Vice President JD Vance and Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk encouraged students to embrace conservatism and the Christian faith as core tenants of American values during their appearance on the “This is the Turning Point Tour” at the University of Mississippi Wednesday night.
Vance focused primarily on immigration, while Erika Kirk shared her hopes for young people and the legacy of her husband, TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
In her introductory speech at the event, Erika Kirk said she believes that Gen Z is the “courageous generation.” She called the gathering of students, who waited hours in cold and rainy weather to attend the TPUSA event, a “revival.”
“This generation inside of America — remember who she (America) is, or she’ll forget,” Erika Kirk said. “I believe with all my heart that God placed you here, now, not by accident, but by assignment. There is no mistake that you are here in this stadium.”
Kirk largely spoke about the work of “the enemy,” or Satan. Her discussion of religious values was emblematic of TPUSA’s mission.
“I still believe in (America.) I still believe in her founding. I still believe in her future,” Erika Kirk said. “I don’t care if people think it sounds crazy, but I still believe that our nation can heal, but we can’t save a country that we’re too afraid to defend.”
What she was referencing that America must heal from was never explicitly stated, but she repeatedly pointed to sin and evil as crippling points affecting the political and social health of the United States.
“The fight for freedom starts within every one of you. … Please stand firm against the wickedness of the devil and of the schemes of man,” she said.
Vance followed Kirk’s speech by discussing his relationship with Charlie Kirk and participating in a live question-and-answer session with students.
During the question period, Vance addressed a multitude of political issues, including the current government shutdown, the Trump Administration’s deployment of military troops to U.S. cities, merit-based immigration, separation of church and state, artificial intelligence and surveillance, his stance on abortion and his faith.
Vance paid the most time discussing legal versus illegal immigration. He believes his responsibility as vice president is to make the “American dream” as accessible as possible. The best way he can do that, Vance said, is to fight against illegal immigration.
“I believe that when you let in a flood of illegal immigration, what it does is it drives down the wages of young people and makes housing unaffordable for the entire American population,” Vance said.
The sheer magnitude of illegal immigrants in the United States, Vance said, is cause for great concern. He noted that his best guess is 25-30 million illegal immigrants currently live in the United States and said he has heard estimates as high as 50 million. Pew Research Center estimates while illegal immigrant numbers reached a record 14 million in July 2023, July 2025 estimates are higher.
“Many immigrants do enrich the United States of America. But here’s the problem we’ve got — we don’t even know how many illegal aliens we have,” Vance said. “You’ve got to allow your own society to cohere a little bit, to build a sense of common identity for all the newcomers, to assimilate the ones who are going to stay into American culture. Until you do that, you’ve got to be careful about any additional immigration.”
On merit-based immigration, Vance said that immigrants should have special capabilities and not replace the jobs of equally qualified American workers. He criticized the use of H-1B visas to employ foreign workers for cheaper wages. The H-1B visa allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations.
“If you look at the H-1B visa, … what it’s supposed to be is that (if) you have a super genius who’s studying at an American university, who’s working at a great company, you want that super genius to stay in the United States of America and not go somewhere else,” Vance said.
Acknowledging that many students in the audience did not fully agree with his stance on immigration, he stressed his main goal at the center of the issue.
“Our immigration policy is not about hating immigrants,” Vance said. “We don’t hate anybody. We love our fellow citizens. … We want them to have the ‘American dream.’”
Vance also made points about Charlie Kirk’s legacy of political debate. Vance called Charlie Kirk the most effective person in politics that he had ever seen, calling him a dear friend with whom he exchanged frequent phone calls about current events.
“Charlie wanted you, more than anything, to invest in the things that were worth having, to build a life that was worth building,” Vance said. “The most important advice he ever gave you was: ‘Fall in love, get married and start a family.’”
Erika Kirk’s speech was also an elegy to her husband. She reflected on the day’s symbolism in reference to Charlie Kirk’s death, also on a Wednesday.
She thanked the members of the Ole Miss TPUSA chapter, calling them the “heartbeat of this organization.”
“You guys have no idea how helpful it is to have all of you in my life, because you have helped me feel even more connected to my husband,” Erika Kirk said.
Charlie Kirk had three written questions positioned on his desk that he read every day before his death, she said: “What is something I can do for someone today?” “What is something I can do to add value to the world today?” and “How can I honor God today?”
“Ask yourself those questions every single day, and you will get courage,” Erika Kirk said, addressing a question she is frequently asked of how someone can act to be more like her husband.
She urged students to consider wisely how they spend their time, calling on the audience to remember the principles of faith and patriotism that TPUSA embraces.
“Love family carelessly. Love your spouse fearlessly. Love this country. … Defend her and serve her God, and don’t think that it’s someone else’s role to do it. You do it. Do it for Charlie,” Erika Kirk said.
