2,387 videos 1,376,944,188 views US Joined Aug 30, 2018
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 Challenges College Freshman on Why He's Voting for Kamala Harris Without Knowing Her Accomplishments
Charlie Kirk engages a University of Wisconsin-Madison freshman who plans to vote for Kamala Harris despite admitting he doesn't follow politics closely. The conversation starts with housing affordability and regulation under Trump, then shifts when the student can't name a single accomplishment of Harris. Kirk contrasts Trump's economic record, lower interest rates, increased homeownership for young Americans, wage growth for blue-collar workers, with the Biden-Harris administration's inflation, border crisis, and foreign policy failures. The exchange reveals a common pattern: young voters supporting candidates based on party registration rather than policy outcomes or accomplishments.
A Conversation About Economic Reality and Political Instinct
The exchange began with a straightforward fact: seven million new people under the age of 30 bought homes when Donald Trump was President. When the college freshman suggested COVID partially caused current economic conditions, Charlie Kirk acknowledged the pandemic's role but emphasized that Trump oversaw the greatest economy in American history for young people, with interest rates at 2% compared to nearly 10% under the current administration.
Kirk pivoted to regulatory policy, asking the student about his experience with FAFSA forms. When he admitted the forms were exhaustive and duplicative, Kirk used this to illustrate how regulation disproportionately hurts small businesses. A local bank with 15 employees struggles with hundreds of pages of paperwork, while JP Morgan, a multi-trillion dollar corporation, easily absorbs the compliance costs. The student questioned whether he was cherry-picking examples, but Kirk explained that most regulation consists of paperwork, notarizations, lawyer signatures, committee approvals, that bog down small businesses while large corporations have the resources to manage it.
The Regulation Debate: Big vs. Small
The freshman pressed Kirk on environmental regulation specifically, and he acknowledged addressing that topic. But his broader point focused on how regulatory burden stifles entrepreneurship and competition. Reading the National Registry reveals millions of pages of unnecessary requirements that small businesses lack the bandwidth or money to handle, while big businesses thrive under these conditions.
When asked how to regulate corporations if government regulation is the problem, Kirk proposed empowering the small against the big through increased competition and entrepreneurialism rather than expanding government power. He pointed out that most monopolies exist because of government intervention, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson remain dominant vaccine manufacturers thanks to government funding through NIH and vaccine programs. The same applies to big food companies receiving agricultural subsidies and oil companies getting petroleum subsidies.
Unable to Name a Single Accomplishment
The conversation took a revealing turn when Kirk asked who the student was voting for. He responded that he'd probably vote for Kamala Harris or write someone in, explaining he's a registered Democrat. Kirk asked for Harris's greatest accomplishment. The student admitted he doesn't follow politics much and couldn't name one. When Kirk pressed further, he acknowledged he also couldn't name Trump's accomplishments.
Kirk questioned why he'd instinctively choose Kamala if he couldn't identify any achievements. The student explained he's a registered Democrat and mentioned he'd seen Project 2025, which he disagreed with. Kirk pivoted to make his case for why he should vote for Trump instead.
The Trump Record: Economy, Homeownership, and Peace
Kirk laid out a specific case: under Trump, Americans would be wealthier, happier, avoid World War III, and have border security. He detailed how people his age, 18-year-olds, saw wages increase, with many young people working blue-collar jobs able to buy homes. The student initially questioned this, mentioning his brother is an electrician, which Kirk used to reinforce his point about blue-collar wage growth under Trump.
He emphasized that Trump presided over the greatest economy in American history with peace across the world. Trump was the first president in 40 years without starting a new war. Under Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Biden, America entered new conflicts. Under Trump, there were peace treaties and a doctrine of peace through strength.
Foreign Policy Contrasts
The student questioned whether Trump's policies might have enabled current problems. Kirk responded with concrete examples: Putin did not invade Ukraine under Trump, and Israel was not at war with Gaza. He compared this to Putin taking Crimea under Obama and invading eastern Ukraine under Biden. When the student asked about Trump's relationship with Putin, Kirk explained that through diplomacy, Trump made Putin understand that taking even a square inch of Ukraine would result in severe consequences.
The measurable result: hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians did not die under Trump's watch but did die under Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. Kirk noted that very few American soldiers died under Trump, while 13 died in a single day during the Biden administration's Afghanistan withdrawal. He also mentioned American citizens, passport holders attending a concert in southern Israel, who were kidnapped by Gaza and recently killed.
The Closing Challenge
Kirk summarized the current situation: America stands on the verge of World War III, the dollar has lost value, homeownership is harder than ever, and the economy is worse for everyone in the room than it has been in over 30 years. The student acknowledged that while Kirk made these points, he had initially approached him about environmental regulations, and the conversation had expanded from there.
Kirk acknowledged his original question and noted he could vote for whoever he wanted. The student said he'd go home and research, promising to come back with an accomplishment of Kamala Harris. He mentioned he'd be at the Alabama-Wisconsin game the following Saturday. Kirk offered him a challenge: if he found a single accomplishment, he should come find him. The student asked if he'd get a hat if he said he'd vote for Trump, but Kirk said he didn't believe him at that point. The exchange ended cordially, with Kirk thanking him for the dialogue.