Vice President JD Vance visited Athens on Tuesday as part of the “This is The Turning Point” tour. CEO and Chair of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) Erika Kirk, originally scheduled to appear alongside Vance, was notably absent following alleged threats.
“It’s a terrible reflection on the state of reality and the state of the country, but it underscores a larger point that [Erika Kirk] has received a lot of attacks,” Vance said. “It’s one of the most disgraceful things that I’ve ever seen in public life, and I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff.”
Hosted by the TPUSA chapter at the University of Georgia, the event was was held at Akins Ford Arena at the Classic Center with students and community members filling up around a third of the space. TPUSA is a nonprofit organization that promotes conservative values to students through events at high school and college campuses.
The event: Immigration, Iran war and more
The event began at 5 p.m., with doors opening at 1:50 p.m. Attendees began arriving more than an hour before the event began, receiving rally signs and QR codes for voter registration upon their arrival. The event featured security and law enforcement presence throughout.
Protestors lined up outside the Classic Center prior to the event, with signs reading “What would the real Jesus do?,” “God does not hate, Turning Point does” and “Jesus warned us about J.D. Vance.”
The event began with the singing of the national anthem, followed by a welcome from Caroline Mattox, the president of the Turning Point chapter at UGA.
“Tonight is about more than just one event,” Mattox said. “It’s about having the courage to think for yourself, speak freely and stand firm in what you believe. That is exactly what Charlie Kirk fought and died for.”
Mattox was excited at the opportunity to have Vance on campus.
“Charlie Kirk was my hero, and it’s always been my dream to even be like a fraction of the person that he was,” Mattox said. ”To have the opportunity to honor his legacy in this way and carry on his mission is just the most beautiful thing and the most fulfilling thing in the world.”
Conservative activist and commentator Charlie Kirk, the founder of TPUSA and a close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot and killed at Utah Valley University while speaking at an outdoor debate in September 2025. Charlie Kirk previously visited UGA on the “You’re Being Brainwashed” Tour in 2024.
Many people disagreed with Charlie Kirk’s stances on abortion, college education and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as well as his amplification of conspiracy theories regarding COVID and allegations of election fraud in 2020. More than 600 people were fired or otherwise punished for speaking critically of Charlie Kirk following his assassination, mostly via posting online.
After appearing onstage, Vance began by addressing Erika Kirk’s absence, saying that she received “some very serious threats” prior to the event that prompted her to cancel her appearance.
Vance further discussed the public controversy surrounding Erika Kirk, describing widespread criticism of her behavior following her late husband’s death as “disgusting.”
“The people telling you Erika wasn’t grieving her husband are full of sh*t,” Vance said.
Vance addressed various topics, including immigration and Trump’s ongoing feud with Pope Leo XIV.
“Somehow, everything that the Trump administration does when it comes to securing our borders is ‘inhumane’, and my constant response to that is: How is it humane to allow drug traffickers and sex traffickers to bring little kids across the southern border?” Vance said.
A member of the audience repeatedly interrupted Vance by yelling, “Jesus Christ does not support genocide” and “You’re killing children” in reference to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Vance responded by attributing the conflict to the Biden administration and claiming the recent ceasefire in Gaza as a success of the Trump administration.
Other topics addressed by Vance included his Catholic faith, the housing affordability crisis and the war in Iran. Vance acknowledged public dissatisfaction with the administration’s actions while encouraging voter engagement and highlighting Trump’s domestic policies.
“I recognize that a lot of young voters don’t love the policy that we have in the Middle East,” Vance said. “Don’t get disengaged because you disagree with the administration on one topic … get more involved in this process and demand more from people like me.”
Vance highlighted immigration as a critical issue, expressing satisfaction with the Trump administration’s progress and criticizing “holes” in the current immigration system.
“We’re making a lot of progress [and] we want to make more. We’re certainly going to make more over the remaining three years,” Vance said. “When you guys graduate from this university, I don’t want you competing against low-wage foreigners for a job.”
Audience reactions and Q&A
Throughout the event, audience members reacted to Vance’s comments with cheers and applause. Attendees rushed into line during a Q&A session to ask Vance questions on topics including the upcoming midterm elections, Trump’s changes to the H-1B visa program and the federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
Vance described Trump’s alleged involvement with Epstein as a “hoax.”
“This democratic idea that somehow [Trump] was Epstein’s best friend, that is a hoax,” Vance said.
According to The New York Times, Trump, his wife, his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and other related words and phrases were referenced more than 38,000 times in the latest batch of files connected to Epstein.
None of the files include any direct communication between the two, though few of the files date back to the early 2000s where the two were publicly friends.
One attendee asked how the Trump administration would improve access to green cards — specifically speeding up the process — for legal immigrants who have lived in the U.S. long-term, pay taxes and contribute to American life the same way U.S.-born citizens do.
“I am also a daughter of a legal immigrant who came here on an H-1B visa,” the attendee, whose family is from India and has lived in the U.S. for over 20 years, said. “For people who have been here on H-1B visas, it’s been really hard getting the green card … we’re also looking for the American Dream.”
Vance responded by highlighting the importance of a unified national identity.
“One of the obligations of citizens is that you have to think about the best interests of the country, and not the country that you came from beforehand,” Vance said. “The system only works if everybody thinks of themselves as an American.”
Emma Phelps, a senior at UGA, said the Q&A was her favorite portion of the event.
“The questions part I think was really interesting to hear,” Phelps said. “[Vance] was so well spoken, and he met every part of every question. That was really important to me that he addressed everything very clearly.”
Amansher Nat, a high school student who came to Athens for the event, began watching videos of Kirk consistently in August 2024.
“The way he spoke, how calm he was — I was like, ‘I have to be like this person who is calm, who talks to people that disagree with him, [who] talks to people that challenge him.’ That is a very noble person,” Nat said.
UGA is the second school TPUSA has visited on their nationwide tour, with George Washington University, Ohio State University, Baylor University and the University of Idaho currently listed as additional stops.
“Each stop is a chance to honor Charlie [Kirk]’s mission and keep the fight alive,” TPUSA’s website reads. “We know he wouldn’t want us to surrender or be coerced into silence. Free speech is only free if we use our voices.”