Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead on Wednesday, pioneered a new conservative political defense model, combining comments on multiple platforms with face-to-face meetings and campaigns to encourage vote.
Kirk, 31, was an extremely successful base political organizer, influencer at Tiktok, radio announcer, leader of a non-profit organization and public speaker, all gathered in a phones.
At one moment Kirk could be in Fox News promoting the agenda of his friend, President Donald Trump; In the following, he could be at X or Instagram to invite young people to create conservative groups in their secondary schools and universities.
With Turning Point USA (Tpusa), the non -profit organization he co -founded in 2012 at the age of 18, Kirk built a base operation of the new generation that directly linked to the Republican Party, to great envy of his democratic rivals.
The part of his work as a commentator mixed almost imperceptibly with the political organization part, but probably what stood out most were his public appearances in conservative conferences and university campuses.
Wednesday marked the beginning of the autumn tour of Kirk by universities across the country – announced as the American Comeback Tour.
Kirk took the day off from his daytime radio and podcast to prepare for the event on the campus, and had spent about 20 minutes since the beginning of his intervention when he was hit in the neck by a bullet fired by a shooter.
Prominent figures in the world of media They lamented the death of a man who knew personally. “We lost one of the most important voices we had on the right during my life,” said Megyn Kelly in a broadcast live with Glenn Beck.
“Charlie Kirk was doing things the right way,” wrote Republican stratega Tw Arrighi no X. “Charlie built a movement in campuses across the country by involving students in debates and dialogues. Challenging orthodoxy and conquering hearts and minds in the process. This is not what we want from political figures? as a country. ”
Over the course of a decade, Charlie Kirk has successfully transformed Turning Point uses into a national force, performing as a spokesman for the Make America Great Again (Maga) Movement.
The Turning Point website uses Citavia Kirk saying, “We played the attack with a sense of urgency to overcome America’s Cultural War.”
This is how Kirk and Turning Point uses they achieved success in conservative circles – by inserting the organization directly into cultural battles and turning controversial debates into online and face -to -face involvement.
Kirk defended right -wing ideas in lit confrontations in front of the chambers with progressive academics, which later became viral on social networks, especially on Twitter, now known as X. His desire to debate became a mark of the non -profit organization, helping to turn Kirk into a much sought -after media star and a much sought after television and podcasts – when he was not busy with his own programs.
Some of the stops of his tour This fall were promoted as forums for disagreement, presenting what Kirk called the table “Prove Me Wrong” (“I prove to me I’m wrong”), where he confronted ideological opponents.
“I am trying to be proactive in encouraging dialogue between people who disagree,” CNN journalist told 2021.
Kirk’s rise in conservative politics reflected the growth of right -wing populism in the United States. He supported Trump during the 2016 presidential election and aggressively promoted his reelection candidates. Turning Point local groups helped register republicans and ensure that probable Trump voters actually attend the polls. Trump and his intimate circle, in turn, helped raise Kirk and Tpusa even more.
Kirk’s youth has proved to be an advantage as it naturally built an online brand on platforms like YouTube, eventually gaining millions of digital followers.
Its political and media machine also launched other podcasts and initiatives in media to reach young people in new ways.
Alex Clark’s “Culture Apothecary”, for example, was released in September 2024 and focused on welfare and lifestyle, addressing themes through the Prism “Make America Healthy Again”.
Kirk clear his ambitions in an interview with Deseret News, a Utah newspaper, on the days before Wednesday’s event at the university campus.
“We want to be an institution in this country as well known and powerful as The New York Times, Harvard and technology companies,” said Kirk. “And we believe we are creating it.”
