Erika Kirk Backs Out Of JD Vance Event At The Last Minute And People Aren't Buying Her Excuse

Apparently, Erika Kirk knows a lost cause when she sees one. The new Turning Point USA CEO was all set to attend an event at the University of Georgia on April 14, 2026, with Vice President JD Vance but she backed out at the last minute. Erika took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to explain that there was a serious risk to her safety. "After all our family has been through, I take my security team's recommendations extremely seriously," the mother-of-two wrote. Only, as the event unfolded, netizens, and Kirk's nemesis, conspiracy theorist Candace Owens, questioned whether that was the real reason she bailed. Vance showed up on his lonesome, taking questions from TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet. But they didn't have much of an audience. 

MS Now's White House correspondent Jake Traylor shared a clip of the event on X, and the arena was mostly empty. "Akins Ford Arena less than 25% filled for the vice president," he pointed out. Owens weighed in as well, admitting that she was convinced Erika didn't show because of the bad turnout. "Stop. This is exhausting. You pulled out because of bad ticket sales," Owens replied to her tweet, claiming that several other TPUSA events had also been "quietly" rescheduled recently for the same reason. The conservative pundit also made a valid point by noting that, if there had been a serious security threat, the vice president wouldn't have been present. 

Many netizens echoed Owens' sentiments, with one wondering aloud, "So the vice president of the United States is safe but you're not?" Another added, "Not like the Vice President of the United States and Secret Service made this one of the most secure and safe locations anywhere in the United States tonight or anything."

JD Vance's biggest VP blunders are accumulating at an alarming pace, and his attendance at the University of Georgia's Turning Point USA event didn't help his lack of street cred. The timing wasn't great either, as Vance's visit to the campus came amid President Donald Trump's oversized ego pushing MAGA loyalists to their breaking point. As the "Hillbilly Elegy" author attempted to answer questions and have reasonable discussions onstage, he was heckled by audience members. One even shouted at him, "You're killing children!" per CNN, referring to the ongoing crisis in Gaza. As Vance tried to convince the audience that waging war can be godly, another attendee shouted, "Jesus doesn't support genocide!" (via X). Needless to say, the vice president found himself in an increasingly uncomfortable situation. The arena might have been near empty, but those gathered had a lot to say.

Erika Kirk was likely thankful she missed the event, given that the attendees were so hostile. Vance, despite being left to deal with the meager turnout all by himself, still defended the TPUSA CEO, arguing, "Everybody is attacking her over everything, and they're lying about her, and it's one of the most disgraceful things that I've ever seen in public life," (via The Independent). The Trump staffer notably didn't post about the event on his X account, which might be a sign that he hopes everyone will simply forget all about it as soon as possible. However, the vice president's valiant defense of Kirk may revive rumors that the two are more than just friends, especially considering that JD Vance has made a habit of embarrassing his wife, Usha Vance, by failing to defend her publicly on multiple occasions.