Overview
- At an Oct. 29 Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi, Erika Kirk embraced Vice President J.D. Vance onstage, placing her hand behind his head.
- During her remarks, Kirk said, “No one will ever replace my husband, but I do see some similarities of my husband in J. D.,” a line widely circulated in clips.
- TPUSA posted the full speech to its YouTube channel, which quickly drew over 163,500 views, enabling short clips and screencaps to spread across X and Reddit.
- KnowYourMeme documented the rapid meme-driven spread of an unverified ‘romance theory’ linking Kirk and Vance, which has dominated online discussion.
- Mirror US quoted lip reader Nicola Hickling alleging brief phrases exchanged during the hug, though the account remains contested and no relationship has been verified.