海角大神

Charlie Kirk鈥檚 campus tour continues. Will students carry on his legacy?

As students streamed into a Virginia Tech auditorium, moving through metal detectors and police officers, they passed by a replica of the tent that conservative activist Charlie Kirk sat under at Utah Valley University two weeks ago when he was shot and killed. Several attendees posed for photos beneath the canopy emblazoned with Mr. Kirk鈥檚 tagline 鈥淧ROVE ME WRONG,鈥� next to a photograph of him.

The empty tent and the police dogs were immediate reminders of how different this Turning Point USA event would be compared with so many of the previous college debates that Mr. Kirk held during his life 鈥� and the challenges that lie ahead as the GOP tries to build on his success with young voters.

鈥淭he question that has been asked over and over again is 鈥榃ho will be the next Charlie?鈥欌�� said Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, as he paced the stage in khaki pants and a blazer. 鈥淵ou will be the next Charlie,鈥� he told the audience, which nearly filled the 3,000-seat auditorium.

Since Mr. Kirk鈥檚 death on Sept. 10, Turning Point says it has received more than for new chapters at college and high school campuses, and a rotating list of conservative influencers and politicians 鈥� such as Gov. Youngkin and podcaster Megyn Kelly here at Virginia Tech 鈥� have signed up to guest host the nine remaining tour stops .

鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge ecosystem of people who are similar to Kirk and can pick up where he left off,鈥� says a GOP operative, who requested anonymity to speak freely. 鈥淭here will be a whole range of people who enter the field over the next few months who could have just as much influence.鈥�

But when Ms. Kelly opened up the room for questions, it became clear that Mr. Kirk鈥檚 college tours 鈥� or at least this one 鈥� wouldn鈥檛 exist in the way they had before.

All but two of the 25 questions were asked by fellow conservatives or, at the very least, fans of Ms. Kelly鈥檚. There wasn鈥檛 the kind of 鈥減roving wrong鈥� that Mr. Kirk made go viral in his social media clips. Neither were there the kind of back-and-forth conversations between two sides that Mr. Kirk praised. Maybe this was due to the change of location. The dark, hot auditorium with layers of security wasn鈥檛 as accessible as Mr. Kirk鈥檚 previous events, when he often sat on campus lawns as students walked by. Perhaps it was due to the headliner. Left-leaning students might not feel the same draw to debating Ms. Kelly as they did Mr. Kirk.

Or perhaps it was due to this political moment, in which bitter partisanship and accusations have sharpened after Mr. Kirk鈥檚 death, raising questions about whether there鈥檚 an appetite for the same kind of robust debates that he championed.

Instead of provocative moments, the audience offered largely conservative-friendly questions, such as: How much influence does Israel have on our politics? What is your Starbucks order? How can I coexist with liberals as a conservative 海角大神?

A version of this last question was asked several times.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think you should talk about politics,鈥� said Ms. Kelly, telling the audience a story about how she takes an annual trip with two girlfriends, one liberal and one independent. The trip works for them because they don鈥檛 talk politics. 鈥淯nless you really, really love each other and feel like it鈥檚 safe to try. ... But there鈥檚 no reason to start debating, I think, people with whom you have diametrically opposed views.鈥�

To Mr. Kirk, however, that was precisely the point, as highlighted by several clips stitched together for a memorial video played at the start of the event.

鈥淭he courage and inspiration we鈥檝e gotten from this moment, it鈥檚 going to inspire a lot of other future Charlie Kirks,鈥� says Ariel Schlosser, a senior at Virginia Tech. 鈥淢aybe it will be enough if we all do our part to keep the movement going.鈥�

More than a dozen students interviewed by the Monitor before the event shared similar sentiments: No one person could or should replace Mr. Kirk. But maybe remembering him would be enough.

鈥淚 want to carry on his legacy,鈥� said Chase Wampler, who started a Turning Point chapter at his high school in southwest Virginia three days after Mr. Kirk was killed. 鈥淚 think he鈥檚 going to be replaced by a movement and not a singular person.鈥�

But if there is a singular successor to Mr. Kirk at this moment it is likely his wife, Erika, who was recently appointed chief executive and board chair of Turning Point USA. Her message of forgiveness at a memorial service for her husband this past weekend drew bipartisan praise.

On of 鈥淭he Charlie Kirk Show,鈥� Mr. Kirk鈥檚 chief of staff, Mikey McCoy, said he spoke with Ms. Kirk recently about how they could 鈥渃ontinue Charlie鈥檚 legacy鈥� and 鈥渞eally 10x this organization,鈥� and that he got emotional because it felt like he was talking to Mr. Kirk himself.

鈥淪he knew everything,鈥� said Mr. McCoy. 鈥淔rom the way she texts to the way she talks, I can confidently say that I feel like it鈥檚 Charlie still leading this organization.鈥�