Over 31,000 people, including over 10,000 students, attended the first national convention of Turning Point USA to be held since the Sept. 10 assassination of its founder, Charlie Kirk. Named “AmericaFest 2025” the convention was addressed by dozens of “conservative” leaders, including some, like Tucker Carlson, whom Kirk had been under intense pressure from his pro-Zionist donors to disinvite previously.
The New York Times and other press claimed that there are massive rifts inside the MAGA movement, but most speakers tried to promote “unity” (except with any undocumented person, who should be deported immediately).
Ben Shapiro, whom the New York Times described as “mainstream,” used his time to rip into Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Steve Bannon, and Candace Owens (who wasn’t a speaker) over their “anti-Semitic conspiracy theories,” but Bannon pointed out that Shapiro had actually been a “never-Trumper” Ted Cruz supporter, and not to be trusted.
Carlson denounced the slaughter of children in Gaza and usefully said that it was immoral and “anti-Christian” to attack anyone based on their ethnicity or religion, including Muslims, emphatically. He denounced the ADL by name, but only for harming “white Christian males.” Megyn Kelly spoke of sharing with Charlie Kirk their mutual unhappiness with feeling “bullied” by the Israel lobby, even though Kelly considers herself “pro-Israel” and believes that Tyler Robinson was the lone assassin of Kirk, but also believes that Candace Owens should continue to ask questions about it.
Of note were comments by Tucker Carlson to the effect that part of the rift was that some participants disagreed with the endorsement by Erika Kirk of J.D. Vance for president because they objected to Vance’s coalition-building approach, and remarks by Steve Bannon to the effect that there was a difference between being “pro-Israel,” which Bannon says he is, and being pro-"Greater Israel.” which Bannon objects to, and claims that Trump also does. Bannon said that he and Charlie Kirk had been among those advising Trump not to attempt a regime-change war in Iran.
