Charlie Kirk Opens Up About Election Night Emotions, Federal Prison Fears, and Building AmericaFest Into a 20,000-Person Movement

[00:00] [Music]

[00:04] I'm a rookie Here Charlie Kirk and I

[00:06] heard about this oh you're a rookie at

[00:08] ampfest okay not in broadcasting not

[00:11] this part this part I'm freaking old but

[00:14] this is insane this is another level

[00:16] this is what 20,000 strong year 20,000

[00:19] people compared to when you started it

[00:21] four or five years ago boy four or five

[00:24] years ago we had like 5,000 people but

[00:27] when we first started our events we had

[00:28] 120 people which was when uh winter of

[00:32] 2015 nine years ago okay so I need like

[00:37] open Charlie not bullet point Charlie

[00:40] like I hope you're able to look around

[00:44] and smell the roses and realize what you

[00:46] have created are you able to do that

[00:48] well it's it's not me it's the Turning

[00:50] Point team that that deserves the credit

[00:52] see you went there you immediately gave

[00:53] it to the team but it's not a bullet

[00:54] point it's legit it's your vision it's

[00:56] it's our vision it is again I I I wish I

[00:59] could take like a celebr lab it

[01:01] obviously I will take credit for this I

[01:04] push them to a standard of Excellence

[01:06] that I think might be at the time they

[01:08] think is unheard of and I I will take

[01:10] credit for always pushing and driving

[01:12] but look the execution I who could take

[01:14] I look from everything from the graphic

[01:16] design to how speakers are treated to

[01:17] the AV to the uh attendees to promotion

[01:21] of marketing I mean it takes an army it

[01:22] does and by the way this is just as you

[01:24] know a small percentage of what we do at

[01:27] Turning Point throughout the year yes

[01:28] High School chapters College chap

[01:29] chapters tpsa Faith right from digital

[01:32] social media Productions Turning Point

[01:33] Academy blexit and that's what people

[01:35] need to realize this is just one of many

[01:37] things we do um this is obviously the

[01:39] biggest event we have but um of those

[01:42] things you listed was that the ultimate

[01:44] Vision too or did it just kind of

[01:45] evolved because now it is a massive

[01:47] movement well well thank you uh yeah I

[01:49] mean it it has evolved for sure America

[01:52] Fest the vision was always can there be

[01:54] a meeting point for 4 days where the

[01:57] other 361 were doing the work

[02:00] and then all of that energy comes

[02:02] together and then goes back out that was

[02:03] always the vision you know kind of bring

[02:06] it all together and then we can then

[02:07] send people out with the encouragement

[02:09] the training the uh information yeah uh

[02:12] and what I love about this is people of

[02:14] all ages all backgrounds families and

[02:17] different type of specialty we have

[02:19] second amendment enthusiasts we have

[02:21] people that care about education reform

[02:22] people that are all into the faith

[02:24] aspect tonight we have our faith night

[02:26] um on stage and so that we've always

[02:29] wanted to lean into the coalitional

[02:31] diversity and I think that's a really

[02:33] beautiful thing I didn't know there was

[02:35] like a kids student area oh yeah there's

[02:37] a whole student VIP lounge oh I saw

[02:39] there's like a dance floor and bull

[02:41] writing it's really incredible and to

[02:43] that point I told you yesterday I have

[02:44] three kids in college and they don't

[02:45] listen to a thing politically they need

[02:47] to be here but most importantly the

[02:48] other 361 days you reached my kids too

[02:52] and it helped create conversation it's a

[02:53] beautiful thing can you go back to

[02:55] election

[02:56] night the video of when you found out

[02:59] when you realized Donald Trump was going

[03:00] to win I saw I probably watched it 10

[03:03] times Charlie because you were overcome

[03:05] with emotion and right on live TV

[03:07] basically what was going through your

[03:09] mind at that

[03:11] moment this will sound you'll get it but

[03:14] the some people are mocking it when I

[03:15] say this it was the closest to like

[03:18] Jordan or Kobe when they kind of

[03:20] collapsed in the locker room if that

[03:22] makes sense where it was like your whole

[03:24] of body physical mental spiritual

[03:27] emotional for an extended period of time

[03:30] and you you do you don't have it's

[03:32] beyond like you don't have words and you

[03:34] don't celebrate it is the collapsing at

[03:36] the finish line and because for us and

[03:39] our family we knew that if we lost

[03:41] federal prison was probably in the cards

[03:43] and the disassembling of turning points

[03:45] I just want you to imagine not thinking

[03:47] that but like embodying it and like

[03:50] visiting these campuses and doing this

[03:51] work and saying like is God really going

[03:53] to grant us this Victory is this going

[03:55] to happen and look for me it's personal

[03:57] president Trump's a friend of mine like

[03:59] he's he's been so good to me and he's

[04:01] been so awesome and he's been so

[04:03] generous and he got shot and I thought

[04:05] he was dead and like you know and then

[04:07] he almost got shot again and then he

[04:09] almost got thrown in prison and so you

[04:11] think to yourself like there's no way we

[04:13] actually can win right like there's some

[04:15] cosmological life force that is trying

[04:17] to prevent it and then it happens and

[04:21] you don't it it transcends reason where

[04:26] you you you don't have the capacity to

[04:28] be able to explain

[04:31] I didn't even think about the prison

[04:32] part yeah they were going to come after

[04:34] you oh 100% and so many others so it was

[04:36] personal it was like Wow we've been

[04:39] given this repri from the heavens like

[04:41] wow we

[04:43] can we can breathe we can have a family

[04:46] like because we were obviously on a list

[04:48] I mean you know us mus we had people

[04:51] telling us that too like members of

[04:53] Congress absolutely um I think that most

[04:56] people don't real maybe now they do to

[04:58] me we were on the brink of disaster

[04:59] that's correct and people don't realize

[05:01] the depth of it because they've been

[05:03] blinded by so much so to me this is

[05:05] we've talked about it a lot being

[05:06] spiritual so much bigger than all of us

[05:08] um you've been in Florida pretty much

[05:10] since the election I I only took one

[05:12] trip for Thanksgiving to Chicago that's

[05:13] right been living in Palm Beach insane

[05:15] what has that been like it's been

[05:17] amazing look the president what's your

[05:19] role like what are you doing I have no

[05:20] official role I'm just around helping

[05:22] where I can advising where I can um

[05:25] helping out a little bit here and there

[05:27] on transition no official role I'm a

[05:29] friend of the president that can come in

[05:31] and be helpful because look there's very

[05:34] few of us that have been along this

[05:36] journey that then know that what

[05:38] happened in 2016 2017 we didn't make the

[05:41] best Personnel selections and we want to

[05:43] try to not just remedy that but improve

[05:46] that and look we have Bobby Kennedy

[05:48] tulsey gabard I mean we have cash Patel

[05:52] I mean amazing people and so I'm just

[05:55] trying to help out wherever I can and

[05:57] it's been an extraordinary experience

[05:59] the president president is so intimately

[06:01] involved in the people he is putting

[06:03] this in this Administration I think

[06:05] people are going to be blown away by

[06:06] what we accomplished in these four years

[06:08] last question because it's something

[06:10] that I am learning to understand and not

[06:11] blow off anymore the drones literally

[06:15] like in a in a in a cliff notes version

[06:18] how would you describe to someone like

[06:19] me who's been ignoring it the importance

[06:22] of why we should not ignore it and what

[06:23] do you think this I I have no theories

[06:25] as to what it is uh I keep on being

[06:27] asked you know what it is it I here's

[06:31] what I hope it is I hope it's a bunch of

[06:33] trolls that are just flying drones at

[06:35] night but there's things that don't make

[06:36] sense why is it only at night not during

[06:38] the day if it's like a nuclear warhead

[06:40] wouldn't they have even more drone

[06:42] coverage and like kind of have other you

[06:45] know let's just say um more aggressive

[06:48] ways to try to find it what because I I

[06:50] know you probably heard the theory about

[06:50] the nuclear warhead if it's

[06:53] Chinese that we we wouldn't shoot any of

[06:55] them down if it's Iranian I I I have no

[06:58] good answer I got nothing and I and and

[07:00] that's rare for me I by by the way you

[07:02] you you'll appreciate this we do a show

[07:05] every day three hours a day so I said

[07:07] Andrew cancel the show bring people on

[07:10] just about the drones and I learned is

[07:12] right there laughing at this

[07:13] conversation I learned nothing nothing

[07:15] for a full hour it was complete what's

[07:17] the blue thing what what were you saying

[07:19] no blue beam I didn't say that

[07:21] no see no no I'm we're suing we're suing

[07:24] the Daily Mail over this 100% I'm so I

[07:26] got asked about this three times it was

[07:28] a Twitter account I don't control that's

[07:30] not me it's called Charlie Kirk news I

[07:31] don't know who runs it if I find them

[07:33] I'm going to oh I'm gonna find them and

[07:36] and like he like tweets on my behalf or

[07:38] she oh and it says like this all caps

[07:41] this is a effing big deal it's Project

[07:42] Blue beam that's not me and all these

[07:44] articles start writing that it's Charlie

[07:46] Kirk imagine if there was a Twitter

[07:47] account that's like Sage Steel news run

[07:49] by somebody you don't know and was like

[07:50] tweeting on your behalf I'm so glad I

[07:53] asked this question see this is this I

[07:55] I'm going to use this in the deposition

[07:56] this right here this is defamatory I'm

[07:58] going to sue the Daily Mail so The Daily

[07:59] Mail takes this Twitter account and

[08:01] syndicates it everywhere I'm not kidding

[08:03] we're suing them and like all the I'm

[08:05] getting text messages from Senators

[08:07] being like Charlie why are you talking

[08:08] about blue beam and I'm saving all these

[08:10] texts I'm like it's not me and the Daily

[08:12] Mail says top senior adviser Charlie

[08:14] Kirk says like this is how this is how

[08:17] people's names are ruined absolutely and

[08:19] like they deserve to be sued for a big

[08:21] number for this and again I'm not like a

[08:22] happy lawsuit guy of course you're not

[08:24] but this is wrong and it's actually

[08:25] dangerous super dangerous when you have

[08:28] lawmakers reaching out to you

[08:30] and then you it's not your fault but you

[08:32] understand why I asked the question I

[08:33] didn't understand no and anyway so um I

[08:35] am okay we cleared this up Charlie by

[08:39] the way for three times I've tweeted

[08:40] this account this does not represent me

[08:42] and I've even talked to the owner of

[08:44] Twitter to try to be like can we take

[08:45] this we know him and he's like he hasn't

[08:48] broken policy and I I respect the the

[08:51] principal stand

[08:54] right Andrew says they're fixing it well

[08:56] hopefully they'll add an explainer right

[08:58] yes but that that that does not excuse

[09:01] the malpractice of the media that took

[09:04] this and then syndicates it everywhere

[09:06] and it's an example of why we as a

[09:08] country were in this position in the

[09:09] first place because the this is one

[09:11] example of so maybe Sage here's my

[09:12] promise to you if I get a $15 million

[09:15] settlement from the from the from the

[09:16] Daily Mail I will uh I'll buy you dinner

[09:20] dinner is that all I get dinner okay

[09:22] fine I'll pay for all your kids to come

[09:24] to amfest okay that has happen next year

[09:26] I'm I'm I'm going after this and you

[09:28] should be and you should be tomorrow

[09:29] morning Donald J Trump will be here

[09:31] speaking 10:30 Mountain Time correct

[09:34] everybody can watch throughout all yes

[09:36] that's right yeah he'll be speaking

[09:37] tomorrow I want to just warn everybody

[09:39] so here's the way these events work

[09:41] because everyone's going to get upset

[09:42] there there's 20,000 people here yes but

[09:45] almost never at any period of time is

[09:46] everyone in the hall right there's no

[09:48] way however when President Trump comes

[09:50] everyone's going to be in the hall so we

[09:52] obviously overell the amount of tickets

[09:54] than seats therefore people will not

[09:56] have seats tomorrow if you don't get

[09:58] there early does that make sense so what

[10:00] time because if we only sold as many

[10:02] seats as as uh people well then it would

[10:05] be like onethird full at all times yes

[10:07] so just get here early and uh to make

[10:09] sure you hear the president I've been

[10:11] warning the last couple of days so okay

[10:13] just like an airline oversells you know

[10:15] I was going to say it's the exact same

[10:16] thing it's how you do business I love

[10:18] every bit of this I love you for your

[10:20] strength and for your principal and for

[10:23] save this country okay yes clap when he

[10:25] says this and she wonderful right clap

[10:26] for Sage Steel everybody she's great

[10:28] thank you thank you so much God bless

[10:30] you thank you