Jump to content

Turning Point USA: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 33°22′30.0″N 111°58′32.3″W / 33.375000°N 111.975639°W / 33.375000; -111.975639
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Thorc12 (talk | contribs)
17 edits
No edit summary
→Finances: Removing sentence about "leaked records/funneling money" as it is stated no where in the cited source, which also fails as a reliable source (As do most of the sources in the *Finance sub-section, will be reviewing and removing other poorly sourced statements in the finance section) since it is labelled at the top of the publication as an [WP:OPINION]] piece. Not reliable for facts.
Line 176: Line 176:
Turning Point USA also contributes money to its affiliated operational organizations, including Turning Point Endowment.<ref name="beastrevealed2">{{cite web |last=Markay |first=Lachlan |date=June 28, 2018 |title=Exclusive: Pro-Trump Group, Turning Point USA, Has Finances Revealed |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/exclusive-pro-trump-group-turning-point-usa-has-finances-revealed |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181027185736/https://www.thedailybeast.com/exclusive-pro-trump-group-turning-point-usa-has-finances-revealed |archive-date=October 27, 2018 |access-date=October 18, 2018 |website=[[Daily Beast]] |location=New York City}}</ref>
Turning Point USA also contributes money to its affiliated operational organizations, including Turning Point Endowment.<ref name="beastrevealed2">{{cite web |last=Markay |first=Lachlan |date=June 28, 2018 |title=Exclusive: Pro-Trump Group, Turning Point USA, Has Finances Revealed |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/exclusive-pro-trump-group-turning-point-usa-has-finances-revealed |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181027185736/https://www.thedailybeast.com/exclusive-pro-trump-group-turning-point-usa-has-finances-revealed |archive-date=October 27, 2018 |access-date=October 18, 2018 |website=[[Daily Beast]] |location=New York City}}</ref>


In the 2016{{Ndash}}17 [[Fiscal year|financial year]], Turning Point USA reported US$8.2 million in donations to the [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]], an increase from $4.3 million the previous year. The same year, expenses for the group doubled, reaching $8.3 million, most of which were employment related costs ($4.3 million).<ref name=":0" /> In 2017, leaked records found that the group had funnelled "thousands of dollars" into student governments to elect conservative candidates.<ref name=":1" />
In the 2016{{Ndash}}17 [[Fiscal year|financial year]], Turning Point USA reported US$8.2 million in donations to the [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]], an increase from $4.3 million the previous year. The same year, expenses for the group doubled, reaching $8.3 million, most of which were employment related costs ($4.3 million).<ref name=":0" />


In 2019, TPUSA's reported revenues from donors were $28.5 million, and CEO Charlie Kirk's compensation was $292,423.<ref>{{cite web |last=Vasquez |first=Michael |date=July 10, 2020 |title=As Turning Point USA Grows, So Does Charlie Kirk's Salary |url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/as-turning-point-usa-grows-so-does-charlie-kirks-salary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628213753/https://www.chronicle.com/article/as-turning-point-usa-grows-so-does-charlie-kirks-salary |archive-date=June 28, 2021 |access-date=February 5, 2022 |work=The Chronicle of Higher Education}}</ref>
In 2019, TPUSA's reported revenues from donors were $28.5 million, and CEO Charlie Kirk's compensation was $292,423.<ref>{{cite web |last=Vasquez |first=Michael |date=July 10, 2020 |title=As Turning Point USA Grows, So Does Charlie Kirk's Salary |url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/as-turning-point-usa-grows-so-does-charlie-kirks-salary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628213753/https://www.chronicle.com/article/as-turning-point-usa-grows-so-does-charlie-kirks-salary |archive-date=June 28, 2021 |access-date=February 5, 2022 |work=The Chronicle of Higher Education}}</ref>

Revision as of 18:12, 26 August 2024

Turning Point USA
AbbreviationTPUSA
FormationJune 5, 2012; 12 years ago (2012-06-05)
TypeNonprofit organization
80-0835023
PurposeAdvocacy of conservatism on education campuses
Headquarters4940 East Beverly Road Phoenix, Arizona 85044[1]
Region served
United States
LeaderCharlie Kirk
RevenueIncrease US$81 million[2] (2023)
Websitetpusa.com
This article is part of a series on
Conservatism
in the United States
Schools
Principles
History
Intellectuals
Politicians
Jurists
Commentators
Activists
Literature
Concerns
Parties
Active

Defunct

Think tanks
Media

Newspapers

Journals

TV channels

Websites

Other

Other organizations

Economics

Gun rights

Identity politics

Nativist

Religion

Watchdog groups

Youth/student groups

Miscellaneous

Other

Movements
Related

Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses.[3][4][5][6][7] It was founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk and Bill Montgomery.[5][8] TPUSA's affiliate groups include Turning Point Endowment, Turning Point Action and TPUSA Faith.[9][10][11] TPUSA has been described as the fastest growing organization of campus chapters in America, and according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, is the dominant force in campus conservatism.[3][12]

In 2016, the organization launched Professor Watchlist, a website that lists academic staff purported by TPUSA to "discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom".[5] TPUSA has attempted to influence student government elections in an effort to "combat liberalism on college and university campuses".[13][14][15] In 2021, TPUSA started its School Board Watchlist website, which publishes names and photos of school board members who have adopted mask mandates or anti-racist curricula.[16][17][18]

TPUSA hosts several annual conferences, including the Student Action Summit, Young Women's Leadership Summit, Young Black Leadership Summit, and AmericaFest. The organization is funded by conservative donors and foundations, including Republican Party politicians.

History

Donald Trump speaks at the 2019 Student Action Summit

In May 2012, 18-year old Charlie Kirk gave a speech at Benedictine University's Youth Government Day.[19] Impressed, retired marketing entrepreneur and Tea Party activist Bill Montgomery encouraged Kirk to postpone college and engage full-time in political activism. A month later, the day after Kirk graduated from high school, they launched Turning Point USA, a section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.[20][21][22] Montgomery became Kirk's mentor, and worked behind the scenes handling the paperwork for the organization.[23] Montgomery often described himself as the group's co-founder, although it was not an official recognition by the group or Kirk.[20]

At the 2012 Republican National Convention, Kirk met Foster Friess, a Republican donor, and persuaded him to finance the organization.[23][24] Friess also served on the organization's advisory council, alongside Ginni Thomas, wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.[25] Barry Russell, president and CEO of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), is a key advisor.[26]

Between July 2016 and June 2017, the organization raised in excess of US$8.2 million.[27] The same year, leaked records found that the group had funnelled "thousands of dollars" into student governments to elect conservatives.[28] Donors include Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus, former Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, Richard Uihlein, and the Donors Trust on behalf of private donors.[29][30][31]

In March 2023, it was announced via Twitter by Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens that the BLEXIT Foundation and TPUSA have partnered. Blexit would be incorporating their message through TPUSA's branding style and corporate structure, while retaining Candace Owens and Brandon Tatum in leadership roles.[32][third-party source needed]

Leadership and associates

Charlie Kirk

Main article: Charlie Kirk
Kirk speaking at Culture War Tour, October 22, 2019

Charlie Kirk is a Republican activist.[33]

External videos
video icon Charlie Kirk ~ The Conservative Forum ~ 9-8-2015 on YouTube (Liberty Forum of Silicon Valley) (at 2:10–3:20)

In a 2015 speech at the Liberty Forum of Silicon Valley, Kirk said that he had applied to the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, and was not accepted.[34] He said that "the slot he considered his went to 'a far less-qualified candidate of a different gender and a different persuasion'" whose test scores he claimed he knew.[14][35] In 2017 he told The New Yorker that he was being sarcastic when he said it,[14] and at a New Hampshire TPUSA event featuring Senator Rand Paul in October 2019 he claimed that he never said it.[35]

Kirk addressed the 2016 Republican National Convention. In an interview with Wired magazine during the convention, Kirk said that while he "was not the world's biggest Donald Trump fan", he would vote for him, and that Trump's candidacy made his task more difficult.[36] He spent the rest of the 2016 presidential campaign assisting with travel and media arrangements and running errands for Donald Trump Jr.[37]

Several former employees and student volunteers for TPUSA claimed they had witnessed collusion between high-ranking TPUSA employees – including Kirk himself and top advisor Ginni Thomas – and the presidential campaigns of both Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. The interactions included Kirk coordinating via email with two officials at a pro-Cruz super PAC to send student volunteers to work for the PAC in South Carolina, as well as two students being requested by Thomas herself, via voicemail, to distribute over 200 Cruz placards in Wisconsin.[14] A former employee for TPUSA, who had been based in Florida, alleged that TPUSA had given the personal information of over 700 student supporters to an employee with Rubio's presidential campaign.[14]

In October 2016, Kirk participated in a Fox News event along with Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Lara Trump that had a pro-Donald Trump tone. A TPUSA staff member wrote on Facebook that students who attended the event would have their expenses covered. The event led tax experts to say the organization's conduct may have violated its tax-exempt status, a charge disputed by TPUSA.[38]

In 2019, Kirk became CEO of Students for Trump. In 2020, he was a keynote speaker on the first day of the Republican National Convention, calling President Donald Trump the "bodyguard of western civilization".[39]

Bill Montgomery

Bill Montgomery (1940–2020) was a marketing entrepreneur and onetime participant in the Tea Party movement.[22] He launched Turning Point USA with Kirk in 2012 and served as the organization's secretary and treasurer until April 2020.[20][22]

Montgomery died of complications resulting from contracting COVID-19 in July 2020.[40][41]

Tyler Bowyer

Tyler Bowyer became the organization's chief operating officer (COO) in 2017.[42][43][44]

Others

In February 2019, Turning Point USA hired Benny Johnson as chief creative officer.[45][46] Johnson had been fired by BuzzFeed for plagiarism in 2014[45][46] and suspended by the Independent Journal Review in 2017 for publishing a conspiracy theory about Barack Obama.[47]

In May 2019, communications director Candace Owens resigned after controversial remarks she made in December 2018 were publicized and some TPUSA campus chapters called for her resignation.[48] She had said in a speech at a conservative event in London that "if Hitler just wanted to make Germany great and have things run well, okay fine. The problem is ... he had dreams outside of Germany. He wanted to globalize." She later stated that "leftist journalists" had mischaracterized her statement.[49]

In May 2019, it was reported that TPUSA's director for high school outreach, Kyle Kashuv, had previously used racially inflammatory language in a Google Document. Kashuv resigned from TPUSA hours after his former classmates threatened to make the screenshots from the document public. After the screenshots were published, Kashuv acknowledged that his comments were "callous and inflammatory".[50][51]

In 2021, political activist Jack Posobiec joined TPUSA to host the show Human Events Daily.[52][53]

Activities

TPUSA says its mission is "to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government".[54] In late 2017, the organization claimed to have representation on 1,000 campuses. Journalist Joseph Guinto could not verify the number in 2018, finding that Turning Point USA had 400 officially registered chapters, many of whom showed no activity on their Facebook pages.[55][21] Each of TPUSA's paid workers is supposed to meet a quota to make at least 1,500 student contacts per semester.[56] Student volunteers have several different themes for promoting conservative ideas, including "The Healthcare Games", "Game of Loans", and "iCapitalism".[57] According to The Washington Post, TPUSA centers "group membership on making provocative claims and publicly inciting outrage".[58]

Turning Point USA supports the NRA and the use of fossil fuels,[59] and opposes groups such as Black Lives Matter.[60] Turning Point USA and Turning Point UK promote the Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory and said they are working to "combat it" in universities. Kirk described universities as "islands of totalitarianism".[61][62]

Annual summits

Turning Point USA holds several annual national conferences, including the Student Action Summit[63][43][64] and the Young Women's Leadership Summit (YWLS).[65] YWLS focuses to promote women's leadership, encourages women to get married, have children, and become homemakers. The National Rifle Association (NRA) was the headline sponsor of the YWLS in 2017 and 2018.[65] According to The New York Times, YWLS "styles itself as an alternative to a liberal culture of feminism that many Republicans characterize as oppressive" and had by 2018 "evolved into an ultra-Trumpian event complete with 'lock her up' chants and vulgar T-shirts disparaging Hillary Clinton".[65] Candace Owens, who days prior to the 2018 conference stirred controversy by saying "the entire premise of #metoo is that women are stupid, weak, and inconsequential", was greeted with a standing ovation at the conference.[65] Turning Point USA also hosts the Young Black Leadership Summit[66] and the Young Latino Leadership Summit. TPUSA provided lodging and some meals for the attendees who could also apply for travel stipends.[67] In December 2021, Turning Point USA also launched AmericaFest, a four-day conference that featured conservative speakers such as Donald Trump Jr., and Sarah Palin interspersed with country music acts. Kyle Rittenhouse, who recently had been acquitted of murder charges in the Kenosha unrest shooting, was introduced with a standing ovation and participated in a discussion about the incident.[68][69][70] Keynote speakers in 2023 included Glenn Beck, Rosanne Barr, Mike Lindell, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk.[71][third-party source needed]

Professor Watchlist

Main article: Professor Watchlist

First appearing on November 21, 2016, Turning Point USA also operates a website called Professor Watchlist.[72] Kirk has said the site is "dedicated to documenting and exposing college professors who discriminate against conservative students, promote anti-American values, and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom".[73] As of December 2016, more than 250 professors have been added to the site.[74] Reporting from Politico has described that the list contains many inaccuracies, and includes professors listed for things they did not exactly say or do and others listed for being rude to students or for making "clever remarks" about Trump.[15] Talking to The New York Times, "Mr. Lamb," a director of constitutional enforcement and transparency at TPUSA explained that the list was "simply aggregating" academics who had been subject to news reports. Lamb called the Professor Watchlist "a beautiful example of freedom of speech" and said “Professors can say whatever they want, other people can report it and we can compile the reports on whatever they say.”[75]

The website has been criticized for using surveillance type propaganda to manipulate ideas of truth, equality, and freedom.[75][76][77] Critics have compared Professor Watchlist to the actions of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy, who tried to publicly identify American citizens as Communists and Communist sympathizers in the 1950s.[78][79] The New York Times wrote that it was "a threat to academic freedom."[75]

Hans-Joerg Tiede, a staff member of the American Association of University Professors, said of a professor who was named for writing a book chapter on teaching mathematics to minority ethnic children: "She was inundated with death threats. She was Jewish and received anti-Semitic threats and threats of sexual assault. Instances like that are happening with some regularity".[80]

In October 2023, an English instructor at Arizona State University, who was listed on the Professor Watchlist and was a co-founder of Drag Story Hour Arizona, was followed across ASU by a two-member TPUSA crew repeatedly asking him accusatory questions; he was pushed onto concrete from the back after appearing to try to push away a camera.[81][82] The instructor, David Boyles, said the resulting wounds to his face were "relatively minor" and said the incident occurred after his class about LGBTQ+ youth in pop culture and politics.[81][83] ASU's president said TPUSA was at fault for harassment and violence,[84] while TPUSA posts on social media blamed Boyles.[81] ASU's president said he had previously contacted TPUSA in order to have professors at the school removed from the Professor Watchlist but was not given a response.[83][84]

School Board Watchlist

In 2021, TPUSA launched the School Board Watchlist, a site Kirk said would "hold district leaders accountable for 'dangerous agendas'".[85][86] The website publishes names and photos of members of school boards that have adopted or supported mask mandates, mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations, and the way history, race, and conceptions of gender and sex are taught in schools.[16][17][18]

Involvement in student government elections

Turning Point USA has been involved in influencing student government elections at a number of colleges and universities.[14][38][15] Targeted universities included Ohio State University, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the University of Maryland. These claims led to conservative candidates at the University of Maryland withdrawing from student elections after failing to report assistance from Turning Point USA.[38][14][87][88]

According to The New Yorker, a private brochure handed out only to TPUSA donors outlined a strategy on how to capture the majority of student-government positions at 80% of Division 1 N.C.A.A. schools, followed by defunding of progressive organizations on campus, eliminating barriers to hate speech, "blocking campus 'boycott, divestment and sanctions' movements", and using "student resources to host speakers and forums promoting 'American Exceptionalism and Free Market ideals on campus.'"[14] The brochure included a list of every Turning Point USA-supported student who was elected to student government positions in the year 2017.[14][89] Turning Point USA said that it had helped more than 50 conservatives win elections to become student-body presidents.[15] When Politico looked into Turning Point USA's claims, it found the "success rate to be considerably overstated. Some of the students that Turning Point USA claimed to have backed flatly condemned the organization and said they'd never spoken to anyone who works for it."[15]

Campus activism

In 2016, Turning Point USA at Grand Valley State University filed a lawsuit against the trustees of the school. The complainants asked the court to prohibit enforcement of GVSU's Speech Zone policy and declare it a violation of the students' 1st and 14th Amendment freedoms. They have since reached a settlement.[90]

In September 2017, University of Nebraska lecturer Courtney Lawton was reassigned after a video was posted online showing her confronting a student recruiting for TPUSA.[91]

In October 2017, several Turning Point USA student members at Kent State University conducted a protest against campus "safe space" culture, which involved members dressing up in diapers as babies.[92][93] Following widespread ridicule on social media, the president of the chapter, Kaitlin Bennett, resigned,[94] and the student-run publication KentWired.com reported that the Turning Point USA chapter at Kent State had disbanded.[95]

In April 2023, a student chapter of Turning Point USA hosted an event at San Francisco State University featuring former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines as a speaker. Gaines' speech campaigned to exclude trans women from women's sports. After her speech she was met with protestors, which prompted campus police to escort her to a computer room where they remained for several hours. Gaines says that she was physically assaulted twice by one person and missed her flight due to being barricaded in a classroom.[96][97]

Recognition of campus chapters

At Drake University, Turning Point USA was denied recognition as an official student organization in 2016 based on student senate concerns that the organization has "a hateful record", "aggressive marketing" and "an unethical privacy concern".[98] At Hagerstown Community College, a student's attempt to start a Turning Point USA group in 2016 was initially blocked when the school said the organization duplicated an existing group. The student's lawsuit led to the school revising its policy on student organizations, clarifying that school funded groups will be denied if they duplicate existing groups while unfunded groups face no such restriction.[99]

In February 2017, Santa Clara University's student government voted to deny recognition for Turning Point USA as a campus organization.[100] As of March 2017, this decision was overturned by the Vice Provost for Student Life, and Turning Point USA has been recognized as a registered student organization.[101] Wartburg College's student senate voted to deny Turning Point USA recognition in late 2017. The chapter was forced to make changes to its constitution after initially being denied approval.[102][103]

The Executive Board of the student union of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute also voted on January 18, 2018 to deny the Turning Point USA chapter status as an officially recognized student organization.[104]

Wichita State University's student court overturned a decision by the student senate denying a Turning Point USA Chapter recognition on Campus in 2021. The student court vote was unanimous that the denial of recognition was unconstitutional.[105][106]

Media

In October 2020, Kirk began hosting a daily three-hour radio talk show on conservative Christian radio network Salem Media's "The Answer" channel.[107][108][109]

Turning Point USA's online audience grew from an average of 83,000 to 111,000 in 2020.[110] A dozen social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram combined had more than 10 million followers online.[110]

In September 2021, TPUSA launched "Turning Point Live", a three-hour streaming talk show featuring host John Root and selling "Save America" merchandise.[110]

In 2021, the TPUSA Productions film A Long Walk in Socialism was the Rocky Mountain Emmy Award recipient in the category Cultural/Topical documentary.[111]

In 2022, Turning Point USA in partnership with Salem Media Group released "Border Battle", a docuseries about America's southern border.[112][113][better source needed]

United States election activities

2016 presidential election

Several former employees and student volunteers for Turning Point USA claimed they had witnessed collusion between high-ranking Turning Point USA employees – including Kirk himself and top advisor Ginni Thomas – and the presidential campaigns of both Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. The interactions included Kirk coordinating via email with two officials at a pro-Cruz super PAC to send student volunteers to work for the PAC in South Carolina, as well as two students being requested by Thomas herself, via voicemail, to distribute over 200 Cruz placards in Wisconsin.[14] A former employee for TPUSA, who had been based in Florida, alleged that Turning Point USA had given the personal information of over 700 student supporters to an employee with Rubio's presidential campaign.[14]

A Turning Point USA staff member wrote on Facebook that students who attended the event would have their expenses covered. The event led tax experts to say the organization's conduct may have violated its tax-exempt status, a charge disputed by Turning Point USA.[38]

2020 presidential election

In September 2020, Turning Point USA's affiliate Turning Point Action was reported by The Washington Post to have paid young people in Arizona, some of them minors, to produce thousands of posts with TPUSA content on their own social media accounts and on fake accounts without disclosing their relationship with Turning Point USA.[114][115] According to an examination by the newspaper and an independent data science specialist, the campaign was highly coordinated and included similar messaging under the instruction of TPUSA to prevent detection.[114]

In September 2020, Facebook removed 200 accounts and 55 pages as well as 76 Instagram accounts linked to Turning Point USA's marketing agency Rally Forge. The agency had paid teenagers in Phoenix, Arizona, on Turning Point USA's behalf to use their own and fake accounts and pages for thousands of posts boosting Trump and disparaging Democratic candidate Joe Biden during the 2020 United States presidential election. In October 2020, Facebook banned Rally Forge permanently while Twitter suspended 262 accounts from its platform.[115][116][117] Neither organization penalized Turning Point USA or its affiliates, stating that they "could not determine the extent to which the group's leaders were aware of the specific violations carried out on their behalf, such as the use of fake accounts".[115]

Turning Point USA hosted Trump reelection rallies, some of them featuring Trump surrogates and some of them Trump himself.[65][118][119]

January 6, 2021, "Stop the Steal" rally

After the 2020 election, Kirk disputed the results and denied that Trump had lost.[120] On January 4, 2021, Kirk announced in a tweet that Turning Point Action would be sending more than 80 buses to a January 6, 2021, Trump "Stop the Steal" rally near the White House in Washington, D.C, to protest the outcome of the election.[121][122][123][124] They sent seven buses with approximately 350 participants.[121] Turning Point Action also funneled money to several "Stop the Steal" rally speakers, including Kimberly Guilfoyle, but did not organize or take part in the march to the Capitol that erupted in violence.[10][125] The rally, which was attended by several thousand Trump supporters, ended in a riot and the attack at the U.S. Capitol, where Biden's win was about to be certified.[122] Kirk later deleted the tweet[123] and said on his podcast that it was "bad judgment" and "not wise" to enter the Capitol but not necessarily insurrectionist.[126] A Turning Point Action spokesman later said the group condemns political violence.[122]

Controversies

In December 2017, The New Yorker published an article by Jane Mayer showcasing interviews with former minority members of TPUSA. Former staff members said they witnessed widespread discrimination against minorities in the group; "the organization was a difficult workplace and rife with tension, some of it racial," The New Yorker said.[14][127] One former employee, an African-American woman, said she was the only person of color working for the organization at the time she was hired in 2014; she then said that she was fired on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The article also said that Crystal Clanton, a leading figure in the organization who had served as the group's national field director for five years, and whom Kirk had praised in his book Time for a Turning Point as "the best hire we ever could have made", had texted to another Turning Point USA employee, "I hate black people. Like fuck them all ... I hate blacks. End of story." Kirk responded to the revelations by saying that "TPUSA assessed the situation and took decisive action within 72 hours of being made aware of the issue."[14] Justice Clarence Thomas, who hired Clanton after she left TPUSA, later commented on the incident regarding her text messages, stating, "I know Crystal Clanton and I know bigotry. Bigotry is antithetical to her nature and character."[128]

In the Hillsdale College Collegian, opinions editor Kaylee McGhee wrote an article that referred to TPUSA as a "reactionary cancer" rather than a group supporting real conservatism that is "supposed to preserve the timeless principles of liberty and equality for all".[129] In June 2018, conservative radio talk show host Joe Walsh resigned from the TPUSA board because Kirk was too closely tied to Donald Trump. Walsh said: "It's so important to not be beholden to politicians, but to be beholden to the issues ... When Charlie went to work for Trump, that crossed that line. You can't advance Trump and advance these issues."[130]

During October and November 2019, Kirk launched the Culture War college tour of speaking events with appearances from many conservatives such as Donald Trump Jr., Lara Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle. These events were frequently targeted by homophobic and antisemitic members of the alt-right and far-right who consider TPUSA to be too mainstream and not sufficiently conservative. Concerted efforts were made by this group to ask leading questions during the Q&A sections on controversial topics such as Israel and LGBTQ issues in order to challenge the extent of the speakers' views.[131]

In November 2019, the Dartmouth Review called TPUSA an organization that promoted Charlie Kirk and Donald Trump first, rather than conservative values. The article added "True conservatives must eventually outgrow TPUSA and devote their efforts elsewhere. We must challenge ourselves by pursuing an environment of rigorous inquiry, instead of being coddled by the intellectually devoid echo chamber of TPUSA, compromising our values for recognition."[132]

In July 2022, neo-Nazis appeared outside of TPUSA's Student Action Summit in Tampa; they were subsequently not let in.[133][134] Joy Behar of The View falsely stated that TPUSA invited and embraced neo-Nazi protesters and compared the summit to the Third Reich. The View later issued a retraction, clarifying that "Turning Point USA condemned the Neo-Nazi protesters who had 'nothing to do' with the organization." Host Whoopi Goldberg would later say, "But you let them in, and you knew what they were," and "My point was metaphorical." Following these comments, TPUSA issued a cease and desist request and a deadline of July 27, asking for The View to apologize. In a later episode meeting the deadline, members of The View fully retracted the statements and apologized for making the comparisons.[135][136]

Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center

In 2019, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called TPUSA an alt-lite organization.[137] Both the ADL and the Southern Poverty Law Center have criticized TPUSA for affiliating with activists from the alt-right and the far-right.[138] The ADL has also reported that the group's leadership and activists "have made multiple racist or bigoted comments" and have links to extremism.[5]

In 2018, the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch documented TPUSA's links to white supremacists.[139][140]

Feud with Young America's Foundation

In May 2018, an internal memo written by Young America's Foundation (YAF) was leaked, in which YAF leadership warned its members to not associate with TPUSA. The memo accused TPUSA of various improprieties, such as exaggerating its number of chapters and activities around the country; taking credit for other organizations' events; increasing attendance at its own events by "boosting numbers with racists & Nazi sympathizers"; and sponsoring "humiliating" campus activism events (a reference to the Kent State diaper incident).[141] In addition, the YAF memo included another memo on the subject circulated internally by Young Americans for Liberty, which accused TPUSA of illegally obtaining YAL's email list and soliciting its students without their permission, which TPUSA only stopped doing after being issued a cease-and-desist order.[142]

After the memo was leaked in June 2018, a representative for TPUSA criticized YAF in a statement to The Chronicle of Higher Education, accusing the group of "abandoning the 'Reagan Rule'", known as "Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican". Although Kirk did not directly respond to the memo, he posted on Twitter that he wished "some conservatives fought the left as hard as they fight people who support President Trump". TPUSA's communications director Candace Owens directly responded to the memo, saying she was "truly speechless" over the memo criticizing Kirk for his lack of college experience. A former employee stated on Twitter that "TPUSA activists do some incredible work. It's a shame the face for their work has become constant, EXTREME inflation of numbers to mislead donors. They have an opportunity to turn this around, and they should."[143]

COVID-19 vaccination

In 2021, Kirk compared Biden's vaccination efforts to an "Apartheid-style open air hostage situation", even though co-founder Bill Montgomery had died the previous year from COVID-related health complications.[11][144][145] The organization also made misleading claims about the dangers of catching COVID-19. Kirk's spokesperson said they are not anti-vaxx, reiterating that "the vaccine makes logical sense for millions of Americans" but they should "have the freedom to choose". Kirk was advocating against vaccine mandates and passports for healthy young people.[11]

Finances

Turning Point USA receives funding from conservative and right-wing donors and foundations, including several Republican politicians.[146] According to the Center for Media and Democracy and other sources, donors include the Ed Uihlein Family Foundation (Richard Uihlein),[30][better source needed] the Marcus Foundation (Bernard Marcus),[31] Donors Trust (on behalf of a cohort of right-wing private donors),[31] and Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner's family foundation.[147]

Turning Point USA also contributes money to its affiliated operational organizations, including Turning Point Endowment.[148]

In the 2016–17 financial year, Turning Point USA reported US$8.2 million in donations to the IRS, an increase from $4.3 million the previous year. The same year, expenses for the group doubled, reaching $8.3 million, most of which were employment related costs ($4.3 million).[27]

In 2019, TPUSA's reported revenues from donors were $28.5 million, and CEO Charlie Kirk's compensation was $292,423.[149]

Turning Point USA's revenues have grown from $78,000 in 2013 to $55.8 million in 2021.[150] In 2020, Turning Point Endowment had revenues of $16,576,350.[151]

In August 2021, Turning Point USA distributed a "2021 Investor Prospectus" that sought to raise $43 million for its national field program, events, media, productions, special projects, Turning Point Academy, and TPUSA Faith. According to David Armiak of the Center for Media and Democracy, the prospectus employed white nationalist rhetoric by saying "The Left's plan is a path of destruction, a turning back of the clock 500 years to a past that's deficient of Western influence". The prospectus also said, "Schools in this country have become intolerant and nihilistic dens of anti-American hate as Leftist professors slander our country with impunity and radical mobs shut down conservative speech entirely."[152][additional citation(s) needed]

Alleged tax code violations

In 2017, Jane Mayer of The New Yorker described two separate actions by TPUSA staff in the 2016 election that appear to have violated campaign finance regulations.[14] Charlie Kirk denied any wrongdoing and said it was "completely ludicrous and ridiculous that there's some sort of secret plan".[14] TPUSA attorney Sally Wagenmaker refuted allegations of campaign finance irregularities in an article published by ProPublica in July 2020, stating that "payments to businesses belonging to organization officials 'provided a compelling operational benefit in Turning Point USA's best and other interests,' and that they were 'in full compliance with TPUSA's IRS-compliant conflict of interest policy.'"[153]

Turning Point organizations

Turning Point Action

Main article: Turning Point Action

Turning Point Action, the campaign arm of Turning Point USA,[154] is a 501(c)(4) organization representing right-wing and conservative perspectives. While the group claims to be a "completely separate organization" from Turning Point USA, Forbes noted that both were founded by Kirk and use common marketing and branding styles.[155] Kirk has received income from both Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action, according to tax documents.[10] Donors to Turning Point Action received a bumper sticker prominently featuring the URL of Turning Point USA's website; the bumper sticker was also available for purchase from Turning Point USA's web store.[156]

It was reported in May 2019 that Kirk was "preparing to unveil" Turning Point Action as a 501(c)(4) entity allowed to target Democrats.[157]

During the 2020 presidential election campaign Turning Point Action paid teenagers in Arizona, some of them minors, to produce thousands of posts with Turning Point USA content on their own social media accounts without disclosing their relationship with the organization.[114]

TPUSA Faith

In 2021, Charlie Kirk founded TPUSA Faith, an organization that says it is dedicated to "recruit pastors and other church leaders to be active in local and national political issues".[158] The organization promotes a culture war agenda and is intended to attract supporters among religious conservatives.[108] Its activities include faith-based voter drives "and educating members on TPUSA's core values".[159] According to TPUSA's 2021 Investor Prospectus, the program—with a budget of $6.4 million—"will 'address America's crumbling religious foundation by engaging thousands of pastors nationwide' in order to 'breathe renewed civic engagement into our churches'".[152]

Turning Point Endowment

Turning Point Endowment Inc. is a self-described "supporting organization" whose "mission is to support and benefit Turning Point USA's charitable purposes and long-term vitality".[9][151]

Turning Point Academy

In 2021, TPUSA announced Turning Point Academy as an online academy for "families seeking an 'America-first education.'" Plans to develop a curriculum with StrongMind, the firm that owns Arizona charter school Primavera Online High School, were abandoned when StrongMind's key subcontractor, the Freedom Learning Group, an education company run by military spouses and veterans, terminated the contract after finding out that the client was TPUSA.[160]

Foreign offshoots

In 2017, the loosely connected group Turning Point Canada registered a chapter in Canada.[161] In 2019, Turning Point UK was set up in the United Kingdom.[162]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Turning Point USA Opens National Headquarters In Phoenix". The Daily Independent. Sun City, Arizona. August 12, 2018. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  2. ^ "Turning Point USA". ProPublica. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Kelderman, Eric (June 28, 2021). "The Far Right's College Crusade". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  4. ^ Lartey, Jamiles (May 10, 2018). "Trump praises controversial pundit Candace Owens as a 'very smart thinker". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 18, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d "Turning Point USA". Anti-Defamation League. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  6. ^ Doran, Emily (March 23, 2017). "Breaking down the 'free speech zones'". Grand Valley Lanthorn. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  7. ^ Rebekah Riess (August 23, 2022). "Texas 19-year-old arrested for allegedly making threats against Turning Point USA's Student Action Summit". CNN. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  8. ^ DeMarche, Edmund (July 30, 2020). "Bill Montgomery, co-founder of Turning Point USA, dies". Fox News. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Turning Point USA". Anti-Defamation League. February 14, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Zadrozny, Brandy (July 13, 2022). "Behind Turning Point USA's funding boom – with half of it coming from 10 anonymous donors". NBC News.
  11. ^ a b c Stanley-Becker, Isaac (July 29, 2021). "Charlie Kirk's pro-Trump youth group stokes vaccine resistance as covid surges again". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  12. ^ Wilson, John K. (September 26, 2022). "Conservatives have turned against academic freedom again. Here's why". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  13. ^ Vasquez, Michael (May 7, 2017). "Inside a Stealth Plan for Political Influence". The Chronicle of Higher Education. ISSN 0009-5982. Archived from the original on September 16, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Mayer, Jane (December 21, 2017). "A Conservative Nonprofit That Seeks to Transform College Campuses Faces Allegations of Racial Bias and Illegal Campaign Activity". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  15. ^ a b c d e Giunto, Joseph (April 6, 2018). "Trump's Man on Campus". Politico. Arlington, Virginia. Archived from the original on April 6, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  16. ^ a b Kamenetz, Anya (September 30, 2021). "School boards are asking for federal help as they face threats and violence". NPR. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Kamenetz, Anya (October 26, 2021). "A look at the groups supporting school board protesters nationwide". NPR. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Camera, Lauren (September 2, 2021). "The United States of Outrage". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  19. ^ Nelson, Rebecca (March 25, 2015). "The 21-Year-Old Becoming a Major Player in Conservative Politics". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  20. ^ a b c Lippman, Daniel; Nguyen, Tina (July 29, 2020). "Turning Point USA co-founder dies of coronavirus-related complications". Politico. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  21. ^ a b Guinto, Joseph (April 6, 2018). "Trump's man on campus". Politico. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  22. ^ a b c Spies, Mike; Pearson, Jake (July 21, 2020). "At This Trump-Favored Charity, Financial Reporting Is Questionable and Insiders Are Cashing In". ProPublica. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  23. ^ a b Bykowicz, Julie (May 7, 2015). "This boy wonder is building a conservative MoveOn.org in a Lemont garage". Bloomberg via Crain's Chicago Business. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  24. ^ Nelson, Rebecca (March 25, 2015). "The 21-Year-Old Becoming a Major Player in Conservative Politics". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  25. ^ "Advisory Council". Turning Point USA. Archived from the original on September 4, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  26. ^ "Barry Russell". Turning Point USA. Archived from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  27. ^ a b Markay, Lachland (November 20, 2018). "Exclusive: Pro-Trump Group, Turning Point USA, Has Finances Revealed". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  28. ^ Schoenburg, Bernard (June 9, 2016). "Bernard Schoenburg: Rauner's foundation gave $100,000 to group developing conservative activists". The State Journal-Register. Springfield, Illinois. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  29. ^ Schoenburg, Bernard (January 10, 2016). "Bernard Schoenburg: Rauner's foundation gave $100,000 to group developing conservative activists". State Journal-Register. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  30. ^ a b "EUFF2014104". Conservative Transparency. 2014. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  31. ^ a b c Kotch, Alex (April 1, 2020). "Koch Foundation Criticizes Turning Point USA Even as Koch Network Funds the Group". Center for Media and Democracy PR Watch. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  32. ^ "Charlie Kirk | WDTK The Patriot - Detroit, MI". WDTK The Patriot. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  33. ^ O'Harrow, Robert Jr. (October 14, 2020). "Videos show closed-door sessions of leading conservative activists: 'Be not afraid of the accusations that you're a voter suppressor'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  34. ^ Guinto, Joseph (April 6, 2018). "Trump's Man on Campus". Politico Magazine. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  35. ^ a b DePaolo, Joe (November 15, 2019). "Charlie Kirk Shouts 'Fake News' at a Town Hall Questioner for Asking About Something He Actually Said". mediaite. Archived from the original on October 8, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  36. ^ "At the Republican Convention, Millennials Search for Signs of the Future". Wired. July 20, 2016. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  37. ^ Rosenberg, Matthew; Rogers, Katie (April 19, 2020). "For Charlie Kirk, Conservative Activist, the Virus Is a Cudgel". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 12, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  38. ^ a b c d Vasquez, Michael (May 7, 2017). "Inside a Stealth Plan for Political Influence". The Chronicle of Higher Education. ISSN 0009-5982. Archived from the original on September 16, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  39. ^ Singman, Brooke (August 24, 2020). "Charlie Kirk calls Trump the 'bodyguard of western civilization' on first night of GOP convention". Fox News. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  40. ^ Brest, Mike (July 30, 2020). "Turning Point USA co-founder Bill Montgomery dies after contracting coronavirus". Colorado Politics. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  41. ^ Lippman, Daniel; Nguyen, Tina (July 29, 2020). "Turning Point USA co-founder dies of coronavirus-related complications". Politico. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  42. ^ Nguyen, Tina (August 17, 2020). "The pandemic hasn't ended the campus culture wars". Politico. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  43. ^ a b Ecarma, Caleb (December 21, 2020). "Cash Cannons, Election Conspiracies, and Thousands of Mask-less Teens: A Conservative Youth Orgy Takes Florida". Vanity Fair. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  44. ^ "Tyler Bowyer". Turning Point USA. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  45. ^ a b Concha, Joe (February 2, 2019). "Daily Caller reporter Benny Johnson joining Turning Point USA". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  46. ^ a b Terris, Ben (June 9, 2019). "Benny Johnson got fired at BuzzFeed. You will believe what happened next". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  47. ^ Borchers, Callum (March 21, 2017). "The Independent Journal Review wants to be taken seriously, so it suspended Benny Johnson". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  48. ^ McNamara, Audrey (May 2, 2019). "Candace Owens Steps Down as Turning Point USA Communications Director". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on May 3, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  49. ^ Shannon, Joel (February 8, 2019). "After backlash, conservative pundit Candace Owens clarifies viral Hitler comment". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 11, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  50. ^ Sommer, Will (May 23, 2019). "Pro-Gun Parkland Teen Kyle Kashuv Apologizes for 'Inflammatory' Racial Comments". Archived from the original on May 24, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  51. ^ "Conservative rising star Kyle Kashuv busted using the N-word a whole bunch". The Daily Dot. May 23, 2019. Archived from the original on May 23, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  52. ^ Baragona, Justin (May 20, 2021). "Notorious Pizzagater Jack Posobiec Leaves OAN for Conservative Youth Group Turning Point USA". The Daily Beast. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  53. ^ Posobiec, Jack (August 8, 2022). "Human Events Daily is Premiering on RAV TONIGHT". Turning Point USA. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  54. ^ "About". Turning Point USA. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  55. ^ Kotch, Alex (November 28, 2017). "Who Funds Conservative Campus Group Turning Point USA? Donors Revealed". International Business Times. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  56. ^ "This Boy Wonder Is Building the Conservative MoveOn.org in an Illinois Garage". Bloomberg.com. May 7, 2015. Archived from the original on January 27, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  57. ^ "Turning Point: Is the Youth Vote Really All That Liberal?". Cbn.com (beta). April 27, 2016. Archived from the original on April 28, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  58. ^ Kidder, Jeffrey; Binder, Amy. "In the Trump era, campus conservative groups are fighting one another". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  59. ^ Mudde, Cas (April 7, 2018). "I went inside a rightwing safe space to find out the truth about universities". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  60. ^ Heaney, Katherine; Kakutani, Yuichiro (October 15, 2018). "Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk Brings 'Campus Clash' Lecture to Cornell". The Cornell Daily Sun. Ithaca, New York City: Cornell University. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  61. ^ "Turning Point is too dangerous to joke about". Varsity Online. Archived from the original on February 22, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  62. ^ Merwe, Ben van der; Yttredal, Håvard (February 17, 2019). "Turning Point UK's launch marred by parody accounts". Cherwell. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  63. ^ Brice-Saddler, Michael; Thebault, Reis (July 25, 2019). "How Trump ended up in front of a presidential seal doctored to include a Russian symbol". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  64. ^ Cardona, Alexi C. (December 23, 2020). "The Six Most Patriotic Moments From the Conservative TPUSA Conference". Miami New Times. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  65. ^ a b c d e Herndon, Astead W. (June 17, 2018). "At Conservative Women's Conference, a Safe Space for Trumpism". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  66. ^ Dawson, LJ (October 6, 2019). "Inside the Summit for Trump-Loving Young Black Conservatives". Politico. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  67. ^ "Young Latino Leadership Summit". Turning Point USA. Archived from the original on January 5, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  68. ^ Barchenger, Stacey (December 20, 2021). "At conservative megaconference in Phoenix, Kyle Rittenhouse embraces role of conservative icon". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  69. ^ Yang, Maya (December 21, 2021). "Conservative event gives Rittenhouse a standing ovation a month after acquittal". The Guardian. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  70. ^ "Rittenhouse gets standing ovation at conservative conference". AP News. December 21, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  71. ^ "Watch AmericaFest 2023 Live Here". amfest.com. Amfest. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  72. ^ Strauss, Valerie (December 1, 2016). "New conservative 'watch list' targets professors for advancing 'leftist propaganda'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 5, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  73. ^ LaCapria, Kim (November 22, 2016). "'Professor Watchlist' Monitors 'Anti-American,' 'Leftist' Educators". Snopes.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  74. ^ Sidahmed, Mazin (December 2, 2016). "Professor Watchlist website elicits both fear and ridicule in US universities". The Guardian. London, England. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on December 2, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  75. ^ a b c Mele, Christopher (November 28, 2016). "Professor Watchlist Is Seen as Threat to Academic Freedom". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  76. ^ Schuman, Rebecca (November 23, 2016). "Oh Good, a "Professor Watch List"". Slate. Archived from the original on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  77. ^ Flaherty, Colleen (November 22, 2016). "Being Watched". Inside Higher Ed. Archived from the original on November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  78. ^ Musto, Pete. "Conservative US Website Targets Professors". VOA. Archived from the original on December 30, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  79. ^ "The New Blacklist". Pasadena Weekly. January 5, 2017. Archived from the original on January 8, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  80. ^ Fazackerley, Anna (March 10, 2020). "'McCarthyism' in the UK: why academics fear shaming for leftwing views". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  81. ^ a b c Quinn, Ryan. "Arizona State Instructor Followed, Injured by Turning Point USA Crew". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  82. ^ Leingang, Rachel (October 16, 2023). "US university professor shoved to ground by rightwing youth activists". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  83. ^ a b "ASU investigating assault on queer professor as 'potential bias or prejudicially motivated incident'". KTAR News 92.3. October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  84. ^ a b Johnson, Jessica (October 14, 2023). "ASU President: Turning Point USA crew accused of 'bloodying' ASU professor's face". Fox 10 Phoenix. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  85. ^ Childress, Greg (September 7, 2021). "National watchlist for 'radical left' policies includes 5 North Carolina school boards". pulse.ncpolicywatch.org. NC Policy Watch. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  86. ^ Camera, Lauren (September 2, 2021). "The United States of Outrage". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  87. ^ Snurr, Carrie (April 16, 2017). "Conservative nonprofit linked to Unity Party has chapters at more than 1,000 universities". The Diamondback. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  88. ^ Vogel, Pam (March 17, 2017). "The Conservative Dark-Money Groups Infiltrating Campus Politics". Media Matters for America. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  89. ^ Vasquez, Michael (April 6, 2018). "5 Takeaways From Turning Point's Plan to 'Commandeer' Campus Elections". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  90. ^ "GVSU reaches settlement with student group alleging it restricted free speech". MLive.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  91. ^ "Nebraska lecturer reassigned after student confrontation". KSL. Archived from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  92. ^ "Conservative group dons diapers to protest safe spaces at Kent State". The Daily Dot. October 19, 2017. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  93. ^ "A Bunch of Conservative Students Dressed Up as Babies to Protest Safe Spaces". The Chronicle of Higher Education. October 19, 2017. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  94. ^ Shugerman, Emily (February 26, 2018). "How a student in a diaper caused an eruption in one of America's biggest conservative youth organisations". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  95. ^ Gall, Addie. "Kent State chapter of Turning Point to disband". KentWired.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  96. ^ Mossburg, Natasha Chen, Cheri (April 7, 2023). "Former college swimmer says she was assaulted at an event opposing the inclusion of trans women in women's sports". CNN. Retrieved April 12, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  97. ^ Thompson, Scott (April 9, 2023). "Riley Gaines blasts SF State faculty member who called protests at heart of incident 'peaceful'". Fox News. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  98. ^ Charis-Carlson, Jeff (April 24, 2016). "Conservative students at Drake challenge denial as an organization". Des Moines Register. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  99. ^ Baker, Tamela (May 12, 2016). "Hagerstown Community College settles suit over political club". Hagerstown Herald-Mail. Hagerstown, Maryland: Schurz Communications. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  100. ^ "Boiling Point Over Turning Point". The Santa Clara. Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  101. ^ University, Santa Clara. "Information on Turning Point USA - Vice Provost for Student Life - Santa Clara University". Scu.edu. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  102. ^ "Turning Point USA student organization denied". Wartburgtrumpet.com. December 2, 2017. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  103. ^ ""Turning Point USA" voted against at Wartburg College". KWWL. December 7, 2017. Archived from the original on June 4, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  104. ^ Burns, Darby (January 24, 2018). "Turning Point denied". The Rensselaer Polytechnic. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  105. ^ Piro, Graham (November 10, 2021). "Wichita State student court reverses student senate's refusal to recognize a TPUSA chapter. Now the student senate no longer wants the authority to recognize groups". FIRE. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  106. ^ Nightengale, Julia. "SGA tables bill that would transfer authority to recognize student organizations to Student Involvement". The Sunflower. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  107. ^ Robins-Early, Nick (November 2, 2020). "The Christian Radio Network Working To Reelect Trump". HuffPost. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  108. ^ a b Stone, Peter (October 23, 2021). "Money and misinformation: how Turning Point USA became a formidable pro-Trump force". The Guardian. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  109. ^ "SRN Adds The Charlie Kirk Show to Weekday Lineup". Business Wire. September 1, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  110. ^ a b c Beaumont, Thomas (November 18, 2021). "Charlie Kirk exploits racial divide to reach Gen Z". Associated Press. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  111. ^ "NATAS Rocky Mountain Southwest | 2021 Emmy® Awards Nominees and Recipients". Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  112. ^ "Salem Partners with TPUSA for Border Battle". businesswire.com. October 11, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  113. ^ "Salem's Latest Documentary Focuses On The U.S./Mexico Border". Insideradio.com. October 11, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  114. ^ a b c Stanley-Becker, Isaac (September 16, 2020). "Pro-Trump youth group enlists teens in secretive campaign likened to a 'troll farm,' prompting rebuke by Facebook and Twitter". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  115. ^ a b c Stanley-Becker, Isaac (October 8, 2020). "Facebook bans marketing firm running 'troll farm' for pro-Trump youth group". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  116. ^ Starks, Tim (October 8, 2020). "Facebook removes fake accounts it linked to Turning Point". cyberscoop.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  117. ^ "Facebook removes hundreds of fake accounts linked to conservative group". WUSA (TV). October 8, 2020. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  118. ^ Marfice, Christina (June 25, 2020). "Student At Trump Rally Calls Aunt Jemima Character 'The American Dream". Yahoo¡life. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  119. ^ "Turning Point USA holds rally with Donald Trump Jr. in Chandler". The Arizona Republic. September 23, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  120. ^ Baragona, Justin (December 14, 2020). "Geraldo Slaps Down Charlie Kirk: 'You Have to Stop This!'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  121. ^ a b O'Harrow, Robert Jr. (January 17, 2021). "Rallies ahead of Capitol riot were planned by established Washington insiders". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  122. ^ a b c Tanfani, Joseph; Berens, Michael; Parker, Ned (January 12, 2021). "How Trump's pied pipers rallied a faithful mob to the Capitol". Reuters. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  123. ^ a b Thalen, Mikael (January 10, 2021). "Charlie Kirk deletes tweet saying he sent '80+ buses full of patriots' to D.C." The Daily Dot. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  124. ^ @charliekirk11 (January 5, 2021). "This historic event will likely be one of the largest and most consequential in American history The team at @TrumpStudents & Turning Point Action are honored to help make this happen, sending 80+ buses full of patriots to DC to fight for this president" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021 – via Twitter.
  125. ^ Stanley-Becker, Isaac; Reinhard, Beth (June 15, 2022). "Publix heiress paid Kimberly Guilfoyle's $60,000 speaking fee on Jan. 6". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286.
  126. ^ Palmer, Ewan (January 12, 2021). "Charlie Kirk Says Not Everyone in Capitol Mob Was an Insurrectionist". Newsweek. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  127. ^ "Conservative Campus Org Turning Point USA 'Rife' With Racism, Probably Illegal Campaign Activity". The Daily Beast. December 22, 2017. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  128. ^ Lubet, Steven (February 28, 2024). "Let Crystal Clanton Move On". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  129. ^ McGhee, Kaylee (June 21, 2018). "Charlie Kirk and TPUSA aren't conservative, as real conservatives already knew". The Collegian. Hillsdale College, Michigan. Archived from the original on March 19, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  130. ^ Keilman, John (October 20, 2018) "Before Trump and Kanye became fans, Charlie Kirk battled 'Marxist' high school teachers in Chicago's suburbs" Archived October 23, 2018, at the Wayback Machine Chicago Tribune
  131. ^ Coaston, Jane (November 11, 2019). "Why alt-right trolls shouted down Donald Trump Jr". Vox. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  132. ^ "A Profile of Charlie Kirk". Dathmouth Review. November 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  133. ^ "Nazis show up outside Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa". Associated Press. July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2022 – via WKMG.
  134. ^ Dress, Brad; Vakil, Caroline (July 24, 2022). "Turning Point USA condemns neo-Nazi protesters outside conservative convention that drew Trump". The Hill. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  135. ^ McClure, Kelly (July 27, 2022). "ABC News hit with cease-and-desist after 'The View' compares TPUSA summit to Third Reich". Salon. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  136. ^ Johnson, Ted; Evans, Greg (July 28, 2022). "Whoopi Goldberg Offers Personal Apology After Linking Turning Point USA To Neo-Nazi Demonstrators – Update". Deadline. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  137. ^ Avery, Daniel (August 11, 2019). "Joe Biden says 'there are at least three' genders in Iowa campaign stop". Newsweek. Archived from the original on September 9, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  138. ^ Bernstein, Leandra (May 9, 2019). "America This Week: Sanders, Scaramucci on executive privilege, Charlie Kirk on free speech". WJLA. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  139. ^ "Turning Point USA's blooming romance with the alt-right". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on February 28, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  140. ^ "Turning Point USA accused of 'boosting their numbers with racists' by long-established conservative student group". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  141. ^ Michael Vasquez (June 15, 2018). "Leaked Memo From Conservative Group Cautions Students to Stay Away From Turning Point USA". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  142. ^ Begg, Kimberly (May 25, 2018). "YAF Memo: Advising Our Students About TPUSA". Young America's Foundation. Archived from the original on August 22, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  143. ^ Vasquez, Michael (June 15, 2018). "Leaked Memo From Conservative Group Cautions Students to Stay Away From Turning Point USA". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  144. ^ Ecarma, Caleb (July 8, 2021). "The Right-Wing Vaccine Rebellion Has Arrived on Campus". Vanity Fair. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  145. ^ Korecki, Natasha; Daniels, Eugene (July 12, 2021). "'Potentially a death sentence': White House goes off on vaccine fearmongers". Politico. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  146. ^ Markay, Lachland (November 20, 2018). "Exclusive: Pro-Trump Group, Turning Point USA, Has Finances Revealed". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  147. ^ Keilman, John (October 22, 2018). "Before Trump and Kanye became fans, Charlie Kirk battled 'Marxist' high school teachers in Chicago's suburbs". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  148. ^ Markay, Lachlan (June 28, 2018). "Exclusive: Pro-Trump Group, Turning Point USA, Has Finances Revealed". Daily Beast. New York City. Archived from the original on October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  149. ^ Vasquez, Michael (July 10, 2020). "As Turning Point USA Grows, So Does Charlie Kirk's Salary". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  150. ^ "Turning Point USA, Inc". ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  151. ^ a b "Turning Point Endowment Inc - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  152. ^ a b Armiak, David (October 25, 2021). "Turning Point USA Seeks $43 Million to Escalate the Right's Culture War in American Schools". Center for Media and Democracy. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  153. ^ Mike Spies, Jake Pearson (July 1, 2020). "At This Trump-Favored Charity, Financial Reporting Is Questionable and Insiders Are Cashing In". ProPublica. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  154. ^ Yvonne, Wingett Sanchez (April 18, 2024). "Turning Point Action official resigns after accusation of election-related fraud". The Washington Post. Turning Point Action, the campaign arm of Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA
  155. ^ Sandler, Rachel (October 8, 2020). "Facebook Bans Marketing Firm That Made Fake Accounts For Conservative Nonprofit Turning Point Action". Forbes. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  156. ^ Holt, Jared (May 21, 2019). "Charlie Kirk's New Political Group May Have Already Violated IRS Regulations". Right Wing Watch.org. Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  157. ^ Schwartz, Brian (May 20, 2019). "Pro-Trump college GOP activist Charlie Kirk will launch a new group to target Democrats in 2020". CNBC. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  158. ^ Graham, Ruth (March 26, 2021). "Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk Leaves Liberty University Think Tank". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  159. ^ "Turning Point Faith". Turning Point USA. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  160. ^ Stanley-Becker, Isaac; Reinhard, Beth (February 8, 2022). "Firm saw $40 million potential in Charlie Kirk's 'America-first' academy. Then its plans fell apart". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  161. ^ Boudjikanian, Raffy. "Canadian offshoot of U.S. libertarian campus group says it provides needed counterpoint to liberal bias". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  162. ^ Loanes, Ellen (February 4, 2019). "Turning Point's UK launch beset by memes". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Turning Point USA.


33°22′30.0″N 111°58′32.3″W / 33.375000°N 111.975639°W / 33.375000; -111.975639

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Turning_Point_USA&oldid=1242417338"