At the annual conference of the youth organization Turning Point USA of the right-wing man shot in September Activist Charlie Kirk There was a dispute between representatives of different camps. The right-wing conservative podcaster and co-founder of the media organization Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro, criticized the influential right-wing opinion makers in his speech at the so-called AmericaFest in Phoenix Tucker CarlsonCandace Owens, Steve Bannon and Megyn Kelly as “fraudsters” and “crooks”.
The topic of anti-Semitism and dealings with Israel in particular caused controversy. Shapiro, who is himself an Orthodox Jew, was outraged at Carlson because the host hosted the ultra-right influencer Nick Fuentes on his podcast at the end of October. Fuentes is known for racist, anti-Semitic and misogynistic comments. “If you invite a Hitler apologist, Nazi-loving, anti-American piece of trash like Nick Fuentes… then you should own up to it,” Shapiro said.
Dispute over anti-Semitism
Shapiro also criticized influencer Candace Owens. Owens was up after the assassination Charlie Kirk attracted attention through various conspiracy theories in which she claimed that the Israeli and French governments, among others, were responsible for the attack. A possible conspiracy within Turning Point USA could also be behind the crime, she said. “The people who have refused to condemn Owens’ truly vicious attacks are guilty of cowardice,” Shapiro said.
Bannon, the former strategist of US President Donald Trump in his first term in office and an important voice within the MAGA movement, said Shapiro and others are part of the “Israel-First clique” that does not put the United States first, as Trump’s slogan says “America First” actually plan. Carlson also criticized unconditional US support for Israel.
Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika tried to defuse the argument. “You’re not going to agree with everyone on this stage this weekend, and that’s okay,” she told the audience at the start of the “Welcome to America” event at the Phoenix Convention Center. Around 30,000 participants attended the event, which ran from Thursday evening to Sunday lunchtime, around one and a half times as many as last year.
Also the question of successor Donald Trump as president, but also as leader of the movement, was in the room. Who should take the lead after Trump, asked commentator Carlson in his speech at the conference. “Who gets the machinery when the president leaves the stage?” Carlson is often said to have ambitions for a leadership role.
Vance could be Trump’s successor
Erika Kirk immediately made a statement of support for a possible candidacy of Vice President JD Vance in the 2028 election. With her, Vance has the spokesman for the influential right-wing organization on his side. Turning Point USA has a presence at universities and high schools across the country. Thousands of young volunteers could mobilize large numbers of voters for Vance in the Republican primaries. Turning Point USA played an important role in winning over young voters for Donald Trump in last year’s presidential election.
Vance has not yet clearly decided whether he will run in 2028. However, as Vice President he would be in a favorable position. According to the constitution, Trump cannot be elected president for a third time. He recently brought both Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio into play as possible successors. “I’m not sure anyone would run against these two,” Trump said in late October. “I think if they formed a group it would be unstoppable.”
During his appearance in Phoenix, the vice president emphasized that the party would also take a hard right-wing course under Vance. There he praised the U.S. government’s elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that advocate for historically disadvantaged groups such as black people as a major success. “In the United States of America, you no longer have to apologize for being white,” Vance said to a cheering audience.
DEI measures were promoted by the administration of Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden to specifically support disadvantaged groups in the US and fight against racism. Vance called out DEI on Wednesday in a post on X as a “conscious program of discrimination, primarily against white men.”
