Turning Point USA held its AmericaFest conference. Here’s what happened

Turning Point USA held its AmericaFest conference. Here’s what happened Turning Point USA’s first AmericaFest without Charlie Kirk reveals ideological rifts within the conservative movement. Prominent conservative figures in the United States have clashed at Turning Point USA’s annual conference, exposing the underlying rift within the ruling Republican Party and US President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) base. The four-day conference held in Phoenix, Arizona, brought together Republican leaders, media personalities, and conservative activists, an event which exposed deep ideological disagreements within the conservative movement. Recommended Stories list of 3 items list 1 of 3 Did X unwittingly unmask top MAGA influencers as foreign trolls? list 2 of 3 Israel is now at the centre of a Republican civil war list 3 of 3 Is US President Donald Trump preparing to strike Venezuela? Some of the biggest names - including media figures Ben Shapiro, Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson - took turns attacking each other on the stage on the US support to Israel, bigotry, free speech and other related topics. So, what is Turning Point USA (TPUSA), and what are the key takeaways from the AmericaFest conference - the first since the group’s founder, Charlie Kirk , was killed in September? What Is TPUSA? Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is a US-based nonprofit conservative group established in 2012 by Charlie Kirk, who was killed in September during an event in Utah. After Kirk’s death, his widow Erika Kirk took over as CEO of TPUSA. The organisation operates more than 850 chapters on college campuses nationwide and works to mobilise and train young conservatives in high schools, colleges and universities, advocating for free-market principles and limited government. The AmericaFest conference, held annually since 2021, combines political speeches, networking, and cultural programming aimed at galvanising young conservative activists. Who spoke at the AmericaFest conference? The event featured a mix of Republican elected officials, prominent conservative media figures and celebrities. Among the most prominent voices were: Ben Shapiro, Daily Wire cofounder and conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, journalist and head of Tucker Carlson Network Megyn Kelly, journalist and host of The Megyn Kelly Show US Vice President JD Vance Erika Kirk, TPUSA CEO Steve Bannon, podcaster and former adviser in the first Trump administration What issues divided the conservatives? Debate over bigotry, conspiracy theories and platforming Ben Shapiro, who was the first speaker after CEO Kirk, made a blistering critique of several fellow conservatives, most notably Carlson and Megyn Kelly. Shapiro, a vocal supporter of Israel, described others as “grifters” and “charlatans” for amplifying so-called conspiratorial and extremist figures in the broader conservative movement. Shapiro said Carlson’s decision to host far-right figure Nick Fuentes on his podcast was “an act of moral imbecility”. Fuentes has been accused of anti-Semitism. Carlson, for his part, responded directly on the same stage, mocking Shapiro’s criticism and framing attempts to ostracise certain voices as divisive. He said he “laughed” at the push for what he characterised as attempts to censor dissenters, underscoring an intense ideological clash...

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