In death, Charlie Kirk has shown just how important a role he played as a Make America Great Again (MAGA) unifier.
This weekend conservatives across the coalition descended upon Phoenix, Arizona to pay tribute to the late activist at Turning Point USA’s (TPUSA) marquee event, one of them being the second-in-command.
Vice President JD Vance arrived on stage following an introduction by Kirk’s widow, Erika, as pyrotechnics and the song “Long Cool Woman” went off in the background. There, he echoed Charlie, applauding the display of “free thinkers” whilst calling for conservative unity after a weekend of high-profile clashes on the TPUSA AmericaFest stage.
“Every American is invited [into MAGA],” Vance said. “Charlie invited all of us here for a reason because he believed that each of us, all of us, had something worth saying, and he trusted all of you to make your own judgement, and we have far more important work to do than cancelling each other.”
Every speaker at the event was unified in their animosity towards transgender Americans, yet much of the event was marked by debate. American support for Israel was a central topic, as conservative commentators Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson clashed on night one, yet other divisions in the coalition were exposed as well.
Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, a Hindu American, spoke against the idea of “Heritage Americans,” supported by some on the right, which uplifts the idea that those who can trace their ancestry to the colonial era are more American than others. His speech was followed by and address from former Trump official Steve Bannon who said, “We have to Christianize this country” and has previously clashed with Ramaswamy over support for H-1B visas.
The juxtaposition of speakers appeared intentional, and in a prior statement to Newsweek, TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet said: “We embrace the debate and the dialogue. We don’t back down from it, and we’re not afraid of it. The only way is through, so we can land on a consensus that actually unites the coalition.”
Organizers of the event must hope that Vance can be the man to build this consensus by the time 2028 rolls around.
Over roughly a decade under the leadership of President Donald Trump, the Republican Party has largely operated in lockstep with the president’s wishes. Thus, any fracturing in the MAGA coalition sparks headlines and political intrigue.
Trump won reelection in 2024 through pulling together at what times appeared to be contradicting coalitions as he cobbled together traditional conservatives, blue collar populists, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, and the religious right, among others.
Given Tump’s cult of personality, skepticism lingers around whether any other individual can hold this group together. The president has signaled he sees Vance as the heir to his coalition, and Turning Point made clear it agrees with that decision, as Erika Kirk endorsed the VP for president in 2028.
A product of rural Ohio, Vance’s rise to national pronounce came with the publication of his memoir Hillbilly Elegy that drew attention to a segment of the American populace that reflects Trump’s base. However, as a Yale-educated attorney and former employee of conservative, Silicon Valley investor, Peter Theil, Vance boasts a resume tailor-made for the current iteration of MAGA.
Bolstering Vance’s case is the support he’s seen from Donald Trump Jr. who privately lobbied for his selection as VP. The president’s eldest child has called Vance a friend and utilized his speech to make clear MAGA controls the GOP: “It’s not the Republican Party anymore—It’s the America First Party.”
However, what constitutes America First at the moment remains in question as former MAGA diehards like Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green have criticized the president for prioritizing foreign affairs and suggested he and his administration have strayed away from the America First ethos.
Turning Point though has largely shown support for the president’s international agenda and boasts and organizing force that’s virtually unparalleled in Republican politics. White House officials credited TPUSA with playing a key role in Trump’s 2024 victory as he built on his 2020 victory margin with 18-29-year-old voters by 11 points, winning 47 percent of that demographic.
Having the organization behind Vance elevates him even further into 2028 GOP front runner status. Yet, the question that remains is whether the divisions exposed at AmericaFest will result in healthy debate that makes MAGA stronger or ignites a civil war that tears its governing coalition apart.
For now, the legacy of the late TPUSA founder has remained enough to get those embroiled in bitter ideological feuds under one roof. Vance sought to end the event by reminding attendees of what binds them and urging them to commit to their shared cause.
“If you miss Charlie Kirk, do you promise to fight what he died for? Do you promise to take the country back from the people who took his life?” Vance said. “My friends, commit to these things and I promise you victory.
