Conservative political commentator and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson clashed with attendees in heated debates — using his signature brand of quips and dry humor — in front of a packed IU Auditorium during a Turning Point USA speaker event Tuesday.
He spoke in place of Charlie Kirk for the Bloomington stop of TPUSA’s “This is the Turning Point” tour. Kirk, a right-wing activist and co-founder of TPUSA, was assassinated Sept. 10 while hosting an event at Utah Valley University.
The IU Auditorium, which seats about 3,200, was crammed with attendees, many in white and red hats and Kirk-inspired merchandise. Five police officers flanked either side of the stage. Attendees lined up outside at 4:30 p.m., two hours before the event was set to start. The line stretched past the Fine Arts Plaza down East Seventh Street.
The plaza entrance was barricaded to allow for only sidewalk traffic, and Indiana University Police Department and Indiana State Police officers patrolled the area. Tickets for the event were free for both students and general attendees and were completely claimed. No bags were allowed into the event, and attendees had to go through metal detectors.
A group of about five protesters took up a spot by the Showalter Fountain, showing off signs that read “TPUSA is a hate group” and “Christian values?” Some argued with those supporting the event.
Carlson was preceded by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, who took the stage briefly to commend Kirk for his “family, faith and community” values.
“I could tell he was someone special,” Braun said of Kirk. “I've learned more from talking to folks that disagree with you and then bringing them over to your side. He invited that. That was unusual.”
Following Braun was comedian and TPUSA contributor Jobob Taeleifi, who criticized Saturday’s No Kings protests and asserted that the right was more ideologically diverse than the left. At the end of his speech, he encouraged the crowd to honor Kirk’s legacy and fight for truth, freedom and a “different country.”
TPUSA at IU chapter President James Chambers, wearing a white “47” hat, urged students to join or start TPUSA chapters at their schools. He thanked Carlson for helping share TPUSA’s message and vision with the campus and city.
Carlson and his two dogs walked onstage around 7 p.m. to raucous applause. He offered few remarks, simply stating he had spent his life giving many speeches rather than taking questions and invited the crowd to step up to the microphone.
A line of audience members quickly formed, stretching from the center of the auditorium to its walls.
One debater from Poland asked Carlson about his views on the Russia-Ukraine war. He said he felt that Carlson had a harsh stance on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and asked Carlson if he thought Russia was the aggressor of the war.
“I think Ukraine is the victim here. NATO is the aggressor, NATO did this under the command of Joe Biden, and it’s deranged,” Carlson said. “Zelenskyy is bad, but most Ukrainians are not bad. They’re great people, and they’re being destroyed.”
Carlson also questioned why the United States was involved in the conflict and “paying for the war.”
He argued with an attendee over abortion, saying that there was “no point at all” to getting one. Carlson called it a form of child sacrifice and a way to sate the thrill that he said people derive from killing another human being.
“I kind of believe the ‘my body, my choice’ thing. I really thought that’s what it was about, like bodily autonomy,” Carlson said.
“That is what it’s about,” the debater responded.
“Really, so where were you on the COVID (vaccine)?” Carlson replied. Carlson then suggested the attendee be shown a video of an abortion and questioned if they could sit through it.
Another audience member asked Carlson about the Trump-led push to redraw Indiana’s congressional districts to give Republicans more seats.
“Trump is trying to make it even more unfair,” the attendee said. “He’s trying to move us from 78% Republican districts in Indiana to like 89% or even 100%. To me, that’s not fair.”
Of Indiana’s nine congressional districts, two are currently held by Democrats. Proposed redistricted maps would divide those districts in efforts to unseat one or both of them.
Carlson said that while he wasn’t as well-versed about the Indiana redistricting effort, he thought the makeup of congressional districts should reflect the people who live there.
Carlson said he thought undocumented immigrants should not be counted in the census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau website, data on both foreign- and native-born populations, including “unauthorized migrants,” are collected.
He spoke for nearly two hours, often engaging in fiery arguments with those who stepped up to debate him. Toward the end of the event that lasted until almost 9 p.m., audience members began to filter out.
Some attendees waited for hours to be allowed to enter the auditorium. Bridget Van Gansbeke and her two daughters, both in high school, skipped class and drove from Louisville to line up at around 2:20 a.m. to be first to get into the event.
Bridget Van Gansbeke said they set up camp chairs and a wagon with a cooler and food in front of the auditorium steps but left the spot around 8 a.m. when the area started being sectioned off. She said that she signed up for tickets after Kirk’s assassination to show support for TPUSA and keep Kirk’s message going.
One of Bridget’s daughters, Stella Van Gansbeke, said Kirk made it easier for conservatives to speak their minds.
“People don’t realize how hard it is sometimes,” Stella Van Gansbeke said. “People don’t like you for what you say. And you know, if like him, you’re called racist and homophobic and whatever, but now it’s easier.”
Another attendee, Elizabeth Casman, stood outside trying to give up her ticket. Casman, an IU student, initially planned on attending the event to voice her opinion but changed her mind, partly because she worried it would be a hostile environment.
“I mean, it’d be cool to go in, I guess, like it’d be informal for some talks and debates and stuff, but personally, I don’t really feel like going in anymore,” Casman said. “I would have loved to have bring up a couple of good points about how this would be a very, a very different setting if Charlie Kirk was possibly still alive.”
The next stop on TPUSA’s “This is the Turning Point” tour is slated for Louisiana State University on Oct. 27 and will feature conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as speakers.
