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Lead story
One week ago, I knew Charlie Kirk’s name and that he was the leader of Turning Point USA – but not much beyond that.
When the news and graphic video of Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10 reached virtually all Americans, conservative and liberal, I began thinking about what it was that he actually believed, and how he deeply connected with many factions of young conservatives. I also was curious about Kirk’s tour across college campuses, which he had just begun when he was shot and killed.
Daniel Ruggles, an expert in conservative youth activism, has spent years studying conservative political influencers like Kirk and examining why they appeal to young people. For starters, Kirk often engaged in public debates with young people, giving them a feeling of proximity to his star power and a sense of being truly heard.
“Kirk’s tour was about continuing [a] direct relationship between conservative leaders and young people,” says Ruggles, noting that many conservative college students felt they were part of a movement and often went on to work in government.
In today’s lead story, Ruggles and I discuss why reshaping the way education looks in the U.S. was such an important part of Kirk’s advocacy, and how his beliefs actually spoke to grievances that conservatives have expressed since the 1960s.
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Amy Lieberman
Education Editor
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Charlie Kirk speaks at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah, shortly before he was shot and killed.
Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images
Daniel Ruggles, Brandeis University
Charlie Kirk’s education beliefs have deep roots that predate the MAGA movement and trace back to the 1960s.
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Science + Technology
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Amy J. Williams, University of Florida
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Annie Margaret, University of Colorado Boulder
The video of Charlie Kirk’s murder went far and wide, and many people ended up seeing it when they would rather have avoided it.
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Stephen DiKerby, Michigan State University
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Health + Medicine
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Alice Zhang, Penn State; Jennifer Murphy, Penn State
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Economy + Business
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Aeimit Lakdawala, Wake Forest University
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International
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Nir Kshetri, University of North Carolina – Greensboro
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Linggong Kong, Auburn University
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Politics + Society
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Maurizio Valsania, Università di Torino
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Amanda Siegrist, Coastal Carolina University
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Environment + Energy
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Sarah J. Morath, Wake Forest University
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Nina Fontana, University of California, Davis; Beth Rose Middleton Manning, University of California, Davis
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