Charlie Kirk and JD Vance greet supporters at the end of a campaign rally on May 1, 2022, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (Drew Angerer)
"He didn't just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government," Vance wrote in a statement on social media.
Turning Point Action, the political arm of Kirk's conservative youth organization, was instrumental in boosting younger voter turnout for Trump in last year's White House race.
"Charlie was such an amazing guy. He really captured the youth, the imagination of the youth," the president told Fox News' chief political anchor Bret Baier in a conversation on Wednesday. "He really convinced millions and millions of young people that MAGA was the way to go."
CHARLIE KIRK ROSE TO BECOME A CONSERVATIVE POWERHOUSE
Kirk, who grew up in suburban Chicago, got his start in politics while in high school as a volunteer in the 2010 campaign of former Republican Sen. Mark Kirk (no relation) of Illinois.
In the 13 years since he co-founded Turning Point USA, he turned it into one of the most prominent and influential conservative groups in the nation.
Turning Point Action dished out millions of dollars into get-out-the-vote efforts in the key presidential battleground states that Trump ended up sweeping in his 2024 victory over then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who last summer replaced then-President Joe Biden as the Democrats' national nominee.
Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk speaks during a campaign rally for then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at Desert Diamond Arena on August 23, 2024, in Glendale, Arizona (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
Brabender, who served as a media consultant for Trump's 2024 campaign, said "You could easily make the argument that Charlie Kirk had not only an important effort for the election but ultimately the effort that put President Trump over the top."
A Democratic strategist who served on the Biden and Harris campaigns, pointed to Kirk's large following and acknowledged that his efforts helped boost crucial youth turnout for Trump.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
And Democrats tried to emulate Kirk's efforts with Dream for America, a grassroots youth organization founded two years ago.
The group, on their website, describes their mission as "building a Turning Point USA for the left."
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/how-charlie-kirk-helped-fuel-donald-trumps-return-white-house