Conservative organization Turning Point USA held its ‘AmericaFest’ conference for teens this week in Phoenix, Arizona. It was every bit as weird and unsettling as you expected it to be.
Turning Point USA, the conservative nonprofit founded by Charlie Kirk in 2012, held its annual youth conference this week. Following Kirk’s murder on a Utah college campus in September of this year, Turning Point USA became the mouthpiece for a number of conservative and Republican talking points. The organization and Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, have had a lot to say about liberalism in general, which has garnered criticism on X and Reddit.
The Arizona conference got off to a great start with its décor, which included a replica of the “Prove Me Wrong” booth in which Charlie Kirk was shot. The conference’s teen attendees were encouraged to take pictures in front of it.
“Beyond bizarre,” one X user wrote. Another said, “I can’t even with this. This is wrong and so unnecessary on like 500 different levels.”
Breaking up the party
Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow and Turning Point USA’s new head, opened the Arizona conference with a speech in which she warned attendees about fractures within conservative groups. Erika Kirk has been a staunch supporter of Vice President J.D. Vance and endorsed him as a presidential candidate during her speech. During the conference, Erika Kirk spoke out against premarital sex and discussed her husband’s hopes for the future.
Erika Kirk addressed conspiracy theories perpetuated by Candace Owens, a former Turning Point employee. Owens has put out multiple videos alleging that the truth behind Charlie Kirk’s murder is far from what the public has been led to believe.
In addition to the Candace Owens controversy, all was not sunshine and roses for other Turning Point speakers. Both Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson, popular right-wing speakers, appeared at the conference. Rather than presenting a united front, the two took turns insulting one another. Shapiro said that Carlson and people like him were basically liars who pushed false news. He also accused Carlson of being antisemitic.
Carlson said that he’d seen Shapiro’s attempted takedown and that he’d laughed at it. AmericaFest exposed growing fractures among MAGA supporters. Whether or not Shapiro and Carlson will reconcile in time for the 2028 presidential election, it’s sure to be a wild ride.
