{"id":464333,"date":"2025-12-22T12:30:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T12:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/464333\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T12:30:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T12:30:33","slug":"turning-point-usas-annual-phoenix-conference-bigger-than-ever-in-the-wake-of-charlie-kirks-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/464333\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning Point USA\u2019s annual Phoenix conference bigger than ever in the wake of Charlie Kirk\u2019s death"},"content":{"rendered":"

The overall feeling of Turning Point USA\u2019s annual AmericaFest conference in Phoenix last year was triumphant. Republicans had just won a \u201cred wave\u201d in 2024 and reelected President Donald Trump with the support of every single swing state.<\/p>\n

But this year, the feeling had changed. Three months after co-founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University, the overall feeling was determination. To carry out his legacy.<\/p>\n

The event drew a record 30,000 attendees this year, who flocked to the Phoenix Convention Center to hear from conservative speakers. The turnout was roughly 50% higher than last year.<\/p>\n

The conference included breakout sessions like \u201cMass Migration is Causing all the Problems, Actually\u201d and \u201cIn the Belly of the Beast: Confronting and Exposing Antifa,\u201d and a slate of big-name guests, including Vice President JD Vance and the organization\u2019s new leader, Kirk\u2019s widow Erika.<\/p>\n

Her message was clear<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Turning Point’s AmericaFest in downtown Phoenix on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025.<\/p>\n

Nick Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

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Erika Kirk at Turning Point’s AmericaFest in downtown Phoenix on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2025. <\/p>\n

Nick Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0americafest-20251219.JPG\n <\/p>\n

Erika Kirk at Turning Point’s AmericaFest in downtown Phoenix on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2025. <\/p>\n

Nick Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0americafest-erika-kirk-2-20251219.JPG\n <\/p>\n

Erika Kirk at Turning Point’s AmericaFest in downtown Phoenix on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2025. <\/p>\n

Nick Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0americafest-erika-kirk-3-20251219.JPG\n <\/p>\n

Erika Kirk at Turning Point’s AmericaFest in downtown Phoenix on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2025. <\/p>\n

Nick Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0americafest-erika-kirk-4-20251219.JPG\n <\/p>\n

Erika Kirk at Turning Point’s AmericaFest in downtown Phoenix on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2025. <\/p>\n

Nick Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

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at Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest conference in Phoenix in December 2025.<\/p>\n

Camryn Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

\n 8 of 18
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0americafest-phoenix-turning-point-CS-20251221 (12).JPG\n <\/p>\n

Alex Stein at the Unf-ck America Tour in Phoenix in December 2025. <\/p>\n

Camryn Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

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Attendees of the Unf-ck America Tour in Phoenix in December 2025. <\/p>\n

Camryn Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

\n 10 of 18
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0americafest-phoenix-turning-point-CS-20251221 (9).JPG\n <\/p>\n

Micah Erfan at the Unf-ck America Tour in Phoenix in December 2025.<\/p>\n

Camryn Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

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Hunter Kozak was the last person to talk to Charlie Kirk before he was shot and killed in September 2025.<\/p>\n

Camryn Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

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Alex Stein at the at the UnF-ck America Tour in Phoenix in December 2025.<\/p>\n

Camryn Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

\n 13 of 18
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Brian Shapiro at the UnF-ck America Tour in Phoenix in December 2025.<\/p>\n

Camryn Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

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Sen. Jake Hoffman at Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest conference in Phoenix in December 2025.<\/p>\n

Camryn Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

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Turning Point’s AmericaFest in downtown Phoenix on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025.<\/p>\n

Camryn Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0americafest-2-20251219.JPG\n <\/p>\n

Turning Point’s AmericaFest in downtown Phoenix on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025.<\/p>\n

Camryn Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

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\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0americafest-sign-20251219.JPG\n <\/p>\n

Turning Point’s AmericaFest in downtown Phoenix on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025.<\/p>\n

Camryn Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

\n 18 of 18
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0americafest-sign-3-20251219.JPG\n <\/p>\n

Turning Point’s AmericaFest in downtown Phoenix on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025.<\/p>\n

Camryn Sanchez \/ KJZZ<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to honor him not just with words, but with action,\u201d Kirk said of her late husband.<\/p>\n

On opening night, Erika Kirk announced that thousands of new churches, colleges and high schools have started Turning Point chapters since her husband\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are starting 50 chapters per day at Turning Point USA. It\u2019s amazing,\u201d she told the crowd.<\/p>\n

About a third of the AmericaFestt attendees were students.<\/p>\n

Kirk said Turning Point will continue holding \u201cProve Me Wrong\u201d events on school campuses and announced the \u201cpick up the mic\u201d debate tour on campuses for next year.<\/p>\n

The organization will also launch a \u201cMake Heaven Crowded\u201d tour in 2026.<\/p>\n

\"Attendees<\/p>\n

The annual Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference in Phoenix on Dec. 18, 2025.<\/p>\n

30,000 Charlie Kirks<\/b><\/p>\n

Attendees said over and over again that Kirk\u2019s assassination pushed them to become more engaged than ever before.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey may not have Charlie, but they\u2019re got all of us and everyone who wants to do this for Charlie. And I think that will benefit Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action [Turning Point\u2019s political arm] with having thousands of people that want to do what Charlie was doing,\u201d said 16-year-old Austin Shelly, who came all the way from Rochester, New York.<\/p>\n

Texas 18-year-old Ellie Brown is the vice president of her high school\u2019s Turning Point chapter. She said that in a sense, Kirk\u2019s death made the organization stronger. And she\u2019s not alone in that sentiment.<\/p>\n

Fellow young attendees Nathan Howell, Sam Otwell and Canon Lien also said Turning Point can succeed without Kirk.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, I would say, honestly, it\u2019s better. After his death, I think that so many more people were drawn in. Obviously, no one will live up to his legacy or be who he was, but his death brought in so many more people, and so I feel like that was his ultimate goal,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

Brown is also one of many attendees who is now inspired by Erika Kirk.<\/p>\n

Turning Point USA conference attendees in Phoenix say the organization is back stronger \u2014 and resonating with women \u2014 following co-founder Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination.<\/p>\n

Fifty-four percent women<\/b><\/p>\n

This year, the majority of AmericaFest attendees were women \u2014 54% to be exact.<\/p>\n

There have always been plenty of women involved with Turning Point, but Charlie Kirk was especially well known for appealing to young men.<\/p>\n

Some attendees, like Brown, say they think Erika Kirk is resonating with young women<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of what Charlie Kirk stood for was like, \u2018Oh, young men should be leaders\u2019 and all these things \u2014 which I totally agree with – but I feel like because there\u2019s a woman leading, it\u2019s also drawing in other people, and I feel like it\u2019s drawing in more men too, seeing, \u2018Oh, I can find a wife who\u2019s politically involved,\u2019\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

Attendee Stefanie Barela made the trip from California. She said Kirk\u2019s death served as a wakeup call for conservatives everywhere, and cited something else she heard from a Turning Point leader: that Charlie Kirk came to wake up the young men and Erika Kirk came to wake up the young women.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Erika Kirk at Turning Point’s AmericaFest in downtown Phoenix on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2025. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of people did not know about Charlie Kirk until he was assassinated, so it\u2019s just \u2014 it\u2019s growing like wildfire now, which is fantastic. So, God\u2019s plan is always greater,\u201d Barela said.<\/p>\n

Erika Kirk spoke at multiple AmericaFest events, including a \u201cProve Me Wrong\u201d table. A hallmark of Kirk\u2019s platform, he would appear on college campuses under a tent inviting debaters to approach him on any topic.<\/p>\n

He was hosting a Prove Me Wrong event when he was killed.<\/p>\n

Erika Kirk\u2019s Prove Me Wrong event was distinctly different. She sat on a dais on a panel with two other Turning Point leaders.<\/p>\n

Before the event started, the crowd was instructed to ask friendly \u201cnon-political\u201d questions.<\/p>\n

Of course, there weren\u2019t many liberals to spark true debates at AmericaFest. The questions for Kirk came almost exclusively from young women asking how to be more like her.<\/p>\n

They asked about her skincare routine, how to have a marriage like hers, how to manage conservative activism and motherhood, and what the best part of being a mom is.<\/p>\n

Kirk connected all of her answers back to her faith in God \u2014 except for the skincare question and whether she prefers pancakes or waffles (it\u2019s pancakes).<\/p>\n

Her responses went over well with the crowd.<\/p>\n

\"Attendees<\/p>\n

Attendees at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference in Phoenix on Dec. 18, 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really always admired Charlie, but I think that having a beautiful feminine voice brings out more women to hop into politics,\u201d Melody Brittingham said.<\/p>\n

She, like many attendees, was attending AmericaFest for the first time. She said Erika\u2019s Prove Me Wrong table was her favorite event.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think she\u2019s a very feminine, beautiful woman, and she’s so in love with God. She has so much wisdom,\u201d Brittingham said.<\/p>\n

As for whether the organization has changed in the last three months, she said it\u2019s made participants more passionate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like a new fire has been lit where everybody was involved before but now they feel and sense the need to get that fire lit even higher. \u2026 I think it\u2019s going to be bigger than we could ever imagine,\u201d Brittingham said.<\/p>\n

Infighting<\/b><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s event was somewhat inflamed by conservative figures in different factions making it clear that they don\u2019t like one another.<\/p>\n

One of the first speakers on Thursday was commentator Ben Shapiro. He quickly and sharply criticized Candace Owens, Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson and far-right streamer Nick Fuentes (whom Carlson recently interviewed).<\/p>\n

Central to that argument is the topic of Israel. While many attendees believe that Charlie Kirk was pulling back on his support for Israel in the last weeks of his life, AmericaFest was a staunchly pro-Israel event.<\/p>\n

Antisemitism, in particular, is something that Shapiro spoke on the need to condemn, especially those who associate with Fuentes.<\/p>\n

\u201cFriendship with public figures who say or do evil things is not an excuse for silence,\u201d Shapiro said.<\/p>\n

Fuentes has said Jewish people have \u201cno place in Western civilization,\u201d among other things, and expressed skepticism about the Holocaust.<\/p>\n

Kelly and Carlson clapped back at Shapiro. Although Fuentes didn\u2019t attend the event, he continued to be a topic of conversation.<\/p>\n

\"Attendees<\/p>\n

The audience at the Unf-ck America Tour in Phoenix in December 2025.<\/p>\n

Charlie Kirk inspires the left?<\/b><\/p>\n

The power of Turning Point is not lost on liberals.<\/p>\n

Across the street from AmericaFest, a left-wing organization called National Ground Game held a counterprotest at Majerle\u2019s Sports Grill.<\/p>\n

Very much in the style of Turning Point, National Ground Game is in the midst of a touring event called the Unf-ck America Tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say when we started we were going to be the counter to Turning Point,\u201d National Ground Game leader Zee Cohen-Sanchez said of her group.<\/p>\n

National Ground Game is a burgeoning organization, not yet near the scale of Turning Point. Cohen-Sanchez founded it in February<\/a> and started the Unf-ck America tour in April.<\/p>\n

Cohen-Sanchez said that although she disagreed with Charlie Kirk on everything, she acknowledges his effectiveness and it shows in the way her group is trying to use a similar model.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he [Kirk] was the best organizer of our generation. It takes a lot not just to be able to see the connection between the media and the ground game, which is obviously super important, he was the only person doing that. But to be doing that back in 2013 with the launch of social media, right, that is a very visionary thing to do,\u201d Cohen-Sanchez said. \u201cThat is something that the Democratic Party in 2025 we are just now realizing that we should be doing. That\u2019s a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cohen-Sanchez said that although individual Democratic candidates are supportive of what her group is doing, the Democratic Party establishment has been unresponsive.<\/p>\n

\u201cCharlie was a big reason why we lost the youth vote in the last election, and it wasn\u2019t just the youth vote. I mean we lost a lot of demographics that we should win, and I just don\u2019t think it\u2019s acceptable for us to say that we can\u2019t do that. We have more money than the Republican Party, we just don\u2019t invest it in the right places,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Hunter<\/p>\n

Hunter Kozak at the Unf-ck America event in Phoenix in December 2025.<\/p>\n

One of the Unf-ck America speakers was Hunter Kozak, a student at Utah Valley University who was talking to Charlie Kirk when he was shot. He echoed Cohen-Sanchez\u2019s comments about respecting Kirk as an organizer. Now, he\u2019s doing something similar with a different message – meeting people of different ideologies where they are and engaging in person.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really concerned about the polarizing effect that being in your own echo chamber gives you,\u201d Kozak said.<\/p>\n

Following Kirk\u2019s death, Kozak was interviewed by the FBI and went to therapy.<\/p>\n

Kozak called the experience traumatizing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if anybody could not be traumatized by what happened. I would also say that the aftermath of being accused of being involved in the event was also really, really hard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Kozak received many death threats and was the subject of conspiracies online relating to Kirk\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Roughly a quarter of the attendees at the Unf-ck America event were conservatives and AmericaFest attendees. It\u2019s a demographic Cohen-Sanchez wants to reach.<\/p>\n

The group is called National Ground Game, and they\u2019re calling their event \u2026 something we can\u2019t say on the radio. Let\u2019s just say it rhymes with \u201cUn-stuck America.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of those people is conservative Luke Tagle.<\/p>\n

Like many attendees, Tagle was in Phoenix attending AmericaFest for the first time because of Kirk\u2019s assassination. He said he thinks it would be good for the country if the left can put up an alternative to Turning Point.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want competition. So I want the best idea to win. I\u2019m not someone who thinks that a conservative has to always win,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Another conservative attendee was Arizona State University student Charles Rasmussen. He describes himself as a \u201cright-wing extremist” but also said he respects streamer Steven Bonnell \u2014 who goes by the handle \u201cDestiny.\u201d<\/p>\n

They debated the merits of authoritarianism.<\/p>\n

Rasmussen said he doesn\u2019t believe Turning Point will be as successful without Kirk, but sees another rising leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe the next big meteoric riser is currently on a generational run right now, he goes by the name of Nicholas Fuentes. I believe he is winning over America\u2019s youth, and I believe even more so than that, not just among the youth but the sort of middle-aged crowds,\u201d Rasmussen said.<\/p>\n

The rise of Fuentes and his followers, known as Groypers<\/a>, is something Cohen-Sanchez fears. She doesn\u2019t want them to take control of Turning Point and the GOP.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going down the Nick Fuentes-Groyper-pipeline. The train is on the way. We only have about six to nine months to stop it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Turning Point\u2019s political plans<\/b><\/p>\n

Several AmericaFest speakers told the crowd again and again that they need to support JD Vance\u2019s bid to become the nation\u2019s 48th president in 2028.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to get my husband\u2019s friend, JD Vance, elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible,\u201d Kirk said.<\/p>\n

Unlike last year, President Trump did not come to AmericaFest, but he did send a video message and briefly spoke over his son Donald Trump Jr.\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody did more for me than Charlie,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

Other speakers included rapper Nicki Minaj, Trump administration \u201cborder czar\u201d Tom Homan and House Speaker Mike Johnson.<\/p>\n

\"Erika<\/p>\n

Erika Kirk and Nicki Minaj at Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest conference in Phoenix in December 2025.<\/p>\n

Homan pledged to have 10,000 more agents on the ground<\/p>\n

Minaj was a surprise speaker and came on with Erika Kirk. She spoke about her Christian faith and how white children shouldn\u2019t feel bad about the way they look, indicating that the left is shaming them for not looking like other racial groups, telling the audience to be who they are proudly.<\/p>\n

Turning Point\u2019s strategy will focus largely on maintaining what Kirk calls the \u201cred wall,\u201d which is the swing states of Arizona, Nevada and New Hampshire. Keeping those states in Republican hands is expected to be key for the next election cycles.<\/p>\n

And, of course, the speakers emphasized the importance of keeping Congress in Republican control for the remainder of Trump\u2019s term.<\/p>\n

Arizona Congressman and gubernatorial candidate Andy Biggs also spoke.<\/p>\n

Christianity at the forefront\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Perhaps even more so than in previous years, there was a strong and consistent emphasis on Christianity at AmericaFest.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will always be a Christian nation,\u201d Vance said in his speech.<\/p>\n

He said the left waged a war on Christians, but Trump stopped it.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf all the wars that Donald Trump has ended, that is the one we\u2019re proudest of,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n

Erika Kirk said the ideological war in America is not left versus right, but good versus evil.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know we\u2019re on the winning side. God is so good,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

A handful of attendees I polled told me that they supported Kirk a bit more than Trump. Most also said it has to do with his faith and virtuousness.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say that I\u2019m more aligned with Charlie Kirk, simply because I believe Charlie Kirk had a very strong faith, and that\u2019s very important to me,\u201d Oklahoma college student Nathan Howell said. He and his family attended AmericaFest for the first time this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fruits of Christianity are men like Charlie Kirk,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n