Organizers of Turning Point USA's AmericaFest, held this past weekend in Phoenix, Arizona, hoped attendees would unite around a shared vision for the organization's future.
Instead, the event revealed significant internal discord and infighting, according to a report Tuesday.
In interviews with young conservatives who attended the gathering, the New York Times documented concerns about the organization's direction following founder Charlie Kirk's death. Multiple speakers spent considerable time attacking one another rather than presenting a cohesive message.
Andrew Gilbey, a 22-year-old student, expressed frustration about the fractured leadership: "Right now, we're just seeing hostility and division at the top, ... and it's trickling down to the lower half and to the grass roots. It's creating division instead of building a movement that keeps everyone together. I mean, what direction are we going in?"
New York Times reporter Nathan Taylor Pemberton noted that while dramatic confrontations unfolded on stage, the absence of Kirk—whom his widow Erika described as the organization's "peacemaker" in her opening remarks—has normalized disunity throughout the conservative coalition.
Phoenix resident Jack Oertle, 17, voiced similar concerns: "Things are just too fiery, and it's creating so much unrest and division. We don't need it. We've been watching Democrats tear each other apart for so long and now it's happening here."
A primary source of contention centers on white nationalist Nick Fuentes, whose prominence has created divisions extending beyond TPUSA and into the Heritage Foundation and among GOP lawmakers.
The controversy left some attendees dismayed. Laiken Combs, 22, stated, "I thought we were a party of free speech, so why are we attacking other podcasters for their viewpoints?"
Others took a harder stance. Corbin Wills, 25, an Arizona Christian University student, countered, "The party is going to fall to the wayside if we let these outspoken lunatics drive things."
"It's just ugly right now.," he added.
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