It boils down to something as innocent as a hug, but the recent interaction between Erika Kirk and JD Vance has been blown up into so much more.

October 29 featured an event at the University of Mississippi, with Charlie Kirk’s widow stepping out in public over a month since his assassination. Political activist and conservative influencer Charlie was shot dead on September 10 at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University.

His death became a talking point worldwide, a tragic symptom of the frequently violent mess US politics has devolved into.

He left behind his wife, Erika, and the couple’s two children. Erika has duly stepped into the spotlight, promising to further her late husband’s mission after becoming Turning Point USA’s new CEO.

At the aforementioned event on Oct 29, Erika stood before a packed auditorium and delivered an emotional address that wove loss with conviction.

Yet the biggest talking point from the event ultimately turned out to be her interaction with Vice President JD Vance, which some people online deemed intimate to the point of being inappropriate.

“When our team asked my dear friend, Vice President JD Vance, to speak today, I really prayed on it, because obviously it’s a very emotional, emotional day,” Erika, 36, shared, according to People.

“But I could just hear Charlie in my heart. I could just hear him say, ‘Go reclaim that territory, babe. Go. The battle’s already won. God’s love conquers.”

At the Mississippi event, after Erika had concluded her heartfelt tribute to Charlie, she introduced Vance to the crowd.

“No one will ever replace my husband,” she told the audience of almost 10,000.

“But I do see some similarities of my husband in JD – in Vice President JD Vance. I do. And that’s why I am so blessed to be able to introduce him tonight.”

As Vance approached the stage, the two embraced. Cameras captured Vance placing both hands firmly on Erika’s hips while she leaned in, her hands threading through his hair, leaving it noticeably tousled. The optics were immediate and intense.

“She’s holding him like a lover,” shared one person on X.

“No friend runs their hands thru a man’s hair, in what should be a hug of grieving comfort. It shows an intimacy beyond being platonic. And they wonder why we keep questioning her, and now him. Why is he holding her waist. It’s just not normal, it’s actually uncomfortable to see,” wrote a second.

A third said: “If my husband had his hand on another woman’s hip like that there’s a pretty good chance I’d be collecting alimony in the near future.”

One lip reader has now weighed in on the matter, telling the Mirror USA that there was nothing controversial or ‘inappropriate’ about the interaction.

Nicola Hickling told the outlet that Erika and Vance’s hug was a show of emotional support, nothing more.

She said the VP told Erika as they embraced: “I’m proud of you.”

To which Erika replied: “It’s not gonna bring him back.”

Erika herself spoke out after her hug with Vance went viral, addressing a legal motion to prevent news cameras from the courtroom in the proceedings against Robinson – her husband’s alleged killer.

“There were cameras all over my husband when he was murdered,” she told Fox News. “There have been cameras all over my friends and family mourning. There have been cameras all over me, analysing my every move, analysing my every smile, my every tear.

“We deserve to have cameras in there.