Erika Kirk Reveals What JD Vance Told Her During Their ‘Intense’ Onstage Hug

As the vice president, 41, walked out, he and Erika tightly embraced. Following the hug, Erika moved her hand to the back of JD’s head, and he rested his hands briefly on her waist.

The greeting surprised many internet users, according to a flurry of viral posts on social media that analyzed their hand placements and debated whether the hug was appropriate for the situation, given Erika’s recent loss.

Erika defended the warm welcome when she joined Megyn Kelly on stage at her Megyn Kelly Live event on Saturday, Nov. 22.

“My love language is touch, if you will,” she told the crowd at the Desert Diamond Arena in Phoenix, where her husband’s sold-out memorial service was held two months earlier.

“So I will give you a play-by-play: They just played the emotional video. I’m walking over, [JD] is walking over. I’m starting to cry,” Erika recounted.

“He says, ‘I’m so proud of you.’ And I say, ‘God bless you,’ and I touch the back of his head,” she continued. “Anyone whom I have hugged, that I have touched the back of your head when I hug you, I always say, ‘God bless you.’ “

Megyn responded with a laugh, saying, “They were acting like you touched the back of his ass!”

Erika agreed, adding, “I feel like I wouldn’t get as much hate if I did that!”

Notably, just over a week later, Erika attended the swearing-in ceremony of the new U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, where she embraced Gor in a similar manner.

Gor was close with Erika’s late husband and worked with him on the White House transition team following Trump’s second inauguration.

In December 2024, The New York Times reported that, in addition to interviewing candidates for their qualified positions, they were also conducting a “loyalty test” to make sure all new staffers were pro-MAGA.

“The interviewers asked which candidate the applicants had supported in the three most recent elections, what they thought about the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and whether they believed the 2020 election was stolen,” the report read. “The sense they got was that there was only one right answer to each question.

Erika’s latest remarks about her embrace with the vice president come just a few days after JD’s wife, Usha Vance, was spotted without her wedding ring on during a visit to Camp Lejeune alongside first lady Melania Trump on Wednesday, Nov. 19.

Usha and JD have been married since 2014 and share three children: sons Ewan, 8, and Vivek, 5, and daughter Mirabel, 3.

Amid instant internet speculation about the Vances’ marriage, a spokesperson for the second lady — who is very private and rarely speaks with the press — addressed the ringless appearance in a statement to PEOPLE.

The spokesperson noted that Usha is “a mother of three young children, who does a lot of dishes, gives lots of baths, and forgets her ring sometimes.”

As the vice president, 41, walked out, he and Erika tightly embraced. Following the hug, Erika moved her hand to the back of JD’s head, and he rested his hands briefly on her waist.

The greeting surprised many internet users, according to a flurry of viral posts on social media that analyzed their hand placements and debated whether the hug was appropriate for the situation, given Erika’s recent loss.

Erika defended the warm welcome when she joined Megyn Kelly on stage at her Megyn Kelly Live event on Saturday, Nov. 22.

“My love language is touch, if you will,” she told the crowd at the Desert Diamond Arena in Phoenix, where her husband’s sold-out memorial service was held two months earlier.

“So I will give you a play-by-play: They just played the emotional video. I’m walking over, [JD] is walking over. I’m starting to cry,” Erika recounted.

“He says, ‘I’m so proud of you.’ And I say, ‘God bless you,’ and I touch the back of his head,” she continued. “Anyone whom I have hugged, that I have touched the back of your head when I hug you, I always say, ‘God bless you.’ “

Megyn responded with a laugh, saying, “They were acting like you touched the back of his ass!”

Erika agreed, adding, “I feel like I wouldn’t get as much hate if I did that!”

Notably, just over a week later, Erika attended the swearing-in ceremony of the new U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, where she embraced Gor in a similar manner.

Gor was close with Erika’s late husband and worked with him on the White House transition team following Trump’s second inauguration.

In December 2024, The New York Times reported that, in addition to interviewing candidates for their qualified positions, they were also conducting a “loyalty test” to make sure all new staffers were pro-MAGA.

“The interviewers asked which candidate the applicants had supported in the three most recent elections, what they thought about the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and whether they believed the 2020 election was stolen,” the report read. “The sense they got was that there was only one right answer to each question.

Erika’s latest remarks about her embrace with the vice president come just a few days after JD’s wife, Usha Vance, was spotted without her wedding ring on during a visit to Camp Lejeune alongside first lady Melania Trump on Wednesday, Nov. 19.

Usha and JD have been married since 2014 and share three children: sons Ewan, 8, and Vivek, 5, and daughter Mirabel, 3.

Amid instant internet speculation about the Vances’ marriage, a spokesperson for the second lady — who is very private and rarely speaks with the press — addressed the ringless appearance in a statement to PEOPLE.

The spokesperson noted that Usha is “a mother of three young children, who does a lot of dishes, gives lots of baths, and forgets her ring sometimes.”