Erika Kirk Broadcasts Endorsement For President In 2028
Erika Kirk endorsed Vice President JD Vance for president during her opening night address at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest on Thursday, telling a packed crowd that the conservative nonprofit will press ahead with its campus mission after the assassination of her husband, TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk.
“We’re going to ensure that President Trump has Congress for all four years,” Kirk told attendees at the Phoenix Convention Center. “We are going to get my husband’s friend JD Vance elected for ’48 [sic] in the most resounding way possible.”
Kirk appeared to mean 2028, and has previously signaled the organization was leaning toward backing Vance in the next presidential election. Some attendees noted that Vance would be the 48th president if he were to win, suggesting that was the reference.
The 36-year-old widow also pledged to continue her late husband’s political work, vowing to help Republicans prevail in the 2026 midterms while rebuilding TPUSA’s presence on college campuses next year.
Her remarks began with an unexpected hurdle when her prepared speech disappeared from her iPad, forcing her to improvise in front of the audience.
“The enemy has thrown a lot of curve balls at us today,” she said as she opened the address. “And one of them is the fact that my entire speech has been wiped because my iPad won’t even turn on.
“So that’s a fun technical difficulty that we can figure out. So we’re just going to wing it.”
Undeterred, Kirk continued, mixing off-the-cuff reflections with stories about her late husband, who was 31 when he was killed. She spoke without notes for much of the address, drawing applause as she emphasized continuity and resolve within the conservative movement.
At one point, a staffer approached the stage with a single sheet of paper containing statistics she had planned to cite, allowing her to briefly reference prepared material before returning to her unscripted remarks.
Kirk’s appearance marked one of her highest-profile public moments since her husband’s death, signaling that TPUSA intends to remain a major force in Republican organizing and youth outreach. The group has played a significant role in conservative campus activism and national political messaging in recent election cycles.
Her endorsement of Vance, delivered on a national stage, underscored the growing alignment between Trump-world figures and the vice president as Republicans look ahead to future elections.
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