Turning Point USA Is Starting to Look a Lot Like Something We’ve Seen Before—and That’s Not Good

I get wanting young people involved in politics, wanting them to care. But what’s going on with Turning Point USA (TPUSA) crosses a dangerous line.

Remember when TPUSA started? It was pitched as a student group promoting free markets and conservative values. Fast forward, and it’s basically a political machine—massive funding, big events, signature slogans, and most concerning, a militarized kind of camaraderie.

I’ve seen footage and coverage of their events—students in matching hats, chanting slogans. At one pastors-only “Faith Summit,” TPUSA speaker Marty Baker said, “We have to press in,” and pastors were encouraged to act like “generals.” Here’s what Word & Way reported: pastors were told “to lead from the front like generals,” and that they needed to launch a kind of spiritual “exorcism” to cleanse the culture. That's not encouragement for peaceful service—it’s marching orders.

Then there's Charlie Kirk himself. Recently, TPUSA posted on Twitter: “We’ve won the culture war! We’ve done it!” (turn0search2). That kind of celebratory language after AmericaFest—with tens of thousands cheering and politicians like Trump calling it a “Jesus Christ–filled weekend”—should’ve sent alarm bells ringing.

Add in the “Professor Watchlist” launched back in 2016 to “expose and document faculty members who discriminate against conservative students, promote anti‑American values and advance leftist propaganda” (quoting Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt via Goodreads) and numerous professors reported threats and intimidation. One Stanford professor said it was “a shameful attempt to harass faculty into silence” (turn0search3).

So here’s the big worry: this is starting to feel like youth indoctrination. Historically—think Hitler Youth—this kind of emotional, ritual-driven loyalty, slogan chanting, leader worship, uniformed participation, and demonizing of “the other” is how totalitarian movements take root. Hitler said it himself: “He alone who owns the youth gains the future.” TPUSA isn’t Nazis, but the methods look awfully similar.

Christian nationalism is baked in, too. At that 2025 Faith Summit, pastors were told to act more like generals than peace-bearers. Yet Jesus didn’t send us to conquer. He said, “God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9, NLT). That’s the gospel we’re supposed to live, not propaganda warfare dressed in church clothes.

And here’s another issue: TPUSA is a nonprofit, so it’s not supposed to endorse political candidates. But through Turning Point Action, they do—and they operate in murky legal territory around campaign laws. That’s not just sketchy—it undermines the system meant to preserve fairness in elections.

So why does this matter? Because TPUSA shapes how young people think and see the world. They teach them to see dissenters as enemies, to celebrate political victories as spiritual ones, to reject nuanced discussion, and to lean into fear and tribalism.

That isn’t conservative. It’s corrosive. We’ve already seen where this path leads in other countries. If we’re not better than that—as followers of Christ, as citizens of a democracy—then what are we?

This isn’t about conservative or liberal—this is about preserving critical thinking, integrity, and faith that values peace over power. And TPUSA isn’t the way to get there.

Key Bible Verse (NLT):

“God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.” — Matthew 5:9

Sources:

“Money and Misinformation: How Turning Point USA Became a Formidable Pro-Trump Force.” The Guardian, 23 Oct. 2021.

“The Professor Watchlist.” The Cut, 22 Nov. 2016.

Waxman, Olivia B. “The History Behind Jojo Rabbit and What It Was Really Like to Be in the Hitler Youth.” Time, 17 Oct. 2019.

“Inside Turning Point USA’s Pastors Summit.” Word & Way, 24 Mar. 2025.

Kirk, Charlie. “We’ve won the culture war! We’ve done it!” X, [tweet], turn0search2.

Lukianoff, Greg, and Jonathan Haidt. The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting up a Generation for Failure. Goodreads quote, turn0search1.

The Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Tyndale House Publishers, 2015.