Just weeks into the fall semester, a crowd gathered around a white canopy on a grassy college courtyard. They were eager to hear what the speaker beneath it had to say. It was a typical university scene, with its promise of the exchange of ideas and debate, except in one way: its size.

This speaker was Charlie Kirk, one of the most influential voices in President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement, and the event Wednesday at Utah Valley University drew more than 3,000 people. Backpack-toting students watched from surrounding buildings as Kirk, wearing a white T-shirt that said “Freedom," tossed red MAGA caps, Frisbee-style, to his fans.

He took his place beneath the canopy, the slogans “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong” emblazoned across it. He picked up a handh

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