Turning Point USA in Bozeman; Gianforte, Ramaswamy remember Kirk
Jordan Hansen
BOZEMAN (Daily Montanan) – In what felt at times like a solemn church service and others a rock concert celebrating conservatism, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte and Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy took the stage Tuesday night at Turning Point USA’s event on Montana State’s campus in Bozeman.
The organization’s founder, Charlie Kirk, was killed last month during a Turning Point event in Utah. Both Gianforte and Ramaswamy shared stories and lessons they took from the late right-wing influencer. Both men also used the event as a call to action for conservatives, giving those in attendance ideas on ways to uphold their version of Kirk’s legacy. Ramaswamy also took questions from the crowd for about an hour.
Around 3,000 people attended the event, held at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse and scheduled prior to Kirk’s death. Finance CEO Laine Schoneberger, of Yrefy, also spoke during the event.
Lines snaked outside the doors for hours prior to the event, with a variety of Donald Trump and Charlie Kirk merchandise available for sale.
There was no loud music and the security presence was noticeable – prior to the event, even Montana State athletes looking to enter the fieldhouse had to empty their pockets and step through a metal detector.
Not everyone in attendance followed Kirk prior to his death, including Paul Colella, 59, from Manhattan. Colella decided to come, he said, to support the overall cause and said the conservative movement in the country has never been stronger.
“Trying to awaken a silenced group that, we think, has been silenced for a long time, and now, I think this whole event and the past few months has awakened that flame,” Colella said.
Many, including Colella, said they respected how Kirk interacted with people who did not share his views. One of Turning Point USA’s goals is to engage college students, which Kirk often did.
“I always appreciated that he would take the folks that did not agree with him and put him to the front of the line and say, let’s have a conversation,” Colella said. “And to me, I don’t see as much on the other side. I wish I did, but I don’t.”
Some figures in Montana state politics, including Flathead Rep. Braxton Mitchell, joined the event. Mitchell caught the attention of Turning Point in his youth, he told the Flathead Beacon last month.
“It was a great event and I was extremely encouraged to see so many other young people show up and express their beliefs and opinions,” Mitchell said in an email to the Daily Montanan on Wednesday. “This is truly a ‘Turning Point’ in our state and country. The Left has no idea what beast they’ve awakened after murdering our generations top political voice.”
Videos, including clips of Kirk speaking, played prior to Gianforte and Ramaswamy taking the stage, highlighted this idea.
“They’re deciding, even though it might jeopardize their job, their career or their reputation, to put their country over themselves,” Kirk said in a video speaking about college students involved with Turning Point USA.
Following Kirk’s death, conservative influencers targeted individuals — including some people in Montana — for social media comments made following his death. There was some celebration over Kirk’s murder which caused anger in conservative circles, though many progressive politicians were quick to renounce his killing.
Kirk was a controversial figure, generating backlash because of his views on race, sexuality and even COVID.
Though Kirk had gained fame through the use of social media, Gianforte’s message to the crowd of younger-skewing audience members was similar to that of his fellow Western-state governor Spencer Cox, a Republican from Utah, where Kirk was slain.
Gianforte told the crowd to spend less time online and more time “touching grass,” a phrase Cox used to describe needing to disconnect after spending a long time on screens.
“We cannot and should not retreat into the dark corners of social media,” Gianforte said. “Seek out people with different views, engage them in respectful in person dialog, go get a coffee.”
Gianforte — an unabashedly conservative Christian — also told the audience the first way they could honor Kirk was “to pursue faith in God.”
Gianforte spoke for about 15 minutes and shared his memories of Kirk. The governor was one of Turning Point’s original donors, he said, and also spoke about a three-day hike he took with Kirk. Gianforte began and ended with a prayer, in what felt more like a sermon than a politician’s speech.
“God’s plan for the world is to overcome evil with good. Charlie did that. The Bible says the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness did not overcome it,” Gianforte said. “What is that light? The Bible tells us it’s Jesus. Charlie did not know his assassin, but I have no doubt that he loved him.”
Christianity became a central theme of the evening, with Ramaswamy — who is Hindu — asked several questions regarding his faith, which led to discussion of the Christian Holy Trinity and monotheism.
One person asked how Ramaswamy was able to mix his personal beliefs with those of Turning Point, a Christian organization.
“In my faith, I believe there’s one true God,” Ramaswamy said. “He resides in all of us, and He appears in different forms, but it’s one true God. So I’m an ethical monotheist. That’s the way I would describe my faith.”
He also said conservatives have an “obligation” to stand up for the “truth God is real.” Other questions he got included the topics of abortion, Israel and the job market.
Time is also running short to implement changes conservatives want to see, he added.
“If we don’t utilize the levers of power now, if we don’t stamp out toxic dissent, now if we don’t rectify the country now, then we never will,” Ramaswamy said. “We have a short window to act right now, and we got to step up and seize the moment.”