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Charlie Kirk is the Founder and President of Turning Point USA, the largest and fastest growing conservative youth activist organization in the country with over 250,000 student members, over 150 full-time staff, and a presence on over 2,000 high school and college campuses nationwide. Charlie is also the Chairman of Students for Trump, which aims to activate one million new college voters on campuses in battleground states in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election. His social media reaches over 100 million people per month and according to Axios, he is one of the "top 10 most engaged" Twitter handles in the world. He is also the host of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” which regularly ranks among the top news shows on Apple podcast charts.
Andrew Kolvet Addresses Leaked Text Messages and Charlie Kirk's Views on Israel and Free Speech
Andrew Kolvet, spokesman for Turning Point USA, directly addresses leaked text messages involving Charlie Kirk and the late founder's complex views on Israel. In this candid discussion with Blake Neff, Kolvet explains why he shared the authentic text chain with government officials during the investigation, Charlie's frustration with being attacked by some pro-Israel voices despite his support for the nation, and his unwavering commitment to free speech. Kolvet emphasizes that Charlie would not want this tragedy to divide the conservative movement or harm Turning Point USA, the organization he built and loved.
Andrew Kolvet opens by addressing leaked text messages from a group chat that Candace Owens made public. Kolvet confirms the screen grab is authentic and explains why he initially kept it private while sharing it with government officials during the investigation into Charlie Kirk's death. He emphasizes that in the first 33 hours after the tragedy, before authorities apprehended their suspect, the team wanted to leave no stone unturned in pursuing justice.
Kolvet pushes back against criticism that the team hasn't been thoroughly investigating every lead. "When I say that we want justice for Charlie more than anybody else, I really mean it. And no stone unturned," he states. Blake Neff adds that he has been careful not to comment publicly because he is an eyewitness to events and authorities advised that anything said could negatively impact the ongoing trial.
Charlie Kirk's Complex Views on Israel
Kolvet addresses the fascination surrounding Charlie's views on Israel, stating that free speech must be the movement's north star. He explains that the leaked text chain is consistent with public frustrations Charlie voiced many times. "What is the truth about the way Charlie felt about Israel? Well, it's complicated and it's nuanced and it was a wrestle that was going on for months," Kolvet explains.
Blake Neff provides detailed context, explaining that he worked with Charlie on every major issue and that Charlie thought about the Israel issue constantly. Neff reveals that he read a 700-page book about the Israel-Palestine conflict at Charlie's request so he could help whenever the topic came up. According to Neff, Charlie's views were clear: he wanted the Gaza war to end, didn't want America to take Palestinian refugees, opposed American troops on the ground, and was upset about churches being damaged and Christians being killed. At the same time, Charlie recognized that Hamas started the war, Hamas could end it, and that Israel represented European civilization while Hamas represented Middle Eastern barbarism.
Neff emphasizes that Charlie could see anti-Semitism rising in America and a shift against Israel among young conservatives, which upset him. "Charlie was public about this. He loved Israel. He cared about Israel," Neff states. Charlie wanted to help the pro-Israel movement chart a better path forward.
Charlie's Public Frustrations with Pro-Israel Advocates
The discussion includes playing a clip from Charlie's appearance on Megyn Kelly's show, where he expressed frustration with how some pro-Israel advocates were treating him. In his own words, Charlie said: "The behavior by a lot, both privately and publicly are pushing people like you and me away. Not like we're going to be pro Hamas, not like we're going to, but we're like, honestly, the way you are treating me is so repulsive. I have text messages, Megyn, calling me an anti-Semite. I am learning biblical Hebrew and writing a book on the Shabbat. I honor the Shabbat, literally the Jewish Sabbath. I visit Israel and fight for it."
Charlie continued, expressing his frustration: "My moral character is now being put into question, Megyn. Not my decisions, not like, hey, are you doing this? Is it smart or is it dumb? But no, I am a bad person if I do this." He tried to be charitable, suggesting that people attacking him were in a "hyper paranoid state because they're at war and war tends to make things black and white."
Loyalty and Independence
Kolvet emphasizes that Charlie would vent frustrations in private while maintaining a more measured tone publicly. The text messages represent moments of frustration and venting, not a complete shift in his worldview. Charlie made it expressly clear that he would not be bullied into deplatforming Tucker Carlson or others, regardless of pressure from donors or advocates.
"Charlie was loyal to people that he had shared history with," Kolvet explains. "He would never say an ill word" about friends like Candace Owens or Tucker Carlson publicly, even when he disagreed with them on Israel. He recognized they had valuable voices on other issues and would not be morally blackmailed into abandoning them.
Blake Neff adds: "Charlie could not be controlled. You could not buy him. He was not bought and paid for. You could not control him with money. It just wasn't the way he was wired. He didn't actually care about money that much." When donors would threaten to cut off funding if Charlie didn't comply with their demands, his defiant Scottish nature would kick in with a "screw me? No, screw you" attitude.
Charting a Path Forward for Pro-Israel Conservatives
Neff explains that Charlie was trying to chart a path forward for people who were sympathetic to Israel. "He was playing the good cop here. He was saying, 'You guys don't realize how bad it could potentially get. You might have to change your PR.'" This is why Charlie wrote a letter to Benjamin Netanyahu, telling him he was losing the PR war and needed to change messaging to the American right.
Charlie believed the pro-Israel movement might need to adjust expectations, recognizing that unlimited military aid from America might not be tenable going forward. He suggested a more passive relationship and thought Israel could provide more support to America in areas like opposing Islamic migration. "He was trying to do all of this because he cared about the relationship and wanted to chart a way forward on it," Neff explains.
When people would react by calling Charlie an anti-Semite or hater, he would get angry because he knew it was untrue. He would vent about this to people who understood, including pro-Israel people who shared his view on the issue.
Why the Messages Remained Private
Kolvet explains why he didn't share the screen grab publicly: it was a private exchange between Charlie and some Jews and non-Jews where he was venting frustration. Sharing it publicly would have felt like a betrayal to his friend because Charlie never said anything like that publicly on his show. However, Kolvet did share it with people in government because during those first critical hours, they wanted no stone unturned in the investigation.
Kolvet emphasizes his concern about the ongoing investigation and potential negative implications of public statements. "Before you press send, before you hit publish, just think about maybe tainting a jury pool, maybe that the implications could be negative in that way," he urges. He also asks people to consider that attacks are affecting people who loved Charlie most and haven't even had a chance to fully grieve yet.
Addressing DOGE Concerns
Kolvet addresses questions about Charlie's relationship with DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) and Turning Point's finances. He explains that Charlie loved DOGE so much that he made DOGE shirts for the show. "Kind of down low, Charlie was a bit of an Elon Musk fanboy," Kolvet reveals. Charlie loved that Elon built things in America rather than making money through financial instruments. He really loved DOGE and wanted to bring that spirit to Turning Point.
Every spring, Charlie would plan a fall audit to drive improvement because he wanted to know where every dollar was going. This was part of his constant focus on improvement, not a sign of financial concerns.
What Charlie Wouldn't Want
Kolvet emphasizes two things Charlie would not want to see come from this investigation or public fascination with the case. First, he wouldn't want it to divide the movement or coalition, because he worked so hard building the Trump coalition and the conservative movement with its many important players. Second, he wouldn't want it to hurt Turning Point USA, which he loved deeply and invested tremendous time and energy building.
"I actually totally am sympathetic. A lot of you have been lied to. A lot of us have been lied to by people that shouldn't be lying to us," Kolvet acknowledges, referencing COVID, lockdowns, and unanswered questions about what happened with President Trump in Butler. "I am very sympathetic to wanting to get the truth of these things. But again, just because I don't say things publicly doesn't mean that we aren't asking questions privately or we aren't pursuing things privately."
Kolvet states he's actually excited the text messages are now public because he wants the truth to be known. "The truth was it was a wrestle" regarding Israel, and the reality likely lies between the Netanyahu letter and the text group, though Neff argues they're entirely consistent with the same worldview.
No Hidden Agendas
Blake Neff strongly refutes any suggestion that Charlie was hiding his views: "Charlie was not hiding things from people. There's going to be people who are going to try to make you fixate on a particular quote or a particular line to make you think that there was something hidden. There was nothing hidden about Charlie's views on Israel."
Neff emphasizes that people will use screen grabs to suggest distance between what Charlie personally believed and what he said publicly, but he doesn't think there was any distance. "Anything you can see in a screenshot from any group chat is also what Charlie was saying publicly." Charlie would publicly say he was frustrated by what pro-Israel people in the US do to pressure people, that he thought it was counterproductive for the issue at large, and that it was personally hurtful because attacks came from people he considered friends and allies.
"Charlie was a person who cared. He was a good person. He cared about the good of America. He cared about the good of the world. He cared about the good of American Jews. He cared about the good of Christians," Neff states. Charlie saw that the Israel issue was important to all of those things and wanted to have a healthy way forward in that relationship.
Mark Halperin Weighs In
The discussion concludes with Mark Halperin joining to offer his perspective. Halperin praises Kolvet and Neff for being "extraordinarily brave and steadfast and inspirational" in dealing with unprecedented circumstances. "I congratulate you and I'll tell you that the folks in your life are lucky to have you around to help and guide through this because there's never been anything like having to deal with what you guys have done," Halperin says.
Halperin shares that he understands Charlie's texts and public statements about Israel because he shares a similar view: "I'm an appreciator of Israel, a supporter of Israel's and a respecter of Israel, but just like every American president I've ever covered, you have to stand up to your friends sometimes when you think they're making a mistake."
He notes that this applies to people in the country who are supporters of Israel, many of whom are wealthy and play politics at a high level. When disappointed, they use leverage by threatening to withhold money. "That's not specific to AIPAC or the American Jewish community, but they do it along with everybody else," Halperin explains. He emphasizes that musings in a text are not a lifetime of statements and points of view about Israel—they're a moment.
Halperin also notes that donor pressure wasn't limited to Israel. Charlie faced pushback because he was so pro-life, with some donors saying he needed to dial it back or they'd be less interested in supporting him. Charlie's response was simply "too bad, I'm pro-life." He would not be bossed around on issues.
Kolvet and Neff close by reiterating that there is an ongoing investigation with a suspect and apparently a strong case. They cannot weigh in on details because it could have negative implications on something really important. They hope people will remember what Charlie wouldn't want: division in the coalition and movement, and harm to Turning Point USA. "I hope that we can all keep the main thing, the main thing," Kolvet concludes.
