Charlie Kirk appealed to young conservatives by using old-school tactics

Right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk’s certainty helped him gain a massive audience among young people looking for answers in an uncertain world. Scholars who study conservatism say his ability to organize and directly connect with people was key to his appeal.   

The 31-year-old, who was shot to death during an appearance at a Utah university Wednesday, straddled the traditional world of conservative politics and a new, expanding digital landscape of pundits and podcasters going viral with short, pithy clips. Kirk used his talent for public speaking to promote some of the far-right’s more extreme ideas, and found broad appeal among American youth.

“He’s not just a media guy. He’s not just a podcaster or a TikToker or a viral social media person, but he’s a genuine organizer,” said Nicole Hemmer, an associate professor of history focusing on media, conservatism and the U.S. presidency at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

“He was doing the difficult on-the-ground work of organizing on college campuses … doing get-out-the-vote drives,” she said. “There’s just not really anyone like him.”

But Hemmer says the praise he received for his ability to organize and connect with an increasingly broad base often overlooks how harmful his rhetoric could be.

“He’s someone who has said it’s probably the right call for gay people to be stoned, that Black women aren’t smart enough to hold certain positions,” said Hemmer.  

“This is not civil discourse. This is opening up a debate about people’s basic rights and humanity.”

Appealing to a ‘mythical past’ 

Kirk often advocated for a return to traditional Christian gender norms reminiscent of the 1950s.

In one recent clip from his podcast that circulated online, he called on popstar Taylor Swift to “submit” to NFLer Travis Kelce and have “a ton of children,” shortly after the couple announced their engagement last month, telling Swift, “You’re not in charge.”

These simplistic and traditional views Kirk embraced are appealing to young people who are struggling to find their footing amid uncertainty in the world, says Jillian Sunderland, a sociology Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto, where she researches masculinity and how media shapes understandings of gendered power. 

“A lot of young men experiencing this kind of status anxiety are looking for people to provide solutions,” said Sunderland.

And Kirk’s “sound-bite narratives” suggest to them that they can return to a “mythical past … where men were really men, or masculinity was valorized,” she said.

Meredith Pruden, an assistant professor of communication and media at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, says she considers much of Kirk’s rhetoric to be hate speech. 

She notes it’s not just what he said that young people found appealing, but the way he said it. 

“The certainty with which he delivers his remarks does lend an air of authority and credibility,” Pruden said. 

Kirk’s appeal also goes beyond young men, she said, pointing to conservative women embracing traditional gender roles, as with “trad wife” influencers who create content that shows them staying at home to cook and clean for male partners.

Ability to connect attracted Republican backing

Kirk got his start in 2012 by co-founding the group Turning Point USA, which aimed to rally young conservatives on college campuses.

Though social media was becoming more popular as an arena that could shape viewpoints and air political opinions, it was still a time when meeting people face-to-face paid off, and Kirk’s debate appearances at universities resulted in a lot of attention from the traditional conservative establishment.

“He got Republican backing and conservative money very, very quickly,” said Sunderland.

Kirk’s talent for public speaking and passion for debate were recognized early on, she says, and they lent themselves well to social media, where algorithms prioritize the sensational and can contribute to the polarization of political beliefs. 

At the same time, Sunderland notes that far-right beliefs like some of those Kirk espoused have become more mainstream as the Republican Party in the U.S. has also become more radicalized. 

“I’m really worried that this is going to be used as a kind of rallying cry to further embolden people,” Sunderland said of Kirk’s shooting death. 

Concerns about escalating political violence

In 2021, Kirk spoke at another university event in Minnesota. Facing an overwhelmingly white audience in Mankato, about 130 kilometres southwest of Minneapolis, he declared he was going to say things “no one dares say out loud.”

What followed was an avalanche of aspersions and debunked claims about George Floyd, the Black man whose May 2020 death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer set off a global reckoning over racial injustice and broad calls for change.

Kirk called Floyd “a scumbag,” and said he was unworthy of the attention.

Now, Hemmer worries that Kirk’s own public murder could result in escalating political violence that hasn’t been seen in the U.S. since the 1960s.

“Violence is part of the decline of democracy in the United States,” she said.