Gen Z Men in Their Own Words Live from CLS

Summary

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The Charlie Kirk Show — "Gen Z Men in Their Own Words: Live from CLS"

Date: August 1, 2026
Host: Charlie Kirk & Moderators
Special Guests: Gen Z high school students and Turning Point USA activists

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Episode Overview

This roundtable brings together a group of Gen Z high school men—most born around 2008–2009—at the 2026 Chapter Leadership Summit. The conversation dives into their unique perspective on politics, culture, social media, meme culture, morality, faith, apathy among their peers, and the challenge for conservatives after Charlie Kirk's assassination. The episode explores generational divides, meme-driven discourse, technology's impact, social alienation, conspiracy narratives (including those about Kirk, Epstein, and Israel), and the future of the conservative movement.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Generational Frame: Growing Up "After Trump"

• Gen Z members introduce themselves, highlighting a stark generational divide in experience.
• Most don’t remember politics before Trump, and their lived political memory is shaped by the Trump and Biden presidencies.
• They contrast their digital upbringing and the “memified” culture with the experiences of older millennials and Gen Xers.
  (02:17–03:24)

“For all practical purposes, you have no memory of US political culture before Donald Trump.”
—Erica (03:17)

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2. Memes as Discourse: The Culture of "Kirkification"

• Much of their political engagement and discourse happens through memes, often detached from reality and morality.
• Memes around Charlie Kirk—especially after his assassination—have normalized or trivialized real-life events, desensitizing users.
• "Kirkified" memes, including bizarre AI composites placing Kirk with controversial figures (like Epstein, Diddy, or Trump), are omnipresent, often without clear political meaning but serve as mockery or “slop.” (04:16–14:14)

“It’s disgusting… every fifth video’s Charlie Kirk with a gambling ad. They’ve totally tried to materialize.”
—Duke Denman (05:18)
“It's almost like they're desensitizing you to what happened.”
—Jack Robertson (05:35)
“Blurring of reality... Over time, you could see how this would start to seep into somebody’s actual thinking.”
—Host/Moderator (14:14)

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3. Social Media Use: Platform Habits & Cultural Isolation

• Instagram is the dominant platform; TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) are also used, mostly for memes and political reels.
• Most interaction is with real-life friends, though cruder, anonymous meme pages dominate the algorithm.
• There’s awareness of the addictiveness, mental health impact, and the way meme culture shapes thinking—often in apathy-inducing, mindless ways. (07:15–11:15)

“You don’t know who these people are. ... We know that these social media platforms can get extremely addictive. ... We see it change the human mind.”
—Henrik Ellick (08:05)
“It is like this almost mindless reaction to it.”
—Jack Robertson (11:15)

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4. The Negative Spiral: Meme Culture & Desensitization

• Key memes: Kirk, Epstein, Diddy, Trump—often mashed up in bizarre contexts.
• Presence of both leftist mockery and far-right echo chambers ("groiper" culture).
• Memes obscure moral facts and lead to normalization of once-taboo or serious topics. (12:15–16:25)

“...when people think of [Epstein], they think of the memes and his island...they don’t really think about how bad of a person he was.”
—Jack Robertson (14:33)

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5. COVID, Social Media, and Loss of Moral Anchoring

• COVID isolation is identified as a major turning point: at age 12, many were forced online, accelerating digital culture and weakening “real world” connections.
• Even those not heavily engaged on social media “get the content by osmosis.” (16:25–17:33)

“Even if you yourself are not on social media, you still get a lot of that content just by osmosis...it's almost impossible to avoid.”
—Blake (17:18)

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6. Aimlessness, Apathy, and the Search for Purpose

• Widespread apathy, lack of ambition, and aimlessness among Gen Z men is repeatedly stressed.
• Many peers “don’t care”—not about politics, not about life, lacking motivation and a sense of future (“mush brain culture”).
• Faith (especially Christianity/Catholicism) is cited as the critical anchor for those who avoid nihilism. (22:22–25:17)

“There's a sort of intentional but unaware self-destruction...people are so engrossed in...scrolling, in looking at reels...we miss out on real experiences in the real world.”
—Blake (23:33)
“Without my Catholic, Christian framework, moral framework, I don’t know how I would endure.”
—Blake (20:20)

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7. AI, Technology, and the Erosion of Motivation

• AI is both a tool and a threat: students use it to cheat but also feel existential worry about what AI will mean for future employment.
• Some positive uses (chapter business, organization), but overall, tech is seen as contributing to apathy by “replacing thinking.” (25:17–29:57)

“Replacing their thinking.”
—Blake (27:54)

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8. Desire for Connection, but Drawn Into Online Nihilism

• The ultimate aspiration among peers is often “social media fame”—searching for clicks, attention, or a sense of community online, which ultimately does not satisfy.
• Connection without genuine relationships leaves young men feeling lonelier and more alienated. (31:33–32:31)

“People want to connect. ...being on social media often is going to provide that. When it doesn't, it pulls them further away.”
—Blake (31:47)
“If you just stay sending reels back and forth and you never actually have a human interaction, you've gained virtually nothing.”
—Duke Denman (32:17)

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9. Regulating Social Media: Parental and Legal Responses

• Discussion of proposals to ban/restrict social media for minors.
• Students are skeptical: believe bans are ineffective (“kids will always find a way”); emphasize need for real education about responsible, value-added tech use. (33:09–36:52)

“There always will be workarounds. Putting a bandaid on the issue, not solving it. ...there needs to be a cultural shift.”
—Blake (33:28)

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10. Conservative Politics After Kirk: Fragmentation and Challenges

• The assassination of Charlie Kirk and rise of conspiracy culture (e.g., “Kirkification,” Epstein memes) have left the right fragmented.
• Media personalities stoke division and misinformation; the movement feels less unified.
• Key issues: economy, home ownership ("renting culture"), and cultural malaise.
  (39:52–48:52, 68:13–76:51)

“Charlie was the bedrock of the conservative movement... now it's fragmented.”
—Van LeMay (48:49)
“President Trump was gaining popularity. ...What can bring it back?”
—Host/Moderator (67:59)

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11. Misinformation and Meme-Driven Political Narratives

• Misinformation is rampant (e.g., Trump/Epstein AI photos, fake documents) and many peers believe headline-level or meme-level "truths" without digging deeper.
• They express frustration at the difficulty of finding trustworthy news sources and interpreting reality through social media noise. (42:04–47:08)

“Specifically, objectively false content, specifically around President Trump is so high on Instagram ... my friends believe it, and it’s awful.”
—Duke Denman (42:04)

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12. Antisemitism, Israel Discourse & Meme Normalization

• Meme culture fuels normalization of antisemitism and “Israel did it” (every problem blamed on Israel/Jews) without substance.
• Distinction drawn between legitimate criticism of Israeli government policy and actual antisemitism—a nuance often ignored online.
• Some see trend waning as “cringe” increases, though concern remains. (53:02–66:34)

“If they don’t fully understand something, blame Israel. ...the Israel memes are more than Charlie, more than Epstein. ...People are defaulting to it now.”
—Blake/Jack Robertson (54:06–54:50)
“A common thread...everything we’re talking about is extremely low substance...no actual substantive argument.”
—Duke Denman (66:34)

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13. Masculinity, Self-Improvement, Influencers, and Online Extremism

• Gym culture/self-improvement is a positive trend, but sometimes feeds into comparison anxiety and unrealistic standards.
• Influencers (Andrew Tate, “Clavicular,” etc.) shape self-image, sometimes contributing to mental health crises and even to conspiracy culture. (49:42–52:45)

“When you see that and you’re sitting on your couch without purpose, without drive ... that’s why we have these suicide rates, especially in young men.”
—Van LeMay (50:43)

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14. What Can Revive the Conservative Coalition?

• Economic improvement and ending foreign wars (specifically Iran) are seen as key issues for reclaiming Gen Z and young male support.
• Communication in their “language” and showcasing real, tangible achievements—using meme and digital formats—is vital.
• Faith, community, and genuine conversation (a la Kirk’s style) can offer meaning where online culture leaves a void.
• The choice of next leaders (Rubio, JD Vance) is a live, open discussion; unity is prioritized over divisive influencer drama. (76:51–82:39)

“Gen Z has a dearth of purpose. ...I worry about the nihilism that comes from that...If I didn’t have my faith I would be I think a completely different person because everything would seem meaningless.”
—Blake (71:19)
“If things like [the economy] start turning up, I really do think it will turn up.”
—Jack Robertson (73:11)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “People like the idea of the end result but not the hard work. And when people avoid that hardship, they don’t develop in the same way. That’s... a scary prognosis for our generation and the future of our country...”
  Blake (31:02)

• “It’s a removal from reality, social media is literally turning your generation into like mush.”
  Host/Moderator (25:10)

• “The average age of homeownership in America is now 41...we’re just renting...that funnels all the way down to even voting, right? If you own something...you are incentivized to participate in your culture.”
  Duke Denman (70:51)

• “I think Gen Z, it’s economy. ...a burrito shouldn't be $25. ...We were promised a good economy, sorry. We were promised low gas prices...”
  Jack Robertson (73:11)

• "Social media is a good tool when you use it, right. But...my parents didn’t have experience with social media, so I didn’t have like an Instagram teach...so when we were just thrown into Covid as 12-year-old kids...that kind of formulated our minds."
  Henrik Ellick (32:31)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Gen Z introductions & generational framing: 02:16–03:24
• Memes/memeification of politics & Kirk: 04:15–06:54
• Social media habits & influence: 07:15–11:15
• Desensitization and harm of meme culture: 12:15–14:14
• COVID-accelerated social alienation: 16:25–17:33
• Apathy and loss of ambition: 22:22–25:17
• AI & its impact: 25:17–29:57
• Desire for connection, reality vs. online: 31:33–32:31
• Regulating social media for minors: 33:09–36:52
• Fragmentation of conservatism post-Kirk: 39:52–48:52
• Antisemitism & meme normalization: 53:02–66:34
• Revitalizing conservative appeal & priorities for 2028: 76:51–82:39

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Final Reflections

The panel of Gen Z male activists sees their cohort as facing a crisis of meaning, bombarded by a meme-driven, nihilistic culture with little direction unless rooted in faith or a strongly guided community. They bemoan the culture of misinformation, online conspiracy, and fragmentation in the absence of Charlie Kirk. Yet, there remains optimism: they believe that reclaiming meaning through faith, honest engagement, refocusing message, and fostering purpose—especially around economic progress—can still revive both personal and political hope.

The future, they conclude, is bright if young men can “keep hope for a generation, keep fighting because the cause is going on.”
(Logan Hammond, 77:40)

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End of Summary.

Transcript

[Charlie Kirk]

My name is Charlie Kirk. I run the largest pro American student organization in the country, fighting for the future of our republic. My call is to fight evil and to proclaim truth. If the most important thing for you is just feeling good, you're gonna end up miserable. But if the most important thing is doing good, you will end up purposeful. College is a scam, everybody. You gotta stop sending your kids to college. You should get married as young as possible and have as many kids as possible. Go start a Point USA College chapter. Go start a Turning Point USA High School chapter. Go find out how your church can get involved. Sign up and become an activist. I gave my life to the Lord in fifth grade. Most important decision I ever made in my life. And I encourage you to do the same. Here I am, Lord.

[Blake]

Use me.

[Charlie Kirk]

Buckle up, everybody. Here we go. Noble Gold Investments is the official gold sponsor of the Charlie Kirk Show, a company that specializes in gold IRAs and physical delivery of precious metals. Learn how you could protect your wealth with Noble gold investments@noblegold investments.com, that is

[Danny]

noblegoldinvestments.com all right, welcome to our Chapter

[Host/Moderator]

Leadership Summit 2026 roundtable with exclusively high school dudes, which is a unique one. We had never done this before, so this is going to be really fun. I think this is one of the more critical conversations we can have because what you're about to find out, just even from the few minutes I've spent with these young guys, is that their culture is completely foreign. It's like an alien planet to older generations. And by older generations, I mean millennials and on. So you're gonna learn a lot, I believe here. And just to underscore the point, who around this table is going to be old enough to vote in the next generation or the next election? 2028.

[Erica]

But can you vote in the midterm?

[Danny]

Yes.

[Henrik Ellick]

Yes.

[Danny]

So we are talking to voters that

[Host/Moderator]

will determine the future of Western civilization very, very soon. Let's go around the horn here and talk to you guys about what year you were born.

[Danny]

Give me your name and all that

[Host/Moderator]

stuff, and then tell everybody what year you were born.

[Jack Robertson]

Sweet. I'm Jack Robertson. I'm from Houston, Texas. I was born in 2008. So I'm 18.

[Host/Moderator]

2008.

[Blake]

Jason Gabriel. I'm from Manhattan Beach, California, born in 2009.

[Duke Denman]

I'm Duke Denman. I'm from Austin, Texas. I was born in 2008.

[Van LeMay]

I'm Van LeMay. I'm a student at West Michigan Aviation Academy. And I was born in 2009.

[Henrik Ellick]

My name is Henrik Ellick and I'm 18. I was born in 2008.

[Logan Hammond]

I'm Logan Hammond. I'm from Fort Wayne, Indiana. I was born in 2008. So I'm 17 years old.

[Erica]

I'm getting very self conscious about this. 2008 was the first election I voted in.

[Host/Moderator]

Yeah.

[Erica]

And these guys probably don't remember Obama winning an election.

[Danny]

Yeah. Right.

[Host/Moderator]

Which is. Which is wild. So Charlie started Turning Point because he watched the Obama mania take over and he was like, we need an answer on the right. And you guys were born when Obama was elected. And I think you said 2009. 2009, yep. So you weren't even alive when Obama was elected.

[Erica]

And for all practical purposes, you have no memory of US political culture before Donald Trump.

[Host/Moderator]

You bet.

[Erica]

You were in first grade.

[Host/Moderator]

Donald Trump is basically your political experience, right? Yeah.

[Henrik Ellick]

Yes.

[Host/Moderator]

Four years of awful Joe Biden, but nevertheless, it's basically Donald Trump dominated Joe Biden's term.

[Erica]

They didn't live through how much he changed everything.

[Host/Moderator]

Right. And it's like you don't remember, you know, for older people that might be watching this, like, you know, pre 9 11, when you didn't have to, you know, get a cavity search to just get through the airport.

[Danny]

Okay.

[Host/Moderator]

So I just wanted to frame that up for people watching at home, that the world you are living in and have been exposed to and experienced is completely foreign to a lot of people. All right, so somebody said, I forget who it was. I think it was you. That your basic entire social media existence, kind of online discourse, political discourse is memes, is memified.

[Danny]

Everything's memeified.

[Host/Moderator]

Everything's sort of like joke based. Is that, is that a fair description? Yes.

[Danny]

And if it's not, explain.

[Van LeMay]

Yeah, I mean, I think we're living in a different era of civil discourse. I mean, I think Charlie. Right. I mean, Charlie was the epicenter of this new Internet form of politics. And all of us, we are getting our content. Even like some of these guys are my friends. Like when I learn something about politics, often it's, I see one of your guys videos, send it to a buddy, they send it to me. You know, everything is based on that. But then also you have the negative of that, which is the memes. Right. Like you get, you have all these things, you know, the Kirkified memes, the everything. And it's, you know, some of it's funny, but some of it's like making light of just horrific things.

[Erica]

We should expand on what you mean by that. So Charlie, since His death has become, to my understanding, like a stock meme character, practically.

[Van LeMay]

It's disgusting.

[Duke Denman]

You can't scroll Instagram reels without every fifth video seeing a picture of Charlie Kirk throwing out a hat with a gambling advertisement on his shirt. Like, it's disgusting. It makes me scroll past that immediately. But I think it's awful that they've just totally tried to materialize.

[Jack Robertson]

It's fascinating because it's almost like they're desensitizing you to the fact that what happened, right, because he's gone, he got assassinated. And it, like the memes and it being out there and the jokes that are made, it desensitizes the public to that it actually happened. And that's seen in other areas of politics as well, I believe, where it's like there's just memes and memes and memes. And it's almost like you, because you see it so much, you're just used to it.

[Host/Moderator]

I think this is really powerful what you're saying, because I believe one of the reasons Charlie was assassinated was because Lance Twiggs, Tyler Robinson, their larger friend group, we often talk about this video by Turkey Tom that dives into their lived experience. And I think it was very memeified. I think it was very disassociative of real morality and real lived experience. IRL life, you know, versus the meme culture, this, that where things become disconnected from the real world consequences. This is why I think we just found out that he came back to his home crying and saying he wished he wouldn't have done it. Because it was an instant confrontation with reality that I think the young, young people like you are, are being steeped in memes jokes. That is disassociative.

[Erica]

So to ask you guys to elaborate. So we say you're in this very online stuff how, first of all, what actual social networks are you using? X vs Instagram vs TikTok. And then as a follow up, is this mostly being shared then via. Are you just in a bunch of group chats? And are those people you mostly know in real life or is it heavily people you know online?

[Host/Moderator]

This is a great question. Yeah, let's just go around the horn. I want to hear from everybody.

[Logan Hammond]

I could start off. So I'm on Instagram. Sometimes I'll go on YouTube shorts, but mainly Instagram and TikTok. I am on X, but that's just for political purposes. Most of the people that these reels come from are through my Instagram reels or stuff that I send to friends that I have in real life, very few are in group chats. And it's kind of just, you know, you scroll your network. I know most of my algorithm is either short form content, talking about political discourse and what's going on, and few memes that are relatable.

[Host/Moderator]

So mostly DMs to your friends in the app. Right. So you use the Instagram. Okay. And most of them, you know. Okay. What about you?

[Henrik Ellick]

I am primarily on Instagram. That's kind of my primary platform. And everything I see that relates to that just comes through the algorithm. I don't necessarily know the people who are posting them. Which is the most concerning thing to me is because we don't know who these people are. And we know that these social media platforms can get extremely addictive. So when you have this mixture between lack of morality and addictiveness, we see it change the human mind. And I think, as you said about Tyler Robinson and Lance Twiggs, for example, that is happening to so many of our youth because they are being brainwashed from. From the things that they're seeing online and on social media.

[Logan Hammond]

Yeah.

[Van LeMay]

You know, for me, I'm mostly on my social platform is Instagram. And I think that the message that needs to be conveyed to the rest of Gen Z, and honestly, even people in these conservative circles is, at the end of the day, a lot of these memes. You know, when I see the videos of J.D. vance with the luscious hair and my personal fat face, when I see these memes, I mean, I die laughing. But it's gone too far. And that's the line we have to draw. And I think that we have to be able to, as a conservative movement, as conservative teens, be able to draw this line, find this distinction. Because we're going too far and we're getting to a culture that's desensitized to information.

[Host/Moderator]

Are you on a lot of group chats or do you have group chats within Instagram? Yeah, I mean, I. I'm not really. I don't really mess with for sure.

[Van LeMay]

I mean, people of my school, people from my Turning Point chapter. I mean, Henrik, like, these are the people that I'm communicating with on social media. And I think sometimes I take a step back and I say, okay, you know, I've been sent something from someone who's even a conservative on. On these platforms, these memes, and it's like, what are we doing?

[Jack Robertson]

What.

[Van LeMay]

What are we going too far with? This is this. It's getting unsensitive. And that's. That's where I'm starting to be like, we need to draw the line here.

[Danny]

Okay, we'll dive into what you mean

[Host/Moderator]

by that in a bit.

[Duke Denman]

But you go, I'm on X for politics, and then I'm on Instagram for social stuff. And I'll send reels back and forth

[Host/Moderator]

with people, but I've only got one TikTok so far.

[Jack Robertson]

No.

[Host/Moderator]

No TikTok with you.

[Danny]

No TikTok.

[Blake]

But I don't.

[Duke Denman]

I don't have, like, online friends that I don't know in person. I think that's a little strange.

[Blake]

Yeah, I'm mostly on Instagram and Snapchat. Instagram is where the majority of the reels and that sort of content, I would say, seeps into my life. It's really fascinating, the difference in how people act when they're online or even in person showing you something online compared to when they're in person. I've got friends who I know they're great people. I know they're good people. I know the morality. I've been friends with them for years, yet I've seen them laugh at completely senseless memes. The Kirkification stuff we were talking about, for anybody who doesn't know, there's deep fakes of Charlie Kirk that people share. And my friends were dying laughing, and I asked them what's funny about that, and nobody could articulate what it was that made them laugh. It was just some reaction, very overt reaction that happened as a result of seeing whatever content was thrown their way.

[Jack Robertson]

Yeah, I mean, I'm on TikTok and Instagram and then we message on Snapchat and, you know, there's. Henrik had said there's so many of these accounts that create the same, exact same memes over and over and over again to where it just fills up the algorithm. And then the algorithm, Algorithm, pardon me, is flooded with all these memes and images of the Kirkifys and things like that. And then we. They get sent to each other, and we're all in group chats and stuff like that with my buddies, and they all get sent to them, and it is like this almost mindless reaction to it. Like, what is. What's kind of what's happening?

[Host/Moderator]

Are they depictions of his death or.

[Jack Robertson]

No, it's just. It's his face, normally from one shot or one angle, and it's put onto things, whether it's like Pikachu or another meme that gets added in. Like, it's just. It's random.

[Host/Moderator]

Yeah, I've heard the Charlie's featured in this. But what other things are we seeing in this? I mean, what's common?

[Van LeMay]

Epstein, to be honest with you, that's like, that's. That's one of the main features. Trump, J.D. vance, Diddy.

[Host/Moderator]

What?

[Logan Hammond]

Diddy.

[Host/Moderator]

Diddy.

[Van LeMay]

Yeah.

[Charlie Kirk]

Yeah.

[Logan Hammond]

That's a big one.

[Van LeMay]

And I mean, they'll.

[Duke Denman]

They'll put.

[Van LeMay]

I mean, I see images on my feed every day of, like, AI photos of Charlie, like, with Diddy and Epstein, like, that's. That's what's getting pushed out.

[Host/Moderator]

Oh, so it's from the lefties.

[Van LeMay]

Yeah. But I honestly, I think it's also now starting to become. This culture is synonymous with, like, the uber far right culture as well, kind of the groiper culture and all of that. And that's really kind of starting to get tied in now, too, with this

[Erica]

is the joke just like anarchic stuff that is just. Charlie with Epstein is funny because it's absurd. Will it have a political point at all?

[Van LeMay]

I don't think it necessarily has a political point, but I also think it's somewhat of a mockery, I think that we hold Charlie to such a high value. And also turning point is making so many posts honoring Charlie. We're conveying his message. And I think the left, Their way to respond, because they're completely unpropper, is to just try to mock it as much as possible. How do you do that? You make an AI photo of him with Epstein. That's the way they find to mock him. I mean, it's ridiculous.

[Host/Moderator]

Well, yeah, go ahead.

[Blake]

Yeah, it goes to the desensitization. I think people see these things, and even if there's not really any value or meaning behind them, people will see jokes made about Charlie. That's the big one we've been talking about here. But Epstein, Diddy, like, we're all talking about, and there's not value behind it, but when people see that, it becomes more ingrained in their minds, I think. And just when they interact with serious topics in the real world, some of that unthoughtfulness, let's say, seeps into their own reactions in real life. And I think that's where we've got some concern.

[Host/Moderator]

It's blurring of reality. It is. It's selling sort of confusion implied. Talk about brainwashing is a word. Over time, you could see how this would start to kind of like, seep into somebody's actual thinking.

[Danny]

Right?

[Jack Robertson]

Yeah, yeah. And it's like we with Epstein. Right. Epstein was a horrible person.

[Duke Denman]

Right.

[Jack Robertson]

What he did was inhumane. Horrible. But the memes, they almost normalize who he is. And so when people think of him, it's like they think of the memes and his island and things like that. They don't so much think about how bad of a person he was.

[Host/Moderator]

Well, and by juxtaposing him to Charlie, who was a tremendous human, an American martyr and a Christian martyr, and juxtaposing him with Epstein, it's almost, you're almost conveying some of Charlie's goodness on Epstein and conveying some of Epstein's evilness onto Charlie. So you're sort of blurring everything and melding it into one.

[Logan Hammond]

I don't necessarily think that anybody who's perpetuating these memes or creating these memes ever intended it to be this way. We all live in a digital age and a lot of people who may not be super involved like we are in real life, they kind of just take the stuff that they see online, they take the elections and they take the one clip liners and they don't understand that this is real life. They can tell you that they think it's real life, but they don't actually understand the gravity of the situation. And so a situation like Epstein or P. Diddy or the public murder of Charlie, it all just comes off as something they saw online and it can all blend together in their head. And sometimes I think that our just because of everything that's happened in our lifetimes. Obviously everybody goes through something in their lifetime, but I feel like ours with it all being digitally recorded and all this stuff coming out through the 24 hour news cycle, through social media, that they don't necessarily take it as seriously as they should and it just turns into memes and jokes and it's never taken seriously.

[Henrik Ellick]

And if I may touch on that real quick, and you guys tell me if I'm wrong, but I think within the past, past five years specifically, you know, we've lived through Covid and I think we've seen a huge decrease in morality over the past five years. I think Covid was a big factor in that because all of a sudden people are staying at home, they were not seeing their family members, they were not seeing their friends and they were scrolling. They were on TikTok Instagram and I think that had a huge effect because

[Host/Moderator]

just to be clear, you guys were all about 12, correct?

[Henrik Ellick]

Yep. And that's a dangerous age to be on social media. I think everyone could agree that, you know, a 12 year old probably shouldn't be scrolling.

[Host/Moderator]

You all were on social media you all had access.

[Erica]

Did you all have smartphones already?

[Logan Hammond]

Yeah, I'm very grateful.

[Duke Denman]

I wasn't at the time. Yeah, I was listening to audiobooks during

[Van LeMay]

COVID and going on walks.

[Host/Moderator]

Hence why you turned out at Turning Point. Yeah, go ahead.

[Blake]

Yeah, I wasn't too engaged personally in social media, but the thing is, even if you yourself are not on social media, you still get a lot of that content just by osmosis, because all your friends, all the people around you are, and they're so heavily engaged in it that it's almost impossible to avoid.

[Van LeMay]

Yeah, it's a really good point. And like for me, tabling, when I'm doing activism events with Turning Point and going out into the community, I'll have students come up to me and like start like reciting like phrases from like Charlie Kirk memes. Like, I don't know if you've heard like the AI songs and stuff.

[Blake]

Songs?

[Van LeMay]

Yeah, yeah. Like there's, there's all these different things and they'll come up to me and they'll be like, Charlie, Charlie Kirkey. And like say all these things and it's like you're letting this bleed not only into your feedback, but into your real life to the point where you'll come up to a Turning Point student and just start reciting AI slop.

[Host/Moderator]

This is really interesting to me because, you know, we're, because of what we have to do on a daily basis, we're constantly keeping track of the news, actual facts, source information, reported information which has a lot of factual issues in and of itself, but at least it exists within a framework and a context where they, they get checked by people and fact checked by people. But it's becoming apparent to me that with so much of this like fake content just controlling your guys, algorithms, you're probably, especially when you're tabling, you're confronting a lot of just nonsense, a lot of like garbage that people probably assume is real on some level. And it turns out it's just completely fabricated.

[Danny]

Is that fair to say?

[Van LeMay]

Very fair, absolutely. And it's gotten to the point also where I think that this is not fully mainstream media, but media personalities are also kind of pushing this forward. Like you talk about people like Nick Fuentes, they're in their super chats on their podcasts, talking about these memes, addressing this, and it's that when you see a real person then talking about it, not only are you seeing these reels, this AI slot, but you're seeing real people talking about this and regurgitating and regurgitating it, and it starts influencing. And honestly, I think it's terrible. It's starting to influence young men, especially in the most.

[Logan Hammond]

The scariest part about some of these influencers is that it's not actual people watching their entire live streams or their entire videos. They get clipped, and then people just find them funny. But when you're perpetually watching that and it goes into your brain, we know that Biblically, what comes into your brain, what you hear, what you consume, it turns your heart and it changes your heart.

[Host/Moderator]

Okay, So I want that it's a good transition point, because we didn't establish this. You guys are obviously here. You're acknowledging that there's an issue. You have some grounding and some good moral framework. How many of you are Christians or Catholics or. Okay, are you Christian, Protestant?

[Blake]

I'm Catholic.

[Host/Moderator]

Catholic.

[Blake]

Yeah.

[Host/Moderator]

I'm a Catholic Catholic.

[Danny]

Okay.

[Host/Moderator]

Do you feel like that has been basically why you've been able to navigate some of this stuff and keep your head on straight?

[Blake]

Absolutely. Absolutely. I think without. For me, without my Catholic, Christian framework, moral framework, I don't know how I would endure. And that's scary to me. I mean, when I talk with my parents or grandparents, they didn't encounter this sort of stuff in high school.

[Host/Moderator]

No. Because the wider culture still had its head on mostly straight. And now what you guys are revealing is that outside of our Christian culture, which is sadly a subculture now, which we want to change, but that it's increasingly frightful out there, essentially, which is your lived experience.

[Danny]

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[Host/Moderator]

I just wanted to get some basic framework here for where you. So Danny's telling me that because he's, you know, kind of, he interacts with you guys a lot more in this, in this age group, that there is a general sort of lack of basic understanding what you want to do and who you want to be, what you want to do with your life. Are you, is, is that, first of all, is that accurate? And if it's not accurate for you, is it accurate, would you say of the wider, your wider friend group, wider culture in your age group?

[Logan Hammond]

For me, not so for my wider friend group, Yeah. I would also say aimlessness. I would say that they don't carry a lot of purpose in life. The main reason why, you know, some of these memes don't really come across my feed anymore because I don't interact with them because I believe that if something doesn't build me up, it tears me down and I don't want that in my life. Well, other people, they're not really looking at what builds them up. And I think that they're very apathetic not only to politics, not only to the mainstream media, they're apathetic to life in general. And they, they, they don't know what's going on in life. They don't want to know what's going on in life. I have so many friends that just, they don't care. And I try to talk to them and have genuine conversations about, hey, life actually matters, you know, you're not 18 forever. There is, there is a world after this and you have to find out what your purpose in life is. Because what drives for me is not this life, but where I'm going afterwards.

[Host/Moderator]

Do you guys agree with that? Is there a general apathy that you are encountering with young men in your generation?

[Blake]

I would say that I've definitely noticed that among many people there is a sort of intentional but unaware self destruction. And I'll explain what I mean, that's a bit of an oxymoron, but I'll look around. For example, I took a photography class this past year, black and white photography. And so when I was in the dark room, I would look around and you just see blue light from people's phones shining in their faces. It felt like I was in some dystopian future looking around and people are so engrossed in. I'm talking mostly about social media. When I say the self destruction in scrolling, in looking at reels, in talking superficial Conversations that often I think we miss out on real experiences in the real world. And I've definitely noticed that and I'm blessed to have had that perspective. And I'm trying to back off from social media and go out and experience the world, but it's definitely difficult. Like we were talking about earlier, you know, social media is so ingrained in so many of our peers lives that it's hard to avoid even when you really want to.

[Van LeMay]

Yeah, I mean, I think drive is something that really personal ambition.

[Host/Moderator]

Drive.

[Van LeMay]

Yeah. So my family, my family owns small businesses and I've said to my friends multiple times, hey, if you guys are looking for a summer job, if you're interested, and I'll have friends say to me, why would I work? What is the purpose?

[Logan Hammond]

What.

[Van LeMay]

And I think that people have lost all ambition. They've lost drive and they've lost a sense of care. It's a, it's a sense that they don't, they say, yeah, they don't care. They don't care about authority.

[Danny]

They don't care.

[Host/Moderator]

Social media is literally turning your generation into like mush.

[Blake]

You go numb, you go numb in your mind. Absolutely.

[Logan Hammond]

Yeah.

[Erica]

And even the thought I've had since looming over this is also that AI has exploded a lot in the last few years. What do you and people, you know, even plan to do? Because I, I've had this thought where if I was giving my sister's advice because they have young kids, I don't know what I would tell them, what their kids should study, for example, because I don't know what will actually even exist.

[Blake]

And 10 years.

[Host/Moderator]

Yeah. Do you guys know what you want to do? Do you, Are you worried that what you want to do will no longer be doable? No, not quite so bad.

[Jack Robertson]

I think my dad has always said this. He's like, I cannot replicate this. It can't do what we're doing right now.

[Host/Moderator]

Right.

[Jack Robertson]

And so I think what finds value is to finding things that are going to be sought after. People skills.

[Duke Denman]

Right.

[Jack Robertson]

Yesterday when the speaker was talking about how AI, even if it takes some jobs, that's going to raise the demand of other jobs.

[Duke Denman]

Right.

[Jack Robertson]

And so it's specializing in things that are unique to you and unique to humanity.

[Henrik Ellick]

Almost.

[Host/Moderator]

Yeah. But you have good parenting, you have good moral framework from your faith and things like that. Generally speaking, we're talking about this sort of apathetic, mushy existence of just being like glued to your digital device that's in your hand, this blue light image. I'll probably never Forget that. Actually a really powerful description of everybody in an IRL environment where you're supposed to be looking at something physical and yet they're all floating heads.

[Blake]

That's all I saw.

[Host/Moderator]

Yeah, that's a fascinating image.

[Danny]

So drive.

[Host/Moderator]

This lack of it is this. Do you feel this as well when you're thinking about your generation or do you still feel like there's a lot of ambition?

[Duke Denman]

When it comes to my generation, I'd say yes. When it comes to me personally, no. And then on AI, I want to go into politics. So I don't think AI is going to be taking my job there. But in terms of, in terms of a lot of the things that that job would require writing, anything like that, I'm definitely scared that AI is going to be taking over from that. Like if you. Why would a company hire people to do it when they can just have an AI do it? And I think that also contributes to some of the apathy of our generation because people use AI. People, people use AI in school to do their homework, but then they also.

[Host/Moderator]

This is interesting. This is interesting. So you asked the question like about AI and is it contributing the apathy? And it sounds like the answer is yes, but kind of in a backwards way because it's not that they're going one to one, well, AI is just going to take my job. What's the point? It's, they're probably like using it and therefore it's like contributing to this like overall kind of mush brain.

[Blake]

Replacing their thinking.

[Host/Moderator]

It's replacing their thinking. Yes.

[Van LeMay]

But what's interesting about AI now is there's this new culture on the left. Specifically, like, I mean for a builder, for someone that wants to innovate, AI is truly the paintbrush to the artist, right? AI is something that's revolutionary for people. Like for myself, my chapter, we actually have a vibe coded AI website that we use for all of our meetings for check ins for different things. But the problem is now the left, they've come up with this idea that AI is evil. Data centers are taking up our water, all these things. And now they're pushing forward. Don't use AI. But what are these people gonna do? What are they gonna do when the world changes and they don't change with it? And now the left to counteract like our new economy is saying, oh, we're not gonna use AI and we're gonna sit around and take welfare checks because they're unwilling to use AI because it's immoral. I don't, I don't understand.

[Logan Hammond]

I think that when it comes to the AI, people have always tried to find a way outside of doing their work. I can remember when my brother was my age and my mom scolded him for copying a paper off online. You know, people have always tried to find a way out, especially our generation. And one thing, especially with my chapter that I've been trying to focus on is why. Why does it matter?

[Host/Moderator]

Obviously, why does what matter?

[Logan Hammond]

Anything. Why does something belong in your life? Why should you do something? You know, people, we live in an age now where you can almost put. You can avoid any work. People use online gambling to try to make money. People use, you know, they use AI to do their work. They think that that's how they're going to get in life is, you know, pushing stuff off. But we live in an age where you have to have a why for something, and you have to explain that why. Because when you actually enjoy something, when you know the purpose of it, you're not going to pass it off, but you're going to take responsibility for it and you're going to do it with your heart. And that's what we need more of.

[Host/Moderator]

So, like, in a broad way, just taking this, the why. Because I'm fascinated from a communication standpoint, right? Like, we do a daily show and we're explaining things, and I'm realizing in this conversation that I'm taking certain presumed baseline facts and assumptions. I'm taking them for granted with your generation, right? So if you were born in 2008, it's almost like, are you telling adults that you need to reestablish the why in almost everything? Like, why do we care that, you know, housing's affordable? Or why do we care that, you know, the socialists don't take over in New York and Southern California? Like, why?

[Danny]

Why?

[Host/Moderator]

Why is it worth getting out of bed? Why is it worth pursuing a career? Why is it worth, like, is that kind of what you're saying? Like, basic, fundamental, like, you know, because

[Danny]

I would have assumed, you know, some

[Host/Moderator]

semblance of ambition could be assumed in most people. You're telling me that if you were born in 2008, 2009, maybe I shouldn't

[Blake]

have assumed that people like the idea of the end result, but not the hard work. And it's hard work and overcoming obstacles that drive development. And when people avoid that hardship, they don't develop in the same way. And that's, I think, a bit of a scary prognosis for our generation and the future of our country and the world. Honestly, yeah.

[Host/Moderator]

So would you say that there's a lack of ambition or is it unfocused ambition?

[Blake]

Unfocused, I agree.

[Erica]

What do they aspire to, if anyone?

[Charlie Kirk]

Yeah.

[Host/Moderator]

What are your, what does your generation want? What do they want out of life?

[Blake]

Success, Fame, money.

[Host/Moderator]

Find success. Fame.

[Blake]

Okay, yeah.

[Duke Denman]

Social media fame.

[Danny]

Okay.

[Van LeMay]

Social media fame clicks.

[Host/Moderator]

Yeah, that's like the most common ambition.

[Blake]

Maybe it's a searching for human connection off that because fame clicks, that sort of thing. It's a sort of people want to connect. They want to have a group they can call their own and someplace they can call family among other people. And a lot of people are misguided in believing that being on social media often is going to provide that. When it doesn't, it pulls them further away from that. But the more they're involved in that social media, the less they realize that and it just continues.

[Duke Denman]

Go ahead. I was just gonna say you have to take the step off of social media. Maybe social media is a great tool for connecting with people around you, but if that's all it is and you just stay sending reels back and forth and you never actually have a human interaction, you've gained virtually nothing.

[Henrik Ellick]

Social media is a good tool when you use it, right. But we grew up in a way where my parents didn't have experience with social media, so I didn't have like an Instagram teach was like use this responsibly. So when we were just thrown into Covid as 12 year old kids, it's like this is the only way we can have a human connection now. That kind of formulated our minds. And I get a lot of hope being here because I'm surrounded around a lot of like minded people and it gives me a lot of motivation to keep moving forward. But I think my generation is missing that because we grew up in a way where we had no one educating us on how to have human connection when you can't see people face to face.

[Erica]

There's been proposals lately in the US and other countries to essentially ban kids 16 or under or 18 under from a lot of social media websites, or heavily neuter what they're able to see and receive or capture basically heavily regulate social media for people who are minors. Would you guys agree with that idea?

[Blake]

I have a big concern for that actually. I think that when you take that away, people just want it more. And there will always be workarounds, there will always be ways to get, get through things. My school, for example, they block a lot of online websites and games and Stuff so kids aren't messing around during class. People use VPNs. They get around. There's always a way to get around that roadblock, and that's putting a band aid on the issue, it's not solving it. I think somehow, some way, there needs to be a cultural shift. People need to become more aware and actively seek hardship and seek human interaction in the real world, not on their phone.

[Duke Denman]

Yeah, I think it's a cultural change. It's not something you can just change

[Logan Hammond]

by writing it into law. I think that the issue is I'm homeschooled. I live in a very Christian, homeschooled community. I have been more. My parents have taught me. They helped me experience these things, like social media, but they guide me through it, teaching me how to do these things. Now, I have friends who, their parents said, you're not allowed to have social media until you're 16, 18. Now they're 18, 22 years down the line and they turn out the same way. And they're also the people who push out the Kirkified memes, and it's not pushing it off. I advocate for teaching, I believe regulation should be in place, but you also need to teach how to responsibly use social media and how to put down the phone. At times, I think that that's a big thing, is you need to teach them, put down the phone, go pursue other things. And when you're scrolling something, you need to ask yourself, does this contribute to my life or is this contributing to human connection? I honestly don't scroll unless my friends are sending me stuff now. And it's a way that we can actually bond over stuff we see, rather than just interacting with a computer algorithm.

[Henrik Ellick]

And Blake, to add on to your point, I believe it was Australia that just did the regulation.

[Host/Moderator]

UK is right, and the UK is

[Jack Robertson]

about to do it.

[Henrik Ellick]

And I think it'll be very interesting to see what the results of that are. Now, I do agree with you because it's not just an issue about the tool, it's an issue about our society as a whole. And how do we fix that? Now, I think that's a question that we all have to ask ourselves is how do we fix something that we didn't necessarily allow happen to us, but it just happened. How does my generation go about solving this issue now?

[Van LeMay]

Well, I think it's all about communication. I think we're kind of talking about this Pandora's Box effect of taking away social media and these children just wanting it more. They crave children innately crave what they don't have. When you put the cookie jar, they're gonna reach. And so I think that we have to have dialogue. I think Charlie did a great job with so many people on the left were so against right wing policy because they didn't understand it. And what they were being fed through the algorithm was negative. But when Charlie went into the public sphere, when he went and he said, this is the truth, this is biological, this is biblical, this is scientific, this is, look at this, put it straight in their eyes, they can't ignore it. Social media, it's just a conversation that we need to start having. We need to say, you know what, this is here, but there's a better way to deal with it. It's social.

[Henrik Ellick]

This is what should concern everyone is you don't have to pay to download Instagram. So Instagram's not relying off of a certain product for them to get their revenue. You are the product. And that is so important to define because you have to ask yourself, why are they doing this? And we see, like, as Charlie used to say, we live in the most suicidal, perverse, depressed, drug addicted, drug addicted generation. So we have major issues we have to solve. So why are these social media companies, they're clearly profiting off something and we're not paying a dime by downloading them. And I believe that they're profiting off our addiction through the algorithms, through the AI that goes through and it sees what you're interested in and it makes it so hard that once you start scrolling, it makes it so hard to get off. Because you say, I want that extra sense of dopamine, I want to scroll one more time. And that just one more time turns into 10, 50, 100. And I think it just builds off itself and turns into a very harmful.

[Host/Moderator]

I often talk about how our culture, and you've seen this a lot, we build up antibodies, but before you build up an antibody to something, you have to get sick with it first, right? And you're seeing some of this conspiracy nonsense around Charlie's assassination. It's almost like it took us 10 months and the preliminary hearing for the social media of it at all to sort of start fighting back for the truth. But for 10 months, it was bleak, right? It's like, so you know what I hear you guys talking about with just social media in general? I thought that was a really good point you made, that your parents didn't grow up with it, so they didn't know how to necessarily teach the next generation. That was social media.

[Danny]

Natives, how to use it responsibly.

[Host/Moderator]

And that is a gaps like my parents taught me how to balance a checkbook. Nobody's balancing checkbooks anymore. They don't. You know, it's like that was.

[Erica]

They might not know what a checkbook is.

[Danny]

Exactly.

[Host/Moderator]

You guys don't even know what a checkbook is. But it's just. That's a really fascinating point. Like, how old are your guys parents? I'm just curious.

[Blake]

In 40s, 50s, 60s?

[Henrik Ellick]

50s.

[Host/Moderator]

Yeah. Okay, so Gen X parents.

[Charlie Kirk]

Okay.

[Host/Moderator]

This is all really, really fascinating. I think you just opened a lot of people's eyes to what you guys, your lived experience is. But let's talk about, let's talk about the politics of it all. Right, so Charlie was known for really impacting young men specifically and changing the way they saw politics in President Trump. President Trump had historic gains in 2024 with young men specifically, but those gains have fallen away. Why did that happen, first of all? And second of all, talk about what you guys are seeing about President Trump, about conservatives, mostly negative, mostly positive. And maybe you guys are conservatives, so speak about yourself, but also your wider friend groups. It doesn't matter where we start. How about we start here?

[Duke Denman]

Shoot. I don't think I have a good

[Henrik Ellick]

answer right off the bat.

[Charlie Kirk]

There you go.

[Blake]

Well,

[Danny]

the vibe around Trump, was it bad? Is it good?

[Blake]

I think that there's a sort of general movement on Instagram, for example, social media, when we talk about people who are more extreme gripers, people far right or leftist, Marxist, that sort of thing, really vitriolic, negative things are pushed. And whichever side that's from, that's what people typically see, I think. So I would say that for the most part, because the content that creates the most engagement is the most extreme, emotional extreme, the one that creates the most visceral reaction, because that's what gets views and clicks. It's just the way it is. I would say mostly negative things because to be honest, the positive things, sometimes they may seem more tame than a crazy accusation that's made. I mean, with conspiracy theories, like, if Candace Owens makes a crazy claim, you know that's going to get more views and more clicks because it's so outlandish.

[Danny]

I had the honor of a lifetime

[Host/Moderator]

to call Charlie a friend.

[Danny]

And what I remember most wasn't just

[Host/Moderator]

what people saw on stage. It was what was behind the scenes.

[Danny]

That was an unwavering commitment to his

[Host/Moderator]

faith, his love for his family, and

[Danny]

his genuine desire to encourage others to

[Host/Moderator]

live with courage and conviction. Charlie believed that following Christ wasn't something you compartmentalize.

[Danny]

He didn't put it in a box. He lived it out loud. It shaped how he lived, how he served, how he treated people every single day. Charlie Kirk, American Martyr, captures that heart. This documentary isn't just simply about remembering Charlie. It's an invitation for each of us to ask what kind of legacy we're

[Host/Moderator]

building and whether we're willing to stand

[Danny]

firm in our own faith when it's tested. I hope that you'll watch it with

[Host/Moderator]

your family and have those conversations together.

[Danny]

Go to angel.comkirk that's angel.comkirk Become an angel Guild member. Watch Charlie Kirk, American Martyr, and help

[Host/Moderator]

bring more stories of faith, courage and conviction to audiences around the world.

[Duke Denman]

I would say specifically, objectively false content, specifically around President Trump is so high on Instagram, specifically. So I have friends that are, do not love President Trump as much as I do, and they will send me reels all the time, and I will instantly go look it up and see if that's true. It's just objectively false. And it happened just. I would say specifically Trump with Epstein. Oh, yeah, that's maybe the number. Tons of AI photos that people think are real. Fake stories, fake documents from the Epstein files that say Trump was on the island all the time. I see it and my friends believe it, and it's awful. And I think that that has contributed

[Host/Moderator]

a lot of misinformation.

[Erica]

It's remarkable that you say that. Just also because I wanted to ask what issues they care most about and is it. Is this what's standing out? Like, they'll say, my top political issue is Epstein justice or take down the Epstein.

[Duke Denman]

A lot of my friends would say

[Jack Robertson]

that, yes, Epstein like justice, but it's just people, they want to know there's almost like a taboo around Epstein. And with the files, people heard that there's extras left, right? And they weren't all released. And so people think that they're protecting people in power, right? And a lot of times that's Trump.

[Duke Denman]

Right?

[Jack Robertson]

And so I think almost there is a. There's just like a. There's a taboo around it. And so people talk about it more and then they cause. And then it causes discourse. And then people make things up now, too, to be like, oh, well, this actually released, but it did not.

[Blake]

And it gets more views.

[Duke Denman]

And I would add, specifically on the Trump Epstein thing, it's. It's not all totally fake, like Trump saying that the Epstein files were a Democrat hoax that totally fed into it and let it led it to be even more. When we know that's not true.

[Host/Moderator]

So what he. Yeah, what he was specifically referring to. And actually I was. JD Said this pretty well in an event that I was with him at. He was saying that the. The hoax. He. He meant, like, the pursuit of coming after him was the hoax. Right. Because they didn't do this when Joe Biden was president. And all of a sudden it became this, like, you know, this driver. So that's what he was getting at. But, yeah, he wasn't saying that Epstein, in and of itself, was a hoax.

[Blake]

Well, and just like here, I think the meanings are misconstrued. So a lot of people don't realize that. And that's another issue, because when there's not clarity, people run with what may not be true. Maybe it's true, maybe it isn't. They don't know. But people run with things. And that can be difficult because, I mean, right here, I think that's a perfect example of that. Like, I'm in the same boat now with that explanation. That makes sense. But a lot of people, especially those who are less engaged in politics, let's say, I don't think that they consider that deeply. Some of the stuff they hear. So they'll hear some crazy headline or something, and they'll internalize that and then just be like, okay, that's my politics.

[Danny]

We saw this.

[Host/Moderator]

We saw this with the. This video of Charlie at Aspen, right? You guys probably heard about that story where he was asked, you know, what the succession plan for Turning Point was. So then Erica had it as part of her intro video at Women's Leadership Summit. And then I said something along the lines of, we decided to troll the trolls. Meaning the trolls were like,

[Blake]

you don't

[Erica]

want to just let them have.

[Host/Moderator]

So we released it on our terms. And so as a troll to the troll, the Internet took that as we

[Danny]

released an AI video.

[Host/Moderator]

Like, somehow. And then it became this thing. And then it was, like on PBD's

[Danny]

podcast, and they were so mad at

[Host/Moderator]

us for, you know, and, like, we dealt with it and we, like, corrected

[Danny]

it, but I couldn't believe how far

[Host/Moderator]

it, like, so you'd ask Grok, and Grok would say, yeah, it's an AI video. And we're like, how did this.

[Danny]

Like, it wasn't. I never said it was an AI video.

[Erica]

How bad is it? I want to throw out how bad is it? Where someone. If you assert something, someone will just outsource. Like, oh, here's the. Here's the AI. I Asked AI to think for me

[Logan Hammond]

it's like your generation would understand this of people just reading the headlines. Now imagine if the headlines were just all you saw. People are just reading a meme ified version of the headlines and let's say you accidentally made a slip up in what you said that is instantly being clipped. Like before if it was in the newspaper. You can't just go out and take like one segment of somebody accidentally mispronouncing a word. But now it's the clipped version.

[Jack Robertson]

Yeah.

[Henrik Ellick]

And that brings up such an important point because I think where my generation gets their news from is social media. And I actually asked Shaw before I came out here, I said weird question but where did Charlie get his news from? Because I really wanted to get that information because to be honest I don't know what to believe online anymore because the limit of entry to go on social media and post content there is

[Host/Moderator]

not the barrier of anyone can do it, anybody can do it.

[Henrik Ellick]

Yeah. And when you bring up headlines there can be a headline and it has nothing to do with a relevant story. It can be totally unrelated. Which is the concern I see because I just want a way to get straight news that is all about facts and we don't have that in our generation.

[Blake]

I read an article the other day that was about recently there's an incident with ICE where there was an illegal immigrant who was being arrested. He drove and tried to run over the ICE agent and was shot. And it was talking about how all of these headlines were talking about father of how many people who's been working in Houston for 35 years building homes is shot in terrible incident. And then you read five paragraphs down and at that point they're like oh, he was trying to kill the guy. But people who read the headlines or just read the first paragraph don't see

[Host/Moderator]

that there is a huge felt need that I'm just like. I'm realizing of just like a. It's like a full time. I'm not committing to us doing this but like they're. Maybe we should of just like seeing the new like disinformation that like your generation the tail end of Gen Z. By the way we talk about Gen Z.

[Danny]

You guys, you're at the very end.

[Host/Moderator]

There's only a few more years of Gen Z then we're already at Gen Alpha.

[Blake]

That's right.

[Jack Robertson]

Yeah.

[Host/Moderator]

So like all this is blowing my mind.

[Erica]

I have to know what's going on.

[Danny]

But the point is of seeing this

[Host/Moderator]

stuff that you guys are getting fed and then Somebody basically doing videos of like, this is what the kids are seeing. Here's what actually is the truth. Because it sounds like you guys are just literally don't know where to go for truth and.

[Van LeMay]

Sorry. The thing that I am finding most concerning for the right, for the conservative movement is it's. Unfortunately, I think it's come with the passing of Charlie is Charlie was the bedrock of the conservative movement. He was what felt like kept everything together. And now it's fragmented. We have all these different fights. We've got Candace and Shapiro and Tom.

[Blake]

It appears that way at least.

[Van LeMay]

And so it's so difficult now for the conservative movement because there's so many people, and especially the younger generation that are hearing this from them and hearing that from them. And now we have a conservative movement that's completely divided and it's. It's absolutely terrible to see.

[Host/Moderator]

I would love to submit that some of those names you just mentioned are actually liberals, but you think that they at least used to be associated on some level with conservatives.

[Erica]

But anyways, some of this is a little black pilling and Charlie says we can't black pill. So. I know another culture I've seen that feels stronger among young men than it did in my own generation is there was at least a culture of maybe self improvement. Like guys who get really into the gym, for example.

[Blake]

Yeah, yeah, really into that.

[Erica]

Is that still going with guys?

[Van LeMay]

That's a positivity for sure.

[Blake]

It's big.

[Jack Robertson]

I mean, there's influencers and their whole thing is looks maxing.

[Van LeMay]

Yeah, right.

[Host/Moderator]

Making your say some of the names, the big names.

[Van LeMay]

Clavicular.

[Henrik Ellick]

Take advice from that.

[Van LeMay]

Andrew Tate.

[Host/Moderator]

So you guys gonna like

[Blake]

that?

[Erica]

But even without the one of them that just came out, one of them died, apparently because he was injecting gold into himself and he went insane.

[Van LeMay]

So I think that goes back to this online culture. That's unreal. It's a false reality. And these people are watching it, sitting in their living room saying, wow, I'd love to do that. But they have no ambition, they have no drive. And they're looking at this and it just makes them feel sad.

[Logan Hammond]

When you.

[Van LeMay]

When you see someone like Clav who is on like ungodly looking and just like. I mean, his chin. His chin is like. It looks like a knife. When you see that and you're sitting on your. No, I'm serious.

[Charlie Kirk]

When you're.

[Van LeMay]

When you're sitting on your couch without purpose, without drive, you see that? And that's what. That's why we have these suicide Rates, especially in young men.

[Logan Hammond]

It's a huge issue. And people, this is where I think the beginning of the apathy came from was when you first started having any type of, you know, social media because it gave you an essence of somebody being in their real life. But actually they're showing this glamor fied version of their life. And I think even for me it's hard. It's great being at this chapter leadership summit because I see some of these chapter presidents, I look at their chapters and they're huge. And I'm like, oh my gosh, I wish my chapter was like that. Then you meet them and you're like, we're honestly like the same type of person. And then I meet 20, 30 more chapter presidents for that one that have the exact same size chapter as me or less with the same struggles. And that's just what personally I'm experiencing here is like you honestly feel like you're with real people who have the same struggles as you. But when you have this social media where you know, the person who is, you know, we talked about the extremes go viral. The average person doesn't go viral. It's when they do something that is not average and people will use things to make that artificially happen. And I think that's one of the biggest issues in our dating culture right now is people's standards are so high because of what they see on the Internet. People's standards for themselves, they don't try to pursue them because they're so atrociously high that they just seem to unpursuable.

[Host/Moderator]

I think that's a really good insight. I, I think you're talking in broad strokes. You could call it conspiracy culture too. Sort of disinformation culture.

[Van LeMay]

These people are synonymous with the same, like it's the same circles. Like if you look at clavicular, they're, they're interacting with some of these people that are promoting these conspiracies, promoting all these different things. It's, it's kind of the same clavicular.

[Logan Hammond]

And Nick Fuentes did a lot of content together.

[Van LeMay]

Yeah.

[Blake]

And Andrew Tate, you know what? I think Gen Z has a fear of commitment. And because there's a fear of commitment to, let's say, religion, faith, having a relationship with God, for example, that absence, that hole in somebody's soul gets filled

[Host/Moderator]

by all this stuff.

[Blake]

It gets filled by all this stuff.

[Danny]

What about Israel

[Van LeMay]

we're addressing here? What about Israel? Exactly.

[Host/Moderator]

Exactly. Yeah, I mean it's, we're talking about conspiracy culture. Listen, I have very complex views. I find Jew hate to be extraordinarily evil, but I have policy differences with Israel and I'm America first, for example, so I'll just put that out there. But it's. There's no denying that, especially for younger people, it has become the catch all. Like, you know, Zeusberg, you know, it's like juiceberging is literally what happens online for, like, it's 90% of the wedge issue that I see. So what are you seeing around the Israel topic for people that. Let's just say there's a boomer watching Gen Xer.

[Van LeMay]

Okay.

[Host/Moderator]

Boomer. That wants to understand what you guys actually think about Israel. What you're perceiving the vibe is about Israel in your generation.

[Danny]

Tell them.

[Blake]

I'm really glad you brought that up because we were actually talking about this outside. We knew this would get brought up. We were certain of it. And the reason why is so many people. I mean, so many people will automatically default to. If. If they don't fully understand something, blame Israel.

[Host/Moderator]

The Jews did it.

[Jack Robertson]

And I think it goes back to the meme culture too. Like, the Israel memes are more than Charlie, more than Epstein. Like, they are all over the place. Whether it's saying Israel owns Trump, whether it's saying this happened because of Israel or whatever the case might be. It almost. People are defaulting to it now.

[Host/Moderator]

And when it's like the catch all. Yes, exactly. I get cornered in a debate. Well, of course you would say that because you're a Zio shill.

[Jack Robertson]

Exactly. And because it's being normalized now, it's into the way people think and they see it online and then it starts to influence their mind. And so it's like maybe they weren't. They had no problem with Israel, but now they see all the memes and they start to believe the falseness and the. Whatever the case might be now they're like, oh, well, this business went bankrupt because of them, or whatever the case might be.

[Erica]

Does this even have a.

[Henrik Ellick]

And obviously that's morally wrong. And I will. You know, we've had issues like that in our country, and that's something that is obvious. But also, like, to address the boomers, I would first say America is the greatest country to ever exist. We all around this table agree with that.

[Blake]

Absolutely.

[Henrik Ellick]

However, we face some very key issues in our nation right now, and I think we need to focus domestically first before we get involved in foreign policy. And I think that's. That's the biggest thing within my generation. Yeah, it's because we've grown up in a society that needs help, and we get frustrated when we see help going to other nations, when it's not being focused on us.

[Blake]

Yeah.

[Erica]

The question I was going to ask, since you mentioned, since it is everything like a business goes under and they say Israel did it or whatever, is there even a policy expression of this meme? Like, does this translate to any actual political demands? Or is it almost they blame the Jews or blame Israel the way you might otherwise blame, you know, gremlins or something?

[Blake]

There are a lot of people who. They'll joke about it and don't take it that seriously, but the jokes are so constant about Israel did this, Israel did that, that it honestly makes me start to think that maybe these people do believe that to a certain.

[Logan Hammond]

It started a problem. A lot of people, you know, because of the reason Trump won in 2024 is clearly because young men like us were unheard. We were attacked by the left. If you are straight, if you are white, if you are a male, if you are all three, you are their worst enemy. You are the scum of the earth. You are kicked out.

[Duke Denman]

You're.

[Logan Hammond]

You are just berated. And you are the worst person in their lives. And if you add on being a Christian and being a conservative, you're deplorable. You're there. They think that we should be shot, and they carry that out on Charlie. But then they go, and some of us has posted a picture in front of the pick up the mic stand and they go, and they say, you need to be kirked.

[Jack Robertson]

I mean, last night we were at the baseball game, two girls got pushed down a stairway by an angry attendee. And then she ran out of the stadium. And I don't know, I think the girls are okay, but, like, they got pushed down a stairwell because they were in a freedom shirt.

[Duke Denman]

Yeah. Like, somebody told some of my friends that they should be kirked and then pointed to their neck right here in a very clear attempt to say that. And then someone else was rude to me about it.

[Jack Robertson]

Yeah.

[Blake]

It's a removal from also at the game.

[Duke Denman]

This is at the game last night.

[Van LeMay]

Yes. And to say. To say to the older audience, by the way, because you guys keep saying it, and to even you guys, that's a verbal. To get kirked. That's a verb. That is a verbed that people use literally, like, to refer to assassination. They will say Kirk started with Luigi

[Host/Moderator]

Mangione and the United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, I think is his name.

[Duke Denman]

Yeah.

[Host/Moderator]

And you pulled this. And it's something like between 18 and 39 self described liberals. It's basically almost 30% believe that political violence is okay.

[Charlie Kirk]

Yeah.

[Host/Moderator]

So it's distinctly had a huge ramp up with young people that are progressive

[Logan Hammond]

and I'm concerned at how much it's ramping up. And young, younger conservatives who are, they're, they're not truly anti Semitic. I hope you guys know that. They are. There's, there are some, but that is a minority that leads the thoughts and their, their sheep that follow that. And they just hear it. And so then when they hear, actually there weren't 6 million Jews, there were only 200,000 that were killed in the Holocaust. And people, people tell me, Logan, that's a fact. I said, where did you hear it? Well, there was this Instagram reel and I'm like, I tell them, stop listening to the reels, do your research. That is, there are so many people that you can go and talk to who are Holocaust survivors who will tell you about that pain and if it gives them a dose of reality for a moment and they're, they're upset about what's going on. But then they hear that Benjamin Netanyahu controls Trump, that a lot of them, something that's really misinformed right now is they're telling people that we're in Iran because of Israel. Like that's the big talking point right now. When I will talk to them and point to so many other reasons why we're in Iran outside of Israel. And I take the Matt Walsh approach on the Israeli topic. I'm America first and I think that we should aid our allies when they need aid, when it benefits us. But a lot of people feel ignored and then they go to the extreme.

[Henrik Ellick]

I think it's important to make a key differential here between Israel, the Israeli people, the Jewish people and the Israeli government very much. When I say I'm America first, that's not me saying I'm anti Israel at all. I have disagreements with the Israeli government personally. That's my personal stance. I've seen things in this war. For example, I'm not convinced that they want this war to end the war that we are in in Iran. That goes.

[Host/Moderator]

So when JD is pursuing the mou.

[Danny]

Correct.

[Host/Moderator]

You see some consternation and hand wringing from the Israeli government.

[Henrik Ellick]

Absolutely.

[Host/Moderator]

That's what you're getting at.

[Henrik Ellick]

Yeah, that or you know last week how there was the story of United States and Iranian negotiators were coming to meet and there was supposedly a plot to assassinate the Iranian negotiators I don't know if that's necessarily been confirmed yet. So I'm cautious when I say that. But we have to make that differential because I'm not seeing that differential being made. And I think that's why so many boomers are like, what are you guys talking about? Is because we're not necessarily talking about the people. Some people are. And some people are being anti Semitic about it, and they're saying, it's the Israelis, it's the Jews, it's all that. That's not the case. I'm specifically talking about the Israeli government, and I think it's very important we make that differential.

[Host/Moderator]

And by the way, I just want to underscore that's my position as well. And I think it's so critically important to this discussion. And I know this mattered a lot to Charlie. You are not anti Semitic if you. If you have policy difference differences with Israel, if you want to see the war end, if you want us to stop giving them federal, you know, funds every year. Right. There's basically an ongoing annuity of about $4 billion that we send to Israel, which, yeah, in the whole scheme of the federal government is kind of a drop in the bucket, but it's still very symbolically important. You're not anti Semitic if you have

[Danny]

questions about a lot of things. Right.

[Host/Moderator]

And I think that where this dialogue first broke down is that there was a jump by groups like the ADL and even some conservative Jewish people or allies of Israel to castigate everybody as anti Semitic that just had honest questions or had honesty, honest policy disagreements. And I just really, really want to make that clear, that that is not okay, actually, and it's contributed to making this such a toxic conversation.

[Danny]

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[Host/Moderator]

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[Danny]

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[Erica]

This is maybe wishcasting on my part, but I have seen some people online opine that they think antisemitism is becoming more, to use the slang term, cringe.

[Host/Moderator]

Yes.

[Erica]

Because the people who most energetically push it are really, obviously really stupid.

[Host/Moderator]

Well, there was actually a Babylon B. I haven't seen many Babylon B headlines lately, actually, but I happened to get this one sent to me because it was about Candace. And it was like, Candace is actually an Israeli op to make anti Semitism look retarded. And I was like, that's really funny, actually.

[Charlie Kirk]

And I.

[Host/Moderator]

Do you talk to some of these, like, OG anti semites from, like, who's OG? It's been going on for 10 years. People who are more into it. Yeah. In, like, 2016, like Trump 1.0. Right. And a lot of these guys kind of got washed out of this, like, ideology, and now they're just, like, looking at it as kind of like, low IQ sloth. And, like, are you seeing any turn of the corner in this stuff at all yet?

[Van LeMay]

You know, I think that people are starting to fade out. I think that. And this is probably a scary thing that people are willing to say that Jews are all terrible people because of a trend, and now the trend's fading and they're not, which is terrifying. That's. That is even scarier in itself that the trend is fading. So now people don't agree with it because these people are willing to say atrocious things just because they're sheep, just for a trend and just for sheep. But it's also on the more pro Israel side, I mean, like, the ideas that have been pushed forward, that saying Christ is king is anti Semitic. I mean, it's going so far on both sides when truly in the conservative space. This is Nicolas Fuentes and this is Ben Shapiro. It's probably more in the middle.

[Host/Moderator]

And even Fuentes is calling it low iq antisemitism sloth.

[Duke Denman]

Right.

[Host/Moderator]

Anybody else? So you said you see it kind

[Danny]

of maybe fading a little bit.

[Van LeMay]

I think it's fading, but I think that it's still really strong. Yeah, strong.

[Host/Moderator]

Do you see any change?

[Logan Hammond]

I've seen it in the arguments and conversations. I have people that it's fading. They've started to still try to insinuate the ideas, but then they are so scared to tell me where they heard it, because if they say, well, I heard it from Candace Owens clip, I'm like, candace Owens, consider this up. And then they're like, yeah. And I'm like, come on, do you have another source? And you're like, you kind of have a point.

[Danny]

Well, and this is where it's true.

[Host/Moderator]

There is nuance, and there should be nuance in this. AIPAC is very influential. You know how I know that is because you have guys like Ted Cruz and others that, that, that openly sort of say these things. And I don't, for the life of

[Danny]

me, I don't understand, you know, why

[Host/Moderator]

they say some of this stuff.

[Danny]

But there's also truth on the other

[Host/Moderator]

side that, like, you know, 0.02% of the world's population can't be responsible for every single ill either. Right? And so it's like, I wish we could have an adult conversation about this, but we're talking about social media and the kids, so, you know, it's like the nuance is obviously lost.

[Danny]

Do you guys see. See it? To Blake's point, is this wish casting

[Host/Moderator]

or do you see it kind of like, normalizing?

[Jack Robertson]

Antisemitism? Normalizing?

[Danny]

Yeah, like.

[Host/Moderator]

Like. No, I mean mating, because. Yeah.

[Danny]

Is it.

[Host/Moderator]

Is it getting cringe?

[Jack Robertson]

And like, I think so, because I think going back to the memes, I don't want to, like, keep talking about them, but, like, the more brain rot it becomes, the more like, just typical and the silly.

[Host/Moderator]

It's like they jump the shark.

[Jack Robertson]

Exactly.

[Host/Moderator]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you guys.

[Duke Denman]

A common thread of everything we've talked about on social media, whether it be Israel or anything else, is that everything we're talking about is extremely low substance. There is no actual substantive argument to any of this. It is all just a meme, a headline. There's no points to it. There's nothing to back it up. There's no evidence that applies to everywhere here. And the thing is, if we can convince our generation that your burden of. The burden of proof to convince you of something needs to be a lot higher than.

[Host/Moderator]

I totally agree. This is what we found with this whole, like, Charlie Kirk conspiracy stuff, too, is like, almost all of the allegations in the conspiracy slop have are just completely baseless. There's no evidence. There's no proof. And they. Then what they do is they put the burden of proof on you, and it's like, no, no, no, no, no.

[Danny]

You came with the allegation.

[Host/Moderator]

The burden of proof is on you. Crazy goalposts.

[Danny]

Yes.

[Host/Moderator]

And Then they'll. Exactly. So I think when I talk about we build antibodies to this, like you as young men that are going to be steeped in this, and in this space, you have to remember that there is a burden of proof. I mean, our whole justice system is based around it. You know, recklessly smearing people is a really gross thing to do. And that's basically what it sounds like the Internet's become. So I don't know how much time we have left, but we probably have to get close to wrapping up soon. But the point of politics, right? Let's bring it home here. President Trump was gaining popularity. Then Epstein happened. Midnight Hammer happened. Second, Iran strikes happened. Lost a lot of. You know, you could see it from the podcast, whether it's Joe Rogan, Theo Vaughn, or whatever, right? He lost some of this coalition that had supported him in 2024. What can bring it back?

[Henrik Ellick]

Ending this war before the midterms? I think it's quite simple. I think what frustrates Americans so much right now is the economy.

[Duke Denman]

Mm.

[Henrik Ellick]

I'm not content with the current state of the economy, and polls show that the American people, specifically Gen Z, is not either. Now, I think if we end this war in Iran, we will see the economy trend in a positive direction immediately. I'm not saying everything will get better with the snap of a finger, but I think if President Trump goes in and ends this war before the midterms, I still think we can see success when it comes to our next election.

[Host/Moderator]

Okay, so you think it's economic?

[Henrik Ellick]

I do.

[Host/Moderator]

And what about Epstein? What about Epstein?

[Van LeMay]

What I see with it is cultural and kind of back to what you were just talking about Charlie. So my. To give some background for me, my. My dad was there the day Charlie passed. He's the head women's soccer coach at uvu. And there were some people that we knew in the audience that were accused of killing Charlie by Candace. And so these conspiracies that are getting so far, I do think if we handle this properly, some people are going to start awaking to these conspiracies and start saying, you know what? Maybe Candace is too far. And maybe. Here's the thing about Candace. Candace, if you're listening, last week you're telling me that Israel did it, and this week you're telling me a random person in the audience did. Where is your baseline? Where's your knowledge, and what's your story? If someone says, I agree with her, who do they agree with?

[Erica]

Which episode?

[Van LeMay]

Yeah, which. Which episode? Which state of mind do you agree with. And I think that we can find some rationality. And I think if we push forward common sense, hopefully, and not. And when I say common sense, I don't think the best way to go forward is say, you know what? The left is so crazy. Let's go so far, right? How about we break it down like Charlie did, get a little bit more common sense and then we can hopefully defeat these people that are trying to push forward these absolutely insane rhetoric and that cultural change will change everything. Culture is the epicenter of political life.

[Erica]

I want to hear from the rest of you on what can be done to reassemble the coalition.

[Duke Denman]

Even in part, I think Henrik's point, I agree with a lot of that. I think it goes into something that Charlie really talked about, which was the renting culture. And I think that that's something that our generation, especially as we start to live on our own, that's something that we're really gonna face. Right? So the average age of home, first time home home ownership in America is now 41.

[Erica]

Saw that.

[Logan Hammond]

It's insane.

[Van LeMay]

It's insane.

[Duke Denman]

So we're just renting. Like I was, I was talking to these guys earlier. Like, if you're renting a home and you ding a hole in the wall, you don't really care. It's not yours to deal with. It doesn't hurt your property value. But if you own a home, you're, you want to fix that hole in your wall, right? I think that that funnels all the way down to even voting, right? So if you own something, if you have a family, if you have things that really matter, you are going to be incentivized to participate in your culture. Whereas if you're not, you just, you just don't really care.

[Blake]

Yeah, Gen Z has a dearth of purpose. I think that's what a lot of this boils down to. We've got cultural issues, there's economic problems that are current that people see and they check out. They don't like what's happening. Of course. I think we all feel that there is a hole in so many people in their souls. I, you know, for me, I am so incredibly grateful that I have faith that I'm, I'm growing a stronger connection to God, to Jesus. That's, that's my rock. I'm able to know who I am and know that what will happen to me will be in the long run, a part of a greater plan, something bigger than myself. For people who don't fully commit themselves to something greater than that something, something metaphysical beyond what we are. I worry about the nihilism that comes from that because if I didn't have my faith I would be I think a completely different person because everything would seem meaningless. And there's a serious problem, I think with a lot of people still feeling like they are meaningless. And Charlie, you know, for me, he absolutely helped me to strengthen my faith, my conviction. And for people who don't have that same sort of connection, I frankly don't know what hope they have, what they can do.

[Host/Moderator]

What do you think can be done?

[Jack Robertson]

You know, I mean I don't.

[Host/Moderator]

What do you want to see be done?

[Jack Robertson]

Rogan or you know, Gen Z? I think a common thread I've seen is people feel like there's promises that were made by the administration whether it be Trump failing to release the Epstein files at first.

[Van LeMay]

Right.

[Jack Robertson]

Or the economy. I mean I had to pay 170 bucks to fill up my truck the other week.

[Duke Denman]

Right.

[Jack Robertson]

Like I don't think Gen Z likes to see that I shouldn't have to go. A burrito shouldn't be 25 bucks.

[Duke Denman]

Right.

[Jack Robertson]

I think Gen Z, it's economy. I really do think it goes back to the economy and just the quality of life because we were promised a, we were promised a good economy, sorry. We were promised low gas prices, low groceries. And I think if things like that start turning up, I really do think

[Host/Moderator]

it will turn up. So when we talk about that, do you think there's an understanding, just basic economics with Gen Z, for example, for example, you had, let's just say for round number's sake, 25% inflation in four years under Joe Biden. You can't turn that around and turn that off.

[Danny]

By the way, getting prices to drop

[Host/Moderator]

back down in some categories is probably never going to happen. Is there a basic understanding about or when you print all this money that it actually inflates asset prices but it makes people that don't own assets, that is Homes, equities, things like that, it makes them poorer because you know, it makes, makes normal basic goods more expensive like these kind of concepts. Are you guys, you're asking if Gen

[Erica]

Z knows this, does Congress know?

[Logan Hammond]

I mean I think you're getting to the point and I think that the Trump administration in almost all respects are doing an incredible job and falling to on a lot of promises. But the issue is in our present day age and the way the algorithm works is we're allowing the left because they are on a 24 7, 365 days a year election cycle. They have been campaigning for 2028 since the day after the election in 2024. What we have to do is, like any bad habit, you don't defeat it by just erasing it. You replace it. And so we need conservatives to. I think it's not what Trump can do. It's how can we show people what Trump is doing currently? Because there are so many championed things that you don't see. Unless you're a TPUSA student and you're reading the articles and you're having the conversations with people who know what is going on, and you're watching the right podcast, they don't have that. Students are just watching these baseless. And we know the left doesn't have the IQ to have some of these intelligent conversations. They just want to put out this slop, as we call it, the Internet slop. They want you to scroll and read that rather than actually knowing the truth. And if we could put on display the incredible things that Trump is doing in Gen Z language, like the Trump accounts, like, those are incredible. Let's put those on display more in a language that Gen Z can understand, and they'll see all the incredible things, and it will be replaced. It happened to 24.

[Henrik Ellick]

I agree. And look, let's look at this from a wide perspective. Under President Trump, you know, very low unemployment rate, stock market is doing extremely well right now. And I think the most important thing when we look into our future economic development within the past year and a half has done exceedingly well, and that contributes towards our future. Now, the moment that I believe that this war is done in Iran, I think that will have a positive impact on what I call the now economy, what we currently see. So what President Trump needs to focus on is. Is communicating to the American people that our top priority is getting this war in Iran over with. And I think that will really help support him with the independence. And a lot of the Republicans who voted for him who are upset with some of the policies he's put in

[Host/Moderator]

place because of that, specifically young men.

[Charlie Kirk]

Right.

[Host/Moderator]

The key of this conversation, I think, is, you know, young men were so enthusiastic. I'll never forget going around with Charlie in 2024. Blake remembers this. And to see a red hat. All these young men, like, basically being like, the other party is a bunch of weak ninnies like Kamala Harris. What are we gonna do here? Beta males. And then, like, Trump is, like, masculine and strong. He's gonna come through. But at some point, there was a disconnect, and I don't know if it was Epstein or if it was Charlie's passing. Yeah, Charlie's passing. Yeah, for sure. At least sustaining it. But we were already talking about this with Charlie. Charlie was very keenly aware after Epstein and Midnight Hammer that there was some of the support was flagging. Right. So, you know, I just. It's. You're saying. You're saying it's a messaging thing. You're saying it's getting back into the jet stream.

[Logan Hammond]

When two weeks before Charlie passed, I spoke to a leadership Congress, and my speech was about the work he did and how that has won us 2024, that won us the next generation. And at the end of that speech, I said, the entire purpose is to keep hope for a generation, to keep fighting because the cause is going on. I did not realize the work God was doing in my life at that moment, because two weeks later, when Charlie passed, it was a downstream effect that we started to lose this voice of unity and reason. And we spoke about it how, you know, how much a leader can change a movement. And I think we need to revive how Charlie did it. Like, I think we're fighting this fight within Turning Point, and it's just something we're having to learn as chapter leaders. How do we be like Charlie in our community? How did he do these things? And I think it's not following the clips of Charlie owning these very, very ignorant people. It's where he has the genuine conversations with the transgender student who is struggling with their identity and the person who's struggling with understanding why we're mistreating immigrants and the genuinely misinformed people who he just educated and had these important conversations. That's the movement, and that's why so many young men and young women followed him, was because he made you feel like you knew what was going on, and he let you know.

[Host/Moderator]

And he had an authority with his voice to people. So the white pill for me here, listening to you guys, is that there is so much green space here for people to speak the truth, to tell the truth to a generation that's getting lied to so much. Now, the how is a really interesting. And it was a really interesting challenge. I'm being told we need to wrap up. I have one last question for you. Just curious, as we look to 2028, you guys are conservative young men. Is there somebody that you're thinking that you would like to run for president in 2028? There's no right or wrong answer. I'm not trying to Vance or Rubio. I'm really Rubio, Vance or Rubio.

[Van LeMay]

I think we have a great Vikramaswamy.

[Logan Hammond]

Actually.

[Henrik Ellick]

There's a lot of time, but I'd say right now, Marco.

[Blake]

Yeah.

[Logan Hammond]

I feel like Ruby is leading, but I could see Vance taking it as well.

[Van LeMay]

Yeah, no, I. I think. I don't know if that's in the time now, but I would say Rubio more realistically.

[Host/Moderator]

Interesting. Well, that went slightly different than I anticipated. Do you feel like that's amongst your chapters?

[Logan Hammond]

Like it's a discussion.

[Host/Moderator]

It's a discussion.

[Jack Robertson]

I've had a couple conversations with people about that.

[Van LeMay]

Yeah.

[Jack Robertson]

Between the two of them, like, they're both really strong candidates. And so people. We've just gone back and forth.

[Host/Moderator]

So, like, kind of like a 50. 50.

[Henrik Ellick]

Yeah.

[Host/Moderator]

Is that what you say?

[Duke Denman]

Definitely.

[Host/Moderator]

And like. But it's. It's safe to say it's not negative on one or it's like positive on one.

[Blake]

It's because they're both positive. They're both strong figures, strong candidates, strong leaders.

[Duke Denman]

Anyone? Anyone who wants Rubio would be fine with dance.

[Blake]

Anyone who wants.

[Logan Hammond]

Yeah, it's more about tone. I think that somebody was explaining to me that they really like kind of the common sense tone that Marco brings to it. And then other people tell me they love how JD can get fired up and he can, you know, just own

[Host/Moderator]

someone he's really good at. They're both really good, actually. But JD has really impressed me with his going into enemy territory. Like, the view was amazing.

[Erica]

And they both have high quality meme templates.

[Host/Moderator]

Yeah, exactly.

[Henrik Ellick]

They do.

[Jack Robertson]

I love Marco's shoes.

[Host/Moderator]

Have you seen that?

[Blake]

Yes. What job is Marco gonna have this shoe every day?

[Henrik Ellick]

He's great.

[Jack Robertson]

And JD.

[Henrik Ellick]

JD's still young. And the reason I said Marco as of right now is because JD can do great things in our Senate. JD can connect to Gen Z very well. And I think he may even be able to do more positive work on the outside than in the inside. Because gen Z respects J.D. vance so much. And I think Marco. I think he's even keeled. I think he's very professional. But to be honest, I think we're all content with whether it's JD or Rubio. I think they're two great candidates who we would have.

[Host/Moderator]

What if it was JD and Marco? I'm just.

[Van LeMay]

We are extremely optimistic.

[Duke Denman]

Looking at us where we have a great slate of candidates and then looking at the Democrats.

[Host/Moderator]

Put Mom, Dottie up there.

[Van LeMay]

Bananas and rice.

[Logan Hammond]

I think that should just be their campaign slogan.

[Host/Moderator]

I think this is a great way to end it because the. The future is bright. Charlie always believed in that. As Blake said, he did not believe in black pilling. That was our one rule on the show. No black pilling ever. And, you know, and I will say that JD's just been phenomenal honoring Charlie, and I really respect the heck out of him for that.

[Van LeMay]

Yeah.

[Host/Moderator]

Anyways, guys, this was really fantastic stuff.

[Blake]

Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you.

[Host/Moderator]

I have to get the band back together next year at cls. This was a fun one.

[Van LeMay]

I love it.

[Charlie Kirk]

I love it.

[Van LeMay]

Let's do it.

[Host/Moderator]

All right, guys.

[Charlie Kirk]

Guys.

[Host/Moderator]

Talk to you guys soon.

[Henrik Ellick]

For more on many of these stories

[Logan Hammond]

and news you can Trust, go to charliekirk.com.