TPUSA campus tour draws first-time conservative students at North Dakota
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Multiple students told Fox News Digital on Thursday that the latest Turning Point USA rally was their first conservative event, another sign of growing enthusiasm on the right following the assassination of Charlie Kirk last month.
The University of North Dakota was the final stop on the conservative group’s “This is the Landmark” campus tour. Fox News Digital spoke with event attendees about whether they had ever been interested in the conservative movement and whether speech and debate should be prioritized over “owning” liberals.
During the TPUSA event this week at Montana State University, Vivek Ramaswamy commented on conversations conservatives should target, and students were asked to respond.
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“Save the books” has been a popular slogan in conservative circles over the past decade, but Ramaswamy believes the mentality is a thing of the past.
“We don’t care about having libraries. Not anymore,” Ramaswamy said.
Students were asked whether they believed the most effective way to win over Americans was through discussion and conversation rather than confrontation.
“I don’t think the conversation should really be about owning anyone or attacking, like both sides attacking each other. I think…we should try to have productive conversations to achieve our end goal,” Brandon said.
“I would say that at times each group feels like they own the other, but I would never say that conservatives own liberals,” Easton said. he said.
Abbie pointed to Kirk, who founded TPUSA in 2012, as an example of how conversations should be held. “I think that’s what Charlie was best at; he wouldn’t try to single them out. He’d try to respect them and just tell them the facts about why their ideas were wrong, I think.”
Charlie Kirk was assassinated during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University on September 10. (Trent Nelson/Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
“After the death of Charlie Kirk, it is clear that… there are factions in this country that do not want to solve problems through debate and constructive argument,” Andrew said.
Zach said: “They [liberals] Frankly, they’re so crazy at this point that they’re owning up to it.”
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“When you choose violence, you lose anyway… The best thing we can do is honestly follow Charlie Kirk’s model. You know, no matter what they spit or scream at you, just talk to them,” he added.
Easton did not hold back.
“Obviously they don’t want gun violence, but they resort to that kind of thing when they feel like they’ve been wronged in some way. So I almost agree with that statement to a degree,” he told Fox News Digital.
Many students stated that attending the event was a first for their participation in the conservative movement.
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“This is my first conservative event. I’m really just going to check it out,” Brett said.
““I didn’t know much about Turning Point before Charlie Kirk’s passing,” Jace said. “And so I wanted to see what it was about.”
“I really wonder what their attitude is towards Israel,” Andrew said.
Zach, Cooper, and Devin almost unanimously shared that the event was their first official conservative convention.
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