Vice President JD Vance was witnessed personally accompanying and carrying the body of Charlie Kirk from Utah back home to Arizona.

This was the touching final tribute in a long friendship that assisted the launch of the former President Trump critic into the White House and onto the international stage.

Vance cancelled all of his plans, including his invitation to attend the 9/11 commemoration at Ground Zero in Manhattan at the final second on Thursday.

Instead, he opted to travel to Utah with his partner, Usha, aboard Air Force 2 to be with Kirk’s loved ones and friends. From there, the Turning Point USA founder’s remains were loaded onto the vice president’s plane and flown back to Phoenix with Vance at their side.

The transport of honor with the presidential touch is an emotional close to the friendship that started at about 2017 when JD Vance was just coming around to Trump after staunch opposition was faced during the 2016 election period.

This was a trajectory that Kirk also followed before he became the president’s loudest cheerleader himself. It’s a story that Vance recounted in his emotional tribute posted on X for Kirk after his assassination while holding one of his public debates at Utah Valley University.