Charlie Kirk, founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, and Lara Trump, co-chair of the Republican National Committee, speak at Turning Point Action’s “People’s Convention” on June 14, 2024.Adam Dewey/NurPhoto via AP
Turning Point USA, which casts itself as a conservative political youth movement, appears to be aging. Founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk, then 18, TPUSA quickly won the backing of rich Republican megadonors eager to try to recapture young voters, who overwhelmingly had been supporting Democrats. The group has since become a staple on college campuses, where it decries “cancel culture” and warns students of encroaching socialism, and has been a major player in Trump world.
In 2019, Kirk started a nonprofit political action committee (PAC), Turning Point Action, to gain…