Officials tell CBS News the casket of conservative activist Charlie Kirk will be flown from Utah to Arizona on Air Force Two. CBS News' Fin Gómez has more.

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Officials have confirmed that the casket of conservative activist Charlie Kirk will be flown from Utah to Arizona on Air Force Two. Kirk was a close confidant to both President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, with reports crediting him for encouraging Trump to select Vance as his running mate. Vice President Vance altered his travel plans to visit Kirk's family, highlighting the personal connection between the two.

Kirk was widely recognized for his advocacy within the Republican Party, particularly through his co-founding of Turning Point USA. He was credited by party insiders for helping the Trump campaign make significant gains among Generation Z voters, especially young white males, by leveraging social media and addressing issues that resonated with that demographic. Kirk's influence extended beyond youth activism, with his media presence and organizational leadership impacting broader Republican strategies.

Charlie Kirk's casket will be flown to Arizona on Air Force Two

breaking moments ago. Officials tell CBS News the casket of conservative activist Charlie Kirk will be flown from Utah to Arizona on board Air Force Two. Kirk was a close friend of both President Donald Trump and Vice President J. D. Vance. He has even been credited with telling the president he should pick Vance for the role now in a lengthy post honoring his late friend, the V. P. Says, in part, Charlie Kirk was a true friend, the kind of guy you could say anything to and know it would always stay with him. Also important to note, Vance canceled his 9-11 travel plans today to visit Kirk's family instead. Let's bring in CBS News Executive Director of White House and Politics, Finn Gomez. Finn, thank you for joining us. What did Charlie Kirk mean to Vance and to the president as well and and to the Republican Party too? So many people just talking about how he was a great guy. Well, look, Charlie Kirk and Vice President Vance are very close. As you mentioned, Mugo, he's close with the president and also the vice president. But with Vance, it goes back. It goes back to 2021, when Vance was considering a Senate run in his home state of Ohio. He, one of the first people that he reached out to was Charlie Kirk and Charlie Kirk has been a longtime advocate, really since then for Vice President Vance. In fact, last year, if you recall, Mugo, when there was the veepstakes, when there was that run up to the Republican National Convention, and the president was deciding who to pick to be his running mate, Charlie Kirk was a big advocate for Vance in that particular process, and a main reason that he was picked, according to sources close to that process that I spoke to. He's also, he's also been very close to the president. As I said, many Republicans and many Trump advisors that I've spoken to, since Charlie Kirk's assassination yesterday, have told me that they point and they credit Kirk with the president in his campaign doing so well with Generation Z voters last year. Now, Turning Point USA, that is the political organization that Charlie Kirk co-founded back in 2012. It's, it's bigger than just MAGA youth, MAGA youth activist group. It's bigger than that. It really has, it helped, in many ways, take the place of the RNC in trying to mobilize Republican voters and using new methods, including new media, social media, to really try to propel the president's campaign last year. And if you recall, also, amongst Generation Z voters, Trump did very well gaining a majority, actually, of young white male voters in last year's election. And again, many of those close to Trump that I spoke to credit Charlie Kirk with that accomplishment. And Finn, so let's dig in deeper into that. Why is that? What is it about Charlie Kirk that got those young people, especially those young male white voters, to turn to President Trump when it came to voting on the ballot box? Muga, that's a fantastic question. And actually, I just spoke to, before this, I spoke to a Gen Z expert who told me that, in part, it was because in the aftermath of the pandemic, there was the sense by many within that demographic, the Gen Z demographic, who felt that there was an over-regulation during that time. If you recall, you know, a lot of their, their, their academic careers were stopped, right? They had, you know, they were in college and they had to come out and there was like Zooms and, and there was a sense now, post that experience, that they, that there was a, like a, there was a sense of like, being against over-regulation. And I think Charlie Kirk really tapped into that. He also tapped into some, some topics that were, you know, that caused controversy, including race, including on the argument in discourse on, on various issues that were, were, were controversial. However, he also had a lot of support. And, and you could, and you could see that. I mean, in his, in his three hour daily show that he had on YouTube called The Charlie Kirk Show, he had a big, big following in just, in just on social media alone. I mean, Gen Z voters, Gen Z audience members really were, really have been affected by Charlie Kirk. They're, you know, some of my colleagues told us that the first, the first, that they first heard about this killing because of their, their kids or, or, or, or, or younger folks they knew who were, who got the news from social media. So, I think his ability to utilize that medium was, was very effective, not just for President Trump, for the Republican Party as a whole. Yeah. Finn Gomez, thank you so much for your time today.

Photos of a "person of interest" in the assassination of Charlie Kirk were released by the Salt Lake City FBI. Authorities are searching for the person who shot and killed the conservative activist at an event at Utah Valley University.

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