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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.
Charlie Kirk and Terry Schilling Reveal How Cultural Issues Won Donald Trump the White House
Charlie Kirk sits down with Terry Schilling, president of the American principles project, to discuss how playing offense on social issues, particularly transgender policies, became one of the most decisive factors in President Trump's victory. Kirk credits Matt Walsh as the "Moses of the reality movement" on transgender issues, while Schilling argues that Trump became the first presidential candidate since 2004 to put family and cultural issues at the forefront of a campaign. They analyze the Trump campaign's controversial advertisements on transgender policies in prisons and sports, which resonated with voters across demographic lines and helped Trump win the popular vote.
Charlie Kirk opens the discussion by acknowledging that when conservatives play offense on social issues, they win. According to analysis, one of the most decisive issues for President Trump's victory was his stance on transgender policies. Kirk praises the Trump campaign team, including Susie Wiles and James Blair, for trusting their instincts and producing two powerful advertisements that became central to the campaign's success.
The most memorable line from these ads was simple yet effective: "Kamala Harris is for they them, Donald Trump is for you." Kirk brings in Terry Schilling, president of the American principles project, to discuss how playing offense on the trans issue won favor with the American people.
Matt Walsh as the Movement's Pioneer
Kirk gives significant credit to Matt Walsh, calling him "the Moses of the reality movement" when it comes to transgender issues. He explains that many conservatives were resigned to losing on this issue, comparing it to the trajectory of same-sex marriage debates. However, Walsh's work helped shift the conversation, and now conservatives are playing offense rather than defense.
Schilling agrees, noting that while he had been meeting with legislators and politicians for some time, showing them polling data on how these issues move the electorate, Matt Walsh brought something different to the table. Walsh added brilliant arguments, humor, and most importantly, distribution through his huge network. This helped mainstream the conversation in ways that advocacy groups could only dream of.
It's the Family, Not Just the Economy
Schilling makes a pointed observation: "It's the family, stupid." He explains that Republicans have long heard "it's the economy, stupid" and refused to talk about cultural issues until Donald Trump came along. Trump won the popular vote for the first time for a Republican since 2004—the other election where cultural issues were at the front and center of American voters' minds.
The discussion turns to the campaign advertisements themselves. The second ad featured Charlamagne tha God, a popular morning drive-time radio host in New York on The Breakfast Club. The reason he appeared in this ad is because he saw the original ad during NFL football and responded to it on his show.
The Power of the Prison Ad
Kirk plays an ad featuring Charlamagne tha God reacting to Kamala Harris's position on taxpayer-funded sex change surgeries for prisoners. In the clip, Charlemagne responds with disbelief: "Surgery for prisoners? For prisoners? Hell no, I don't want my taxpayer dollars going to that." The ad goes on to highlight that Kamala Harris supports letting biological men compete against girls in sports, before delivering the tagline: "Kamala is for they them, president Trump is for you."
Kirk calls it a masterclass in political advertising. He notes that DC consultants typically only want candidates to talk about stock markets, but the Trump campaign trusted their gut. The winning formula was illegal immigration plus transgender issues plus pronoun speech police. The incorporation of a popular black radio host showed that voters don't necessarily need to vote along traditional lines.
Culture War Won the White House
Kirk and Schilling were heavily criticized for going into culture war issues, but they now argue that the culture war won Donald Trump the White House. Schilling states emphatically: "It's not just possible, this is what happened Charlie. It was the family, it was the culture that won this election for Donald Trump."
Schilling gives Trump full credit, noting he is the first presidential candidate since 2004 to put the family and Democrats' extremism on cultural issues at the forefront of his campaign. He calls Trump "an absolute genius" and "a maniac" for championing issues that no one else would touch.
Future Elections and Democratic Response
The conversation turns to how this applies to future elections. Kamala Harris, who will now go down as a loser like Hillary Clinton, thought she could tap dance around these social issues. Schilling notes that some Democrats are trying to moderate on these positions, saying they need to change their policy priorities. However, he argues that conservatives cannot let them get away with it.
"We have to hold their feet to the fire," Schilling says. "We need to ratchet up this division within the Democratic party until they become sane on it. We need to maximize the political opportunity here because the American people are obviously behind us on all of these trans issues."
Trump Administration Pro-Family Agenda
Kirk asks Schilling what his hopes are for the incoming Trump Administration to deliver victories for the pro-family agenda. Schilling responds that President Trump has been good on all pro-family issues since he got elected in 2016. He has made three very specific policy priorities that he put into the RNC platform:
Saving girls' sports by getting rid of men competing in women's categories across the country
Banning taxpayer funding of sex change procedures for minors
Defunding woke DEI and transgender programming in schools
Schilling notes that Trump can accomplish all of these through executive orders. The American principles project will be supporting him every single day, defending him in the press and in public to make sure this gets done. They just have to help shepherd this through and defend him from all the attacks he's going to receive.
Names for the Administration
Kirk asks Schilling to name some all-stars he wants to see in the White House. Schilling mentions Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Jim Banks (though he just got elected to the Senate), and expresses enthusiasm about Elise Stefanik as ambassador to the UN. He even suggests Kirk himself should go into the administration.
Kirk declines, explaining that he's more powerful on the outside where he can hold people accountable, set the pace, examine what's going on, speak freely, and travel the country to rally support. He argues there is a role for some outsiders to live in harmony with an administration rather than being inside it.
Schilling continues with his wishlist, expressing particular interest in Tiffany Justice as Secretary of Education. He believes she would do a phenomenal job because she has the pulse of all the moms across the country.
Looking Ahead
The segment concludes with Schilling thanking Kirk and Turning Point USA for their work in the election. Kirk wraps up by encouraging viewers to subscribe and get tickets to AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center, mentioning Tucker Carlson and other big speakers. He also promotes becoming a member at members.charliekirk.com to get a limited edition signed MAGA hat, noting that he now has 8,000 hats to sign.
The overall message is clear: playing offense on cultural issues, particularly transgender policies affecting children, prisons, and sports, was a winning strategy that helped deliver the White House to Donald Trump and won the popular vote for Republicans for the first time since 2004.
