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Quoted By:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/21/maga-stars-turning-point-conference
The stars of the Maga conservatism converged for the four-day AmericaFest conference in Phoenix this weekend amid reports that the cohesion of the political-religious right, a year into Donald Trump’s second presidential term, is showing signs of stress.
The sold-out Turning Point USA event brought together figures from the right including Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Donald Trump Jr, Vivek Ramaswamy, Ben Shapiro and Glenn Beck, to kick around the dominant themes of conservatism.
It marked Turning Point USA’s first annual gathering since its leader Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on a college campus in Utah in September. The event was billed as “a powerful celebration of faith, freedom, and the legacy of our founder, Charlie Kirk”.
However, the gathering made headlines for the infighting on display among its high-profile participants.
“Say what you want about AmFest, but it’s definitely not boring,” said Kirk’s widow Erika. “Feels like a Thanksgiving dinner where your family’s hashing out the family business.”
According to reports from the festival, the unification seen in previous years has been challenged by interpersonal gripes and disagreement over how big the big tent of conservatism should be and what brands of conservative thinking it can be expected to hold.
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, co-founder of The Daily Wire, set the tone on Thursday when he condemned Carlson for hosting the white nationalist Nick Fuentes on his streaming show, as well as others he depicted as charlatans and grifters.
Shapiro said hosts are “indeed responsible for the guests they choose and the questions they ask”, adding that Fuentes “is an evil troll and that building him up is an act of moral imbecility. And that is precisely what Tucker Carlson did.”
The stars of the Maga conservatism converged for the four-day AmericaFest conference in Phoenix this weekend amid reports that the cohesion of the political-religious right, a year into Donald Trump’s second presidential term, is showing signs of stress.
The sold-out Turning Point USA event brought together figures from the right including Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Donald Trump Jr, Vivek Ramaswamy, Ben Shapiro and Glenn Beck, to kick around the dominant themes of conservatism.
It marked Turning Point USA’s first annual gathering since its leader Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on a college campus in Utah in September. The event was billed as “a powerful celebration of faith, freedom, and the legacy of our founder, Charlie Kirk”.
However, the gathering made headlines for the infighting on display among its high-profile participants.
“Say what you want about AmFest, but it’s definitely not boring,” said Kirk’s widow Erika. “Feels like a Thanksgiving dinner where your family’s hashing out the family business.”
According to reports from the festival, the unification seen in previous years has been challenged by interpersonal gripes and disagreement over how big the big tent of conservatism should be and what brands of conservative thinking it can be expected to hold.
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, co-founder of The Daily Wire, set the tone on Thursday when he condemned Carlson for hosting the white nationalist Nick Fuentes on his streaming show, as well as others he depicted as charlatans and grifters.
Shapiro said hosts are “indeed responsible for the guests they choose and the questions they ask”, adding that Fuentes “is an evil troll and that building him up is an act of moral imbecility. And that is precisely what Tucker Carlson did.”
