Erika Kirk has spoken out for the first time since she was criticised for an interaction with US Vice President JD Vance which some people thought was 'inappropriate'.
Since her husband Charlie, a right wing political commentator, was shot and killed earlier this year, Erika has become the boss of his organisation Turning Point USA and at an event last month (29 October) at the University of Mississippi, she introduced Vance as a guest speaker.
The pair shared a hug, which body language experts told Huffington Post was 'super intimate' as Erika put her hand on the back of Vance's head with her fingers in his hair.
The body language experts said the hug showed Erika was 'comfortable' and Vance was 'into it', and there have been some people saying they found the interaction quite strange and suggested that Vance's wife 'Usha might have something to say about that hug'.
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They added that people getting into each other's 'intimate space' did not mean a romantic connection and could be an indicator for a 'heavy emotional connection' which can show they are close friends.
As Erika welcomed him, she called the US VP a 'very, very dear friend' and told the crowd that 'no one will ever replace my husband, but I do see some similarities in JD'.
The mother-of-two has now spoken out after the hug about the scrutiny her life has been under since her husband's death.
Speaking to Fox News, she spoke about cameras being on her wherever she went, including into the courtroom where the man accused of killing her husband will be tried.
Tyler Robinson, 22, faces the death penalty if found guilty of killing Charlie, and his defence team have requested that cameras not be allowed into the courtroom during the trial.
Speaking about the constant cameras, Erika said: "There were cameras all over my husband when he was murdered. There have been cameras all over my friends and family mourning.
"There have been cameras all over me, analyzing my every move, analyzing every smile, my every tear, we deserve to have cameras in there.
“Why not be transparent? There is nothing to hide, I know there is not because I have seen what the case is built on.”
Erika had claimed she forgave her husband's killer 'because it was what Christ did and it is what Charlie would do' during the memorial ceremony for him at which Donald Trump appeared to promote his own press conference about 'the answer to autism'.
Topics: JD Vance, Charlie Kirk, US News
Joe Harker