PHOENIX (AP) \u2014 When Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest convention reached its halfway point, Erika Kirk tried to put a smiling face on things.<\/p>\n
\u201cSay what you want about AmFest, but it\u2019s definitely not boring,\u201d said Kirk, who has led the influential conservative organization since her husband Charlie was\u00a0assassinated in September.\u00a0\u201cFeels like a Thanksgiving dinner where your family\u2019s hashing out the family business.\u201d<\/p>\n
That’s one way to put it.<\/p>\n
Some of the biggest names in conservative media\u00a0took turns torching each other on the main stage, spending more time targeting right-wing rivals than their left-wing opponents.<\/p>\n
The feuds could ultimately define the boundaries of the Republican Party and determine the future of President Donald Trump’s fractious coalition, which appears primed for more schisms in the months and years ahead.<\/p>\n
Here are some of the most notable moments from the four-day conference.<\/p>\n
Shapiro criticizes podcasters<\/strong><\/p>\n Ben Shapiro, co-founder of the conservative media outlet Daily Wire, set the tone with the first speech after Erika Kirk opened the convention. He attacked fellow commentators in deeply personal terms, saying some of the right’s most popular figures are morally bankrupt.<\/p>\n Candace Owens \u201chas been vomiting all sorts of hideous and conspiratorial nonsense into the public square for years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Megyn Kelly is \u201cguilty of cowardice” because she’s refused to condemn Owens for spreading unsubstantiated theories about Kirk’s death.<\/p>\n And Tucker Carlson’s decision to host antisemite Nick Fuentes on his podcast was \u201can act of moral imbecility.\u201d<\/p>\n Shapiro’s targets hit back<\/p>\n Barely an hour later, Carlson took the same stage and mocked Shapiro\u2019s attempt to \u201cdeplatform and denounce\u201d people who disagree with him.<\/p>\n \u201cI watched it,\u201d he said. \u201cI laughed.\u201d<\/p>\n Others had their chance the next night.<\/p>\n \u201cBen Shapiro is like a cancer, and that cancer spreads,\u201d said Steve Bannon, a former Trump adviser.<\/p>\n Kelly belittled Shapiro as a marginal figure in the conservative movement and said their friendship is over.<\/p>\n \u201cI resent that he thinks he\u2019s in a position to decide who must say what, to whom, and when,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n Owens, who has spread unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about Charlie Kirk’s death, wasn’t welcome at the convention. But she responded on her podcast, calling Shapiro a \u201cmiserable imp.”<\/p>\n A schism over Israel and antisemitism<\/strong><\/p>\n Israel came up repeatedly during the conference.<\/p>\n Some on the right have questioned whether the Republican Party’s historically steadfast support for Israel conflicts with Trump’s \u201cAmerica First\u201d platform. Carlson criticized civilian deaths in Gaza in remarks that wouldn’t have been out of place in progressive circles.<\/p>\n Some attendees dug deep into history, highlighting Israel’s attack on the USS Liberty off the Sinai Peninsula in 1967. Israel said it mistook the ship for an Egyptian vessel during the Six Day War, while critics have argued that it was a deliberate strike.<\/p>\n Bannon accused Shapiro, who is Jewish, and others who staunchly support Israel of being part of \u201cthe Israel first crowd.\u201d Kelly said criticism from Shapiro and Bari Weiss, the newly installed head of CBS News, \u201cis about Israel.”<\/p>\n Vance says loving America is enough to be part of MAGA<\/strong><\/p>\n In the conference’s closing speech, Vice President JD Vance\u00a0declined to condemn extremism\u00a0or define a boundary for the MAGA coalition. The movement should be open to anyone as long as they \u201clove America,” he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to deplatform,\u201d Vance said Sunday.<\/p>\n Erika Kirk pledged Turning Point\u2019s support for Vance to be\u00a0the next Republican presidential nominee.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to get my husband\u2019s friend JD Vance elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible,\u201d she said on the first night of the convention. Vance would be the 48th president if he takes office after Trump.<\/p>\n Turning Point is a major force on the right, with a massive volunteer network around the country that can be especially helpful in early primary states.<\/p>\n Newsom is political enemy No. 1<\/strong><\/p>\n California\u00a0Gov. Gavin Newsom, a leading Democratic presidential contender, was a favorite punching bag.<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks like they\u2019re going to nominate a California liberal who\u2019s presided over rolling blackouts, open borders and unchecked violent gangs,\u201d Vance said. \u201cThey\u2019re just trying to settle on whether it\u2019s going to be Gavin Newsom or Kamala Harris.\u201d<\/p>\n Rapper Nicki Minaj, who made a surprise appearance, belittled the California governor, using Trump’s favored nickname for him, Newscum.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease tread lightly,” Minhaj said during an on-stage conversation with Erika Kirk. “That\u2019s what I would say to Gabby-poo.\u201d<\/p>\n A representative for Newsom did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n MAHA teams up with MAGA<\/strong><\/p>\n The Make America Healthy Again movement had a big presence at Turning Point, signaling its quick rise in the right-wing ecosystem.<\/p>\n MAHA is spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy, who leads the Department of Health and Human Services. However, there has been friction with other parts of the Make America Great Again coalition, particularly when it comes to rolling back environmental regulations.<\/p>\n Wellness influencer Alex Clark, whose podcast is sponsored by Turning Point, asked the crowd whether the Environmental Protection Agency is \u201cwith us or against us?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBig chemical, big ag and big food are trying to split MAGA from MAHA so things can go back to business as usual, but we don\u2019t want that, do we?\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n Clark and others have asked for Trump to fire EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who responded by reaching out to MAHA activists. The EPA also said it would release a MAHA agenda for the agency.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trump EPA wants to partner with the MAHA community and make sure everyone has a seat at the table,\u201d EPA press secretary Carolyn Holran said in response to Clark’s speech.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PHOENIX (AP) \u2014 When Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest convention reached its halfway point, Erika Kirk tried to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-us"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2455"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2457,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455\/revisions\/2457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}