PHOENIX (AP) — As Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest convention hit the halfway mark, Erika Kirk tried to put a smiley face on things.
“Say what you will about AmFest, but it’s definitely not boring,” said Kirk, who has led the influential conservative organization since her husband Charlie was assassinated in September. “It feels like Thanksgiving dinner, where your family is operating the family business.”
That’s one way of saying it.
Some of the biggest names in the conservative media took turns on the main stage, spending more time targeting right-wing rivals than their left-wing opponents.
The events could ultimately define the boundaries of the Republican Party and determine the future of President Donald Trump’s fractious coalition, which appears poised for more schisms in the coming months and years.
Here are some of the most notable moments from the four-day conference.
Shapiro launches podcasters
Ben Shapiro, co-founder of the conservative Daily Wire, set the tone with the first speech after Erika Kirk opened the convention. He attacked fellow commentators in deeply personal terms, saying some of the right’s most popular figures are morally bankrupt.
Candace Owens “has been spewing all kinds of horrible, conspiratorial nonsense into the public square for years,” he said.
Megyn Kelly is “guilty of cowardice” because she refused to condemn Owens for spreading baseless theories about Kirk’s death.
And Tucker Carlson’s decision to host anti-Semite Nick Fuentes on his podcast was “an act of moral imbecility.”
Shapiro’s targets backfired
Barely an hour later, Carlson took the same stage and mocked Shapiro’s attempt to “de-platform and denounce” people who disagreed with him.
“I followed him,” he said. “I laughed.”
Others got their chance the next night.
“Ben Shapiro is like a cancer, and the cancer is spreading,” said Steve Bannon, a former Trump adviser.
Kelly dismissed Shapiro as a fringe figure in the conservative movement and said their friendship was over.
“I’m sorry that he thinks he’s in a position to decide who has to say what to whom and when,” Kelly said.
Owens, who spread unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about the death of Charlie Kirk, was not welcome at the convention. But she hit back on her podcast, calling Shapiro a “miserable imp.”
A schism over Israel and anti-Semitism
Israel came up repeatedly during the conference.
Some on the right have questioned whether the Republican Party’s historically strong support for Israel conflicts with Trump’s “America First” platform. Carlson criticized the civilian deaths in Gaza in remarks that would not have been out of place in progressive circles.
Some participants dug deep into history, pointing to Israel’s attack on the USS Liberty off the Sinai Peninsula in 1967. Israel said it mistook the ship for an Egyptian vessel during the Six-Day War, while critics claimed it was a deliberate strike.
Bannon accused Shapiro, who is Jewish, and other staunch supporters of Israel of being part of the “Israel first crowd.” Kelly said the criticism from Shapiro and Bari Weiss, the newly installed head of CBS News, “is about Israel.”
Vance gets some useful support
Erika Kirk pledged Turning Point’s support for Vice President JD Vance to be the next Republican presidential nominee.
“We’re going to get my husband’s friend JD Vance elected for 48 years in the most resounding way possible,” she said on the first night of the convention. Vance would be the 48th president if he succeeds Trump.
Turning Point is a major force on the right with a massive network of volunteers across the country that can be especially helpful in early primary states.
Vance was close to Charlie Kirk, whose support enabled his rapid political rise. The vice president is scheduled to close the convention as the closing speaker on Sunday.
MAHA teams up with MAGA
The Make America Healthy Again movement had a large presence at Turning Point, signaling its rapid rise in the right-wing ecosystem.
MAHA is chaired by Robert F. Kennedy, who heads the Department of Health and Human Services. However, there has been friction with other parts of the Make America Great Again coalition, particularly when it comes to rolling back environmental regulations.
Wellness influencer Alex Clark, whose podcast is sponsored by Turning Point, asked the crowd if the Environmental Protection Agency is “with us or against us?”
“Big Chemical, Big Food, and Big Food are trying to separate MAGA from MAHA so things can go back to business as usual, but we don’t want that, do we?” Clark said.
Clark and others called on Trump to fire EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who responded by contacting MAHA activists. EPA also said it will release a MAHA agenda for the agency.
“The Trump EPA wants to work with the MAHA community and make sure everyone has a seat at the table,” EPA Press Secretary Carolyn Holran said in response to Clark’s speech.