Vice President JD Vance Urges Inclusive Conservative Movement at Turning Point USA Convention
PHOENIX — Vice President JD Vance said Sunday that the conservative movement should be open to everyone as long as they “love America,” declining to condemn a streak of antisemitism that has divided the Republican Party and roiled the opening days of Turning Point USA’s annual convention.
After a weekend filled with debates about whether the movement should exclude figures such as bigoted podcaster Nick Fuentes, Vance firmly opposed “purity tests.” “I didn’t bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to de-platform,” he said during the convention’s closing speech.
Turning Point USA leader Erika Kirk, who took the helm after the assassination of her husband, Charlie Kirk, endorsed Vance as a potential successor to President Donald Trump—a significant nod from an influential group with a nationwide volunteer base.
However, tensions displayed throughout the four-day event foreshadowed the political challenges Vance or anyone pursuing the Republican presidential nomination may face in the coming years. Top voices in the “Make America Great Again” movement are jostling for influence as Republicans consider a future without Trump, and there is no clear path to maintaining his coalition.
Defining a Post-Trump GOP
The Republican Party’s identity has been closely tied to Trump for over a decade, but the former president is constitutionally ineligible to seek a third term, despite ongoing musings about running again.
Tucker Carlson noted that many are wondering, “who gets the machinery when the president exits the scene?” So far, the answer appears to involve fierce infighting among conservatives.
The Turning Point USA conference featured heated debates over topics including antisemitism, Israel, and environmental regulations, as well as rivalries among leading conservative commentators.
Ben Shapiro, co-founder of the conservative media outlet Daily Wire, used his opening night speech to denounce “charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle but actually traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty.”
“These people are frauds and they are grifters and they do not deserve your time,” Shapiro said, specifically calling out Carlson for hosting Nick Fuentes for a friendly interview on his podcast.
Carlson brushed off the criticism when he took the stage an hour later, dismissing the idea of a Republican “civil war” as “totally fake.”
“There are people who are mad at JD Vance, and they’re stirring up a lot of this in order to make sure he doesn’t get the nomination,” Carlson said, describing Vance as “the one person” who subscribes to the “core idea of the Trump coalition,” which Carlson defined as “America first.”
Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet framed the discord as a healthy debate about the future of the conservative movement, calling it an uncomfortable but necessary process of finding consensus.
“We’re not hive-minded commies,” he wrote on social media. “Let it play out.”
“If You Love America, You’re Welcome in the Movement,” Vance Says
Vance acknowledged the controversies dominating the convention but did not define any boundaries for the conservative movement beyond patriotism.
“We don’t care if you’re white or black, rich or poor, young or old, rural or urban, controversial or a little bit boring, or somewhere in between,” he said.
Though he did not name anyone specifically, Vance’s remarks came amid a heated debate over whether the right should give a platform to commentators espousing antisemitic views, particularly Fuentes, whose followers see themselves as working to preserve America’s white, Christian identity.
Fuentes’s audience has been growing, as has that of top-rated podcaster Candace Owens, who often shares antisemitic conspiracy theories.
“We have far more important work to do than canceling each other,” Vance insisted.
He also highlighted what he described as the administration’s accomplishments as it approached its one-year mark, including efforts on border security and the economy.
Vance emphasized the dismantling of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, drawing applause when he said these initiatives had been relegated to the “dustbin of history.”
“In the United States of America, you don’t have to apologize for being white anymore,” he said.
He added that the U.S. “always will be a Christian nation,” describing Christianity as “America’s creed, the shared moral language from the Revolution to the Civil War and beyond.”
Those remarks resonated with Isaiah White-Diller, an 18-year-old from Yuma, Arizona, who said he would support Vance if he runs for president.
“I have my right to be Christian here, I have my right to say whatever I want,” White-Diller said.
Turning Point Backs Vance for President
Vance has not publicly disclosed his future plans, but Turning Point USA leader Erika Kirk stated Thursday that the organization wants Vance “elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible,” referencing him becoming the 48th president in U.S. history.
Turning Point is a significant force on the right, boasting a nationwide volunteer network that can be especially valuable in early primary states where grassroots energy can build momentum.
In a surprise appearance at the convention, rapper Nicki Minaj spoke highly of both Trump and Vance.
Vance had been close with Charlie Kirk, and the two counseled and supported each other through the years. After Kirk’s assassination on a college campus in Utah, Vance flew out on Air Force Two to collect Kirk’s remains and bring them home to Arizona, personally helping uniformed service members carry the casket to the plane.
Emily Meck, 18, from Pine City, New York, said she appreciated Vance’s willingness to accommodate a broad spectrum of views.
“We are free-thinkers, we’re going to have these disagreements, we’re going to have our own thoughts,” Meck said.
Former President Trump has spoken favorably of both Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as potential Republican successors, even suggesting they could one day form a ticket together.
Rubio has publicly stated he would support Vance.
When asked in August whether Vance was the “heir apparent,” Trump replied, “most likely.”
“It’s too early, obviously, to talk about it, but certainly he’s doing a great job, and he would be probably favorite at this point,” Trump said.
