The widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk said the organization he founded, Turning Point USA, will help elect J.D. Vance president in 2028, although Vance, the current US vice president, has not yet announced his run.
Erica Kirk's support Thursday came on the opening day of Turning Point's annual America Fest conference, the organization's largest gathering since her husband was shot and killed in September.
“We're going to get my husband's friend, J.D. Vance, elected in the loudest way of the 48 that we can,” Kirk said, referring to the 48th president. Trump is 47th.
In the meantime, Vance plans to speak at the event on Sunday.
The turning point helped Republican President Donald Trump expand his coalition of support, leading to his victory in the 2024 presidential election.
Her announcement ahead of Trump's one-year presidency signals early efforts to succeed him ahead of the 2028 elections.
After Kirk gave her opening speech, the scene at the Phoenix Convention Center in Arizona turned into a political smear contest as tensions within the conservative movement were laid bare.
Podcaster Ben Shapiro attacked media rivals Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Steve Bannon, calling them “con artists and frauds.”
“The people who refused to condemn Candace's truly brutal attacks – and some of them are speaking here tonight – are guilty of cowardice,” Shapiro said.
Owens, a former Turning Point employee who hosts a popular podcast, has been a thorn in the side of Republicans and promoted various conspiracy theories, including baseless speculation about the murder of Charlie Kirk.
It comes as speculation grows over Trump's influence on the Republican Party and fighting among factions of the president's supporters over the future of Maga's movement.
Shapiro also criticized former Fox News host Carlson for interviewing Nick Fuentes, a far-right political commentator and Holocaust denieron his podcast in late October, drawing widespread condemnation.
After Shapiro, Carlson came on stage and answered Shapiro.
“This guy is pompous,” Carlson said. “Calls for deplatforming at a Charlie Kirk event? This is funny.”
Charlie Kirk's Turning Point events were known for tackling controversial and divisive topics. Proponents considered this necessary for freedom of speech. Critics considered it hate speech.
Authorities said Charlie Kirk's alleged killer – Tyler Robinson – told his romantic partner that he killed Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”
At the Turning Point conference, Erica Kirk said: “You will not agree with everyone on this stage this weekend. And that's okay. Welcome to America.”
After the murder, she said, “we saw fractures, we saw bridges being burned that should not be burned.”
Trump has recently faced a series of setbacks within his Republican Party, including public disagreements with his former ally Marjorie Taylor Greene and the impending release of the Epstein files, which most Republicans voted for despite Trump's disappointment.
The four-day America Fest conference was scheduled to run through the weekend, with Vance and Donald Trump Jr. scheduled to serve as guest speakers on Sunday.
