Leaders for the conservative youth advocacy organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA) were reportedly “livid” over RNC midterm convention in Texas, two insiders revealed to Politico on Thursday, largely due to the two-day event coinciding with another significant date.
“Senior TPUSA leaders were ‘livid’ when they first learned the convention was scheduled to take place on the anniversary of the killing of founder Charlie Kirk, according to two people familiar with the group,” Politico’s report reads. “TPUSA was given no advance notice and weren’t consulted about the dates.”
In response, TPUSA made the decision not to use its platform to “amplify the convention’s message,” Politico reported, noting the decision came directly from TPUSA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet, who the outlet described as “Kirk’s longtime right-hand man.”
“I personally made the decision,” Kolvet told Politico. “I want to remember Charlie here, inside his studio and on the campus that he built. I want our influencers and our contributors to come here and be a part of remembering Charlie.”
Kolvet and TPUSA leaders weren’t the only ones miffed about the timing of the RNC midterm convention. A person Politico described as being “close to the White House” called the GOP’s decision to schedule the event on the anniversary of Kirk’s killing a “huge missed opportunity.”
“This week we should be laser focused on two things: commemorating the run-up to Charlie Kirk’s assassination, and hammering the Democrats in the run-up to 9/11… not a half-a---- convention,” the insider said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Vice President JD Vance, who’s slated to speak Thursday at the convention, plans to call into “The Charlie Kirk Show” Thursday, according to two inside sources who spoke with Politico.
Charlie Kirk was shot and killed last September while speaking at a Utah Valley University event. Kirk’s suspected killer, Tyler Robinson, has been painted by the Trump administration as being associated with left-wing political violence, though such claims have been heavily disputed. Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk, publicly forgave Robinson for her husband’s killing during Charlie Kirk’s memorial in Glendale, Arizona.