PHOENIX—In the final minutes of Turning Point USA’s sometimes fractious AmericaFest, Vice President JD Vance called for something short of a truce: He urged conservatives to not try to expel each other from conservatism.

“I didn’t bring a list of conservatives to denounce or deplatform,” Vance said in his Dec. 21 speech, which capped off the first AmericaFest that Turning Point USA (TPUSA) has put on since the assassination of one of the organization’s founders, Charlie Kirk, on Sept. 10, 2025.

In his remarks, which also emphasized the deep roots of Christianity in American life, Vance appealed to Kirk’s own commitment to open dialogue on the political right.

“None of us here should be doing something after [Kirk’s] death that he himself refused to do in life,“ the vice president said. ”He invited all of us here.”

“We have far more important work to do than canceling each other,” he added.

On the first day of AmericaFest 2025, political commentators Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson traded jabs.

Shapiro came on stage just after Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk. He castigated Carlson, as well as media personalities Steve Bannon, Megyn Kelly, and Candace Owens. All but Owens went on to take the stage over the course of the multi-day event.

“If Candace Owens decides to spend every day since the murder of Charlie Kirk casting aspersions at TPUSA ... implicating everyone from French intelligence to Mossad, to members of TPUSA, in [Charlie Kirk’s] murder, or a cover-up in that murder, then we as people with a microphone have a moral obligation to call that out by name,” Shapiro said.

He also accused Carlson of going “silent on [Owens’s] targeting of TPUSA” and accused Kelly, whom he said he considers a friend, of “shying away from condemning her actions.” Shapiro alleged that Bannon was “maligning people he disagrees with” by imputing loyalty to a country other than the United States without evidence.

In his own day one speech, Carlson denounced Shapiro’s remarks, saying that they were a bid to deplatform him.

He also alleged that the comments were part of a proxy war against Vance.

Just minutes before Shapiro spoke, Erika Kirk, who became TPUSA’s CEO after her husband’s death, said her organization backed a potential Vance presidential bid in 2028.

In the course of his remarks, Shapiro described Carlson as “quite close with” the vice president.

Carlson told the audience, “There are people who are mad at JD Vance and they’re stirring up a lot of this in order to make sure he doesn’t get the nomination.”

Kelly also took issue with Shapiro’s comments, airing her objections on Dec. 19 during a conversation with commentator and activist Jack Posobiec.

Megyn Kelly speaks at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Phoenix on Dec. 19, 2025. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

“I resent that he thinks he’s in a position to decide who must say what to whom and when,” Kelly said. “So, I don’t think we are friends anymore.”

“I’ve been a very good friend to Ben,” Kelly continued.

She said that she “helped make him a star” during her time at Fox News. She also pointed out that they agree on many things but that they disagree on “whether Tucker Carlson should be excommunicated from the conservative movement.”

Bannon, too, fired back at Shapiro. In his Dec. 19 AmericaFest speech, the former White House strategist under President Donald Trump called Shapiro a “hardcore never-Trumper” and accused him of seeking to put Israeli interests ahead of U.S. interests.

On Dec. 21, Vance told the AmericaFest crowd that some level of disagreement can signal strength in conservatism, which he described as “a movement of freethinkers.”

Politics and Christianity

The Ohioan has not declared his candidacy for the 2028 election, which is almost three years away.

Vice President JD Vance speaks at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Phoenix on Dec. 21, 2025. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Although the 22nd Amendment restricts presidents to two terms, some have speculated that Trump could seek a third term. Trump has ruled out the possibility.

Although he has not endorsed Vance as his successor, Trump has floated both Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as strong contenders.

Rubio has said he will not run if the vice president enters the race.

Although Vance did not address the upcoming Republican presidential election cycle on Dec. 21, he discussed the prospective Democratic field, saying that the party would ultimately choose between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Vance’s speech came after remarks from various major Republican politicians and conservative voices aligned with Trump.

The big names included Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, now running for senate in North Carolina, as well as Florida gubernatorial hopeful Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.).

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) speaks at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Phoenix on Dec. 21, 2025. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), now running for governor of Arizona, also appeared, as did House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and the president’s son Donald Trump Jr.

Before Vance’s remarks, Erika Kirk was joined on stage by a special guest, rapper Nicki Minaj.

Minaj spoke about her advocacy for persecuted Christians in Nigeria.

“We will speak up for Christians wherever they are in this world,” Minaj said, drawing cheers and applause from the crowd.

Minaj’s comments were in keeping with the deeply Christian atmosphere at the political gathering.

The programming on Dec. 21 opened with a worship service.

Pastor Greg Laurie, who spoke before Whatley, discussed Vance’s journey to Christianity. The vice president became a Catholic in 2019. His wife, Usha, is Hindu.

At a TPUSA event earlier in 2025, Vance told the audience that he hoped that she would eventually convert to Christianity.

Tom Homan, White House border czar, speaks at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Phoenix on Dec. 21, 2025. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

“If she doesn’t, then God says everybody has free will, and so that doesn’t cause a problem for me,” he said.

Vance said he and his wife are raising their children as Christians.

On Dec. 21, the vice president described Christianity as a core part of the United States, although he stressed that Americans need not be Christians to be true Americans.

“The only thing that has truly served as an anchor of the United States of America is that we have been, and by the grace of God we always will be, a Christian nation,” Vance said.

“The fruits of true Christianity are men like Charlie Kirk,” the vice president said, drawing applause and chants of “Charlie!” from the crowd.