'Absolutely disgusting': JD Vance slams Obama for accusing Trump of exploiting Charlie Kirk's death

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Vice President JD Vance has lashed out at former President Barack Obama for saying that Donald Trump was dividing the country by exploiting the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. 

Vance said this during an interview with Jesse Watters for Fox News aired on September 17, when asked about Obama’s accusation that Trump was dividing the nation by exploiting Kirk’s death.

He denied it and asserted that they were focusing on justice and labelled Obama’s words as ‘disgusting’.

JD Vance slams Barack Obama and links Charlie Kirk's murder to youth radicalization

Referring to leftists, Vance further said, “What we're trying to do is understand how young people are being radicalized and who is funding all these efforts of radicalization," in a reflection of accusations made by conservatives, who blamed the left for Kirk’s murder. 

He compared it with the 2020 riots following the death of George Floyd, where 20 people were killed, calling it ‘political extremism’ and stressing the need to investigate the funding of the violence. 

"Then we're going to get to the bottom of the truth, and we're going to stop the political violence, and we're going to do it however we have to do it, of course, within the constitutional limits that Charlie loved so much," he added. 

Barack Obama's comments slammed by JD Vance

Obama was speaking at the Jefferson Education Society of Eire’s 17th Global Summit on September 17, where he spoke about Kirk’s murder, which drew backlash from conservatives.

This was the first time he spoke publicly about the killing of the Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder, describing it as “horrific and tragic.”

He also stressed that it was appropriate to disagree with Kirk’s ideas even after his death. 

"When it happens to some, even if the person is on the other side, it happens to all of us, and we have to be clear and forthright in condemning it," Obama said. 

"That doesn't mean that we can't have a debate about the ideas that people who were victims of political violence were promoting," he added.

Obama warns of rising extremism under Trump

Taking a dig at the Trump administration, he warned that the nation faces an “inflection point”, suggesting that extremist views have been amplified in recent years.

Obama compared this to his presidency, where he did not support or empower such extremist views. 

He concluded by saying, “When we have the weight of the United States government behind extremist views, we’ve got a problem.”

Obama's message of condolence following Charlie Kirk's murder

Charlie Kirk was shot dead on September 10 while speaking at a public debate at Utah Valley University campus. 

Hours after the tragedy, Obama took to X (formerly Twitter), condemning the violence and expressing concern for Kirk’s wife and two children.