PHOENIX, Ariz. – While it’s true that Erika Kirk is the head of one of the country’s leading conservative groups, at one point this weekend during Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest she made it clear that she has an even more important title: mother.
After two days of infighting at the conference among some of the top stars, Kirk smiled on stage Friday night and said, “Well, say what you want about AmFest, but it’s certainly not boring. It feels like Thanksgiving dinner with your family pulling out the family business.”
This is the best and most positive way to look at the Phoenix bickering between Ben Shapiro, Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and other right-wing celebrities. It was mainly about Israel, and it was a side issue that few attendees expected or especially wanted.
Brent, in his 50s and from Oklahoma City, came to AmFest with his two sons.
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“I was there the night Ben and Tucker attacked each other. At one point I said to my wife, I’m going to get some fresh air, I just felt like I needed to escape to the real world, you know?” He told me as he smoked.
I knew it.
In addition to the sniping over Israel and anti-Semitism, the question of what a “heritage American” is, and whether it is a thing at all, has also been divisive. Vivek Ramaswamy, candidate for governor of Ohio, told the crowd, “I think the idea of an American with a heritage is about as crazy as anything the woke left has actually come up with,” adding, “There is no American who is more American than anyone else. … It’s binary. You’re either an American or you’re not.”
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This would have been Civics 101, even for conservatives, not that long ago, but Ramaswamy is right to talk about wokeness, because proponents of the concept that a genealogy that traces back to the founding of a nation is something special is largely driven by the fact that such people have been told for decades that this is actually the only lineage that is not special, or something to be proud of.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Charlie Kirk, founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, during an event on March 22, 2018 in Washington. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
I asked Dennis, a fourth-generation rancher in South Dakota, which sounds pretty old-fashioned to me, what he made of it.
“I don’t think about that much,” he said. “If you love the country and follow its laws, you can be an American.”
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Dennis was much more interested in and enjoyed talking about soybeans and sugar beets. I asked how the tariffs affected him, and he told me, “It hurts, but I look at the big picture and I think it will be good in the long run.”
Erika Kirk delivers remarks during the memorial service for her husband, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on September 21. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
It was tempting, after a conversation, not just with Dennis, but with many of the attendees, old and young, who are most focused on awards, to think, “It’s the economy, you stupid idiot, throw that identity politics stuff away.” But Erika Kirk made a good point: These may be fights the right needs to fight before it can establish itself in next year’s midterm elections.
TPUSA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet posted this message on X.
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“If we force conformity without uncomfortable debates, a winning consensus cannot emerge,” he wrote. “There is no civil war. This is the necessary work of a conservative coalition that must define its dominant center ahead of the coming battles. We are not hive minded commies. Let it happen.”
It should also be noted that airing all of this at an actual live event is much better than endless sniping on social media, where no one is ever really forced to compete with ideas they oppose. Just shaking hands with someone you disagree with can have a powerful calming influence.
On Sunday, the grand finale of AmFest will be Vice President J.D. Vance’s address to attendees. There was a queue from 4am.
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Sarah, a freshman, told me, “I wasn’t old enough to vote for Trump, but I got to vote for Vance, and I’m excited about that.” This is good news for Vance, but it also comes with a lot of pressure. Can he be the force that heals the wounds that will open this weekend at AmFest?
Erika Kirk is right: families fight sometimes. In fact, sometimes they have to. But the question is always: what happens after the outburst, after the tears and the accusations?
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Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., told the crowd this weekend: “You may not like Tucker Carlson, Ben Shapiro, Steve Bannon or me. Guess what: If the radical left wins, we all stick together.”
This seems correct, and even after the vicious fighting of AmFest, it is still a goal well within the reach of TPUSA and the conservative movement. It’s also almost certainly what Charlie Kirk would have wanted.
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