Charlie Kirk began planning ways to shape his young mind into conservatism in an age when he was still sorting out his own path. I’m looking for a channel His political tendencies After a rejection from West Point, Kirk was 18 years old, but he was 18 when he grew alongside the rise of President Donald Trump and launched a grassroots organization from an Illinois garage that promoted the movement to “make America great again”;
Kirk later admitted when he started, “I don’t know what I was doing, either money or connection.” Turning Point USA However, in 2012. But his rhetorical gift to counter progressive ideas by inflating cultural tensions and instantly resonating with university audiences during the Obama administration and Trump’s first presidency.
When video clips of his early campus appearances spread online, it transformed the turning point into one of the nation’s largest political organizations, attracting young people to star-studded gatherings and helping to ensure a steady stream of donations that have become present in high schools and universities across the country.
“He didn’t understand or have the center of the youth in the United States better than Charlie,” Trump said Wednesday after being assassinated while Kirk was speaking. Universities in Utah.
From left, Rep. Raffy Williams, Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA, and Sen. Ben Sasse R-Neb. will be participating in a panel discussion at National Harbor, Maryland on February 26, 2015.
Early on, Kirk described his group as a student organization advocating for free markets and limited government. He led fellows who defeated capitalism and supported presidential candidate and democratic socialist Bernie Sanders.
Over time, Turning Point began attracting tens of thousands of young voters each year, including Trump, to listen to the massive screens, fireworks and lighting speak on the flashy stages worthy of a stadium concert.
In addition to the growth of Turning Point, Kirk’s fame skyrocketed, and he harnessed his nonprofit, celebrity status and successful podcasts to a considerable amount of personal wealth.
It is not immediately clear who will lead the turning point after Kirk’s death.
“We won’t replace Charlie Kirk,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “He was unique.”
Minnesota State University Mankato students praise Charlie Kirk as they finished their speech at an event held in Mankato, Minnesota on October 5, 2021 (AP Photo/Jackson Faudeler, File)
Turning Points spread conservative ideas across university campuses
Kirk’s bread and butter remained anchored on the university campus.
His final appearance at Utah Valley University on Wednesday was the opening event for his latest series, entitled “American Comeback Tour.”
At his college stop, Kirk often sat under the tent, like when he was shot. He was often behind the table “prove me wrong.”
He attracted mostly young conservatives wearing young conservatives (which will make America great again) hats, and he had hundreds of Turning Point employees and volunteers, recruiting students to become GOP voters and activists.
But the real draw was that Kirk was discussing with the students. He seemed to enjoy jealous when he had an unfriendly audience.
Kirk frequently repeated Trump’s false claims that former vice president Kamala Harris was directly responsible for all immigrants who were illegally in the United States. He called on George Floyd, a black man who sparked a national debate over the “Skanbag” that killed a Minneapolis police officer’s death.
He supported culturally conservative views, defended gun rights, condemned abortion, embracing women as wives and mothers, and men as heads of households. And he mastered the art of “How?” Retort brings back questions about the progressive and liberals who challenged him.
Kirk was sometimes moved away from school. In 2018, Turning Point said the University of Chicago demanded that they talk about campus citing safety concerns, and at Florida High School, students are unable to speak to students two months after a teenager with an attacking rifle killed 17 people.
Tommy Richardson, 36, from Mesa, Arizona, arrived at Turning Point Headquarters after Kirk’s death was announced. He praised Kirk as a charismatic leader who helped shape the conservatives of his generation and was “a champion of all we believe in.”
“It’s a huge legacy that will affect the political landscape over the next few decades,” he said.
President Donald Trump is on stage with Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on July 23, 2019, as he finishes his speech at the Marriott Marquis in Washington (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
Kirk helped mobilize young people for Trump
In 2024, Kirk used his speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee to praise Trump as an economic master, claiming that ZZ voters could not afford another Democratic administration.
“Democrats have given hundreds of millions of dollars to illegal actors and foreigners, but Gen Z needs to pinch pennies so they can’t own a home, get married or work until they die,” he said.
Speaking directly to his generation, the billionaire influencer said, “You don’t have to remain poor. You don’t have to accept anything worse than your parents. You don’t have to support leaders who lied to you and used your vote.”
According to the AP vote, a 2024 voter survey found that 47% of voters aged 18 to 29 chose Trump, and 51% went to Harris. But that was a much narrower gap than in 2020, when Joe Biden surpassed Trump by 61% to 36%.
“I want to express my enormous gratitude to Charlie Kirk. He’s a truly amazing guy. He’s a great guy. And all of his staff are for their relentless efforts to achieve this very historic victory,” Trump said at a Turning Point gathering in Arizona last December.
Vice President JD Vance said Kirk’s influence continued past the inauguration.
“Many of our success in this management will trace directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene,” Vance told X late Wednesday. “He didn’t help win in 2024, he supported staff across the government.”
Turning Point USA’s conservative activist and founder, Charlie Kirk of the Center speaks with supporters of President Donald Trump at a rally in Phoenix on November 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
Young conservatives call him leader and inspiration
Several young politicians and figures believe Kirk is inspiring or boosting their public careers.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt said he was one of the first people to “believe in me.” When she ran for Congress from New Hampshire in 2022, Kirk supported her in the Republican primary. She lost the general election.
Kirk “believed in the possibilities and promises of young people,” she said. “He urged millions of people to get involved in politics and fight for the conservative values of our country.”
Vance said Kirk first reached out to him through a private message on Twitter in 2017 when he was an author rather than a politician. They became friends and Kirk was one of the first people Vance was called to consider running for the US Senate in early 2021.
“Charlie asked him too, so Don got a call from me,” Vance posted to X.
Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican senator in Florida, said Kirk hired her as director of national Hispanic outreach when she was scheduled to attend medical school.
“He’s part of the reason I’m in office now,” Luna said of Kirk from outside the Capitol on Wednesday.
Kennedy Peterson, 20, was one of the young men who came to Turning Point headquarters after Kirk’s death was announced Wednesday.
“From the day he started his Campus victory project, I think his intention was to create a world that he thought was better than we have now,” Peterson said.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
