The first Turning Point USA AmericaFest conference following the passing of founder Charlie Kirk saw members of the MAGA community embroiled in visible discord.
In an effort to maintain harmony, Turning Point’s new CEO, Erika Kirk, took the stage at the event’s outset on Thursday night, appealing for unity among attendees.
Despite her efforts, the evening quickly descended into chaos, led by the remarks of two prominent figures on the agenda.
During their speeches, Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson exchanged barbs, further fueling conspiracy theories that have emerged since Kirk’s demise.
Shapiro initiated the clash by criticizing Carlson for featuring far-right commentator Nick Fuentes on his show back in October.
He went on to denounce Carlson, along with Candace Owens, Megyn Kelly, and Steve Bannon, labeling them as ‘frauds’ and ‘grifters.’ Notably, Kelly, Bannon, and several other well-known conservatives are scheduled to appear on the same stage later in the week.
Shapiro warned ‘the conservative movement is in serious danger’ thanks to these conservative ‘charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle but actually traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty.’
A not-present Owens was criticized for her repeated suggestions that Israel may have played a part in Kirk’s death, which, at least at first, cast a somber tone over the occasion.
Ben Shapiro criticized fellow speaker Tucker Carlson at the first Turning Point USA AmericaFest conference since the death of founder Charlie Kirk in Phoenix, Arizona, Thursday
Carlson responded with some barbs of his own, sending the event off the rails
But Shapiro was first to send things off the rails.
He urged the audience: ‘We have an obligation to clarity and to honesty. This means that we actually have to be clear in the language that we use. We should not traffic in generality. We should not say things like, “They shot Charlie without specifying whom we mean by they.”‘
‘The person who allegedly shot Charlie Kirk and whom all the evidence points at all of it is a gay trans-loving furry,’ he went on, referring to the 22-year-old suspect in the Kirk assassination, Tyler Robinson.
It was Carlson, though, who received the harshest treatment, as Shapiro continued to slam Owens.
‘The people who refused to condemn Candace’s truly vicious attacks – and some of them are speaking here tonight – are guilty of cowardice. Yes, cowardice,’ Shapiro said.
‘The fact that they have said nothing while Candace has been vomiting all sorts of hideous and conspiratorial nonsense into the public square for years is just as cowardly.’
Referring to Carlson, he said: ‘If you host a Hitler apologist, Nazi-loving, anti-American piece of refuse like Nick Fuentes… The person who said that Charlie Kirk was a, quote, “idiot”… you ought to own it.’
‘There is a reason that Charlie Kirk despised Nick Fuentes and indeed even chided Dinesh D’Souza for debating him.’
Both men mentioned Candace Owens, who has repeatedly suggested that Israel is may be to blame when it comes to the killing of Kirk back in September
Carlson responded with his own barbs from the same stage.
‘That guy is pompous,’ Carlson began, panning Shapiro’s serious tone.
He said he “laughed” while watching snippets of Shapiro’s speech backstage.
‘Calls to deplatform at a Charlie Kirk event? That’s hilarious.’
Carlson also assured the crowd that he was not antisemitic after hosting Fuentes.
‘Antisemitism is not just naughty, it’s immoral,’ he announced.
He also complained about cancel culture, saying, ‘I have a right to question your motives. Actually, why can’t you answer the question? Why do you have to imply that some college kid is like some kind of Hitler-ite or something because he’s asking about an event? Like what?’.
Carlson asserted: ‘It is okay to ask questions. And I thought that was, like, the whole reason we were against the left. They’re not going to force you to get up there and make ritual denunciations.
Kirk’s widow Erika, now the CEO of Turning Point USA, unsuccessfully attempted to keep the peace
Owens responded to remarks from Shapiro afterwards, as cracks in the Republican party continue to emerge
‘Because this isn’t my religion. It’s politics.’
The tone of the summit was a far cry from that of last year’s, where both Shapiro and Carlson asserted the US was entering its ‘golden age’.
At the time, Donald Trump has just won the election, and Republicans had won both the House and Senate.
‘We are going to get my husband’s friend JD Vance elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible,’ Erika promised to start the event.
Days before, at a CBS News town hall held by Bari Weiss, the widow begged Owens to stop spreading conspiracy theories about her husband.
Owens, one of the most watched personalities in the world, responded to the remarks from Shapiro in a post to X Thursday night.
‘Ben only cares about Israel’s interests. So Israel is involved,’ she wrote.
Speakers set to take the stage Friday and over the weekend include Vice President Vance, Fox News’ Jesse Watters, Tulsi Gabbard and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
More than 30,000 attendees gathered for the hectic opening night.
