Here’s what you missed at Turning Point’s chaotic convention

PHOENIX — When Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest convention reached its halfway point, Erika Kirk tried to put a smiley face on things.

“Say what you want about AmFest, but it’s certainly not boring,” said Kirk, who has led the influential conservative organization since the assassination of her husband Charlie in September. “It feels like a Thanksgiving dinner where your family takes care of the family business. »

That’s one way of putting it.

Some of the biggest names in conservative media took turns torching each other on the main stage, spending more time targeting their rivals on the right than their adversaries on the left.

These feuds could ultimately define the boundaries of the Republican Party and determine the future of President Donald Trump’s divisive coalition, which appears poised for further schisms in the months and years to come.

Here are some of the most notable moments from the four-day conference.

Ben Shapiro, co-founder of the conservative media outlet Daily Wire, set the tone with the first speech after Erika Kirk opened the convention. He attacked his fellow commentators in deeply personal terms, claiming that some of the most popular figures on the right were morally bankrupt.

Candace Owens has been “spewing all sorts of hideous, conspiratorial nonsense into the public square for years,” he said.

Megyn Kelly is “guilty of cowardice” because she refused to condemn Owens for spreading unsubstantiated theories about Kirk’s death.

And Tucker Carlson’s decision to host anti-Semite Nick Fuentes on his podcast was “an act of moral imbecility.”

Barely an hour later, Carlson took the same stage and mocked Shapiro’s attempt to “distort and denounce” people who disagree with him.

“I looked at it,” he said. “I laughed.”

Others got their chance the next night.

“Ben Shapiro is like a cancer, and that cancer is spreading,” said Steve Bannon, a former Trump adviser.

Kelly belittled Shapiro as a fringe figure in the conservative movement and said their friendship was over.

“I don’t like that he thinks he’s in a position to decide who gets to tell what, to whom and when,” Kelly said.

Owens, who spread baseless conspiracy theories about Charlie Kirk’s death, was not welcome at the convention. But she responded on her podcast, calling Shapiro a “miserable pixie.”

Israel came up several times during the conference.

Some on the right question whether the Republican Party’s historically unwavering support for Israel conflicts with Trump’s “America First” agenda. Carlson criticized the deaths of civilians in Gaza in remarks that would not have been out of place in progressive circles.

Some participants delved deeper into history, highlighting the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty off the Sinai Peninsula in 1967. Israel said it mistook the ship for an Egyptian vessel during the Six-Day War, while critics argued it was a deliberate strike.

Bannon accused Shapiro, who is Jewish, and others who strongly support Israel of being part of “the first Israel mob.” Kelly said the criticism from Shapiro and Bari Weiss, the new head of CBS News, “is about Israel.”

Erika Kirk has pledged Turning Point’s support for Vice President JD Vance to be the next Republican presidential nominee.

“We’re going to elect my husband’s friend, JD Vance, for 48 years, in the most resounding way possible,” she said on the first night of the convention. Vance would be the 48th president if he took office after Trump.

Turning Point is a major force on the right, with a vast network of volunteers across the country that can be particularly helpful in early primary states.

Vance was close to Charlie Kirk, whose support contributed to his rapid political rise. The vice president is expected to close the convention as the final speaker on Sunday.

The Make America Healthy Again movement had a strong presence at Turning Point, signaling its rapid rise in the right-wing ecosystem.

MAHA is led by Robert F. Kennedy, who heads the Department of Health and Human Services. However, there has been friction with other parts of the Make America Great Again coalition, particularly regarding rolling back environmental regulations.

Wellness influencer Alex Clark, whose podcast is sponsored by Turning Point, asked the crowd if the Environmental Protection Agency was “with us or against us?”

“Big chemical, agricultural and food companies are trying to separate MAGA from MAHA so things can get back to normal, but we don’t want that, do we? Clark said.

Clark and others called on Trump to fire EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who responded by contacting MAHA activists. The EPA also announced that it would release a MAHA program for the agency.

The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Clark’s speech.