TPUSA’s AmericaFest 2025: Infighting, Idolatry, and the Implosion of a Conservative Goliath
Look, if you thought Turning Point USA was still the powerhouse Charlie Kirk built—rallying young conservatives with unapologetic biblical truth and patriotic fire—think again. This weekend’s AmericaFest 2025 in Phoenix was a dumpster fire of bickering, backstabbing, and bizarre celebrity cameos that screamed one thing: TPUSA is circling the drain. What was billed as a unity rally for “America First” devolved into open warfare among headliners, with Erika Kirk—Charlie’s widow—front and center in a role she has no business occupying. As I laid out in my earlier piece on orthodox Christian views of her leadership post-Charlie’s tragic assassination, a grieving mother belongs at home tending her flock, not onstage interviewing rappers with demonic vibes. This mess isn’t just embarrassing; it’s a harbinger of total implosion. Without the men who built TPUSA steering the ship, it’s headed straight for the rocks. Let’s break it down, no punches pulled, because scripture doesn’t mince words on division (Proverbs 6:16-19).
The Circus Tent: Infighting Takes Center Stage
AmericaFest kicked off December 18-21 with over 30,000 attendees—record-breaking, sure, but numbers can’t hide the rot. Instead of rallying cries, we got conservative icons slinging mud like it’s a WWE smackdown. Ben Shapiro lit the fuse, unleashing a scorched-earth tirade against “frauds, grifters, and charlatans” in the movement—naming Tucker Carlson for platforming Holocaust revisionists and Nick Fuentes, blasting Candace Owens for monetizing Charlie’s murder with conspiracy trash, and calling out Megyn Kelly for her “cowardice” in not condemning it all. Shapiro’s speech got a 25-second standing ovation from parts of the crowd, but it split the room—some cheered the truth-telling, others booed or sat silent, highlighting the fractures.
Tucker fired back less than an hour later, dismissing Shapiro’s remarks with a laugh: “I watched the speech and laughed.” He defended his “open debate” schtick, but let’s call it what it is—platforming evil under the guise of “questions.” Tucker mocks Christian Zionism as a “brain virus,” yet headlines an event founded on pro-Israel, biblical conservatism. This isn’t leadership; it’s ego-driven chaos that dishonors Charlie’s legacy. Open fighting at events? It’s a bad look, straight out of 1 Corinthians 3:3—carnal division among those claiming Christ’s name.
Megyn Kelly? She got dragged for refusing to slam Owens’ lies, with Shapiro accusing her of cowardice for prioritizing “friendship” over truth. Kelly’s silence on Owens’ monetizing grief—spinning wild tales about Mossad or TPUSA betrayal—reeks of complicity. If you’re a “conservative” voice too scared to call out antisemitic rot, you’re part of the problem. These speakers turned a memorial-tinged rally into a personal vendetta fest, proving TPUSA’s shift from theology to tabloid drama.
Erika Kirk’s Misplaced Spotlight: A Widow’s Role Ignored
Then there’s Erika Kirk, hand-in-hand with surprise guest Nicki Minaj—yes, the rapper infamous for satanic imagery and explicit lyrics. Minaj praised Trump, spotlighted Christian genocide in Nigeria (fair point), but slipped up calling JD Vance an “assassin”—Freudian or foolish? Either way, she had no place at a “conservative” event. Charlie himself called Minaj a “terrible role model” for young girls—why platform her now? This reeks of desperation, chasing clicks over conviction. Let’s be honest, Nicki Minaj is a proud whore who onced bragged about drugging and robbing her “johns.”
But the real scandal is Erika. As I argued in my prior post on her leadership after Charlie’s death, scripture is clear: Widows with children should prioritize home and hearth (1 Timothy 5:14). Grieving? Absolutely. Leading a massive org? That’s for the men who built it alongside Charlie—guys like Andrew Kolvet or Blake Neff, grounded in biblical manhood. Erika’s “grift” slip-up onstage? Telling. TPUSA needs patriarchs piloting, not a widow navigating grief amid spotlights. This feminist-flavored takeover dilutes the mission, turning faith into spectacle.
Polls and the Pulse: A Movement Adrift
Event polls revealed the drift: 90% back an immigration moratorium—solid America First—but Israel views split, with only 33% seeing it as top ally, 13% not an ally at all. This anti-Israel creep, fueled by Tucker’s crowd, betrays Charlie’s pro-Israel stance. Attendees booed antisemitism calls, cheered grifter jabs—signs of a base poisoned by division. Even Grindr outages rumors mocked the “Christian” facade.
The Harbinger: Implosion Incoming
This isn’t unity; it’s Romans 16:17—avoid those causing divisions. TPUSA, post-Charlie, prioritizes politics over piety, letting infighting erode its soul. Without male leaders reclaiming the helm, expect full collapse. Christians: Skip the circus, stick to scripture. As Galatians 5:15 warns, biting and devouring one another leads to destruction. TPUSA’s on that path—pray they course-correct before it’s too late.
Footnotes
John Adams to Officers of the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of Massachusetts, October 11, 1798, in The Works of John Adams, vol. 9, ed. Charles Francis Adams (Boston: Little, Brown, 1854), 230. (Adams knew: Moral people only—TPUSA’s circus proves the point.)
Amanda Tyler, How to End Christian Nationalism (Minneapolis: Broadleaf Books, 2024), 45. (Because nothing exposes grifters like a widow’s grief turned spectacle—Shapiro’s call-out hits hard, but where’s the unity, Ben?)
Johann Gottfried Herder, Treatise on the Origin of Language (1772; repr., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 150. (Infighting as “romantic” tribalism? Nah—it’s just carnal, Tucker, and your laughs don’t hide the division.)
Elie Kedourie, Nationalism (London: Hutchinson, 1960), 67. (Minaj at a “conservative” event? Proof TPUSA’s chasing cultural relevance over biblical roles—Erika, step back.)
Ernest Renan, “What Is a Nation?” (1882; repr. in Nation and Narration, ed. Homi K. Bhabha, London: Routledge, 1990), 22. (Polls show the drift—Israel as “one among many”? Charlie’s legacy weeps.)
Mark David Hall, “Did America Have a Christian Founding?” Heritage Foundation First Principles no. 26 (June 7, 2011): 5, https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/did-america-have-christian-founding. (Open fighting? Bad look for a “Christian” org—scripture calls for peace, not podcasts.)
John Fea, Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? A Historical Introduction (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 78. (Men built TPUSA; let them lead—widows grieve, not govern amid chaos.)
Archie P. Jones, “Remaining Early States’ History of Religious Freedom and Disestablishment,” Constituting America, March 7, 2019, https://constitutingamerica.org/remaining-early-states-history-religious-freedom-disestablishment-sc-nj-de-pa-md-ga-ri-archie-p-jones/. (Harbinger of implosion? Absolutely—without biblical order, it’s done.)
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