phoenix — As Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest convention reached its halfway point, Erica Kirk tried to put a smiley face on things.
“Say what you want about AmFest, but it’s certainly not boring,” said Kirk, who has led the influential conservative organization since her husband, Charlie. He was assassinated in September. “It feels like Thanksgiving dinner where your family divides up the family business.”
That’s one way to put it.
Some of the biggest names in conservative media They took turns burning each other On the main stage, they spend more time targeting right-wing rivals than left-wing opponents.
The disagreements could ultimately define the boundaries of the Republican Party and determine the future of President Donald Trump’s fractious coalition, which appears poised for further divisions in the coming months and years.
Here are some of the highlights from the four-day conference.
Ben Shapiro, co-founder of the conservative media outlet The Daily Wire, set the tone with the first speech after Erica Kirk opened the conference. He attacked his fellow commentators in very personal terms, saying that some of the most popular figures on the right are morally bankrupt.
He said Candace Owens “has been spewing all kinds of hideous, conspiratorial nonsense in the public square for years.”
Megyn Kelly is “guilty of cowardice” because she refused to convict Owens for spreading baseless theories about Kirk’s death.
Tucker Carlson’s decision to host anti-Semite Nick Fuentes on his podcast was an “act of moral folly.”
Just an hour later, Carlson took the same stage and mocked Shapiro’s attempt to “condemn and denounce” people who disagree with him.
“I watched it,” he said. “I laughed.”
The others got their chance the next night.
“Ben Shapiro is like a cancer, and this cancer is spreading,” said Steve Bannon, a former Trump adviser.
Kelly dismissed Shapiro as a fringe figure in the conservative movement and said their friendship was over.
“I resent his belief that he is in a position to decide who should say what to whom and when,” Kelly said.
Owens, who has spread unconfirmed conspiracy theories about Charlie Kirk’s death, was not welcome at the convention. But she responded on her podcast, calling Shapiro a “miserable imp.”
Israel was brought up repeatedly during the conference.
Some on the right have questioned whether the Republican Party’s historically consistent support for Israel conflicts with Trump’s “America First” platform. Carlson criticized the killing of civilians in Gaza in comments that were not out of place in progressive circles.
Some attendees delved into history, highlighting the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty off the Sinai Peninsula in 1967. Israel said it mistook the ship for an Egyptian vessel during the Six-Day War, while critics said it was a deliberate strike.
Bannon accused Shapiro, who is Jewish, and others who strongly support Israel of being part of the “Israeli First Brigade.” Kelly said the criticism from Shapiro and Barry Weiss, the new president of CBS News, “is about Israel.”
Erika Kirk pledged her support for Turning Point to Vice President J.D. Vance The next Republican presidential candidate.
“We will work to elect my husband’s friend, J.D. Vance, to the 48 seat in the best possible way,” she said on the first night of the convention. Vance will be the 48th president if he takes office after Trump.
The Tipping Point Party is a major right-wing force, with a huge network of volunteers across the country that can be especially useful in early primary states.
Vance was close to Charlie Kirk, whose support helped enable his rapid political rise. The Vice President is scheduled to conclude the conference as the final speaker on Sunday.
The Make America Healthy Again movement had a significant presence at Tipping Point, signaling its rapid rise in the right-wing ecosystem.
MAHA is headed by Robert F. Kennedy, who leads the Department of Health and Human Services. However, there has been friction with other parts of the Make America Great Again coalition, especially when it comes to eliminating environmental regulations.
Alex Clark, a wellness influencer whose podcast is sponsored by Turning Point, asked the audience whether the EPA is “with us or against us?”
“Big chemical companies and big food companies are trying to separate MAGA from MAHA until things get back to normal, but we don’t want that, do we?” Clark said.
Clark and others asked Trump to fire EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who responded by reaching out to MAHA activists. The EPA also said it would release the agency’s MAHA agenda.
The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Clark’s letter.