PHOENIX — A Divided Gathering for Turning Point USA’s America Fest
In a striking display of both allegiance and discord, members of the MAGA movement convened in Phoenix on Thursday to launch Turning Point USA’s America Fest, the organization’s largest event since the tragic death of its founder, Charlie Kirk, who was shot on a Utah college campus in September.
Despite the somber occasion, the gathering quickly spiraled into a spectacle of infighting among prominent conservative voices. Ben Shapiro, who took the stage following Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, wasted no time in launching a scathing critique of fellow conservative commentators. He labeled Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and Steve Bannon as “frauds and grifters,” raising the question: can the right truly unite when its leaders are at each other’s throats?
“The conservative movement is in serious danger,” Shapiro asserted, indicating that the threat does not solely stem from the left but also from “charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle while peddling conspiracies and dishonesty.” He even went so far as to call Bannon “a PR flack for Jeffrey Epstein,” just as new files related to the late convicted sex offender are set to be released. For context, while Trump initially sought to block the release, he did eventually sign the legislation, leaving many to question the true motivations at play.
Shapiro particularly targeted Carlson, criticizing him for giving a platform to Owens’ controversial conspiracy theories surrounding Kirk’s murder and for his recent interview with far-right influencer Nick Fuentes, a known Holocaust denier. “The people who refuse to condemn Candace’s truly vicious attacks — and some of them are speaking here tonight — are guilty of cowardice,” he stated. “If you host a Hitler apologist, Nazi-loving, anti-American piece of refuse like Nick Fuentes… you ought to own it.” This kind of rhetoric begs the question: how much longer can the conservative coalition hold together amidst such glaring contradictions?
In response, Carlson took the stage and did not shy away from retaliating. He dismissed Shapiro as “pompous,” and found humor in the idea that calls for deplatforming would occur at a Charlie Kirk event. “That’s hilarious,” he quipped, while vehemently defending himself against allegations of antisemitism, asserting that “antisemitism is not just naughty; it’s immoral.”
Amidst the heated exchanges, Erika Kirk attempted to address the fractures within the MAGA movement. She portrayed her late husband as a unifier and called upon attendees to embrace healthy disagreement. “You won’t agree with everyone on this stage this weekend,” she acknowledged. “And that’s okay. Welcome to America.”
Yet the event wasn’t purely confrontational. Actor Russell Brand took to the stage between Shapiro and Carlson, focusing on Christianity while mixing in critiques of vaccines and the pharmaceutical industry. Earlier in the day, attendees danced to lively music, chanted “USA,” and celebrated Trump’s anticipated return to the White House. More than 30,000 people packed the Phoenix Convention Center, adorned with imagery of Charlie Kirk.
Kirk’s influence on young conservatives was palpable, with thousands of high school and college students in attendance, some posing for photos near a tent reminiscent of the one where Kirk was speaking when he was tragically shot during “The American Comeback Tour.” Erika Kirk, now CEO of Turning Point, noted that 80 percent of attendees were first-timers, and one-third were students. Following her husband’s death, the organization has seen over 140,000 membership requests, swelling its ranks to more than 1 million across 4,000 chapters in schools nationwide.
While the gathering welcomed a variety of speakers from across the conservative spectrum, it clearly signaled preferences for certain political figures, hinting at the organization’s vision for the GOP’s future. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, GOP Rep. Mike Collins, and gubernatorial candidates Andy Biggs of Arizona and Byron Donalds of Florida all secured prime speaking slots.
In a bold statement, Erika Kirk also vowed to help elevate Vice President JD Vance to the White House in the 2028 election, noting his lead in early polls among potential GOP contenders. “We are going to get my husband’s friend JD Vance elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible,” she proclaimed, leaving many to wonder: can this fractious coalition really coalesce behind a single leader?
