Vice President JD Vance said Republicans have more important work to do than cancelling each other.
“I didn’t bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to de-platform, and I don’t really care if some people out there—I’m sure we’ll have the fake news media denounced me after this speech—but let me just say the best way to honor Charlie is that none of us here should be doing something after Charlie’s death that he himself refused to do in life,” Vance said at Turning Point USA’s America Fest conference, the first since the assassination of founder Charlie Kirk.
Vance addressed infighting in the conservative movement following America Fest speeches where conservative leaders shot arrows at each other.
Ben Shapiro, the first speaker after Charlie Kirk’s wife Erika, called right-wing pundits Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Steve Bannon “frauds and grifters.” In his speech, Carlson shot back, calling Shapiro “pompous.”
“Calls to de-platform at a Charlie Kirk event?” Carlson said. “That’s hilarious.”
Vance said he will fight alongside all conservatives.
“When I say that I’m going to fight alongside of you, I mean, all of you, each and every one,” Vance said. “President Trump did not build the greatest coalition in politics by running his supporters through endless, self-defeating purity tests. He says, ‘Make America Great Again’ because every American is invited.”
The conservative movement will build “by adding, by growing, not by tearing down,” Vance argued.
“We’re building a better country right now, and you have a rightful place in the success of your nation and the success of this movement,” Vance said.
“Charlie Kirk was a great builder, too,” he continued. “He understood that any family can have its disagreements, it’s tough conversations. We can learn and improve and treat one another better. We can love each other despite the disagreement, but winning demands teamwork, and I’m honored to be on Turning Point’s team. I’m honored to be on your team, and I will stay that way.”
The only thing the Trump administration demands for Americans to be on their team is to be a great “patriot,” the vice president said.
“Charlie invited all of us here for a reason, because he believed that each of us, all of us, had something worth saying, and he trusted all of you to make your own judgment, and we have far more important work to do, than canceling each other,” he said.