When Erika Kirk stepped up to the lectern at her husband's memorial service amid a shower of sparks from white fountains, she did so not just as a grieving widow. Next to her name on the stadium screens in Glendale, Arizona, there was also her new job: managing director and chairman of the board of the conservative youth organization “Turning Point USA”. A week after MAGA activist Charlie Kirk was murdered at a performance in Utah, Erika Kirk was named his successor. She thus became the new face of a group that had previously been defined by one person: her husband.
The new managing director appeared to be confident of success. Anyone who previously thought the organization was powerful should take a closer look, she said at the time. “You have no idea what you have just unleashed on this country and around the world.” Weeks and months followed in which journalists constantly reported on Erika Kirk and “Turning Point USA” events, President Donald Trump and Vice President J. D. Vance promoted the organization. The group, financed almost entirely by donations, spoke of record income and 54,000 inquiries for new local groups at schools and universities. But a year later, interest has waned and reports of unrest within the group are increasing.
An organization looks for its course
The founder's portrait still appears on the website. It says: "Charlie's vision. America's future. The fight continues." The American president also said after the assassination that no one could replace Kirk. He was “unique”. Trump owes the activist a lot. “Turning Point USA” aims to get students excited about conservative politics with sometimes provocative theses. With his arguments spread on social media, Charlie Kirk became one of the most influential right-wing conservative figures in the country. In 2021, his organization organized bus rides for young supporters to a protest rally in Washington where Trump was mobilizing against the supposedly stolen election. During the 2024 election campaign, Kirk personally toured American university campuses to campaign for the Republican.
Determining the actual size of the organization is difficult. At the time of Kirk's murder in September 2025, Turning Point said it had more than 3,500 school and college groups in the United States. The idea: to influence traditionally liberal teaching institutions, to take over student representatives, and to raise awareness for conservative concerns. There are “watch lists” of teachers who allegedly spread “left-wing propaganda.” The website now mentions more than a million young people, organized into more than 5,000 groups at universities and schools.
But it wasn't just success stories. Last December, the organization’s first “Americafest” took place without Charlie Kirk. Instead of demonstrative unity against the “woke left,” the MAGA wing at the conference in Phoenix discussed anti-Semitism in the movement, conspiracy theories and the question of what makes an American. Erika Kirk found two reasons for this: This shows even more that her husband was a reconciler. And besides, Kirk appreciated a good discussion; The event is not about “echo chambers”.
Campaign of a conspiracy theorist
The feud between the anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist Candace Owens, former communications director at "Turning Point", and the organization itself attracted a lot of attention. She spread the conspiracy theory among her approximately 14 million followers on social media that Kirk's death was planned by Israel and covered up by the Israeli government, employees of "Turning Point" and Erika Kirk herself. The wife had to go “to prison” for questioning. In addition, “Turning Point USA” is shamelessly making money from Kirk's death - for example at a fundraising gala where $40 million is said to have been raised in a single evening.
Other MAGA figures warned of a split. Owens wanted to sow discord, “and it worked,” wrote podcaster Ben Shapiro. However, Owens didn't let up. She distributed alleged video and audio recordings of staff meetings with Erika Kirk. In one, she said her husband's memorial service was "just crazy," an "event of the century." For Owens, this is proof that Kirk is by no means a grieving widow.
There was a crunch not only in public, but also within the organization. In February this year, a former employee posted a 13-minute-long video on social media in which she spoke about alleged poor treatment of employees. She also referenced Owen's theory and claimed that she was probably fired because of doubts about the portrayal of Kirk's death. The right-wing podcaster jumped on the bandwagon again. There were “mass layoffs,” she claimed in a video that was widely shared and commented on in her environment. The tenor: People who had put their lives in the service of Charlie Kirk would now simply be exchanged.
Lost your way?
In addition, this year there were accusations from several local groups that “Turning Point” had lost its way in the matter. In March, the group at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville announced it would break away from the organization and rename itself. In a statement, it said that since Kirk's death, Turning Point USA had lost sight of the fight for "conservative politics, principles and values." Instead, it’s about the “next viral cultural moment” and the pursuit of relevance. Perhaps the most damning criticism followed: the group was disgusted by how Kirk had been exploited since his murder. Remarks such as “Charlie would have said…” and “Charlie would have wanted…” often seemed “insincere and manipulative.” The announcement came a week after Erika Kirk performed in another Arkansas city.
Several scenes cast doubt on the organization's lasting success. In April, for example, a “Turning Point” event with Vice President Vance in Georgia drew 1,300 people into an arena that would have held five times as many people. A week later, the group's chairwoman at the University of Georgia resigned. It became “abundantly clear” that the organization had lost “its mission and mission.” She has “great concerns” about the messages and the current direction. The annual women's conference in June also had around a thousand fewer visitors than last year - despite Erika Kirk as host.
All of this could explain why the organization continues to post old videos of Charlie Kirk's arguments on YouTube in between its current posts. However, these are no longer clicked on very much.
