Mary Margaret Olihan

It was very much turning point.

It was very Charlie Kirk.

Erica Kirk brought out rapper Nicki Minaj on stage.

She's been speaking out about Christian persecution abroad and praising the Trump administration.

Minaj earned big applause and her remarks really resonated with the crowd.

Here she is.

There was also a very well-received speech from Vice President J.D.

Vance.

He's loved at Turning Point.

During the conference, Erica actually endorsed Vance for a 2028 run.

And finally, the biggest of all names, President Trump called in and he really revved up the crowd.

Right.

The issue of where conservatives draw the line on things like platforming neo-Nazis or pushing conspiracies, including ones aimed at Turning Point, became a major theme of the event from day one when Ben Shapiro spoke.

He specifically cited Candace Owens pushing conspiracy theories, suggesting people in Turning Point, even Erica Kirk, were somehow, quote, complicit in covering up the supposed truth about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

These false claims, Shapiro said, must be called out by conservatives.

Shapiro also outlined obligations that conservatives owe their audiences.

Notably, Owens was not invited to the event.

But Shapiro's reference to the people speaking at AmFest did cause a stir, to say the least.

He specifically named Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly and also slammed Steve Bannon.

All three of them did go on to speak and unsurprisingly criticized Shapiro, claiming he was calling for censorship and deplatforming.