His great engine to capture the young vote

American conservatism has just lost one of its great foci and a rising value, especially among the younger public. Yesterday Charlie Kirk received A fatal bullet while participating in a massive act in Utah. His death, at 31, intensifies the Escalation of violence That American politics seems to be living, but also has another consequence for Donald Trump: he deprives him of one of his great buzas to capture the young vote.

And its importance was clear in the 2024 elections.

What happened? That the American political chronicle has just added a new dire date: on September 10, prelude to 11-S and (from now on) the day of the murder by Charles James Kirk, Aka Charlie Kirkone of the headlights of the Maga and ‘anti woke’ of the US, especially among young people.

The news runs as the gunpowder through social networks and media around the world since yesterday: while participating in a massive act at the University of Utah Valley, on the outskirts of Salt Lake City (Utah), a stranger unleashed a shot to Kirk in his neck. He did not survive. I was 31 years old. I was married. And leave Two childrenSarah Rose, a three -year -old girl, and a boy of just 15 months.

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Why is it news? Basically for two reasons. The most media and less relevant are the details of the murder itself and what surrounds it. Kirk was killed at a distance while participating in a public and massive act, a format to which he was accustomed and during which he had no qualms about debating with the public.

In fact when he received the shot, Kirk was arguing about cases of mass shootings in the US. He influencer conservative was a firm defender of possession of weapons and in one of his podcasts he reached launch a proclamation That today sounds almost prophetic: “It is worth paying, unfortunately, some deaths for firearms every year so we can have the second amendment.”

Is there more? Yes. In addition to crying Kirk’s death, remember who he was and what he did in his brief life, right now the US dedicates himself to something else: identifying his murderer. And that search has generated more expectation around crime. Utah’s governor has not hesitated to describe what happened as “Political murder” And ensures that the authorities work with the hypothesis that the criminal acted alone.

In the hours following the murder there were several information (and denials) in which there was talk of an arrest. Even the FBI said they have a possible suspect or “person of interest.” The truth is that the hours advance and the authorities have not yet given the person in charge.

Who was Kirk? That is the second reason why Utah’s crime is having so many impact. Kirk may be young (in October he would turn 32), but had managed to become a key figure of the Maga and ‘anti woke’ movement, in addition to a person very close to the Trump clan. The president has lamented his murder (like his predecessors and other political leaders, both republicans and Democrats) and has asked that the flags of “All buildings” from the US wave at half -mast in Kirk’s memory.

The closeness between Trump and Kirk dates back to before the return of the Republican to the White House and has been evident several times: they have participated together in public events and Kirk He attended the inauguration of the Republican leader in January. It could also be seen during The controversial visit That the son of the president, Donald Trump Jr., did Greenland at the beginning of this year.

“The great, even legendary, Charlie Kirk. He has died. No one understood or had the heart of young people in the US better than him. He was loved and admired by all, especially for me,” He said goodbye Trump of the young man in Truth. “The condolences of Melania and mine to her beautiful wife, Erika, and her family. Charlie, we love you!”

Why this relationship? Personal affinities on the margin, there is something undeniable: Kirk was an important Maga asset and a rising value between American conservatism. One that contributed to Trump’s return to the White House. Kirk added 5.6 million of followers in X and 8.8 On Instagram, he was a reference in the Fox News chain, he shared his reflections in the podcast ‘The Charlie Kirk Show’ (whose episodes generated between 500,000 and 750,000 downloads) and published several books, including ‘The Maga doctrine’. If by algosobresalió Kirk was however for orchestrating a network in which Trump found valuable electoral support.

Maybe your greatest legacy is TURNING Point USA (TPUSA), an organization that promoted in 2012 with activist Bill Montgomery and is basically dedicated to promoting the conservative ideology in US schools, schools and universities. As remember in The conversationJared Mondschein, from the University of Sydney, Tpusa started with a revenue of just $ 78,000 and has managed to grow up to 85 million dollars last year.

“Outside the digital world, Tpusa is present at more than 3,500 campus, with more than 250,000 members members and more than 450 empelled and partial time”, ” Mondschein points out. In addition to TPUSA, Kirk involved and promoted other conservative organizations, such as Students for Trump either TURNING Point Action.

Why is it important? Because thanks to his acts and platforms Kirk managed to become an influential magic voice, especially among the youngest, who played an important role in Trump’s re -election. The data of Circle either The Civis Center They show that, although Kamala Harris managed to monopolize greater youth vote, the Republican grew in that segment. Yes in 2020 47% of the electorate Young was declared a democrat compared to the 30% who identified Republican, in 2024 those percentages were already at 42 and 39%, respectively.

Pew Research too identified An increase in republican support in 2024 among the youngest electorate. While the majority vote was for Kamala both in the strip of voters from 18 to 29 and from 30 to 49 years, Trump saw how his support grew in both age groups. In fact, he improved the support he had reaped against Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020. Obviously that drift cannot be attributed only to Kirk, but political analysts usually point out the relevance of their speech and the movement it promoted.

How much influence did it have? “Perhaps the most important metric is that A survey From Tiktok to users under 30 years of age, he revealed that, among whom they voted for Trump, they trusted more in Kirk than in any other person, ” remember Mondschein. His speech, in which he did not hesitate to include antitransgenian messages and please the use of weapons or suggest conspiracy theories about the 2020 elections and the pandemic, made Kirk a polarizing figure. Now is something else: his death intensifies the Violent climbing suffering from the US policy and has already been primed (less dramatic) with hairs, Giffords or Trump.

Images | Gage Skidmore (Flickr) 1, 2 and 3

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