BOZEMAN — On Tuesday night, several thousand people filled Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at Montana State University, for the latest stop in the “This Is the Turning Point” Tour – an event originally scheduled to be hosted by conservative activist Charlie Kirk, before his assassination last month.
Turning Point USA, the organization Kirk founded, continued the tour as he had originally planned. The featured speakers now were Gov. Greg Gianforte and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
(Watch the video to hear more on Gianforte's message at the event.)
Gianforte told MTN before the event that he was always scheduled to speak – originally to introduce Kirk, who he describes as a “dear friend.”
“Susan and I have known Charlie since he was 18; we were one of his early supporters,” he said. “He's been to Montana many times, and it's just unfortunate that we're memorializing him tonight instead of welcoming him here to Montana.”
Gianforte said, despite the darkness of the events that led to this point, he wanted his message Tuesday to highlight his belief that there is a purpose to everything that happens.
“God is using this to bring reconciliation to campuses and high schools across the country,” he said. “So we want to celebrate Charlie's legacy and also celebrate the work that Turning Point has in front of it.”
Before the event, Gianforte met with students from MSU’s Turning Point chapter.
“He's encouraged all these young people; there are now hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Charlie Kirks because of the work he did,” he said. “It's giving people courage to speak the truth in places where they may not have been as comfortable before.”
Outside the fieldhouse, MTN spoke with Nicholas Willett, an MSU junior who said he’s been part of the Turning Point chapter since coming to the university, but that he and others have gotten more involved since Kirk’s death.
“We get called lots of names, people throw things at us,” he said. “We're not bad people. We just believe what we're fighting for, what we're talking about is right. And we believe that it's very important that everybody has their opinion. I don't want to take anybody's opinion away from them. That's not what me or anybody else out here is trying to do. In fact, I really think it's important to hear the other side – really, truly.”
Ramaswamy, now a candidate for governor of Ohio, said during his speech Tuesday that, in 2024, he believed defeating the other side and saving the country were the same thing. He said, while he still believes conservatives need to stand firm on their values, he wants to see more focus on seeing political opponents not as enemies, but as fellow citizens to be debated and persuaded.
Gianforte said before the event he believed he and Ramaswamy were in alignment on the importance of focusing on dialogue.
“I just would encourage people not to retreat to the dark corners of social media, but do what my fellow governor Spencer Cox said: He said, ‘Turn off, switch off, go outside, touch grass, laugh with friends, hug a family member, serve your neighbor,’” Gianforte said. “These online environments are not reality. That other stuff is real. Go do that, and find people you don't agree with and have respectful dialogue.”
