Tensions within the MAGA movement surfaced prominently on the first night of Turning Point USA's America Fest conference in Phoenix, Arizona, as speakers traded criticisms amid debates over antisemitism and American identity. The event, the largest since founder Charlie Kirk's death in September, drew over 30,000 attendees, including many young conservatives. Erika Kirk, the organization's new CEO, endorsed Vice President JD Vance for president in 2028.
Turning Point USA's America Fest 2025 kicked off on December 18, 2025, at the Phoenix Convention Center, marking the conservative group's first major national conference since the September shooting death of founder Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus. More than 30,000 people attended, with 80% being first-timers and one-third students. The organization reported over 1 million members across 4,000 high school and college chapters, a surge of 140,000 since Kirk's death.
The evening quickly turned contentious. Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro, speaking after Erika Kirk, lambasted fellow conservatives including Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and Steve Bannon as 'frauds and grifters.' He warned, 'The conservative movement is in serious danger... from charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle but actually traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty.' Shapiro specifically criticized Carlson for amplifying Owens' conspiracy theories about Kirk's murder and for interviewing far-right influencer Nick Fuentes, a Holocaust denier. 'The people who refused to condemn Candace’s truly vicious attacks... are guilty of cowardice,' Shapiro said. He added, 'If you host a Hitler apologist, Nazi-loving, anti-American piece of refuse like Nick Fuentes... you ought to own it.' Shapiro also called Bannon 'a PR flack for Jeffrey Epstein' amid upcoming file releases.
Carlson fired back from the stage, calling Shapiro 'pompous' and mocking his deplatforming calls at a Kirk event as 'hilarious.' He denounced antisemitism, stating, 'Antisemitism is not just naughty, it’s immoral,' while railing against cancel culture.
Earlier, Daily Wire's Michael Knowles emphasized American identity as a 'real people with a real historical lineage and a real historical destiny,' countering Vivek Ramaswamy's op-ed on ideals-based identity. Knowles said, 'To be on the team, you have to acknowledge that there is such a thing as the American people. We’re not just an idea floating in outer space.' He stressed assimilation: 'When it’s worked, those foreigners have come to act and talk and even look like us.'
Erika Kirk addressed the divisions, urging unity: 'You won’t agree with everyone on this stage this weekend. And that’s okay. Welcome to America.' She endorsed Vance, a close ally of her late husband, declaring, 'We are going to get my husband’s friend JD Vance elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible.' Vance, set to speak Sunday, has not confirmed a 2028 run but leads early GOP polls. The conference featured politicians like Texas AG Ken Paxton and Rep. Mike Collins, signaling TPUSA's influence on the party's future.
Actor Russell Brand spoke on Christianity and criticized vaccines and pharmaceuticals, providing a lighter moment amid the infighting.
