‘Something changed’: JD Vance reveals how Charlie Kirk’s death convinced them to have another baby
US Vice President JD Vance has revealed that the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk played a deeply personal role in his family’s decision to have a fourth child.In an excerpt from his upcoming memoir, Vance wrote that the assassination of his close friend last year profoundly affected both him and his wife, Usha Vance, ultimately leading her to reconsider her long-held decision not to have another baby.“For years I had asked Usha to have another baby, and for years she had told me she was done, especially now that public service had elevated us into the national spotlight,” Vance wrote in Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, an excerpt of which was published by the Wall Street Journal.According to Vance, a conversation with Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, shortly after his death left a lasting impression on his wife.After Kirk was killed in September 2025, the Vances travelled to Utah to support his family. During that visit, Erika Kirk, overcome with grief, told Usha Vance that she regretted having only two children with her husband.Vance said the conversation changed something in his wife. “But something changed for Usha, and not long after we buried my friend, she became pregnant with our fourth child, a boy,” he wrote.“One life was stolen from us, but another was given,” the vice president added, reflecting on the experience through the lens of his Catholic faith.In the memoir excerpt, Vance described Kirk as one of his closest friends and political confidants. He said the two often discussed the challenges that public life imposed on their families, particularly after Vance entered national politics.According to Vance, Kirk helped him navigate the pressures of raising children while living under constant public scrutiny.The vice president wrote that he regularly spoke to Kirk about “the stresses national politics placed on our family” and sought advice on helping his children adapt to life surrounded by cameras and security personnel.When Vance worried about how his eldest son would handle the attention that came with his father’s political rise, Kirk encouraged him to view the sacrifices as worthwhile for the broader political movement they both supported.Vance said his son gradually adjusted to the new reality and that Kirk’s guidance proved invaluable during that period.Kirk was shot and killed on a college campus in Utah in September 2025. A prominent conservative Christian activist, he gained a large following through viral videos and campus appearances debating people with opposing political views.Following the assassination, Vance and his wife travelled to Utah to be with Kirk’s family. The vice president wrote that they spent time consoling Erika Kirk and later accompanied Kirk’s casket home.JD and Usha Vance are already parents to three children: Ewan, 9, Vivek, 6, and Mirabel, 4. The couple welcomed their first child, Ewan, in June 2017. Their second son, Vivek, was born in February 2020, followed by daughter Mirabel in December 2021.On January 20, Vance announced that they were expecting their fourth child, a son. The baby is expected to be born in late July 2026.
