Vice President J. D. Vance praised Charlie Kirk as a "visionary" and a "luminary" on Monday, as Vance hosted the late Turning Point USA co-founder's podcast.
The vice president called it a way to "pay tribute to my friend," a challenge because Mr. Vance "filled in for someone who can't be filled in for."
"If it weren't for Charlie Kirk, I wouldn't be vice president of the United States," Mr. Vance said on the air.
He welcomed guests that included White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavett, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., and others.
Most notably, Vance remarked, "I can't promise you this is going to be easy, can't promise you that all of us will avoid Charlie's fate, can't promise you that I will avoid Charlie's fate, but the way to honor him is to shine the light of truth like a torch in the very darkest places. Go do it!" Vance told the podcast audience.
Charlie Kirk, known as a conservative activist but who was also a spiritual mentor to young conservatives, was assassinated last Wednesday while participating in question-and-answer session at Utah Valley University, south of Salt Lake City.
Vance and Kirk have been known as close friends for years, and the vice president arranged for Charlie Kirk's body to be moved from Utah hospital, where he was pronounced dead, to Kirk's home state of Arizona, a task that Mr. Vance called an honor.
A live stream of the two-hour program hosted by Vance on Monday originated from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the honorary offices of the vice president next to The White House.
"We need to show to our friend that his killer is not just prosecuted by punished, for the worst punishment is not the death penalty but the knowledge that Charlie's mission continues after he's gone."