Remembering Charlie Kirk And His Impact On Young Conservatives
Who was the late Charlie Kirk, the right-wing political activist shot and killed earlier today during a speaking appearance at Utah Valley University in Utah.
The 31-year-old was one of the most recognizable figures in the youth conservative movement. He was a political activist, author and broadcast personality who first got involved in campus politics while in high school in Illinois.
As a senior at Wheeling High School in 2012, Kirk gained his first national notoriety when he wrote a piece about the alleged liberal indoctrination of academic textbooks for the controversial Breitbart News. It earned him an appearance on Fox Business—the beginning of his string of Fox Network appearances.
Kirk continued to participate in political activism while attending Harper College but dropped out when he was lured into fulltime activism. After leaving college his freshman year he burst on the political scene as founder of the youth conservative group Turning Point USA.
The married father of two expanded his political influence quickly when he garnered national attention with the founding of the Professor Watch List and School Board Watch List. with the stated purpose to, "...expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom." The School Board Watch List has a similar purpose.
Kirk gained power and prestige as one of Donald Trump's most vocal supporters. He became known as “Trump’s Man on Campus,” even though he was a dropout.
His ultra-conservative reputation was cemented when he embarked on a national tour to rid campuses of liberal bias, The “Culture War” tour, paired him with prominent political figures like Donald Trump Jr. and Senator Rand Paul. It was tremendously successful with campus conservatives.
The young political activist visited the University of Alabama campus in November of 2021 where he was critical of vaccine usage for COVID19 and "Critical Race Theory". He also advocated for the abolishment of Greek life on college campuses.
More recently, Kirk and TPUSA underwent a dramatic Christian right makeover calling on Christians to, "...view conservative political activism as central to Jesus’ calling for their lives.”
His "The Charlie Kirk Show," attracted numerous high profile conservative leaders, including Alabama Senior Republican U.S. Senator and gubernatorial candidate Tommy Tuberville.
Kirk had embarked on the first stop of his nationwide "American Comeback Tour" at Utah Valley University when he was assassinated by a shooter just after noon Utah time today. He was allegedly discussing shooting and gang violence at the time.
Kirk was married to Erika Frantzve who is best known for serving as Miss Arizona 2012. They had two children.
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