Charlie Kirk is kicking off his “The American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University on Wednesday at noon, where he will host his familiar “prove me wrong” table, giving audience members a chance to stump the political pundit.
Kirk, who recently spoke to the Deseret News, is the founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, which is widely considered the largest and most influential conservative youth organization in the U.S., and he is also the host of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” where he discusses current events.
He will return to Utah on Sept. 30 to do the same event at Utah State University, and thousands are up in arms about it.
As of Tuesday morning, 6,713 people have signed a petition requesting that the faculty at Utah State bar Kirk from coming to the Logan campus, reasoning that the conservative commentator doesn’t align with the college’s value of inclusivity to all.
“Utah State University has consistently worked towards fostering an inclusive space for all its students and faculty. Letting a figurehead, whose speeches often seem to undermine the essence of inclusivity, use our beloved institution as a platform contradicts this mission,” the petition states.
A petition was also created to protest Kirk’s visit to Utah Valley University, though fewer than 1,000 have signed it.
Gabi Finlayson, co-founder of Democratic political consulting firm, Elevate Strategies, touted Kirk’s tour as a “campus martyr tour,” calling TPUSA a “content farm for white supremacy, cancel culture martyrdom, conspiracy theorists, and all too often, (have) these mega conventions where little baby fascists get to cosplay as freedom fighters.”
But Kirk told the Deseret News that he tells his listeners to avoid “deep-internet theories” that could influence white supremacist, misogynistic or antisemitic views, for example.
Rather than try to combat radical right-wing rhetoric with hostility, he said he tries to offer a positive alternative.
“My job every single day is actively trying to stop a revolution,” Kirk said. “This is where you have to try to point them toward ultimate purposes and toward getting back to the church, getting back to faith, getting married, having children. That is the type of conservatism that I represent, and I’m trying to paint a picture of virtue, of lifting people up, not just staying angry.”
Finlayson and her co-founder, Jackie Morgan, told their followers on social media that instead of reacting to Kirk, they should attend Kirk’s event and sit in silence, maybe even bring headphones.
“Here’s the win-win situation for Charlie Kirk: If he speaks, he gets content,” Morgan said. “When people protest, he gets even better content.”
The college canceling his tour would give him the best content, they added.
After the public outcry over Kirk’s visit to Utah was publicized, Utah State released a statement “that the university respects the speaker’s right to engage in protected speech and encourages a respectful presentation environment free from undue disruption or interference.”
Earlier this month, Kirk seemed shocked by the red states’ reaction to his upcoming visit.
“What is going on in Utah?” he said on X.
Last week, Kirk had Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, on his show and asked him what the negative reaction was all about:
“People are very angry. They’re calling for my cancelation. ... This is a greater response than when I go to Berkeley. Sen. Lee, what is going on in the beautiful state of Utah?”
Lee responded that despite the critics, he expects Kirk’s visit to be productive and a necessary defense of free speech and intellectual diversity, which he said so many college campuses don’t provide for their students.
“We should have a heightened degree of attention and focus, a heightened degree of protectiveness around free speech on campuses, because the learning environment necessarily requires open, honest conversations, where different viewpoints are examined,” Lee said. “Our students deserve open discussion and vigorous debate.”
Kirk responded that for those who are so angry about his visit to the Beehive State, “go to the front of the line” of the debate. “We’re gonna have a good chat.”