When Charlie Kirk, right-wing commentator and longtime supporter of Donald Trump, arrived at the Memorial Union quad just before noon on Friday, Oct. 11, he greeted his cheering fans by tossing out “Make America Great Again” hats embroidered with the Turning Point USA logo.
Kirk is a conservative commentator, author, podcast host and founder of Turning Point USA, a non-profit right-wing organization with thousands of chapters in high schools and colleges across the country.
Kirk has been a staunch advocate for Donald Trump’s presidency since 2016, when he served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr., according to the Associated Press. He also spoke at the 2020 and 2024 Republican National Conventions.
The crowd in the Memorial Union quad, which was made up of Oregon State University students, non-OSU students, faculty and community members, fluctuated throughout the day, with Chief Shanon Anderson estimating that 350 people were in attendance at a given time.
“He’s coming (to OSU) because this is his whole goal,” said local TPUSA representative Rilie Anderton. “He wants to have discourse and discussion with students, whether they agree with him or don’t agree with him.”
“I’m here for the open conversations,” said Joshua Zaragoza, a fourth-year civil engineering major. “I am a registered voter, so being able to be here and just get as much insight as I can, I feel like that’s good.”
Kirk’s stop at OSU was sponsored by the local chapter of TPUSA, as part of his nationwide college tour, called the “You’re Being Brainwashed Tour.”
“We think that you’re being brainwashed to believe in more of the liberal-leaning things,” Anderton said.
TPUSA produces a “Professor Watchlist,” a website that identifies professors who they allege perpetuate left-wing propaganda in the classroom. Currently, no OSU faculty are on the list.
“I don’t think anybody is being brainwashed by their professors,” said political science professor Sean Long. “I think we’re lucky to have kids that engage.”
Long added that he found it ironic that TPUSA opposes left-leaning ideologies on college campuses while championing free speech.
Olivia Augustus, vice president of OSU’s chapter of TPUSA, said she has felt isolated as a conservative in the classroom. “A lot of us just keep our mouths shut,” Augustus said.
“I’ve known conservative students who have felt … like they stuck out a little bit more on college campuses, but I’ve never had any trouble talking to them,” Long said.
Kirk has garnered attention for viral moments, the most recent occurring when a clip from a YouTube video by Jubilee was reposted to other social media.
The Jubilee video featured Kirk debating college students on issues like abortion, transgender rights and affirmative action.
In the clip, Kirk smiled widely at his debate opponent who grimaced and quipped, “His smile is creepy.”
Kirk is well-acquainted with generating viral content of his own, which is often sourced from his debates with college students.
Justin Egli, who traveled to Corvallis from Hillsboro, became familiar with Kirk through seeing snippets of his debates shared on social media.
“I think that he presents in a way that is a bit manipulative at times,” Egli said, “but I do think that he presents in a way that is open-minded for people to argue back.”
“He makes sure that it’s productive, it’s respectful,” Anderton said, “and that’s our goal.”
According to Dayton Wiksten, a third-year psychology major, Kirk’s debate style is performative and disingenuous.
“Once you start to do good, he just kind of moves on,” Wiksten said. “He constantly interrupts you, it’s not earnest at all.”
Wiksten stood behind the mic and questioned Kirk about Project 2025 and transgender rights.
“It got into trans people,” Wiksten said, “and he (Kirk) believes your biological sex is the same as your gender.”
Kirk has repeatedly come under fire for transphobic rhetoric. In a post made to Instagram in June, Kirk wrote, “everybody knows that trans people are mentally unwell.”
Kirk touched on other topics like abortion, religion, immigration and the 2024 presidential election during the event.
In a post made to X on Sept. 8, Kirk echoed the myth that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating pets in the community, crediting this falsehood to the “Biden-Harris mass immigration replacement plan.”
Pastor Rob Kirby, director of WestM campus ministry, distributed otter pops during the event to promote queer visibility.
“We are here because WestM supports the full spectrum of people … and we don’t think the guest speaker here represents the fullness of our campus,” Kirby said.
Kirk’s own cameras were positioned around his table in the Memorial Union quad. Videos from his OSU event were promptly posted to his YouTube channel in the days following the event.
“To come to a college campus as a seasoned debater … you’re going to have the ability to just run circles around anybody,” said attendee Amelia Cardinali, a mechanical-engineering Ph.D. student. “It feels like an NFL player competing against a high school team.”
