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From Robby Soave’s obit for Kirk at Reason:
Kirk was influential among young people. He launched Turning Point USA in 2012, with financial backing from Tea Party activist Bill Montgomery. The organization’s stated goal was to foster a conservative movement on college campuses, following in the footsteps of past groups such as Young Americans for Freedom. He was adept at creating catchy slogans and useful talking points for conservative students to deploy against leftwing thinkers; he popularized the phrase “Socialism Sucks” and added it to t-shirts, posters, and banners. He took advantage of dramatically increased interest in crazy campus happenings among the broader American public, and he encouraged dissenting kids to challenge their liberal professors, form right-leaning organizations, and invite Republican speakers to campus. Under Kirk’s leadership, the group became the undisputed king of conservative campus activism, helping turn thousands of non-liberal students into fans of the Republican Party and its rising stars: Candace Owen, Tucker Carlson, Ben Shapiro, Matt Walsh, and of course Trump.
Kirk too became a prominent star, known for his debate-me-bro persona. He did not confine himself to the company of the already converted, and he seemed to enjoy venturing into the fray and arguing with liberals and leftists—the more of them at once, the better. Indeed, at the time of his death, Kirk was scheduled to debate the leftist commentator Hasan Piker.
Kirk was also at the forefront of conservative movement’s conquest of independent, alternative media spaces. He hosted his own podcast, racking up millions of views, listeners, and downloads on YouTube, Spotify, and other platforms where conservative media personalities have thrived. While he is far from the only right-wing figure to take advantage of the changing media landscape, it would be hard to overstate his impact on the overall trajectory of the Republican Party, youth activism, and conservative communications. The current crop of MAGA influencers on TikTok, Instagram, and X—some of whom now regularly appear at White House press briefings, displacing more traditional media figures—are the inheritors of the ecosystem he built.
Donald Trump Jr., who was close friends with Kirk, has published a tribute, as well:
Charlie dedicated his life to something bigger than himself. He fought tirelessly for this country, for the values that make America great, and for the next generation. The impact he had on young people — reaching them in masses, giving them courage to stand up, to think for themselves, and to fight for freedom — is immeasurable. There is no question that Charlie’s work and his voice helped my father win the presidency. He changed the direction of this nation.
Charlie was never a threat to anyone. He was civil, he was kind, he listened and responded with respect. The only “threat” he ever posed was that he was incredibly effective. He was a powerful messenger of truth, and people heard that truth.
That’s what made him a target.
This loss is absolutely devastating — not only for Erika and the kids, but for our country. We’ve lost a leader, a fighter, and a man whose character and conviction were rare. Too rare. To think that his life was cut short by a brutal, heinous, evil act is beyond comprehension. It is horrible and it is heartbreaking.
Former GOP strategist T.W. Arrighi wrote on X that Kirk was “doing it the right way”:
Charlie built a movement on campuses across America by engaging students in debate and dialogue. Challenging orthodoxy and winning hearts and minds in the process. Isn’t that what we want from political figures? To try and silence that work through violence is antithetical to everything we stand for as a country.
Semafor’s David Weigel writes that Kirk “created a new paradigm for conservatives”:
The current round of liberal hand-wringing about how conservatives have become far better at driving the political conversation stems in large part from Kirk. He pitched the conservative movement not just as a club for tax cuts and law-and-order politics, but as a lifestyle.
That, Kirk believed, would help win over young people who felt they were being offered miserable choices by the left.
“Younger audiences love this contrarian heterodox approach,” Kirk told me in an interview at the 2024 Republican National Convention. “The mantra is not that, if you’re a man, you’re an oppressor. It’s not that having children is a plague on the planet.
“We’re here to say, actually, no, having children is a gift from God and it’s a wonderful thing,” he added. “We’re saying, getting married is awesome, and you can reject hookup culture.”
Kirk is survived by his wife, two children, and by the sprawling political movement he created on the US right.
His killing will doubtless exacerbate divisions in a country already shaken by political violence. But his influence will live on in the movement he helped shape — where his style of debate and argument, and his unapologetic Christian faith, have created a new paradigm for conservatives.
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Intelligencer Staff
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