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 Debates College Student on Socialism, Racism, and the Failure of Democrat-Run Cities
Charlie Kirk engages in a heated debate with a college student who claims America needs more economic and social equality through socialist policies. The student points to European countries as examples of successful socialism, but Kirk systematically dismantles each argument, explaining why Nordic countries aren't actually socialist and challenging the narrative of systemic racism in modern America. The conversation escalates as Kirk confronts the student with data on Democrat-run cities, Asian-American success despite historical discrimination, and the failures of government welfare programs, culminating in the student walking away after accusing Kirk of white male privilege.
Charlie Kirk confronts a college student who advocates for economic and social equality, asking them to explain what that actually means. The student argues that all people should get the same opportunity, but when Kirk asks if they mean like Cuba, Venezuela, or North Korea, the student pushes back, claiming those aren't real examples of socialism.
The conversation takes a turn when the student insists that Venezuela is not a socialist system, despite the country having nationalized oil and gas reserves, nationalized healthcare, and nationalized schooling. Kirk points out that the government owns the means of production, which is the definition of socialism. The student blames U.S. interference for preventing socialism from being properly enacted.
Europe Is Not Socialist
When asked to show any socialist country that works, the student immediately points to Europe, specifically Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Kirk counters by explaining that these countries are actually more economically free than America according to the World Economic Freedom Index, with lower taxes and less regulation.
The student struggles to reconcile this information with their belief that these countries are socialist. Kirk further explains that these Nordic countries have homogeneous populations of 6 to 7 million people, the strictest immigration policies in Europe, don't pay for a national military, and have 70 to 80% tax rates for the highest earners. He also points out that Sweden has full school choice, which the student admits they don't support unless all schools are funded equally.
The Education Funding Paradox
The conversation shifts to education funding in America. The student argues that schools in richer areas have better funding and thus provide better education, while poor people can't afford to choose better schools or commute to them. Kirk challenges this by asking why, despite spending more on education over the last 60 years federally, test scores have gotten worse.
When the student dismisses testing as a measure of success, Kirk pivots to graduation rates and other metrics, all of which show that American schools have deteriorated over the last 15 years. He brings up Baltimore, where seven inner city schools can't find one kid in eighth grade reading at grade level.
Is America More Racist Today?
Kirk then poses a provocative question: Does the student think America is more racist today than it was in the 1960s? Surprisingly, the student says yes, at some levels. Kirk finds this claim absurd and lays out the evidence: In the 1960s, blacks weren't allowed in the National Basketball Association, the Civil Rights Act hadn't been passed until 1965, and blacks were not allowed to go to the same schools as whites.
The student calls this anecdotal, so Kirk adds that America elected a black president twice, in 2008 and 2012. He argues that the far left's talking point about systemic racism causing inequities in the black community can only be true if America has maintained the same level of racism or gotten more racist over the last 60 years. Any logical analysis of history shows America is significantly less racist today.
Housing Discrimination and Community Outcomes
The student brings up housing discrimination, noting that until the mid-1970s, neighborhoods could choose not to sell homes to black people, which is why many black people live in certain parts of town with underfunded schools. Kirk responds by pointing to the Asian community, which went through similar discrimination but is now the richest community per race in America.
Kirk argues that the difference is that the Asian community was not targeted with a series of social welfare programs like federal welfare systems and broken public schools. The Asian community was one of the poorest communities in the 1940s but became the richest by not becoming dependent on government benefits. He boldly states that black people are poor because of the Democrat party, which got them addicted to government benefits, stuck them in clustered urban areas, and put them in broken schools.
Democrat-Run Cities and Their Failures
Kirk challenges the student to show him one urban city with a Republican mayor, or one urban area where there are more Republican congressmen than Democrat congressmen currently or in the last 50 years. Democrats run all the urban cities: Oakland, Portland, Chicago, Philadelphia. These are the most murderous, the most bankrupt, and the most hopeless parts of America, all run by Democrats.
The student protests that there's no way to make a causal connection without a control group, but Kirk insists on providing examples. He explains that Republican-run cities, municipalities, and counties have much lower levels of poverty over 30 years, better-run schools, are more likely to balance their budgets, and are much more business competitive. Nine out of ten of the most business competitive states in America are all run by Republican governors and Republican legislatures.
The Obama Years and Government Growth
When the student suggests that Democratic officials can't fix broken systems because of Republican interference, Kirk asks if Democrats have fixed anything in the last 60 years. The student says no, but blames a Republican-controlled Congress. Kirk counters that there was a Democrat-controlled president from 2008 to 2016.
He details how Obama controlled both the House and the Senate, passed the healthcare bill that destroyed one-sixth of the economy, borrowed trillions of dollars, raised taxes, and grew government before Republicans took back the House of Representatives.
The White Male Privilege Accusation
As Kirk continues to present his arguments, the student becomes frustrated and accuses him of being upset. Kirk responds that he's actually quite happy and thankful to live in the greatest country ever to exist. The student then makes a personal attack, claiming that Kirk's entire setup is just him being afraid of losing his economic and white male privilege.
Kirk calmly asks what privilege he has as a white person. The student refuses to engage further, shaking Kirk's hand and saying it was nice to meet him, adding that they'd like Kirk to think about how his actions affect other people, not just white male people in this country, but everybody. Kirk again asks what being a white person has to do with anything and questions whether there's also Asian privilege, since Asian-Americans and Indian-Americans are actually richer on average than whites in America.
