From 12 p.m. to 2:40 p.m. on Thursday, May 1, in the center of UC San Diego Town Square, conservative media personality and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk debated event attendees on topics like abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, immigration, the economy, education, and religion.
An estimated 1,100 people gathered to watch Kirk, according to the associate director of internal communications, Melinda Battenberg. This included students, private security, UCSD police, non-UCSD affiliates, and TPUSA staff. Many members of the crowd wore merchandise in support of President Donald Trump, and some UCPD officers were pictured leaving the event with MAGA hats. Battenberg declined to comment on the number of security personnel present at the event.
This event was hosted by UCSD’s chapter of TPUSA as part of Kirk’s American Comeback Tour, where Kirk visits college campuses across the country to “debate conventional narratives promoted by leftist academia.” His events are advertised to both the students of the University he visits as well as the broader local community, meaning he is often followed by local supporters and University non-affiliates — including at UCSD.
Kirk sat under a tent with “Prove me wrong” written across the top. Debaters spoke into a microphone in front of the tent, where multiple cameras were positioned to record their exchanges. Attendees who disagreed with Kirk were encouraged to move to the front of the line to share their opinions, though multiple people that spoke agreed with Kirk.
During the event, Kirk threw free hats into the crowd with “Make America Great Again” or “47” written on them, both in reference to Trump, the 47th President. When the event concluded, Kirk signed hats and merchandise for members of the crowd.
Kirk was a public supporter of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and gave a speech during his January inauguration. Multiple attendees who spoke with Kirk criticized his support of the Trump administration’s recent actions. Many of his responses in these exchanges were met with cheers from the crowd.
In the evening prior to his visit, several counter protestors chalked messages to express their dissatisfaction with Kirk’s event. However, the chalk was washed away before the event.
An anonymous chalker told The UCSD Guardian that they believed the erasure demonstrated TPUSA at UCSD and the University administration’s disingenuous commitment to peaceful free speech. TPUSA at UCSD maintained in The Guardian’s Instagram comments that the administration decided on its own to remove the chalk messages.
Protestors returned during and after Kirk’s visit to replace their chalk work. Chalk messages encouraged people to not interact with Kirk and included phrases like “Trans Rights are Human Rights” and “Black Lives Matter.”
Kirk will continue his tour at California State University, Long Beach on Monday, May 5.
