JD Vance And Erika Kirk's Cozy Embrace Jumpstarts A Messy MAGA Rumor

JD Vance and Charlie Kirk had a close relationship. After Charlie was killed in September 2025, Vance stepped in to host his late friend's podcast. Soon after, Vance agreed to join Charlie's widow, Erika Kirk, and speak at a Turning Point USA event on October 29, 2025. At the event, Erika introduced him, and as he headed to the podium, the two tightly hugged, causing people's imaginations to work overtime.

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For some, it wasn't just the embrace itself that they found questionable, it was the accompanying gestures. "I'm sure that when Erika hugs her grandpa or male coworkers, she rakes her fingers through their hair and mashes herself against them too," quipped one user on X (formerly Twitter). Another commenter expressed similar concerns, adding, "Why is he holding her waist. It's just not normal, it's actually uncomfortable to see."

To complicate the situation, Erika compared Vance to Charlie in her speech. "No one will ever replace my husband," Erika stated (via CNN-News18). "But I do see some similarities of my husband in JD." The vice president and his wife, Usha Vance, are continually the subject of divorce rumors, which are exacerbated by awkward photos of the couple. However, Usha and Erika are also close. Before Charlie's memorial, Usha and Erika shared a vulnerable moment that was more impactful than we realized. 

In addition to feeling uneasy about JD Vance and Erika Kirk's embrace, some questioned Erika's decision to wear black leather pants to the event. "Leather hot pants seem an odd choice for a political organization promoting a religious and supposedly conservative narrative," remarked one user on X. Besides not fitting the vibe, others saw Erika's outfit as an opportunity to resuscitate a tenacious rumor about JD. "Erika Kirk wore those pants on purpose, to remind JD Vance of his favorite leather couch," joked one.

This wild rumor goes back to summer 2024, with some claiming that a story of the vice president getting intimate with a couch was included in an early printing of his memoir "Hillbilly Elegy." Things got more muddled when the Associated Press retracted an article where they debunked the gossip. Although Snopes has declared the story untrue, people can't resist mining it for humor.

While this combo of leather pants, a weirdly intimate hug, and Erika's hands in Vance's hair crossed the line for many, body language expert Judi James saw it as an expression of Erika's emotional upheaval. "Erika approaches Vance with her arms held out higher for her hug ... almost like a child seeking a comfort hug," James explained to The Mirror. Erika herself has written about the whiplash of emotions she has experienced in the wake of her husband's death. "There is no linear blueprint for grief," she wrote on Instagram, adding, "I carry my Charlie in every breath, in every ache, and in every quiet act of day to day living."