Updated September 10, 2025 at 7:26 PM MDT

Charlie Kirk was barely old enough to vote when, at the age of 18, he launched Turning Point USA. The goal: build an organization for young conservatives that would represent for them what groups like MoveOn.org meant for progressives.

"This was in the midst of the Obama presidency in the suburbs of Chicago where Obama was very well liked," Kirk recalled on his podcast last year. "In my local high school, progressive, left-wing Marxist ideas were widespread, and I looked around and I was unimpressed by the conservative organizations that were out there."

More than a decade later, Kirk not only met that goal, but he became perhaps the most influential voice in young conservatism, playing a crucial role in national politics, including President Tr

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