoric.”
Vance’s lead in hypothetical 2028 Republican primary polls is commanding, a testament to his proximity to Trump. A June 2025 Emerson College Polling survey of 416 likely Republican primary voters found Vance at 46% support, dwarfing secretary of state Marco Rubio (12%) and Florida governor Ron DeSantis (9%).
His performance on Sunday will have done no harm, especially with the religious right. He referenced God 10 times, spoke of “the truth that Jesus Christ was the king of kings” and said of Kirk “He would tell me to pray for my friends, but also for my enemies. He would tell me to put on the full armour of God and get back to work.”
His white shirt, red tie and blue suit were all the same shade as Trump’s, and he delivered his remarks from a lectern with the presidential seal. It was a glimpse of a possible future featuring an occupant of the White House who could prove even more hard-edged, pitiless and authoritarian than Trump himself.
Sykes adds: “I would never describe Trump as more moderate but I do think that JD Vance’s rhetoric could be a warning that, if you think things are bad, they can possibly get even worse.”
