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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
David Smith in Washington

Charlie Kirk’s outsized influence on the Maga movement: ‘He changed the ground game’

Charlie Kirk Donald Trump Donald Trump Jr. MAGA Don Jr JD Vance Steve Bannon Kyle Spencer Turning Point Action Turning Point USA
two men in suits shake hands on stage
Charlie Kirk shakes hands with Donald Trump at America Fest in Phoenix, Arizona, on 22 December 2024. Photograph: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images

What a swell party it was. Guests feasted on half-shell oysters and champagne at Washington’s luxury Salamander Hotel. Donald Trump Jr danced to YMCA while JD Vance quipped: “They don’t tell you when you run for vice-president that you get brought on stage with the Village People.”

Guests at the $15,000-a-head Turning Point Inaugural Eve Ball last January included future FBI director Kash Patel, Jeanine Pirro and the Irish mixed martial artist Conor McGregor. But towering above them all, literally and figuratively, was Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and key enabler of the rise of Donald Trump.

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