Republicans clash Who will be Trump's heir apparent? Chaos instead of unity among US conservatives

More than three months after the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, his organization Turning Point USA is meeting for its annual conference. The tone is rough.

DPA

22.12.2025, 07:37

dpa

The annual conference of the Turning Point USA youth organization of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead in September, exposed deep rifts between conservative forces.

Kirk's widow Erika issued a declaration of support for a possible candidacy of Vice President JD Vance in the 2028 election right at the start of the four-day meeting. However, the rest of the conference made it clear how difficult it would be for Vance to prevail and succeed President Donald Trump.

Well-known conservative commentators went at each other in their speeches at the so-called "AmericaFest" and spent more time lashing out at their Republican rivals than those on the left of the political spectrum.

"You can say what you want about AmFest, but it's definitely not boring," said Erika Kirk, who has led the influential conservative organization since her husband Charlie was murdered in September. "It feels like a Thanksgiving dinner where the family is discussing family issues." It was definitely a very chaotic family feast, with underhanded attacks.

Mutual insults

Ben Shapiro, one of the founders of the conservative media organization "Daily Wire", and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon insulted each other from the lectern. Ex-Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson also got in on the act. In addition to Shapiro's accusations that people like Bannon and Carlson have no morals, there were also repeated differences of opinion on Israel.

Bannon said Shapiro and others were part of the "Israel First Clique", which did not put the USA first, as Trump's slogan "America First" actually intended. Carlson also criticized the unconditional US support for Israel.

Almost three years before the next presidential election, the conference showed that the Republican Party has not found a way forward in its search for a future after the Trump era. Who should take over the leadership after Trump, asked commentator Carlson in his speech at the conference. "Who gets the machinery when the president leaves the stage?"

Vance as a promising candidate for 2028

Vance has not yet made a clear decision on whether he will run in 2028. Trump has repeatedly hinted at his own third term in office, which is prohibited under the constitution. However, he has also speculated about a possible candidacy by Vance with Secretary of State Marco Rubio as vice presidential candidate.

With the declaration of support from Erika Kirk, Vance, a friend of her slain husband, definitely has the spokesperson of an enormously influential right-wing organization on his side. Turning Point's thousands of young volunteers could mobilize many voters for Vance in the Republican primaries.

Carlson: No Republican civil war

But what can a post-Trump Republican Party even look like? With his "Make America Great Again" movement, the president has defined it for ten years. That there is a "civil war" within the Republican Party is certainly false, said Carlson. Such rumors are spread by those who want to prevent Vance's candidacy.

Andrew Kolvet, spokesman for Turning Point, spoke of a healthy debate about the future of the movement, an unpleasant but necessary process of consensus-building. "We are not aligned communists," he wrote on X. "Just let it go."

In any case, many attendees at the conference clearly backed Vance, who was also the closing speaker on Sunday. "It has to be JD Vance because he was so great on literally every question," said Tomas Morales, a videographer from Los Angeles. "There's no other choice."