Posted on 04/11/2025 10:49:41 AM PDT by george76
WEST LA FAYETTE, Ind. — A crowd of 3,000 to 4,000 people turned out to hear Turning Point USA founder and CEO Charlie Kirk speak on Thursday at Purdue University, with many eager to ask the conservative commentator a question.
Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of the conservative student group, visited West La Fayette as part of his “American Comeback Tour.” The tour included stops this week at Illinois State University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
A campus police officer provided The College Fix with an estimate on attendance near the end of the event.
Hundreds of students lined the barriers surrounding Kirk, with many wearing white “47” hats for Trump or red “Make American Again” hats. Thousands more were on Krach Lawn, with a group of leftist activists, many wearing masks, yelling vulgar chants, and holding up cardboard signs reading “hate speech is not free speech,” “free Palestine,” and “hands off trans kids.”
Meanwhile, “this is what democracy looks like,” and other well-worn and generic chants filled the air along with the smell of fries and chicken from a nearby Chick-fil-A.
While there were some heated discussions, campus police and Kirk’s security kept the event running smoothly.
Students asked Kirk about a variety of questions, including about Israel, Taiwan, and tariffs.
This last subject interested one student The Fix spoke to, a senior aerospace engineering student named Phil, who said he worried the tariffs would affect the price of Miller Lite, which he said he enjoys drinking.
While Kirk’s “Prove Me Wrong” event acted as the main event, The Fix regularly observed young Trump and Turning Point USA supporters engaging in passionate, but respectful conversations with left-leaning students.
On several occasions, The Fix would hear a debate happening about a topic, such as Israel, leave, and then observe the same discussion still occurring 15 or 20 minutes later. Other students played the trumpets outside of the main area. One student set up a haircutting station in the middle of Krach Lawn.
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The event generated enough interest that even non-Purdue students turned out for the event, with one high schooler sharing that he “technically” skipped class today to come to the event.
The student first heard about Turning Point USA through “Instagram and social media,” while a friend he came with started a chapter at their high school.
The Fix spoke to another high schooler, who will start at Purdue this coming school year.
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“I just like seeing people get together and collaborate with what they love, like what their ideals are,” the student named Mason told The Fix. He hoped to hear more about what was “going on with the stock market,” the aspiring wildlife management major
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There are more stops planned on Kirk’s tour, as he plans to speak today at Michigan State University and next week at Boise State University and Washington State University,
Charlie Kick & TPUSA do great work with young individuals.
Yes
Shoot I live just minutes from the U of I in Champaign I’m sorry I missed him.
Charlie Kirk is a major factor why Gen Z is moving right toward the Republicans.
Kirk is a big reason Trump won with that age group.
as far as big 10 schools go Purdue is relatively conservative compared to others like IL WI and IU
Charlie Has done great things for the youth in this country. Pulling many of them out of the world of being brainwashed by the left. He is greatly responsible for Trump’s win.
Charlie Kirk should start training kids how to demand sanity from their professors. Demand more conservatives be hired. Then demand their own safe space from the violence of the leftist students and teachers.
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