UNIVERSITY, Miss. — Vice President JD Vance recalled here Wednesday an angry phone call from conservative activist Charlie Kirk in the months before his death — an example, Vance said, of his late friend’s commitment to firm but polite debate.

Kirk, Vance said, was worried whether President Donald Trump’s posture in the Middle East would lead to a long and protracted military conflict involving U.S. troops.

Vance, speaking to supporters of Kirk’s Turning Point USA organization at the University of Mississippi, called it a “great moment for our country” and for his friendship with Kirk, “because friendship is not just about telling everybody what they want to hear.”

“It’s about having the trust in another human being that you can tell them they’re wrong and actually encourage them to cha

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