Charlie Kirk: Difference between revisions
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In July 2019, Kirk became chairman of [[Students for Trump]], which had been acquired by Turning Point Action, and launched a campaign to recruit one million students for the 2020 Trump reelection campaign.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Singman |first1=Brooke |title=Charlie Kirk launches GOTV campaign to enlist 1 million 'Students for Trump' in 2020 |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/charlie-kirk-launches-gotv-campaign-to-enlist-students-for-trump-on-campus |website=Fox News |accessdate=July 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719173123/https://www.foxnews.com/politics/charlie-kirk-launches-gotv-campaign-to-enlist-students-for-trump-on-campus |archive-date=July 19, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
In July 2019, Kirk became chairman of [[Students for Trump]], which had been acquired by Turning Point Action, and launched a campaign to recruit one million students for the 2020 Trump reelection campaign.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Singman |first1=Brooke |title=Charlie Kirk launches GOTV campaign to enlist 1 million 'Students for Trump' in 2020 |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/charlie-kirk-launches-gotv-campaign-to-enlist-students-for-trump-on-campus |website=Fox News |accessdate=July 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719173123/https://www.foxnews.com/politics/charlie-kirk-launches-gotv-campaign-to-enlist-students-for-trump-on-campus |archive-date=July 19, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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Kirk spread his |
Kirk spread his views about COVID-19 on [[social media]] platforms, such as [[Twitter]], in 2020.<ref name="NYTRosenbergApril2020"/> Kirk sharply criticized Democrats' criticism of President Donald Trump's withdrawal of [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) funding and referred to COVID-19 as the "China virus", which was retweeted by President Trump.<ref name="NYTRosenbergApril2020"/> Furthermore, Kirk alleged that the WHO covered up information about the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name="NYTRosenbergApril2020">{{cite news |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Matthew |last2=Rogers |first2=Katie |title=For Charlie Kirk, Conservative Activist, the Virus Is a Cudgel |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/19/us/politics/charlie-kirk-conservatives-coronavirus.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_NN_p_20200420&instance_id=17786&nl=morning-briefing®i_id=106274830§ion=topNews&segment_id=25550&te=1&user_id=b84a077fd21ce63cd95e0ee55e44a1c2 |accessdate=April 20, 2020 |work=New York Times |date=April 20, 2020}}</ref> He was briefly banned from Twitter after making a false claim that [[hydroxychloroquine]] has proved to be "100% effective in treating the virus"; and that [[Gretchen Whitmer]], the Democratic governor of Michigan, threatened doctors who tried to use the medication.<ref name="NYTRosenbergApril2020"/> This falsehood was retweeted by [[Rudolph Giuliani]] whose account was then suspended by Twitter as well.<ref name="NYTRosenbergApril2020"/> Kirk also spread rumors that the [[public health]] measure of [[social distancing]] prohibitions in churches was a "Democratic plot against Christianity" and made the unfounded assertion that authorities in [[Wuhan]], China, were burning patients, which is another conspiracy theory without any supporting evidence.<ref name="NYTRosenbergApril2020"/> |
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In defending the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, Kirk repeatedly spread |
In defending the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, Kirk repeatedly spread his views that the Obama administration responded slowly to the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|title=Flawed Comparison on Coronavirus, H1N1 Emergency Timelines|url=https://www.factcheck.org/2020/03/flawed-comparison-on-coronavirus-h1n1-emergency-timelines/|last=Fichera|first=Angelo|date=March 31, 2020|website=FactCheck.org|language=en-US|access-date=May 19, 2020}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite news|last1=Qiu|first1=Linda|last2=Bouchard|first2=Mikayla|date=March 5, 2020|title=Tracking Trump's Claims on the Threat From Coronavirus|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/05/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-fact-check.html|access-date=May 19, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> |
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Kirk has spread |
Kirk has spread his views about claims of voter fraud<ref>{{Cite news|date=February 4, 2020|title=REFILE-Iowa official slams viral claim of suspicious voter registration activity as false|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-election-iowa-misinformation-idUSL1N2A31MT|access-date=May 17, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=PolitiFact - Report about potential Iowa voter fraud is false|url=https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/feb/03/charlie-kirk/conservative-organizations-are-spreading-misinform/|last=|first=|last2=|date=2020|website=Politifact|language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=May 17, 2020}}</ref> and on the coronavirus outbreak. According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', Kirk's rhetoric "[walks] the line between mainstream conservative opinion and outright disinformation."<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Rosenberg|first1=Matthew|last2=Rogers|first2=Katie|date=2020-04-19|title=For Charlie Kirk, Conservative Activist, the Virus Is a Cudgel|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/19/us/politics/charlie-kirk-conservatives-coronavirus.html|access-date=2020-07-30|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> |
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In the report of ''[[ProPublica]]''{{'}}s 2020 investigation into the finances of Turning Point USA, which claimed that the organization made "misleading financial claims," that the audits were not done by an independent auditor, and that the leaders enriched themselves while advocating for President Trump, ProPublica noted that Kirk's salary from TPUSA had increased from $27,000 to nearly $300,000 and that he had bought a $855,000 condo in Longboat Key, Florida.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Spies|first1=Mike|last2=Pearson|first2=Jake|title=At This Trump-Favored Charity, Financial Reporting Is Questionable and Insiders Are Cashing In|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/at-this-trump-favored-charity-financial-reporting-is-questionable-and-insiders-are-cashing-in|access-date=2020-07-23|website=ProPublica|language=en}}</ref> |
In the report of ''[[ProPublica]]''{{'}}s 2020 investigation into the finances of Turning Point USA, which claimed that the organization made "misleading financial claims," that the audits were not done by an independent auditor, and that the leaders enriched themselves while advocating for President Trump, ProPublica noted that Kirk's salary from TPUSA had increased from $27,000 to nearly $300,000 and that he had bought a $855,000 condo in Longboat Key, Florida.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Spies|first1=Mike|last2=Pearson|first2=Jake|title=At This Trump-Favored Charity, Financial Reporting Is Questionable and Insiders Are Cashing In|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/at-this-trump-favored-charity-financial-reporting-is-questionable-and-insiders-are-cashing-in|access-date=2020-07-23|website=ProPublica|language=en}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 15:14, 13 October 2020
Charlie Kirk | |
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_(cropped).jpg) Kirk in 2019 | |
| Born | October 14, 1993[not in body] |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Political activist, writer |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Organization | Turning Point USA |
| Title | Founder and Executive Director |
| Political party | Republican |
Charlie Kirk (born 14 October 1993[not in body]) is an American conservative activist and writer. He founded Turning Point USA with William T. Montgomery in 2012 and currently serves as its executive director.[1]
Early life and education
Kirk, an evangelical Christian,[2] was born in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois, and raised in nearby Prospect Heights, Illinois. In his junior year in 2010, Kirk volunteered for the successful U.S. Senate campaign of Illinois Republican Mark Kirk (no relation).[3] When he was a senior at Wheeling High School in 2012, Kirk wrote an essay for Breitbart News alleging liberal bias in high school textbooks which led to an appearance on Fox Business Network.
| External videos | |
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 Charlie Kirk ~ The Conservative Forum ~ 9-8-2015 on YouTube (Liberty Forum of Silicon Valley) (at 2:10–3:20) |
According to Kirk, he had applied to the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, and was not accepted.[4] In a 2015 speech at the Liberty Forum of Silicon Valley he said that "the slot he considered his went to 'a far less-qualified candidate of a different gender and a different persuasion'" whose test scores he claimed he knew.[5][6][relevant?]
In 2015, Kirk told The Atlantic that he was taking part-time online classes at The King's College,[7] and Newsmax that he was taking classes at Harper College.[8] a community college near Chicago, but in 2015 dropped out to pursue a life in conservative activism.[9]
Activism
In 2012, when he was a high school senior, Kirk wrote an essay for Breitbart News documenting liberal bias in high school textbooks that led to an appearance on the Fox Business Network. At a subsequent speaking engagement at Benedictine University's "Youth Empowerment Day," Kirk met Bill Montgomery, a retiree more than 50 years his senior, who was then a Tea Party-backed legislative candidate. Montgomery encouraged Kirk to get engaged in political activism full-time. He subsequently founded Turning Point USA, a "grass-roots organization to rival liberal groups such as MoveOn.org." At the 2012 Republican National Convention, Kirk met Foster Friess, a prominent Republican donor, and persuaded him to finance the organization.[10][7]
Kirk addressed the 2016 Republican National Convention. In an interview with Wired magazine during the convention, Kirk said that while he "was not the world's biggest Donald Trump fan," he would vote for him, and that Trump's candidacy made Turning Point's mission more difficult.[11] Kirk flipped to supporting Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention and spent the remainder of the campaign assisting with travel and media arrangements for Donald Trump Jr.[12]
In October 2016, Kirk participated in a Fox News event along with Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Lara Trump that had a pro-Donald Trump tone.[13]
Kirk wrote the 2018 book Campus Battlefield: How Conservatives Can WIN the Battle on Campus and Why It Matters. In a review for The Weekly Standard, Adam Rubenstein described the book as a "hot mess", "nothing more than a marketing pitch for TPUSA" and said the "thin" book was "stuffed with reprintings of his tweets and quotes from others."[14] In 2018, the conservative website NewsMax ranked Kirk as the seventh most influential Republican under the age of 30.[15]
In December 2018, Kirk falsely claimed that protesters in the French yellow vests movement chanted "We want Trump." These claims were later repeated by President Trump. The cited videos were from a far-right protest in London.[16]
In May 2019, Kirk was awarded an honorary doctorate from Liberty University, a private evangelical Christian university co-founded by Jerry Falwell.[17]
In July 2019, Kirk became chairman of Students for Trump, which had been acquired by Turning Point Action, and launched a campaign to recruit one million students for the 2020 Trump reelection campaign.[18]
Kirk spread his views about COVID-19 on social media platforms, such as Twitter, in 2020.[19] Kirk sharply criticized Democrats' criticism of President Donald Trump's withdrawal of World Health Organization (WHO) funding and referred to COVID-19 as the "China virus", which was retweeted by President Trump.[19] Furthermore, Kirk alleged that the WHO covered up information about the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] He was briefly banned from Twitter after making a false claim that hydroxychloroquine has proved to be "100% effective in treating the virus"; and that Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic governor of Michigan, threatened doctors who tried to use the medication.[19] This falsehood was retweeted by Rudolph Giuliani whose account was then suspended by Twitter as well.[19] Kirk also spread rumors that the public health measure of social distancing prohibitions in churches was a "Democratic plot against Christianity" and made the unfounded assertion that authorities in Wuhan, China, were burning patients, which is another conspiracy theory without any supporting evidence.[19]
In defending the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, Kirk repeatedly spread his views that the Obama administration responded slowly to the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.[20][21]
Kirk has spread his views about claims of voter fraud[22][23] and on the coronavirus outbreak. According to The New York Times, Kirk's rhetoric "[walks] the line between mainstream conservative opinion and outright disinformation."[24]
In the report of ProPublica's 2020 investigation into the finances of Turning Point USA, which claimed that the organization made "misleading financial claims," that the audits were not done by an independent auditor, and that the leaders enriched themselves while advocating for President Trump, ProPublica noted that Kirk's salary from TPUSA had increased from $27,000 to nearly $300,000 and that he had bought a $855,000 condo in Longboat Key, Florida.[25]
He is the co-author of Time For a Turning Point: Setting a Course Toward Free Markets and Limited Government for Future Generations (Simon & Schuster, 2016).[citation needed]
References
- ^ Spies, Mike; Pearson, Jake (July 21, 2020). "At This Trump-Favored Charity, Financial Reporting Is Questionable and Insiders Are Cashing In". ProPublica. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ "American Christianity's Reformation moment against socialism". www.christianpost.com. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
- ^ "Perfect storm launches 19-year-old Wheeling native into political punditry". Daily Herald. April 29, 2013. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
- ^ Guinto, Joseph. "Trump's Man on Campus". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
- ^ Mayer, Jane (December 21, 2017). "A Conservative Nonprofit That Seeks to Transform College Campuses Faces Allegations of Racial Bias and Illegal Campaign Activity". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- ^ DePaolo, Joe (November 15, 2019). "Charlie Kirk Shouts 'Fake News' at a Town Hall Questioner for Asking About Something He Actually Said". mediaite. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ^ a b Nelson, Rebecca; Journal, National (March 25, 2015). "The 21-Year-Old Becoming a Major Player in Conservative Politics". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ Hoffman, Bill (May 15, 2015). "Young Conservative Dynamo Motivates Students to Lead GOP". Newsmax. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ^ "A Profile of Charlie Kirk". The Dartmouth Review. The Dartmouth Review. November 1, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
- ^ "This Boy Wonder Is Building the Conservative MoveOn.org in an Illinois Garage". Bloomberg News. May 7, 2015.
- ^ "At the Republican Convention, Millennials Search for Signs of the Future". Wired. July 20, 2016. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
- ^ Rosenberg, Matthew; Rogers, Katie (April 19, 2020). "For Charlie Kirk, Conservative Activist, the Virus Is a Cudgel". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ Vasquez, Michael (May 7, 2017). "Inside a Stealth Plan for Political Influence". The Chronicle of Higher Education. ISSN 0009-5982. Archived from the original on September 16, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
- ^ "Charlie Kirk's Campus Battlefield Is a Hot Mess". The Weekly Standard. October 10, 2018. Archived from the original on October 10, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ "Newsmax's 30 Most Influential Republicans Under 30". Newsmax. January 30, 2018.
- ^ "No, French protesters are not chanting, 'We want Trump'". AFP Fact Check. December 4, 2018. Archived from the original on December 8, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
- ^ Liberty University News Service. "Vice President Mike Pence challenges 2019 grads to 'go forth for Liberty'". www.liberty.edu. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
- ^ Singman, Brooke. "Charlie Kirk launches GOTV campaign to enlist 1 million 'Students for Trump' in 2020". Fox News. Archived from the original on July 19, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Rosenberg, Matthew; Rogers, Katie (April 20, 2020). "For Charlie Kirk, Conservative Activist, the Virus Is a Cudgel". New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ Fichera, Angelo (March 31, 2020). "Flawed Comparison on Coronavirus, H1N1 Emergency Timelines". FactCheck.org. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- ^ Qiu, Linda; Bouchard, Mikayla (March 5, 2020). "Tracking Trump's Claims on the Threat From Coronavirus". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- ^ "REFILE-Iowa official slams viral claim of suspicious voter registration activity as false". Reuters. February 4, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ "PolitiFact - Report about potential Iowa voter fraud is false". Politifact. 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Rosenberg, Matthew; Rogers, Katie (2020-04-19). "For Charlie Kirk, Conservative Activist, the Virus Is a Cudgel". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
- ^ Spies, Mike; Pearson, Jake. "At This Trump-Favored Charity, Financial Reporting Is Questionable and Insiders Are Cashing In". ProPublica. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
External links
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