Erika kirk

Over the past several months, various news outlets have been prognosticating the flight of young conservative women from the Republican Party. In March, New York magazine focused on what it called “the young women leaving the new right.” Now Politico has suggested that a Turning Point USA conference in San Antonio, Texas this past weekend shows that “bubbling under the surface are divisions within the GOP that have enveloped the online voices of the young right and a budding disillusionment among young women with the second Trump administration. It’s all part of a growing divide between being “MAGA” in 2026 and being “America First.” But that’s not what I saw at the very same conference.

Fresh off her appearance at the United Nations, where she spoke eloquently about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, pop star Nicki Minaj made a surprise appearance at this weekend’s Turning Point USA convention in Phoenix, leaving no doubt about where her politics lie. Of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, she said, “This administration is full of people with heart and soul, and they make me proud of them. I love both of them. They're both powerful men. Smart, strong, all of that. But both of them have a very uncanny ability to be someone that you relate to.” The Turning Point conference, the first one since Charlie Kirk’s assassination, made enough news that you could call it “Talking Point.” Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson sniped at each other.