{"id":2656505,"date":"2026-09-09T07:46:38","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T11:46:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignthe-loss-of-charlie-kirk-is-still-rippling-through-maga-movement-a-year-after-assassination\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T07:50:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T11:50:57","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignthe-loss-of-charlie-kirk-is-still-rippling-through-maga-movement-a-year-after-assassination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignthe-loss-of-charlie-kirk-is-still-rippling-through-maga-movement-a-year-after-assassination\/","title":{"rendered":"The Loss Of Charlie Kirk Still Rippling Through MAGA Movement"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignthe-loss-of-charlie-kirk-is-still-rippling-through-maga-movement-a-year-after-assassination%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2656505&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and a prominent conservative activist, was tragically shot and killed on September 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University. His death marked a significant loss for the American conservative movement, as he was considered a powerful and influential leader who helped guide the MAGA movement and kept key figures focused on their goals. Kirk was known for his behind-the-scenes influence, his ability to unify and motivate conservatives, and his keen foresight on issues like Iran and the threats facing the Republic. His absence has created a leadership vacuum, leading to shifts and disagreements within the movement, especially amid the preparations for the 2028 election.Kirk&#8217;s impact extended to shaping support among younger voters and influencing key policy debates. His assassination has also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/internet-erupts-after-ray-epps-is-charged-with-a-single-lame-misdemeanor-over-january-6-actions\/\" title=\"Internet explodes over Ray Epps&#039; &#039;lame&#039; misdemeanor charge for January 6 actions.\">sparked conspiracy theories<\/a>, but many recognize him as a unique and vital force-&#8220;the glue&#8221; that held the movement together.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>On Sept. 10, 2025, a cold-blooded killer fatally shot Charlie Kirk while the conservative icon was doing what he loved doing: engaging in the marketplace of ideas. <\/p>\n<p>Kirk, a happy warrior in the fight for founding principles and in the struggle for America\u2019s soul, was murdered beneath an azure Utah sky and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/09\/12\/nx-s1-5539285\/charlie-kirk-shooting-manhunt-suspect-custody-timeline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noon-day sun <\/a>\u2014 the same kind of bright, clear sky that greeted Lower Manhattan as terrorist-hijacked jets exploded into the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001. It\u2019s sadly fitting, perhaps, that the founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/tpusa.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Turning Point USA<\/a>, an evangelist for the good news and a torch bearer for the grassroots-driven America First movement, would be assassinated on the eve of the anniversary of the day evil men slaughtered what was left of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/history\/blog\/remembering-911-twenty-five-years-transformation-and-resolve\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">America\u2019s innocence<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>The assassin took so much from the country that day on the grounds of Utah Valley University. Gone is the \u201cglue\u201d of the new conservative movement, as Drew Allen, author of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Christ-Country-Martyrdom-Charlie-Kirk\/dp\/B0G62K6Z46\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>For Christ and Country: The Martyrdom of Charlie Kirk,<\/em><\/a>  put it. <\/p>\n<h2>\u2018A Very Rare Type of Influence\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Charlie quietly, behind the scenes, helped the major players of the MAGA movement keep their eyes on the prize. His death left a kind of diplomatic vacuum in conservative leadership, and some nasty politicos \u2014 neocons, \u201cinfluencers\u201d, and other grifters \u2014 stepped in to fill the breach. They quickly grabbed the ear of President Donald Trump and top administration officials. <\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s just say Kirk\u2019s absence has been felt in some ill-advised policy choices and, at times, a lack of clear-headed focus on the mission of Trump 2.0. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomething that was surprising to me that I\u2019ve learned about Charlie over this last year from different people who knew him and who were around him, all these personal stories: Charlie was truly feared,\u201d Allen told me on the latest episode of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/one-year-after-his-assassination-charlie-kirk-s-conservatism-must-live-on--75006858\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Federalist Radio Hour<\/em> podcast.<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I don\u2019t mean that in a negative sense. He was a force of nature, and when he saw things going sideways within our movement, with specific people, he would email, text them. He would pick up the phone and call them. He would put a stop to it,\u201d Allen, who served as Kirk\u2019s publicist in the summer of 2024 for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Stop-Name-God-Honoring-Transform\/dp\/B0FPPV48PB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the final book <\/a>he authored, said in summing up his discussions. <\/p>\n<p>Kirk, Allen added, had carved out a \u201cvery rare type of influence,\u201d and he used it for good. Good in so many ways, including in recognizing and attacking the existential threat this glorious, 250-year-old republic faces from a Marxist left-led Democratic Party that wants to burn it down and, to borrow from a botched Biden initiative, \u201cbuild back better.\u201d <\/p>\n<h2>\u2018The Iran Thing\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Vice President JD Vance, a close personal friend of Kirk\u2019s, said as much in April at a Turning Point USA event about a month and a half after the Trump administration launched into the military operations that would become the slog in Iran. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis Iran thing. Charlie would be the guy talking to the people who really wanted to go to war with Iran and the people who really didn\u2019t want to go to war in Iran and he would try to find ways for those guys to work together, even if they disagreed over one issue,\u201d Vance <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/shorts\/xjC-_jR80eI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>. \u201cSo Charlie\u2019s absence is a huge thing.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Kirk, of course, had his misgivings about military adventures in the Middle East. He had cast a critical eye toward the idea of regime change in Iran. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo we are just going to take out the ayatollah? Oh really! What next? What happens after regime change?\u201d he said on a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JackPosobiec\/status\/2024899132196896937\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In a post on X in June 2025, the conservative leader said regime change in Iran would be a \u201ccatastrophe.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Around the same time, Kirk predicted that regime change would result in a \u201cbloody civil war, killing hundreds of thousands and creating another massive Muslim refugee crisis.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is insane. Regime change will result in a bloody civil war, killing hundreds of thousands and creating another massive Muslim refugee crisis. Topping a leader is NEVER as easy you think. It almost always results in further involvement, a civil war, and chaos. Resist this! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fq65j5r8Km\">https:\/\/t.co\/fq65j5r8Km<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/charliekirk11\/status\/1935058728253825410?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 17, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>It\u2019s unlikely Kirk would have been able to help keep Republicans on the same political page and from stabbing each other in the back ahead of November\u2019s critical midterm election. The scurrying for political power from the different factions, some at war with the president and his agenda, some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasmonthly.com\/news-politics\/ted-cruz-recordings-trump-vance-carlson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">preening and pruning for a presidential run<\/a> in 2028, has been tough enough for Trump to get a handle on. <\/p>\n<p>The knives are definitely out for Vance, the early <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/polls\/president-republican-primary-polls-2028.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">frontrunner<\/a> for the GOP nomination. Vance is the main threat to the whining RINOs of the old guard Republican Party who would love nothing more than to bury the Trump era under a go-along, get-rich return to business as usual. <\/p>\n<p>Although he has yet to say whether he\u2019ll seek the GOP nomination in 2028, Vance already has the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2028-election\/erika-kirk-endorses-jd-vance-president-2028-turning-point-usa-rcna250004\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">endorsement<\/a> of Erika Kirk, the conservative icon\u2019s widow, who serves as chairwoman and CEO of Turning Point USA. <\/p>\n<h2>\u2018The Glue of the Movement\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Younger voters made a right turn in 2024, according to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hks.harvard.edu\/faculty-research\/policy-topics\/politics\/young-voters-shifted-right-2024-election-ash-center\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">analysis<\/a> conducted by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the most surprising statistics from the 2024 presidential election was the surge of support President Trump received from Gen Z voters,\u201d the center notes in its report. \u201cWhile these voters, born between 1997 and 2012, turned out in fewer numbers across all demographics in 2024 as compared to 2020, their voting preferences shifted to the right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Turning Point\u2019s fingerprints are all over the surge in younger voters that voted for Trump. <\/p>\n<p>Andrew Kolvet, a longtime close friend of Kirk\u2019s and spokesman for Turning Point USA, told The Washington Post this week that the conservative movement has lost ground with the youth vote over the past year. He said Kirk saw it coming, and was frustrated by the disaffection he was seeing on the policy front. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd he knew that Iran \u2014 that it was going to be a tough pill to swallow for Gen Z,\u201d Kolvet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2026\/09\/08\/year-after-charlie-kirk-death-turning-point-focuses-2028-vance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> the corporate news publication. <\/p>\n<p>Kirk\u2019s assassination also gave rise to a host of conspiracy theories peddled by narcissistic opportunists like <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/22\/charlie-kirks-murder-has-turned-into-infotainment-instead-of-a-spiritual-revival\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Candace Owens<\/a>. Andrew Sypher, Turning Point USA\u2019s chief field officer, told The Post that Kirk \u201cmay not be proud of the movement as a whole right now, but he\u2019d definitely be proud of this organization that he left in good hands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The big problem remains: There was only one Charlie Kirk. The assassin\u2019s bullet claimed the life of a conservative leader who had the power and the ability to bring conservatives together. That is indeed a \u201crare type of influence.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cCharlie Kirk really was the glue of this movement,\u201d Allen said. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Charlie Kirk was murdered in Utah while sharing ideas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2656506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot-2026-09-09-at-2.47.11-AM-1024x580.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[44291,35305,35562,36345,85353],"class_list":["post-2656505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-charlie-kirk","tag-conservative-politics","tag-maga-movement","tag-political-impact","tag-recent-developments"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot-2026-09-09-at-2.47.11-AM-1024x580.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2656505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2656505"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2656505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2656509,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2656505\/revisions\/2656509"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2656506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2656505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2656505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2656505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}