Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday doubled down on his criticism of the left in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, saying the First Amendment does not protect those who allegedly celebrated Kirk’s death from consequences and reaffirming that the White House will go after left-leaning organizations that it claims are inciting violence.
“The First Amendment protects a lot of very ugly speech but if you celebrate … Charlie Kirk’s death, you should not be protected from being fired for being a disgusting person,” Vance told Fox News. “If you are a university professor who benefits from American tax dollars, you should not be celebrating Charlie Kirk’s death and if you are, maybe you should lose your job or your university should, should face a loss of funding.”
Vance added, “If you are the kind of person who thinks that Charlie Kirk was justifiably murdered, sometimes the government can’t do anything about that. But you know what can — is, is civil society and I’ve actually been gratified to see all these people standing up and saying, ‘Yes, we have free speech and yes, we have free debate, but if you’re, if you’re celebrating the death of a young father, you ought to pay some consequences for it.’”
The First Amendment does not universally protect people from professional consequences for saying something offensive. But in the aftermath of Kirk’s assassination, the Trump administration has indicated it intends to target liberal groups for investigation or other actions — which critics see as an effort to stifle free speech and dissent.
Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this week said the government would “target” those who use hate speech, though she later appeared to walk those comments back. Vance’s comments, particularly his threats on federal funding for universities, reflect how the administration could use the levers of government to advance that effort.
Vance went on to say that there have been conversations within the administration on targeting organizations that he claims fund left-wing political violence.
“We are working very hard to ensure that the funding networks for left-wing violence, that the radicalization networks for left-wing violence — that if you encourage or fund your fellow Americans or anybody else to commit acts of violence because you disagree with political speech, you are going to be treated like a terrorist organization and we are going to go after you,” the vice president said.
Vance’s remarks aired as President Donald Trump announced he will designate Antifa, a far-left anti-fascism movement, as a terrorist organization.
He also echoed Trump’s comments from last week that left-wing radicals “are the problem,” implying that right-wing radicals are not.
“The idea that left-wing violence and right-wing violence in 2025 in America are equal, it’s preposterous,” Vance said Wednesday.
When asked about calls from Democrats to lower the temperature, Vance said, “Yes, absolutely, by all means, let’s take down the temperature. But if you want to take down the temperature and you’re on the left of center, the first and most important thing you can do is look in the mirror.”
The vice president shared in the interview that he was the one who told Trump about Kirk’s passing.
“The president is very stoic, but he was clearly upset,” Vance said of Trump’s response to the news. “He just kind of went quiet and let it absorb a little bit and then just shook his head and said ‘Man, he is — he was a good guy and we really loved him.’”
Vance also credited Kirk for supporting him through his political career, saying, “I would not be the Vice President of the United States were it not for Charlie Kirk.”
“Aside from Donald Trump, I can’t think of a single person who deserves more credit,” Vance said, pointing to Kirk’s support during his Senate primary and in advocating for Vance to be the vice-presidential nominee.
When asked if he supports televising the trial of Tyler Robinson, the suspect in Kirk’s shooting, Vance said, “that strikes me as a good idea.”
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