Students were prioritized, leaving adults in the general admission line unsure if they’d even make it inside. For Veronica, who traveled from Texas and attended Kirk’s memorial service in Phoenix, just being part of the moment mattered.
“I’m happy to sit out here in the cold and not get in because that means that every single student wanted to get in,” Veronica said.
For students in line like Southern Miss freshman Clark Piercy, the size and energy of the crowd indicated a growing movement and provided a sense of belonging.
“It honestly kind of does speak out that people are getting more involved politically,” Piercy said. “To see this many people out here is very exciting for me.”
Piercy added that Kirk’s assassination had hardened his political views and dedication to the Republican Party. He described seeing footage of the shooting on social media as traumatic and said it made him believe “there are people in our country that want to stop free speech.”
The event also attracted many of Mississippi’s Republican statewide officials, including Gov. Tate Reeves, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and Attorney General Lynn Fitch. U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith flew with Vice President Vance to attend.
The Ole Miss event is the only stop on TPUSA’s “This Is the Turning Point Tour” where Vance is scheduled to appear, and U.S. Rep. Michael Guest said that distinction shows “how important Mississippi is to the conservative movement.”
After the rally began, speakers looked out onto a sea of red “Make America Great Again” caps and blended praise for conservative policies with calls for religious revival. Charlie Kirk’s widow and Turning Point USA’s new CEO, Erika Kirk, called on students to carry Turning Point’s campus organizing work forward.
“Being on campus right now for me is a spiritual reclaiming of territory,” Kirk said.
She said Charlie believed that endeavor would shape America’s future, and his assassination had laid the groundwork for greater success on that front. Kirk also called on students to honor her late husband by courageously defending their beliefs.
“I just want this to be the generation that says, we will not apologize for loving our country first,” Kirk said. “We will not be silent about our faith. We will not back down when the world tells us to kneel because we bow only to the King of Kings.”
Kirk also pointed to partnerships that aim to expand Turning Point-affiliated “Club America” chapters in high schools as opportunities to reach young people, citing recent support from the governors of Florida and Virginia.
Those themes of faith and family were also present in Vice President J.D. Vance’s speech, which he said was intentionally off-script. After leading the audience in a “Hotty Toddy” chant, Vance reflected on his regret of not having children earlier in life and urged students to put their youthful energy toward building nuclear families.
“So while you’re young, have those babies if you’re able to. That’s something Charlie said all the time,” Vance said.
He connected those personal reflections to policy, arguing that a secure border and stable family structure were intertwined with American prosperity.
“Why do I care so much about having a secure border in the United States of America? It’s because I believe that when you let in a flood of illegal immigration, it drives down the wages of young people and makes housing unaffordable,” Vance said.
In the Q&A that followed, which Vance said was meant to carry on Kirk’s tradition of direct student engagement, he said legal immigration should be reduced and defended President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to major cities led by Democrats.
While the rally drew its large crowd, a smaller counter-event dubbed the Mississippi “Rise Up Town Hall” was held nearby by University of Mississippi College Democrats and other liberal student groups.
The event’s featured speakers included Democratic elected officials from other states, such as California Congressman Ro Khanna and Tennessee state Rep. Gloria Johnson.
In a press release, the student groups framed the Turning Point event as a “blatant attempt to turn our campus into a political rally venue and provide academic legitimacy to the hatred, suppression of free speech and overt partisanship championed by the administration of President Trump and Vice President Vance.”
