Earlier this week, at a campus event that was hosted by Turning Point USA at the University of Mississippi, Erika Kirk appeared in public for the first time since her husband’s assassination.
She was there alongside US Vice President JD Vance. The duo took the stage together and were captured in a now viral embrace. Many people drew attention to the fact that it was just not a regular hug.
It was more intimate than many had expected, and some went as far as to state that the closeness was so much there that everyone in the audience felt it.
The now viral image shows Kirk placing her hand on the back of Vance’s head during the hug, which is a gesture that many on social media slammed as awkward and just unusual.
Some questioned the nature of their relationship, Vance’s marriage, and how the hug was timed and staged in front of thousands of students.
Some posts referenced Vance’s wife, Usha Vance, and asked why such as intimate gesture was displayed in public. Kirk was seen wearing a shirt emblazoned with Freedom which was reportedly a nod to her late husband’s signature branding. Meanwhile, the US VP spoke in his capacity as a conservative figurehead.