For several days, people all over the country (and all over the internet) have been talking about the now-viral hug between Vice President JD Vance and Erika Kirk, the CEO of conservative political organization Turning Point USA. Kirk’s husband, former Turning Point CEO Charlie Kirk, was killed at a speaking event in Utah in September.
The infamous hug happened at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi, where Vance was a featured speaker. In a video of the exchange, Erika Kirk and Vance are seen hugging tightly with their bodies pressed up against each other. At one point, Kirk brings her hand up to Vance’s hair, and when the hug eventually ends, Vance’s hand drops to Kirk’s hip.
“That’s a Nicholas Sparks kind of hug right there,” said one creator on Instagram — and body language experts don’t disagree. Here’s what they think of the exchange:
Experts say Erika Kirk’s hand placement in JD Vance’s hair is “super-intimate,” “comfortable” and “attention-controlling.”
One of the standout moments of the Kirk-Vance interaction is Kirk’s hand placement; she physically holds Vance’s head and has her fingers in his hair during their onstage hug.
