By John Friend
A burgeoning movement on the dissident right comprised of America-first nationalists concerned with immigration, changing demographics, disastrous foreign entanglements, and globalism are on a mission to publicly confront, challenge, and expose the mainstream conservative establishment epitomized by figures such as Charlie Kirk of Turning Points USA (TPUSA) and Ben Shapiro of “The Daily Wire,” among others.
The America-first movement, led primarily by Nick Fuentes, a 21-year-old rising political commentator and host of “America First,” a popular nightly political analysis program on YouTube, has gained steam in recent weeks as supporters of the movement have publicly confronted Kirk and others associated with Conservative Inc at public events across the country. Kirk is wrapping up the TPUSA-sponsored Culture War tour, which brought the young conservative speaker and political organizer to various college campuses for public events that also featured open question and answer sessions.
Throughout the tour, Kirk invited other mainstream conservative figures on stage with him, and also helped organize similar events not officially part of the Culture War tour, including a recent book-signing event at UCLA featuring Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former prosecutor and Fox News commentator that now serves as a senior adviser on the Trump presidential campaign. Other campus conservative groups, such as Young America’s Foundation and various college Republican organizations, have also organized public events in recent weeks that have been attended by supporters of the America-first movement.
Fuentes and his followers have used the Q&A sessions at these events to publicly challenge the conservative credentials of Kirk and others on stage with him, pressing the representatives of Conservative Inc on issues relating to massive immigration, both legal and illegal, unwavering support for Israel, and related matters. Questioners have even broached taboo topics such as Israel’s brutal assault on the USS Liberty in 1967, Israeli espionage against the U.S., and various cultural issues such as Conservative Inc’s seeming support and acceptance of the mainstreaming of homosexuality.
This reporter attended the aforementioned book signing event at UCLA, organized by TPUSA’s UCLA chapter. The event was designed to promote Donald Trump Jr.’s recently published book Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us All, with an open discussion followed by a book signing. Originally scheduled as a two-hour event, Kirk, Trump Jr., and Guilfoyle were forced to flee the stage after only 30 minutes due to boos and dissatisfaction from the audience, who were not allowed to ask questions or engage the speakers. Just prior to the speakers taking the stage, a representative from TPUSA’s UCLA chapter announced that a Q&A session would not be allowed due to time constraints. The announcement brought a deafening chorus of boos from the audience, many of whom were supporters of the America-first movement hoping to engage the speakers and challenge Kirk.
Since the event, a number of establishment media outlets have covered the America-first movement and its confrontation with Conservative Inc with the typical smears and slanders being leveled against a group of largely young American nationalists concerned about the future of their country, the direction of the conservative movement, and President Trump’s America-first agenda, which has been stymied by the Deep State and virtually the entire political and media establishment for decades now, if not the entire 20th century and now the 21st.
In response, Fuentes argued that the America-first movement does not have an issue with Donald Trump Jr. or the president. Rather, they are focused on exposing the faux conservatives surrounding the president and dominating the broader movement.
They want their voices heard and engaging mainstream conservative figures at public events has proven to be a successful strategy. “Our problem is with Charlie Kirk’s TPUSA organization that shuts down and smears socially conservative Christians and supporters of President Trump’s agenda,” Fuentes said in part following the fallout from the UCLA event. “We are America first.”
Fuentes summed up the predicament the president finds himself in currently, indicating the forces the America First movement is opposing.
“President Trump’s agenda has been subverted from the beginning by people in his White House or inner circle who didn’t vote for him, aren’t loyal to him, and actively oppose his policies,” Fuentes noted. “They are the globalist GOP swamp trying to recapture the party from Trump and his voters,” he said.
John Friend is a freelance writer based in California.
