Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens kicked off their first 2019 Campus Clash event at Utah Valley University on Monday. The duo was greeted by protesters who draped a banner over a balcony that read, “End White Supremacy,” an odd choice of message, given that Owens is black.
“People said, when we first started Turning Point USA, that this sort of organizing is not possible,” said Kirk to an room filled with conservative students on Monday night, “My best advice to you is that it absolutely is possible, and I’ll go a step further, it’s necessary.”
“If you believe in these core values so strongly, you have a moral prerogative to do everything possible in your power to defend those ideas,” continued Kirk, “If every single one of us did everything in our power, in our local community — our friend group, the country would look a lot different today.”
Kirk added that he believes there is a new culture of conservatism on the rise — one with more energy — thanks to President Donald Trump, who has taught conservatives how to fight.
“This kind of passive, docile conservative movement is dying thanks to Donald Trump,” said Kirk, “and we have this new grassroots energy where we are going to fight the Left on their terms.”
Kirk’s comments can be heard beginning at time-code 58:00 in the video below:
https://www.facebook.com/turningpointusa/videos/362910641103909/
The pair had a few laughs with the audience over socialist Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who — along with her Chief of Staff and others — has faced allegations of hiding hundreds of thousands of campaign dollars.
“She’s nothing more than a prototype,” said Kirk of Ocasio-Cortez, “She’s a prototype of the university Left.”
“What we’re seeing with her and Ilhan Omar is that they’re embracing this anti-Semitism, they’re anti-Israel and that really alarms me,” added Owens, who then stated that Ocasio-Cortez is an “intellectual coward,” as the rookie Rep. would not accept an offer of $100,000.00 to debate Owens.
“And here, I thought socialists love free money,” added Owens, which elicited a response of laughter among the audience.
“She would actually have to earn that, and have her reputation disgraced,” corrected Kirk flippantly, “but, she’s nothing more than a prototype of the academic Left, where she’s constantly wrong but never in doubt.”
“[She] bitterly hates this country, is very generous with other people’s money, and, quite honestly, has a posture towards Western values — that is so fundamentally wrong,” continued Kirk, “That somehow, we’ve gotten everything wrong up to this point.”
“Only a university could teach something that foolish.”
“I don’t want the country that gets rid of success,” added Kirk, “I don’t want the country that has a 90 percent top tax rate. I don’t want the country that gets rid of cars and spends one hundred trillion dollars on this green fantasy that will do nothing — I don’t want to live in that country.”
The exchange can be heard beginning at time code 22:00 in the video.
As Kirk and Owens were leaving the university after the event, the pair were greeted by protesters who carried signs and had draped a banner over a balcony that read, “End White Supremacy.”
“This is the sign at an event that I just did,” said Owens, pointing up at the banner, “‘End White Supremacy,’ Why do people [have] all these signs, protesting events where black people are speaking?”
“This is the modern Left.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo and on Instagram.
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