Charlie Kirk stepped out on to the stage at the Turning Point Action convention in Detroit, Michigan, this month as though it were him – and not his hero Donald Trump – who was running for president. Red, white and blue strobe lights buzzed over the 2,000-strong crowd, pyrotechnics blazed around him and bass speakers boomed out so loudly that it made your bone marrow quake.
“Welcome, everybody, to the people’s convention,” Kirk exclaimed, prompting chants of “USA! USA!” Then he launched into his trademark stew of far-right populism, do-or-die patriotism and Christian nationalism.
“The future of the greatest nation that ever existed hangs in the balance,” he said, beseeching his followers to do all they could to save the American republic by saving Trump. “We do our part, and we trust in God to do the rest.”
