133. Erika Kirk is Indoctrinating Youth into Christian Nationalism

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Tim & April Show, Ep. 133

Title: Erika Kirk is Indoctrinating Youth into Christian Nationalism
Date: July 28, 2026
Hosts: Tim Whitaker & April Ajoy (The New Evangelicals)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Tim and April offer a live reaction and critical analysis of Erika Kirk’s recent speech at the Turning Point USA Chapter Leadership Summit. The discussion centers on how Kirk frames her message to young conservative leaders, the language of Christian nationalism evident throughout, and the broader impact of such rhetoric on evangelical youth culture. The hosts break down the problematic aspects of Kirk’s worldview—especially her take on grief, marriage, gender, and “spiritual battle”—and place it in the context of evangelical politics and culture war strategies.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Context & Setup

• The hosts introduce Erika Kirk's speech, delivered to 16-26 year-old Turning Point USA chapter leaders (02:13).
• Kirk is filling the public speaking role after her husband Charlie Kirk's assassination, which the hosts note is significant considering Turning Point’s traditionally patriarchal gender roles (05:17).

"Turning Point is very pro women-stay-home, just get a husband, raise your children. So being on this stage is in contradiction to a lot of Turning Point’s talking points."
— April (05:27)

2. Erika Kirk’s Framing of Suffering and Commitment

• Kirk repeatedly references grief over her husband and casts perseverance as "fighting Satan" (07:28).
• Manipulation through spiritual warfare rhetoric: ordinary doubts/fatigue are framed as the "devil" at work (10:13).

“You have the Internet coming after you ... what do you do? You wake up that next morning, you put on the armor of God, and you keep going.”
— Erika Kirk (08:27)

• The hosts critique this:
  • Dismisses real mental health needs as spiritual weakness (11:27).
  • Links any opposition or challenge, even legitimate pushback, to spiritual attack—a common evangelical control tactic.

3. Charlie Kirk’s Legacy and Indoctrination

• Kirk invokes her husband posthumously as a divine instrument and urges students to view their activism as spiritual warfare (12:45, 13:17).
• Tim and April highlight the dangerous consequences:
  • Recasting Charlie Kirk’s racist, homophobic statements as “God-ordained” (13:17, 13:50).
  • Encouraging young people to equate hate-driven talking points with the gospel.

“Those kids in there are going to then equate the very racist, harmful, and hateful rhetoric that Charlie Kirk used all the time as God-level … giving all of those kids permission to then be racist.”
— April (13:33)

4. Marriage, Gender, and Submission

• Kirk’s marriage advice: claims blissful, “lockstep” marriages are God’s design, founded on wifely submission (14:13–17:44).

“When you find the one God has made for you ... you will be so in lockstep with one another there is no daylight or separation.”
— Erika Kirk (14:13)

• Hosts note the hypocrisy:
  • While promoting “submission,” Kirk herself pursues a public career—benefiting from feminist progress even as she denounces it (16:02–17:02).
  • Parallels with historical figures like Phyllis Schlafly (16:40).

5. Manipulative Analogies & Grooming Language

• Kirk equates women outside of marriage to “broken stained glass”—implying inherent incompleteness (21:04).
• Marriage advice directed at 16-year-olds is slammed as “groomish” and irresponsible (20:52–20:55).

“If you're a woman who's not married, you're like useless stained glass windows without a building. You're not just useless, you're broken glass.”
— April & Tim (21:47, 21:55)

6. Turning Point USA’s Organizing Strategy and Expansion

• Kirk describes the organization as “a big tent, not that big, but big” and outlines new programs targeting childhood through adulthood (32:29–43:09).
• Notable:
  • 12,000+ churches in TPUSA Faith network (38:32).
  • “Covert” proselytizing in “the darkest portions” of the country (39:02).

“They're not going out to suburbia... that's code for going into black and brown and maybe like Muslim majority areas...”
— Tim (39:36)

• Hosts connect this to “Seven Mountain Mandate” ideas, the deliberate cultural infiltration through covert Christian leadership (40:00–40:54).

7. Preparation for Persecution Complex

• Kirk prepares students to receive pushback as “spiritual warfare” (58:03–59:09), directly coaching them to ignore criticism and label opponents as agents of “evil” or the “enemy.”
• Notoriously, she lists “a trans, a gender confused person, a Muslim,” among those who may oppose them, conflating mere disagreement (or standing up for rights) with demonic opposition (60:31).

8. Debate, Dialogue, and Apologetics as Indoctrination

• Kirk claims to value “debate, dialogue, civil discourse,” but April and Tim point out this really amounts to “teaching talking points,” not critical thinking or real curiosity (48:57–50:09).
• "You are not taught to understand; you're taught to defend"—the difference between education and propaganda.

9. The False Gospel of Christian Nationalism

• Hosts repeatedly emphasize that Kirk never references the teachings of Jesus—love, forgiveness, “the least of these”—instead offering a gospel of culture war, division, and self-righteous victimhood (62:19–62:47).
• The real-world impact: youth are “indoctrinated” into believing they are “spiritual warriors,” justified in denigrating outsiders.

“As someone who was indoctrinated, I know … they are convinced the God of all things has chosen them to fight the demonic forces of the world.”
— Tim (63:59)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Weaponizing Grief:
  “It's really interesting for her to be, like, using her husband's assassination as a bedrock point for these kids to fight the devil.”
  — Tim (09:41)

• On Marriage Rhetoric:
  “Her idea of marriage too, and being locked in, is the wife submitting to the husband. What she's saying without saying is, wives ... as long as you obey.”
  — April (15:44)

• On Hypocrisy:
  “These people benefit from feminism while attacking feminism.”
  — Tim (17:02)

• On Indoctrination:
  “They are training … children, 16-year-olds, very young people to go into college campuses … and debate strangers. While saying incredibly offensive and bigoted things.”
  — April (61:33)

• On the Persecution Complex:
  “If you get pushback, that's Satan, that's the enemy. Because you're actually just standing up for the gospel.”
  — April (62:04)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:13] – Introduction to Erika Kirk’s TPUSA speech, context around her role, and overview of summit demographic.
• [07:28] – Kirk’s rhetorical shift to “spiritual warfare,” framing all adversity as fighting Satan.
• [13:17] – Discussion of how Charlie Kirk’s most inflammatory statements are recast as “God’s will.”
• [14:13] – Kirk’s marriage advice; hosts dissect the false promises of “lockstep” evangelical marriage.
• [21:04] – Kirk’s cathedral/stained glass analogy for marriage and womanhood.
• [32:29] – TPUSA’s multipronged youth and adult outreach strategies, including covert proselytizing (39:02).
• [58:03] & [60:31] – Kirk’s viral “enemy” speech: direct coaching to treat pushback from “trans, gender confused, or Muslim” individuals as demonic, not human.
• [61:33] – Wrap-up: hosts summarize the harm in this approach and reframe what real gospel work looks like.

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Conclusion & Final Thoughts

Tim and April conclude by warning listeners—especially any young TPUSA followers who may be tuning in—that they themselves were once susceptible to this type of rhetoric, and that it's never too late to question, leave, or change one’s mind. They contrast the freedom and inclusivity found outside of Christian nationalist ideology with the perpetual fear and division sown inside movements like TPUSA.

“It’s so much more beautiful on this side of things … It’s so freeing not to have to hate people or be afraid.”
— Tim (66:03)

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For Listeners Who Want More

• Easter Egg: If you listened through the whole episode, email [e-mail] with the code word “erica3ks” for a shoutout in a future show (67:07).
• Recommended Reading: Kristin Kobes Du Mez’s forthcoming book on the history of evangelical womanhood and Christian nationalism (18:10).

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Summary compiled for those who want to stay informed on faith, politics, and culture—without enduring the indoctrination.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

I am Tim Whitaker.

[A]

Look at us.

[B]

Look at us.

[A]

Today, we are going to watch and react and respond to Erica Kirk's speech at the Turning Point USA chapter leadership Summit that, as of this airing, would have happened like a week and a half ago, maybe two weeks ago.

[B]

The YouTube video says eight days ago.

[A]

Okay. So it would have been a couple weeks ago by the time this airs. There were a couple clips that were going around that were pretty viral, and we thought, well, let's just watch the whole thing and respond to it. So we're. It's. The, The. The full speech on YouTube is like, wait, wait, wait.

[B]

Oh, if you say that we're gonna lose people, they're gonna tune out. We gotta. We can't tell how long it is. We gotta bait them into. We keep going.

[A]

Thank you. Full speech. We don't know how long.

[B]

No idea. No idea.

[A]

We're just gonna see how far we can get.

[B]

Yeah, I really don't think we're gonna make it 50 minutes, I'm gonna be honest. For many, many reasons. So we. What we did was we're gonna put this video on 1.25 speed because Erica Kirk is not the most engaging speaker in the world. And a lot of pauses, a lot of weird pauses.

[A]

So let's watch this up to, like, one and a half.

[B]

Let's find out. Let's start at 1.25. This is her speaking to, like, these kids are about 16 to 26.

[A]

Yeah. So this. So this is the leadership students that lead different turning point chapters, whether that's in a high school or a college. And so the summit, it says, are for those who are actively enrolled students and fall within the age range of 16 to 26. So these are, like young, young, young,

[B]

barely drive to their prefrontal core brain, whatever cortex just developed that. That. That's the range. Okay. All right, here we go. Oh, like. And subscribe. Thank you. Oh, wow.

[A]

This is no fireworks. Okay?

[B]

Erica, erica, erica. All right, here we go.

[C]

God bless you guys. God bless you guys. Love you, too. Last year, when Charlie was on the stage, I have watched that speech. I can't tell you how many times, and I can't tell you how many times my son and daughter have watched that speech. This event is the final event that was on my husband's calendar. Throughout this whole time, I have had so many people ask, why are you doing this? Why are you doing that? Why are you doing his book tour? Let me tell you something. First and foremost, when you have commitments, especially those that your loved one has made, you follow through on them. And it doesn't matter how hard it is, doesn't matter how tough life is. You gave your word. And between my husband and I, our word is our bond. And so when it did come to, his last book could have been about finance. I know nothing about finance. But it wasn't. It was about God. It was about his faith, and it was about something that was so intricate to our family dynamic. So what do you do? Do you let someone else do the book tour? Sure, they could. You could have a pastor do it. We had a few pastors get up on Fox and other places to talk about it. It's fine. Do you wait two years and then do the book tour? Sure, I guess. Is it really that relevant? It'd always be relevant. But is it still on that commitment schedule that your husband had? So you do the book tour.

[B]

Where are we going here?

[C]

You go to amfoust. You go to college campuses. You talk to the students, you pop into the chapter meetings. You do the hard thing, you do the right thing. And that's what my husband did every single day.

[B]

How long are we going with this? How long are we gonna survive this?

[A]

I don't know. I was just gonna say it really does feel like she's trying very hard to defend why she's the one that.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Doing all of the work and filling Charlie's role. Because unless, just reminder, as a refresher, Turning point is very pro women. Stay home, just get a husband, raise your children. So being on this stage is in contradiction to a lot of turning points. Talking points.

[B]

Last year, Charlie at the Women's Summit told a young girl to get an Mr. Degree in college.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, you know. And they've also had people on America Fest stage. Jason Whitlock, who's advocated for going back to a 1:1 vote per household. So. Yeah. So Erica Kerr kind of bucks the. The rhetoric of stay home have as many babies as you can, more than you can afford, I think. She only has two kids, and she's. She. She's in her mid-30s, you know, and just serve your husband. So I'm honestly surprised she's not remarried by now, because, like, in this world, that's what they tell you to do, you know? All right, we'll keep going every day.

[C]

And that's what you guys do every day. You all flew here from across the country. I can take a plane, too, to be here after I've been through hell this past week. No, it's not easy. It's not easy. Life is not easy, Charlie would say. And those in our inner circle knew this. Some of you know this, too. How many of you have gone through hell these past 10 months? Raise your hand. Yep. How many of you had your life changed in a negative way in the past 10 months? Raise your hand. Yep. Same. You're in good company. But what did Charlie say? He would say life has suffering, and it does, and it sucks. But you choose the people that you have along the side while you're going through that suffering, you choose those people. And all of you in this room are those people who I am so proud to have in my army as I go through this battle against Satan.

[B]

I think she's referring to Candace Owens there. Are you. Are you following the feud? Are you following Candace Owens?

[A]

Very loosely. It's kind of hard to follow.

[B]

I know every now and then are

[A]

mad at Candace, and she's stirring up a bunch of conspiracy theories.

[B]

You want to have a good time when you're bored, April, go on Twitter. Go to Candace Owens. Candace Owens, Twitter, and just look her and Andrew Colvette or Colt, who is currently kind of running Turning Point usa, they go back and forth all day. All day. Candace Owens is on one. I mean, she is spreading all kinds of conspiracies. And so I know that. That Erica has. Has felt the heat of that. So I think that, you know, Satan is code here for Kant is.

[A]

Well, and also the trial started. Yeah. Referring to.

[B]

Also I. Yeah. Anyway, well, I'm sure I'll have more thoughts on this later on as she keeps talking.

[C]

So when's a good time to give up? Right? Never. So you have the Internet coming after you. You have them slandering your name. You have them saying all this trash about you, and what do you do? You wake up that next morning, you put on the armor of God and you keep going. That's what you do. And not only that, you don't just do it for yourself. You do it for your future. You do it for your kids, and you do it for your family, because people are watching you, and they would love to see you fall. They would love to see the world break you. They would love it. So when I was sitting with you guys before coming on stage, there was some of you for high school that I sat with, some of you for college that I sat with. You guys had a lot of great questions. Some of them I'll talk about, but you had great questions. And again, you don't give up today, you don't give up tomorrow. We are on enemy occupied territory. And the devil would love nothing more than to be in the middle of your head to dictate your fear, to dictate whether or not you continue forward. Having a chapter to dictate if you're scared. When you have someone you love no longer with you, you look at this world way differently.

[B]

It's really interesting for her to be, like, using her husband's assassination as kind of like a bedrock point for these kids to fight the devil. Because, and you know, this April, like, in evangelicalism, the devil is anyone who might oppose your worldview, even if they have good points. Like, let's say someone makes a really good point that kind of, you know, blows away your very narrow view of the world. That's just the devil doing that. You can't change. That's how. That's.

[C]

That.

[B]

That. That's how the cult of this world operates.

[A]

It's also so manipulative, but very typical evangelical, like, pastor coded to say, well, the Satan's out there trying to get you to maybe not do your turning point chapter and saying, like, oh, if you get tired or overwhelmed and just don't want to lead a chapter, that's probably because the devil's getting to you.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And do what I did push through. My husband was assassinated. Look what I'm doing. I'm still up here.

[C]

You.

[B]

What's your excuse if the devil comes against you? That's kind of like the implication.

[A]

And like, I. I understand that Charlie Kirk was a big personality when he was murdered and that a lot of people had a lot of really strong negative feelings about it, including you. And I like watching that video. It was horrifying. But it is interesting how she's equating, like, and I don't know, I would imagine most of those kids and young people in that room weren't close to Charlie.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, in a way that, like, would impact their entire year and the Way that she's asking, like, how many all have had, like, just a terrible year? I don't know. It's just. It feels very parasocial in a kind of weird way.

[B]

Weird, Weird. It's a. It's just a bizarre kind of connection. And you're right, it builds in their head.

[C]

If.

[B]

If I don't want to do this anymore, if I'm tired, if. If people are talking about me or pushing back on my worldview, that's just Satan. And as a Christian, I have to put on the full armor of God and defeat Satan. Right. You just correlate anything negative with Satan, which is actually really dangerous, because what if you're actually exhausted and you have to learn and you have to take a step back from something for your own mental health? How do you know when that's okay? If the rhetoric is. That's just the devil.

[A]

Yeah. Also, I just want to clarify. It was not the trial that started. It was the preliminary hearings. Just.

[B]

Yeah. Yes. Thank you.

[C]

Way differently. My focus and my fixation is heaven forward. I do not care what this world tries to do to me, to break me, because it won't. Every single day that I wake up, I make sure that the Holy Spirit has room within me. Less of me, more of it. So that God can use me.

[B]

They're really. She's really going all in on this God language. I mean, big time.

[C]

So that God can use me in ways that he needs to. My husband stood on stage, and a lot of you know this. He stood on stage at Amfest and he surrendered without you guys knowing. But I knew because I was his wife. He stood on that stage and he surrendered. And he said, here I am, Lord. Use me. And my God. Did he.

[B]

When we talk about white Jesus, this is what we mean for Erica. Charlie was used by God to say things like, if I see a black pilot, I wonder. Or I think to myself, boy, I hope he's qualified. Or when Charlie talked about the great replacement theory that is taking away white votes. Or when he called Simone Biles, you know, stupid and a coward for taking mental health break. There's so many stories, examples, you know, be proud of your whiteness. Like, all this kind of stuff that Erica goes, this was God using Charlie.

[A]

Right. And those kids in there are going to then equate the very racist, harmful, and hateful rhetoric that Charlie Kirk used all the time as, like, God level, as being ordained by God, giving all of those kids permission to then be racist.

[B]

Exactly. Or homophobic. I mean, again, Charlie even said on stage that trans people are a middle finger to God. I mean, how much more hateful can you get? Yeah, it's wild that once we bring up his words, suddenly we're being negative when we're just bringing up his words. These are his quotes. It's what he said, you know?

[C]

Right. And what's so interesting about all of this is you have people who understand marriage and then you have people who don't. You have people who are in happy marriages and you have people who aren't. And you can tell it very clearly whether it's them on the Internet, whether it's them in front of your face. Let me tell you something about marriage.

[B]

Tell us.

[C]

When you find the one that God has made for you, whether that's your husband or your wife, you will be so in lock step with one another that there is no daylight or separation between you guys. You guys are building together as one. Some people think that Ephesians 5 is so. It's probably one of the top 10 most confused passages in the Bible. Marriage is a beautiful covenant between a man and a woman. And it is something that.

[B]

Okay, sorry. Her marriage perspective is so not based in reality. I mean, as a former evangelical who believes stuff like this, you know, I was taught, like, run as. As fast towards God as you can. And when you look over and see her running just as fast, that's how, you know. That's the one. That is horrible advice. That is horrible advice. Like, you know why? Because you change, like, over. Over time, you change. Your partner changes. If you don't have the same values, you're gonna have a problem. You have to find people with someone with the same values. That is the key. But instead it's all this. It's all this, you know, it's all this language of. Of, you know, when you find the right one that God has made for you, as if there's only one person that you're compatible with, which just isn't true, you're not gonna have any space between you. Well, what happens when you hit a rough patch? What happens when you have conflict? Right. What happens when things go wrong? That's what they don't prepare anyone in this world for at all. Yeah.

[A]

Oh, sorry.

[C]

Sorry.

[B]

No, you're good.

[A]

Go ahead. Her idea of marriage, too, and being locked in is the wife submitting to the husband.

[B]

Totally.

[A]

Well, unless you're Eric, whatever the husband says go like what she. What she's saying without saying is that wives, you'll be in lock and have an easy marriage as long as you obey and do whatever your husband says.

[B]

Yeah. Unless you're Ali Stuckey, unless you're Candace Owens, unless you're Erica Kirk, unless you're someone in the political or, you know, pundit space. Well, you know, you have a career to build. You have a career to build. And again, it's easy or easier when you have a lot of money, you can hire nannies to watch your kids all the time. Right. Must be nice. So this whole rhetoric of women, submit to your husbands, have as many babies as you can, be a good homemaker. These people don't even believe this stuff. Erica doesn't even live that value out.

[C]

She.

[B]

She's touring all the time. And again, I'm sure she sees her kids. I don't know how often, I don't know where they are. She's always on, in front of a camera.

[A]

It is very similar to Phyllis schlafly from the 70s, who fought really hard against the era, who's one of, like the early adoptees of Christian nationalism like back then. But Phyllis Schlafly was a woman who was very like, anti women and wanted women to stay home, didn't want women at all in the workforce while she had a full fledged career herself.

[B]

Right. That's the thing. Like, just look, these people benefit from feminism while attacking feminism. Yeah, it's wild.

[C]

And it is something that, and I pray none of you have to experience this, but when your spouse goes to heaven, you have made that covenant on the altar with the Lord that if something happened to them, God steps in and fills that void. And he fills it in a way that you cannot ever explain it to someone with words from this world. But when you think about marriage and women, I want you to understand this submission is not a dirty word when you have married a man of God who understands his role as a husband.

[B]

Do we, do we really think that Erica Kirk submitted to Charlie? Do we really think that. Are we supposed to believe that Erica Kirk was like, hey, baby, if you want me to stay home and just produce babies for you and just do nothing else but that I happily submit to you?

[A]

Like, do you think she was speaking. She was speaking at the Women's Turning Point events.

[B]

Before all of that, she had a whole career. She's had multiple careers.

[A]

Before all this, she was on a reality show.

[B]

Yeah, it's just, it's so. By the way, I just finished Kristin Dumas new book, Live Laugh Love, which is a must read when it comes out, and it talks about the history of this kind of rhetoric and when you read her book, she's a historian, it is so illuminating. And you're like, oh, my God. This has been. This rhetoric has been intentionally manufactured throughout the 19th and 20th century to control women and their bodies. Like this is. This isn't even historic Christianity. This is like American New Thought mixed in with evangelical fundamentalism that has created this rhetoric to control women and keep them docile. Unless it's a woman who has a career preaching that women should be docile, it's just. It's wild to watch it still happening in 2026. I just had to say it. I just had to say it.

[A]

All right there.

[B]

It's a good book. Go get it.

[C]

So why am I here? Why am I here? My husband built this movement. He built this machine. And I watched him do it. And I stood by his side through every sleepless night, through every moment of concern, through every feeling phone call, through every high, through every low. The things he could control and the things he couldn't. I was there. I was his bolt. I was his confidant. I was his. And what's so special about that? And you'll realize this if you think about it, marriage, when done properly, when not rushed, and when you find the right person, it's not painful, it's not hindering women. You let your husband do what God has called him to do, and you support him because you are the guardian of the home. Men, you love your wife like Christ loves a church.

[B]

Erica isn't the guardian of her home. Erica isn't the guardian of her home. Like, you're not even embodying these. You haven't. I think the first kid that Charlie and her had, she. I think she was in her 30s. She was way late.

[A]

They didn't get married till she. I think she was. I think they were both in their 30s when they got married. Like, they got married later.

[B]

Notice how she said, don't rush marriage. But again, then you hear people say to get married as soon as possible. I think it was Isabel Brown who, at the last turning point women's summit was like, get married as early as possible. Have as many babies as you can, more than you can afford. Like, this is competing rhetoric.

[A]

Also just a reminder, the ages of the people here are 16. Yeah, 16 to 26. And she's giving marriage advice.

[B]

Marriage advice?

[A]

Yeah, to 16 year olds.

[B]

Sounds a little groomish to me.

[C]

And when you see and you have that covenant, you have to think of it. Thinking of like a worldly way to explain it. But to me, think of it As a cathedral. Let's say you're in Paris and you see the most beautiful cathedral with these stained glass windows. The cathedral is your husband. Strong on the outside, looking at it, it's beautiful, it's strong, holds the weight of the entire cathedral. But those stained glass windows are the wife. And if you remove the frame of the cathedral, those stained glass windows shatter. They're useless. And if you have the cathedral without the stained glass windows, what is it? Just an empty thing of concrete?

[B]

What?

[C]

Sure, it still serves its purpose, but it's not complete.

[B]

Wait, is she saying that if you're a woman who's not married, you're like useless stained glass windows without a building?

[A]

You're not just useless, you're. You're broken glass. You're broken very damaged goods of her.

[B]

This is the worst marriage advice. Also, I've never heard an analogy that bad. I've heard some. I made some bad analogies in my day. Never that bad, though. Imagine you're in Paris.

[A]

I don't think you came up with that one. Totally that one through.

[B]

And you're. He's a cathedral. Yeah, yeah, he's a cathedral. Strong and tall. And women are like huge. No alter, no stained glass. They're like stained glass.

[A]

I know. A church.

[B]

A church. Yeah. Something worldly.

[C]

Aha.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

A church in Paris.

[A]

Oh, bless her.

[B]

Bless her heart.

[A]

Bless her heart.

[C]

So it goes hand in hand. One is not a weaker vessel than the other.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

So again, I have seen my husband build this, and he has entrusted it to all of us. My daughter will be in Club America in 10 years.

[A]

If she doesn't want to.

[B]

Right.

[C]

And something I loved was that when Charlie built this. The most important thing about this organization is our students. It's all of you. And let me tell you why. Sure, we put on great events. We do. But my children are going to be looking at every single one of you as they grow up, because you are an extension of my husband. You will never replace him. He's irreplaceable. But you're an extension of him to them. And you will be able to show them how to chart the path. Some of you asked, how do I be courageous on campus? You show up every day. That's step one. Charlie would say, it doesn't take talent to be courageous. I agree with that. But it takes consistency and it's a muscle. You show up and you fight. Metaphorically. But hear me out. This past week, I have seen something I will. I'm still trying to unpack and put

[B]

into words can we just mention that this is at 1.25 speed? She sounds like. Like she's talking normal at this speed. That's how slow she talks. That's how big the gaps are.

[A]

So many pauses.

[B]

Okay, so let's see what she can't unsee.

[C]

Someone ask me, do you still want to go to the Chapter Leadership Summit? And I sat there, and I thought I already knew my answer, but I just thought about it. I like to internalize things sometimes too much.

[A]

Oh, God, this is painful.

[C]

And I thought to myself, you know, if you don't fight for what's right, I would much rather our country look like this room than the inside of that courtroom.

[A]

Hold on.

[B]

Wait.

[A]

What. What does that even mean?

[B]

I'm confused because, of course there was

[A]

a murderer in that courtroom.

[B]

I.

[A]

Allegedly.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What? I don't. I don't even understand what she. What that means. Like, there's a judge, there's a jury, there's lawyers. I mean, she was in that courtroom.

[B]

That took, like, three minutes to get that thought out, that profound thought out. Look, some people are great public speakers. Some people are not. Erica Kirk does not have the gift of public speaking. She's incredibly dry and uncompelling to listen to. She just says she.

[C]

Also,

[A]

her demeanor. There's something very unsettling about the way she talks.

[B]

Thank you. It's weird.

[A]

Yeah. And I. I can't put my finger on it. It's just unsettling the way she, like,

[B]

stares off into space, you know? Like, I had this thought, and the other day, I was thinking about this. I was internal. It's a weird vibe.

[A]

She takes herself too seriously.

[B]

Maybe also, like. And again, you don't want to be. Look, the only reason I'm saying this is because Erica has chosen to become a public figure and put herself out there. And when you do that, you open yourself up to people's opinions. It is still very strange that less than a year ago, her husband was assassinated in one of the most gruesome ways that we've seen, maybe in our lifetime. And he left behind a wife and two children. And Erica just does not seem that broken up about it. I'm not saying she isn't. I'm just saying the way she presents herself publicly, it doesn't seem like she's that broken up about it. Like, as a mom, if you believe your greatest job in life is to be a mother, why are you doing this? Work as a new widow. Like, why not take a year away from everything and work with your children to Help them cope with the reality that dad's not coming home. I'm just saying, like, April, I'm not sure about you, but if my partner was died, let alone was murdered, I don't think I'd be making YouTube videos the following week or month. I think I'd be pretty busy with my kids mourning the loss of my partner. Just, we all live differently. It's just weird. It's weird.

[A]

It is, it is odd. I do think the way that whoever her PR or publicist person is, I just, I don't know if she's like uncontrollable or if she's just getting bad advice. But you're right, it is the way her behavior has been odd and it has been very off putting for some people. And not that, that's not even people that are on the left, like, there's plenty of conservatives that have no, totally found her behavior odd.

[B]

Look, even the fact that we're talking about her having a PR person to handle this, it's just, it's unsettling to me, the whole thing.

[A]

So that's just my, like, just to play a quick devil's advocate, when my dad died, I was 23, I was in the middle of grad school and I will say, like, he passed away within like the first couple weeks of me starting grad school. And I had, I was, it was at a Christian school at the time and several of my professors were like, you know, it just take the semester off, like grieve. Da da, da. Like, I mean I was obviously in immense grief, but like, for me, I actually found it helpful to do school and work and to stay busy. Like, and, and I kind of felt like that was a way to honor my dad. Like I felt like this higher purpose to do the work and at that point I was like going to go into ministry or be a journalist. Fox News and it. Anyway, regardless, I'm saying I do think there are some people that throw themselves into work as a way to handle grief. I'm not saying that's what she's doing because I, I didn't, you know, we didn't come out to like fireworks at my dad's, but.

[B]

Exactly, exactly. That's all. I mean, again, I, it's, it's in. And that's what's so tricky is like, you don't want to become an a hole and like say, you know, be like, how are you not grieving how I want you to grieve, but also you're just so public. You're doing Tours, you're speaking everywhere. You're on national tv. You're. You're. You're coming out to fireworks. The math thing, for me, you're talking. There's leaked footage, like the day after or the week after your husband's public funeral. Talking about merch sales. I just don't get it.

[C]

Hey, everyone, this is Melinda Hale, the executive director of the New Evangelicals. Listen. Every day we hear from people who feel isolated, disillusioned, and hurt by a version of Christianity that has been hijacked by politics and nationalism. And yet they still long for a faith that is rooted in love, justice, and compassion. And. And that's why the New Evangelicals exist, because we believe there is a better path forward. We're creating resources, hosting conversations, and we're building communities for people who want to reclaim Christianity and stay rooted in the teachings of Jesus. But building a movement like this takes time. It takes energy, and it takes financial support. So if this podcast or our YouTube, our educational offerings or community space or anything that we've created has impacted you, would you consider becoming a donor? Even a gift of $5 makes a huge difference for small organizations like this. Your support helps us to continue empowering people to put their faith into action by rejecting Christian nationalism and to live in a way that shows people how to truly love our neighbors.

[A]

Together.

[C]

I know that we could build something beautiful. So visit theneweevangelicals.com support to give today. You can find the link right in our show notes. Thank you for standing with us.

[B]

Okay, let's keep going.

[C]

So that means having hard conversations. That means when you're tabling, if your table keeps getting destroyed, become a roving table yourself and go talk to people. Go sit with people at lunch you don't normally sit with. Be creative with the ways that you are a chapter leader. Because you are a leader. You are not a follower. So you have a heavier weight and burden on your shoulders. But I swear, every morning when you wake up, if you need that courage, you say to yourself out loud, God, do not give me any less of a burden on my shoulders. Just give me stronger shoulders. And I swear every time you pray that prayer, your shoulders will be set back even further and you will have a heavy load. But you will be able to stand and you will be able to walk in ways that people can only describe it as the Holy Spirit.

[B]

Also, you can defend why immigrants are destroying the country. Trans people don't deserve gender affirming care. ICE is doing like, these are the talking points, the turning Point, you know, Turning Point is, is, is a, is a right wing organization that is pushing regime talking points. Imagine asking the Holy Spirit to help you defend bigotry and hatred. It's just like, dude, you know what? Just read the Bible, kids. Just read the four gospel accounts and try and reconcile all of this. Like, just try to do that.

[C]

I want you guys to take the time as you go into this fall semester and be creative. All of you are brilliant in your own way. And all of you bring a different piece to the puzzle of Turning Point usa. And I want you to think outside of the four walls of your school and outside of the four walls of your chapter member group and outside of the meeting that you have. We again put on great events, we put on big events. All of that is very important. But you cannot forget the grassroots movement that this organization was founded on. And so when you guys go out and talk to people and you have chapter meetings and you're saying, hey, it's spring, summertime, people are checking out, people will always check out. Control what you can control, and that is yourself. And that is also being able to control and make environments for people that create memories, that have that grassroots impact. Go do something in the community. Go make a difference. There are so many other organizations out there, whether that's soup kitchens or you know them better than I do in your community. And you know the need, go fulfill it. Find something or someone that you can help serve and use your chapter to make that community area that you have better than how you found it. And you'll be able to do that. And I just want to encourage you as you go into semester. I know that some of you do know this, but some of you do not. Because some of you might be new and post 9, 10. This organization is not a flash in the pan. We are not two years old. We are 14 years old. 14 years. My husband had a vision for this organization that he entrusted into me. And I know that very well. We will never be able to replace my husband. And that will never be the intention. He is one of one and a true legend among legends. But what he did leave us was the blueprint. He left us the blueprint to follow. And so for those of you who do know about Turning Point, this will be a reminder for those of you who don't. We are a big tent. Not that big, but big. And we are able to have a lot of programs within our organization that many don't. One of our programs could be a non profit in itself. There is so much more to us than just our chapters. But our chapters are one of the top, most important portions of the organization. So all of you do know about nfp, our field program and all of that. And when I walked into the room, and I've shared this with some of you, when I walked into the room, when we were starting to get back on our feet after everything that happened in 910, our team was talking about the things that we are going to be building as we move forward through the pain. And here's the difference is that there are people out there where pain and grief will break you. But all of you in this room are very similar to me. The DNA is very similar. You turn your grief into purpose because anyone can sit in a corner and cry. Anyone can just say, poor me. Why me? Why this? Anyone can say that. But it's what you do with that pain and that grief that is the most important thing that will outlive you. And so as we were sitting in that conference room and we were going through the commitments Charlie had and the vision that we had, we left room for God to do what he does best and write in some new things that we didn't even have planned. And when I walked into that room, I didn't go, andrew Cipher, who are you? I knew him. I knew him very well and his family. I didn't look at our coo, Justin, and was like, all right, I need to step back, and we need to reassess these processes. Don't do that event. I don't even know what this is. Don't do it. No. I said, you all know what you need to be doing. Full steam ahead. You have your marching orders, and we are going to get through this, and we are going to make Charlie so damn proud.

[B]

Wow. It's a lot. A lot of words. Do you think the black jumper is a choice? Like, do you think it's. She's trying to convey that she's still in mourning?

[A]

I don't know, because there's been plenty of times she's come out not in black.

[B]

Yeah. I'm just curious. I don't know. I feel like everything is so intentional when you're at that level. Even, like, what you wear. So I don't know if it's trying to send them.

[A]

I mean, honestly, to me, it feels very masculine.

[B]

It does, doesn't it? It feels like very, like, you know, I mean, this is not a very, like, you know, typical Women's Leadership Summit kind of dress. Special outfit. Especially considering. Was it last year when we Covered her speaking. She wore like this, like super flowery.

[A]

Yeah, it was very like District One. Yeah.

[B]

Over the top. Over the top. Okay. Yeah. I'm just curious.

[C]

So for those of you who do know and don't know, let this be a reminder of what we do. I want to give you a brief overview. We have the field program that you all are a part of. We are doing some amazing new things within our grief. We pulled off one of the most incredible halftime shows this country has ever seen.

[B]

You mean the halftime show that you guys pre recorded, stitched together poorly, had lip syncing issues with and had about a hundred people in a room.

[A]

That one that the headliner was Kid Rock.

[B]

Kid Rock. Yeah, dude. Yeah. And one of the most. Yeah, that was by far a halftime show for the ages, for sure. Oh, my God.

[A]

Yeah,

[B]

Sorry. As a former professional musician who's been in professional settings, it's just hilarious to hear her say that given how bad it actually was. Sorry, I had to laugh.

[A]

You could just not bring that up. Like we all saw.

[B]

I forgot about it until you brought it back up like, thanks, Erica. That was a good moment. That was hilarious.

[A]

Why is this hearing?

[C]

We've expanded our TPUSA faith church network to 12,000 churches.

[B]

Yeah, that's a problem.

[C]

12,000.

[B]

That's a problem.

[A]

Terrifying.

[B]

Yeah. No turning point USA faith. I do follow them. I actually know. Well, I talked to the director a few times. Yeah, they're doing some pretty scary stuff. They are. They are just the Christian nationalist church engine right now. And they're everywhere. So.

[C]

We've launched a new program. Even aside from the new program we had of Make Heaven Crowded that's been touring around this country.

[B]

Terrible name.

[C]

Amazing.

[B]

By the way, terrible name

[C]

also launched within T USA Faith, a program that is a little bit more covert. Being able to go into the darkest portions spiritually within our country, covertly spread the gospel in those neighborhoods for those people who need to hear the gospel and do it in a way where you don't need the branding, you don't need the credit where you're doing God's work and you are mixing and shaking up that culture in a way they would have never expected. But that's good. Go where you can have the conversation. That's what Charlie would do, no matter how uncomfortable.

[B]

Wait, we gotta pause there. That's code for going into black and brown and maybe like Muslim majority areas in the country and trying to proselytize to them. But she admitted to doing it covertly. I am so intrigued by that.

[A]

Well, I think it could even go beyond that just as a.

[B]

They're not going away to suburbia.

[A]

I went to my Christian grad school that I mentioned earlier. They had a film school and like one of the main things that they taught was like the tagline was Christian leadership to change the world. And they literally had. There's like this organization called Hollywood Prayer Network.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Where they like go into Hollywood and they send Christian filmmakers, but kind of overtly. Hollywood Prayer Network was just like a separate thing where you'd like pray for Hollywood. I'll have to tell you one day about you will. The Oscar prayer party that I had to.

[B]

Oh my gosh, no.

[A]

That's what it was called anyway. But like the goal was to send Christian filmmakers into Hollywood. The Billy of the Beast. And to like covertly influence Hollywood films for God.

[B]

So seven mandate stuff.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Wow. And it's covert. Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky, sneaky. Erica.

[C]

Even if you only agree on 5%, that's better than zero. So if you have a chance, find the churches in your area that are a part of the TPUSA Faith network because those pastors and those congregants can come to your chapter, can lead Bible study, can pour into the young men. It's special. We have a huge network. For those of you who are graduating high school, we have something called prep year. Prep year is great. Prep year falls under turning point education again. These micro programs and programs could be organizations in themselves. Prep year. We had our first one this year and I was blessed to be able to speak to those students and to engage with them. They're incredible. The thing that's so special about prep year is that embodies my husband in a way that where he took, took a large gap year. Let's just say that he took a 13 year gap year and that's resulted in all of you being here. But, But what's so great about prep here? And I, and I could see even college seniors graduate going there. If you want to go to get your master's or anything further and you kind of just want a miniature wait,

[B]

I thought college was a scam.

[C]

And you get poured into by industry leaders, thought leaders, people from the admin, all different types of individuals come and talk to you. And it's amazing. It's a phenomenal program. It gives you a second to just take a beat. So when you are done, you either A, know what you're actually going to study when you get to college, or B, you don't go to college because you Were able to connect with a mentor or an individual who is hiring in the field that you wanted to be in. It gives you that beat, which I think is very important, and also gives you a reflective period of being able to pray to God to see, is this the path that you have for me? Is this your will? And it just gives you that minute. And those individuals that are a part of prep year, we have one in Texas. We're opening up our second one in Chicago. Again, building. We're not stopping. The noise of the Internet is the noise of the Internet. But you know what we do? We don't stay in our basement. We get out and fight and we build.

[B]

What are you fighting like? They. They have the whole government. They have the whole government. What are you guys fighting?

[C]

Something also new that we have under our program Rise, which is our minority outreach program is called communities post 9 10. As you can imagine and as you have felt and as some of you are a result of, we have had a massive influx of individuals saying, I have no idea how to help, but I want to help. And I'm not in high school and I'm not in college. You have to understand that when Charlie built Turning Point usa, he did it with a mindset and the vision of having Turning Point USA be something that will be able to have you holistically a part of the organization your entire life. So for Turning Point education, we have something for the little ones, from zero to whatever number. And then we have high school, and then we have college. We always have tpo, Safe faith. But communities is something where in your community. It's almost like a community chapter again. Another new program that we've implemented. The best thing about a community chapter is that the high school and college chapters can also be a part of it. But what's interesting is within communities, you have four different programs. You have Rise Again, the minority outreach. You have young professionals, which is important. You have heroes, our veterans or first responders, and then you have families. So it encompasses all of that. What's so special is that when you graduate or when you leave, you can still always be a part of the Turning Point USA family. Whether you're a part of our programs, whether we hire you, whether we help you get a job with the admin or whatever else before I go to something else real quick. I know it's not easy. I get it. Trust me, I get it.

[B]

She just sounds so insincere.

[C]

So hard to get this admin in office. And Charlie would often say, regardless of how you're going to. You are voting for the rest of the ticket. You're voting for the rest of the admin and the rest of the cabinet. So I say that because, God willing, if we win in 28, great, that's a blessing. But if we don't, we have two years left. That's it. Politics will be slightly boring. Slightly, yeah, boring. Once POTUS is out, there'll be a whole new set of circumstances that come in. But while we have it, no matter how messy it might be, we have it. So please try to take advantage of that and look at opportunities more so than obstacles, because it will always be tough out there, will always be a fight. Nothing's ever perfect. Great. That's life. But as you go through life and you're saying nothing's perfect, blah, blah, blah, I hope that you find these conferences and these events a place for you to come to, to realize how good we actually have it.

[B]

You know, you fight, fight, fight the enemy, the devil hates you. But hey, we have it really good also. I just don't know how you look at this administration and, like, really still support it, even as a conservative. I mean, gas is at $4 a gallon. We're now, what, 23 weeks into the Iran war. It's only escalating because of Trump. The economy is not doing well. Manufacturing jobs are not coming back.

[A]

Like, all of Trump's promises have led to the explosive diarrhea.

[B]

The economy. We're not doing well. I. Healthcare prices are higher. We've cut healthcare subsidies. I just wanna know, for any moderate or conservative person out there, how you think we are better off under this administration, where's the win? Where's the win for anyone? Not to mention our immigrant neighbors, our trans neighbors, our bipoc neighbors, et cetera. But I'm just like, I don't know how you really push regime talking points when everything is so terrible. And by the way, Trump is so mentally unwell. The guy can't speak in complete sentences. He can't speak in complete sentences. It's wild. It's wild. I just don't get it.

[A]

And maybe I misunderstood what she was saying, but it sounds like she was like, we've got two years and then politics are going to be boring. And she kind of said it in a way like, that would be a bad thing. And my God, how much I wish politics could be boring.

[B]

Would love that to happen again. That'd be fantastic.

[A]

Like this absolute chaos. She's part of the problem.

[B]

He's part of the problem.

[A]

Yes, a huge piece like the Christian. And we talked about this all the time, but the Christian nationalist element to Trump's administration, like, without Christian nationalists and white evangelicals, Trump doesn't win either time. Turning Point was a huge piece of that, which is they use as a bragging point. But to me, I'm like, y' all people are. Have died. You're part of the cast because of this administration. Totally.

[B]

Yeah, totally. And they're defending it. They're. They're lying about it. Remember, re Renee Cole Good was a domestic terrorist. Alex Preddy was a domestic terrorist. Are you kidding me? Give me a break.

[C]

I will say one more thing before we get into something of a program that I'm really excited about to share with you that's very, very new and close to my heart. First and foremost, for those of you who've been asking me about having more, um, I'll just do more overarching. What is the vision for Turning Point usa? How much longer we get in the room?

[A]

I don't know. We haven't got to that one.

[B]

I know.

[C]

Especially when it comes to traditional American values. Longer's left and what we stand for.

[B]

I don't even look afraid.

[C]

But more so now than ever, I want to make sure that you guys are well equipped to be able to debate and have conversations on campus. There will be some of you who are gonna be amazing to have you sit underneath that tent in the quad and take on every single question in a very respectful manner and to be able to change people's minds and to impact their hearts. There will be some of you in this room, and you guys will be the ones that are speaking to your own generation. That is way more important than throwing some man on campus that has no connection to you guys. You want to hear from your peers?

[B]

Go ahead. What's your thought?

[A]

Okay. So this is actually a great example of the problem with the education that a lot of conservative evangelicals get is they teach you how to debate and they teach you apologetics, which is literally just talking points.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And they teach you what. They teach you what the other side will say to this and how you rebuttal it, but they don't actually teach you any depth to, like, why they think that way or what those statistics or data means. They literally. They teach you how to debate people.

[B]

There's no critical thinking.

[A]

Yeah, no critical thinking.

[B]

Zero.

[A]

They just. They arm you up with defenses on when things get through that actually make sense. This is how you don't have to think about that too deeply.

[B]

Right. Because it's not about curiosity. It's about protecting you from the outside satanic world that hates you, right? So they have nothing of value to offer you. Here's how you defend against the devil schemes. Here's how you put on the full armor of God. It's all. It's all this language builds this kind of scaffolding in someone's head. Especially when you're a young person, when you're 16, 17, 18, mid-20s, like, you are all in for this kind of stuff. As a former evangelical myself, I remember

[A]

being in high school and college, like hearing this rhetoric and sometimes when I and I debated atheists and I try to convert people all the time.

[B]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You were on forums? I was a forum guy.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

I would be on my paragraphs and response.

[A]

But I would do it in person too. I would literally just go up to strangers and tell them about Jesus and sometimes they would turn into debates. I was that girl.

[B]

You were so bold.

[A]

One thing that would be said to me too would be like, okay, why do you need to learn how to defend your faith? Like, if you actually had absolute truth, right, it wouldn't be so easy to fall apart. Like, you wouldn't need to be taught how to defend it. It would just be truth. And that's something that in the back of my head, I never really had an answer for. And I was like, yeah, why do we spend so much time, like, if it's truth, just let it be the truth. Like, why do we have to defend, defend, defend?

[B]

Is anyone defending gravity or debating gravity? Like, you know it's true. Like, it just. It's one of those things.

[A]

Some people probably are because I'm sure

[B]

there's someone out there.

[C]

Yeah, hello, this is Terry from Wasilla, Alaska. I started supporting TNE and Project Amplify as it gives me hope. I grew up attending a small evangelical church in Saskatchewan, a church that my relatives had founded in 1914. This was the 70s, and aside from the kooky end times teaching about the Soviet Union, it was still a church of love. I married and moved to the US in the late 80s and became exposed to a very different church. I floundered and finally left for the Episcopalians in 2007. While I love the Episcopal Church, I grieve for the church in my youth. Finding tiny, I can once again find fellowship with the church of my tradition and hope for the future. Thank you. Ti&e.

[B]

All right, here we go.

[C]

I know that I see that and I see the need for it. I want you guys to know that we have resources at our disposal to help you to do that, to get you equipped to be on campus to do those things. If there are speakers that you know of that you want to hear from, please tell us. Not everyone is meant to be under the tent. There are some people that are great for being able to just go to a chapter meeting. Everyone serves their role and purpose in all of this. So I want you guys to know that debate, dialogue, civil discourse, those are going to continue more than ever. Among all the other things that we have going on, the ethos of this organization will always remain the same. Always. And what my husband built, we will not step away from, we will not distort, we will not try to rewrite. If it's not broken, you don't go and try and fix it. Ever.

[A]

Oh, such a long speech.

[B]

How much longer, April?

[A]

Being very repetitive.

[C]

So that's why even at amf, new speakers, you'll also see something in real time that I think is really important.

[B]

New speakers.

[C]

Cypress Point. We are not a think tank. We never will be. There's plenty of those.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Anyone can write white papers and publish them. Great. What I want AmFest to be okay with papers. Right on right, left on right. To be able to go to amfest and say, what is this movement? And come out with an answer. To be able to, in real time, see the white paper, go through the Turning Point USA machine and come out at the end. And for you guys, to be able to make your educated decision on where you stand on issues and not have to regurgitate talking points that you hear from people from their podcasts that are too afraid to have those debates because they don't actually know what they believe. They just regurgitate the points that they think sound good so that their audience stay strong.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, this is all. This is all Charlie did. He would. He would go around campuses and debate people on talking points. I plan on being at America Fest this year, so we'll see if there's going to be some more left, left on right debates. You should come with me, April. It'd be so much fun. We could do it together.

[A]

Maybe I will.

[B]

Yay.

[C]

I'll see. So Am Fest will be fun. Oh, if you think of a very uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner, put that on steroids.

[B]

Sounds interesting.

[C]

A little spicy. That's good, though. That's good because it challenges your. Your normal thinking.

[A]

So right on. Right.

[C]

This next program, that's new. They're not advice stuff that I've mentioned. Is all new.

[B]

I doubt it.

[C]

From 9, 10. So when people ask you what is Turning Point even doing a lot. And we have not stopped.

[B]

Okay, look, where are we at here, April? We are. We're like almost a little over halfway through.

[A]

Oh, we, we, we made it.

[C]

We.

[A]

That's pretty good. I. We got to get to that one viral clip, though.

[B]

I don't know where it is. In this. In this.

[A]

It's got to be coming.

[B]

You think so? All right, let's give it a minute. I Fast forward 3 minutes towards the end, I think it was.

[A]

Come on. Two times speed.

[B]

Two times.

[A]

Yeah, we can handle it.

[C]

Go ahead and put the graphic up.

[B]

Oh, that's fast.

[C]

So let me tell you about this.

[B]

Oh, they're doing a men's.

[C]

And I was like, no, I don't like that. No, I don't like that. Perfect.

[B]

They're doing a leadership.

[C]

So hear me out.

[B]

Invictus men's leadership.

[A]

Of course there's a lion. It's always a lion.

[B]

What is up with these right wing think tanks wanting to do these men's summits? I mean, we had the Josh, what was it? Josh McPherson, that rise to the Statesman summit that happened in Washington state. Like, oh, my gosh.

[C]

This will not be young men, all of you, sitting in chairs with the fire sparklers and EDM music. That's not this, okay? Young men are not meant to sit in chairs for 10 hours hearing from people pouring into them. That's not how this is gonna work. This is very different from other programs. And this is intentional because I did 1.5. I have a son. And it's creating this with him and Charlie in mind. Let me explain this to you. When you come to this event, you will be. It's very exclusive, very intentional. We are not releasing a speaker. Listen, we are. You will know who the speakers are, but we're not making it public. And that's intentional because there are certain people who want to pour into you and various industries who you would be shocked and surprised to have pour into you.

[B]

Should I just. We just find the clip separately and play it? Because I, I, I. Look, if we're over this, the audience was left us like, it's April at this point. It's just you and me. Like, there's no one else listening to this. It's just you and me talking into the void. There's no way around.

[A]

We should have some kind of reward, like have some kind of Easter egg for those that, like, made it to the end.

[C]

I don't know what it is.

[B]

And I don't know, something will happen. We'll send you a free piece of merch or something like that. Okay. Did you. You sent me the art. The thing, right? You sent it to me.

[A]

Yeah, like, the.

[B]

Okay, I sent you.

[A]

Like, there's one clip in particular that's going viral. I mean, she's kind of already said

[B]

similar things, but there's one that's, like, very clear.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. I found it. I found it, I found it.

[A]

Okay, hold on. You know what? I wonder if I could. I could probably search the transcript of that YouTube video and find out exactly where it is.

[C]

Hold on.

[A]

Okay, if there is a transcript, you could do that. April.

[B]

Coming through. Clutch. 42, 46.

[A]

Well, actually, that's in the middle of it, so actually, you're gonna want to start, like, 41. You're gonna want to start, like, 40.

[B]

Okay. And we're gonna play normal speed so we. So we're reminded how she actually sounds. Here we go.

[C]

Choice. Just like that man that was in the courtroom who murdered my husband. So every choice that you make. I've said this before. Leaves a mark on your soul that's just so slow. So when you wake up in the morning after you just had your table

[B]

flipped, half the speech is silenced.

[C]

Chapter leader from Belmont told me the most horrifying thing that people do in front of her table. When that happens to you, you have a choice. Do you wake up the next day and go table again? You do. You do. You also have the choice of making sure that every possible chance you have, you reflect the gospel.

[B]

And so the good news of Jesus Christ. Okay. Okay. Let's keep that in mind when you're on campus.

[C]

Yes, people will watch your actions way more than your words. So whatever's happening when about your. Before you even set up your table, just ask God to put the armor of God around you. And to protect everything in your sphere, put a hedge of protection around yourself, your brain. Don't put the pressure on yourself to carry a revival. You are a seed planter.

[B]

Sounds like witchcraft.

[C]

Everyone serves a purpose. But when they come up to your table, plant the seed. Be warm and engage in. If you don't want to say big up sucks, that's fine. Say, I love small government. There's different ways of making things sound optimistic, and that's what I want people to understand about Turning Point. Us.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

What you are a part of is something that is a solution. That's not creating more problems. You guys are the solution to a lot of things in this country to what? And your voice carries so much weight. So when someone says, why are you a part of Turning Point? I want you to put your shoulders back and stand very tall and say, because, yes, okay, this is Charlie's legacy, but it's also mine. And millions of people are watching you. Millions. And every day, when you make the choice to fight again, not just for my husband, but for yourself and for your family, you are standing up against evil and declaring to the heavens on high that again, this world will never break you. And that you are allowing the Holy Spirit to work through you in a way that will just make the enemy cower. Enemy cower.

[B]

This isn't the gospel, but continue.

[A]

No.

[C]

So I don't care if it's a trans, if it's a gender confused person, if it's a Muslim, if it's whoever else that's standing in front of you that's spitting on you, that's cussing at you, that's throwing your buttons everywhere. I don't care. You are what you are what Charlie always said you are what you are. A happy warrior. That is what you are as you fight.

[B]

Jeez. Okay, are we done? Did we make it? Is that the whole clip?

[A]

Yeah. I mean, she kind of keeps going on about similar things. I can only point out the persecution complex that she is instilling within what she's saying. Because just as a reminder, she. They are training, in many cases, children, 16 year olds, very young people to go into college campuses or their high school campuses and debate strangers.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

While saying incredibly offensive and bigoted things. If they are taking up the armor of Charlie Kirk, they are being racist, they are being homophobic, they are being transphobic, they are being anti women. They are saying things that naturally offend people because it's offensive. They are. They stand for things that take basic human rights away from certain groups of people just because they're part of that group.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

And that is going to bring natural pushback against you because you are being hateful. But Erica is reframing that as, oh, if you get pushed back, that's Satan, that's the enemy. Because you're actually just standing up for the gospel.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I didn't hear a single scripture verse in that speech. And maybe it was in the 10 minutes we didn't listen to, but she kept bringing up faith and the gospel and all of these things.

[B]

It's a false gospel.

[A]

But she never mentioned the red letters. Love thy neighbor. Love your enemies. Turn the other cheek. What you do to the least of these, you do to me? No, she. She literally just went out there and demonized the least of these and said they're the enemy.

[B]

It's literally a false gospel. Like, it can't be any clearer. This is not the good news of Christ. This is the good news of empire and white supremacy. Because that's the outcome, right? That. That is the fruit of all of this. You're exactly right. How do you talk about the gospel and being preachers of the gospel and, and how you demonstrate that in your actions and then say things like when trans or gender confused people or Muslims, like, you're just denigrating people, right? And this Turning Point USA hosts people on their platforms who say some of the nastiest stuff about those kinds of people. It's. Of course they're gonna push back. Cause you're hateful. You're hateful. You're not even kind. It's not even like, hey, we disagree with, you know, with your whatever, you know, your gender identity, but we really love you, want the best for you. No, it's just hatred. It's absolute hatred. It's absolute hatred. So. Oh, God. It's just. What's frustrating and sad is that it's indoctrinating thousands of young people. And as someone who was indoctrinated, I know what they're thinking. They are convinced. They are convinced that the God of all things has chosen them to fight the demonic forces that are in the world. That manifests mostly in the liberals and the Democrats and the gays and the Muslims and the atheists, anyone who's not like them. And it just breeds a culture of us versus them. It creates problems. It creates a culture of hatred. And the fruit is what we're looking at. Like, again, forget the rhetoric. Look at the fruit of what these people vote for. It's just so. It's so sad.

[A]

It's sad, but it's compelling. You're talking to a group of people that are desperately searching for their place in this world world.

[C]

They are.

[A]

They are in the midst of their coming of age and they want to know, who am I? What is my purpose? And Erica Kirk and Turning Point and Christian nationalism gives those kids a very high purpose. It's a false purpose, yes, but it makes them feel really important. It feels like they're fighting for something good, and not just good, but something holy. And.

[B]

And it's something that, that the world doesn't understand. It's almost like they're secret agents. Right? Like you have a truth that the world will never get and it's on you to save the world. Yeah. It's a very compelling thing, April. That's why you and I were in it for so long. It's a very compelling narrative that I am ultra important and that the God of all things sees me and has chosen me to fight the forces of darkness. That's a compelling narrative that humans tell that story in all kinds of ways and cultures and traditions. Like, we tell that story over and over again. It's not unique to evangelicalism, unfortunately. It's attached in this. In this context to hatred of other people who aren't like them, you know?

[C]

So.

[B]

Yeah, anyway, okay. We barely made it out alive.

[A]

If for some reason a young turning point person out there watch this video, maybe you're watching it because you want to come up with the talking points to go against what we're saying. Just want to say if in 10 years, 15 years, maybe five years, maybe next year, you wake up and realize that you are being lied to and heavily manipulated to join a cause that is actually harming a lot of people, you are not alone. And it's never too late to change your mind.

[B]

Yep. That's why organizations like the New Evangelicals exist, helping you find a better path forward in faith rooted in love, justice, and inclusivity. That's why the Tim and April show exists. Like, you are not alone. We've all been there, and there is so. It's so much more beautiful on this side of things. It's like, it's so freeing not to have to hate people or be afraid of gay people or think that Muslims want to kill you. Like, it's so freeing not to worry about the thought of burning alive in hell forever because you didn't say the right prayer. Right. Or the rapture. Like, it's very nice on this side of things.

[A]

I'm just being able to get to know people without an ulterior motive of having to try to save their soul or change their vote. Like, it's. Yeah, it's okay. You'll be fine. It's okay.

[B]

So I'm thinking if people made it through this long, if they made it through all the way. If you email Tim and April at the new evangelicals.com. if you email. Yes, the code word. It's not the Tim April Show. It's just Tim and April show at the new evangelicals.com. if you email us code word.

[C]

I have.

[B]

I have one. I'm not sure if it's good, though. Okay, erica. But with 3Ks. If you email us that word, we'll give you a shout out on the next episode.

[A]

Yeah, just put it. Put what name you want to be. Yes, shout it out.

[B]

We'll shout you out. Our most loyal listeners who sat through this.

[A]

Wait, let's think this through. This is airing on a Tuesday, the last Tuesday in July. I'm not on the air next Thursday, so I don't know if you want to shout them out by yourself or if we're waiting because then we're taking all of August off.

[B]

Oh, wait, you're not on the next live.

[A]

No, I have told you.

[B]

You probably have. It's not you, it's me. Okay, we'll talk about that. All fun. I'll figure it out. Email us Erica 3K's [e-mail] that being said, please like and subscribe and we will talk to you all soon. I am Tim Whitaker.

[A]

And I'm April Ahjoy.

[B]

Fare thee well. Our most loyal listeners.

[A]

We bid you adieu.

[B]

Adieu. Don't leave. I'm just turning this off.