“Demented”: Turning Point’s replica of the tent where Charlie Kirk was killed leaves even conservatives uncomfortable
Rightwing group Turning Point USA is getting flack after turning a replica of the tent where Charlie Kirk was murdered into a photo station at a recent convention.
Over the weekend, Turning Point—the group co-founded by Kirk to sway young people to conservative politics—hosted its annual conference, AmericaFest. In addition to hosting high profile speakers like Vice President JD Vance and Ben Shapiro, it also served as yet another pseudo-memorial to Kirk.
For some reason, this included setting up a replica of the tent Kirk was sitting under when he was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University in September. Moreover, they also made a point to set up a ring light and encourage people to take photos against the backdrop and photos of Kirk.
The Charlie Kirk tent selfie station
Turning Kirk's death into a spectacle is par for the course on the political right by now, to the point that even outspoken rightwing figures have been at odds about the optics. But this particular choice just came across as almost bafflingly tacky.
"A pop-up gazebo is their new [cross emoji]?" one person asked on X.
"They are demented sick people," said another. "Might as well have a taxidermy of Charlie if they have gone to that extent."
"How was Erika Kirk even able to be anywhere near this?!" wondered @AshleyA05420773. "How was she able to be okay with this even being there?! If she is so destroyed about his murder that she is constantly crying still, how did this not drop her to the floor in sobs? This is SICK, and she’s just performing."
"Make sure to pick up some merch on your way by after getting your selfie at the TPUSA AmFest Charlie Kirk murd3r-tent," wrote @DiligentDenizen.
@mrpxssy joked, "what if we kissed [emojis] under the Charlie Kirk Memorial Tent"
Backlash against AmericaFest
Unsurprisingly, this was hardly the only questionable moment at AmericaFest.
The entire event even left conservatives divided. Podcaster Tim Dillon came down particularly hard about the whole thing, calling the convention an "abomination" and accusing the rightwing of becoming "a bad reality show."
"Everything about this is weird and uncomfortable for everyone," he said. "This is deeply unsettling to a lot of people. It feels like you're being played. You feel it. It seems off. You feel like this is a coordinated and choreographed spectacle so that you are played. They want your money.”
"Everyone was thinking it, Tim Dillon said it," wrote conservative commentator Candace Owens. It was out of touch and elite. It is not and will never be relatable for blue collar workers to endure lectures from wealthy people telling them who is and is not evil. Recreating the tent Charlie died under for selfies? Seriously?"
But perhaps Erika Kirk summed it all up best with this little flub:
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