Over 250 people surrounded UF’s Plaza of the Americas Thursday to watch conservative provocateur Charlie Kirk spar with UF community members over hot-button issues like immigration, white privilege and LGBTQ+ rights.
The event was part of Kirk’s nationwide “American Comeback Tour,” launched by Turning Point USA to bring conservative speech to college campuses.
“It feels good to win, doesn’t it?” Kirk said at the start of the event. “This is what free speech is all about.”
The nearly three-hour event was hosted by UF’s Turning Point chapter and held in a debate-style format between Kirk and audience members. Hundreds in attendance wore red, white and blue and raised their hands to catch white hats with “47” written in gold. Some cheered “I love you, Charlie!” when he first appeared behind his booth.
Kirk has gained national prominence since 2012 when he founded Turning Point USA, a conservative youth activist group with over 850 chapters across college campuses nationwide. In January, he spoke at President Donald Trump’s inauguration, who he’s become a close adviser to.
Kirk, wearing a “Gulf of America” T-shirt, sat under a tent with “prove me wrong” written across its canopy, presenting attendees with a microphone to ask him questions or share disagreements.
Attendees who disagreed with Kirk were moved to the front of the line.
Tracy Asè-Shabazz, a 32-year-old University of Central Florida alum, was first in line to debate Kirk. He was trying to converse with Kirk about the existence of white privilege, he said, but instead was cut off and believed Kirk was deflecting his points.
As a counterargument, Kirk said many of the problems Black Americans face are “self-actualized.” Absent fathers are the number driver of Black inequality, Kirk said — not white people or systemic racism.
“Is it easier for a Black person or a white person to get into the University of Florida?” Kirk asked, referencing affirmative action policies in the college admission process, which take race and ethnicity into account. Affirmative action has been illegal in Florida since 1999.
Kirk goes to college campuses to argue with “children,” Asè-Shabazz said after the debate. “He can’t argue with people his own age.”
Another event goer, 19-year-old music and education freshman Gabriel Mejia, debated Kirk on concepts of gender and sex. Mejia, who identifies as a heterosexual and cisgender male, attended the event wearing a pink dress, gold hoop earrings and a pink bow clipped to his hair — a move he said was a way to have fun and show support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Mejia asked Kirk his thoughts on the queer community and said he didn’t believe in a distinction between gender and sex. “You can say you are [a woman], and I would say you are,” Mejia said.
Kirk countered that most transgender women are men with “autogynephilia,” a concept that a male finds sexual arousal from the thought of himself as a woman. A 2020 literature review found research generally disproves the idea that transgender identity stems from sexual preference.
Mejia was booed periodically throughout the debate, notably when he said he’d be OK with a transgender woman using the women’s restroom.
“Politics are taken too seriously,” Mejia said in an interview after the debate. “It’s hurtful for the common man.”
Kirk’s presence was also noticed by a speaker who frequents the plaza, but had no interest in debating with him.
Erik Dressel, a 64-year-old preacher known for carrying a “Jesus saves” sign on UF’s campus, believes Kirk to be a “brilliant guy.”
“I think he shows that a person can be very brilliant, successful without college, which is an interesting thought,” Dressel said.
Despite founding a popular conservative campus organization in the country, Kirk doesn’t have a college degree. He briefly attended Harper College, a community college located near Chicago. In 2022, Kirk published “The College Scam,” a book exploring the college industry and the credibility of academia.
During a debate with a UF history instructor, Kirk was asked about the similarities between Trump and notable fascists like Hitler. Upon asking the instructor whether or not he knew about Winston Churchill and the Dardanelles, Kirk turned to the crowd and noted “This is what you’re paying for.”
Maggie MacDonald, an 80-year-old Gainesville resident, appeared to be the one of the only protesters at the event. She sat near Kirk’s tent and held two signs with the word “misogynist” and “fascist” surrounded by swastikas.
MacDonald came to the event because of the “horrors” going on in the United States, she said.
“I hope [people] realize they are facing… a country that will be against everyone but straight, white, Christian men,” McDonald said. “Every woman that walks by should realize the rights she’s losing.”
Other activists in Gainesville planned to broadcast the message that “Gainesville rejects hate,” as announced in a flyer posted on Facebook. The protest was meant to object against Kirk coming to speak at UF, however, no one showed up.
The post has since been deleted from Facebook.
Xavier Fuentes, a 24-year-old UF graduate student, said he’s a center-left Bernie Sanders supporter. Fuentes believes the alt-right conservative trend is growing among Gen-Z men.
“I think that for a lot of these kids, they're growing into a world of economic anxiety,” Fuentes said. “They’re turning to conservatism as a way to give people meaning.”
Sienna Wallace, an 18-year-old UF psychology freshman, said while she doesn’t fall on either side of the political spectrum, she likes to see Kirk interact with college students.
While her views might counter his, Wallace said she likes to understand Kirk’s side. Wallace thinks people need to respect each other’s opinions, she said, and hates to see people get aggressive about their political beliefs. Kirk’s style of debate is appealing to her due to his lack of hostility, she added.
“He’s very respectful about it,” Wallace said.
Kirk will continue his tour Friday at Florida State University.
Contact Vivienne Serret and Kaysheri Haffner at vserret@alligator.org and khaffner@alligator.org. Follow them on X @vivienneserret and @kaysheri_h.
Kaysheri Haffner is a second-year journalism major and the Criminal Justice reporter for the Alligator. When she's not on the clock, she can be found reading a book or working on a creative writing project.
Vivienne Serret is a UF journalism and criminology senior, serving as the Fall 2024 race and equity reporter for The Alligator's Enterprise desk. She previously worked as a columnist and previously reported for The Alligator's university desk as the student government reporter. She loves karaoke and lifting at the gym.
