Charlie Kirk, Vivek Ramaswamy mingle with Georgia State students at tour stop in support of Trump – WABE

Charlie Kirk and Vivek Ramaswamy took the stage Monday at Georgia State University in downtown Atlanta, a decidedly liberal environment for two famous conservatives to hold court with college students.

Within minutes, Ramaswamy, the biotech entrepreneur seeking the Republican presidential nomination this year, and Kirk, the professional provocateur, were sparring with students over their choice in the Nov. 5 presidential election.

“What is Kamala Harris’ greatest achievement?” Kirk briefly asked two students who accused Donald Trump of being “un-American” and wanting to suspend the Constitution.

Kirk, 31, has a big role in this year’s election, using his online presence and the organization he founded, Turning Point Action, to make himself one of the country’s most recognizable conservatives and a central part of Trump’s operation. The former president has placed particular emphasis on courting younger men, the “bridge vote,” trying to reach them through podcasts, social media and influencers like Kirk.

Kirk is hosting a rally for Trump on Wednesday in Duluth, Georgia, part of the broad swath of metro Atlanta where Trump underperformed in his re-election campaign four years ago, losing to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump will also appear at a faith-based town hall in Zebulon on Wednesday. Kirk and Trump are scheduled to appear at a rally Thursday night in Las Vegas.

Harris will attend a concert and get out of the vote meeting with former President Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen on Thursday in Atlanta.

The Atlanta gathering Monday was part of the “You’re Being Brainwashed Tour,” with stops on college campuses across the swing states that will decide the presidency.

Kirk’s Turning Point is calling on state and local Republican officials for its get-out-the-vote operation in Arizona, Wisconsin and elsewhere. Critics question the group’s claims and its use of an app that has minimal protections to secure voters’ personal information. In a recording of a meeting obtained by The Associated Press, a group operator declared: “We are now an official arm of the Trump campaign.”

More than the fieldwork, Kirk’s “Brainwashed” tour has become perhaps his most visible presence in the final months of the campaign.

Trump and his aides argue that his populist nationalism appeals to younger voters frustrated by an inflationary economy and rising housing prices.

At Georgia State, Kirk drew a notable contingent of young men wearing Trump’s signature “Make America Great Again” hats.

“I’m definitely voting for Trump because he reflects my values ​​as a conservative and as a Christian more than Mrs. Harris,” said 25-year-old Jean Pierre. He credited figures like Kirk and Candace Owens for “helping me recognize that I’ve always been a conservative.”

Still, Pierre seemed far outnumbered in the crowd of students who were there to push back at the host or simply to watch the combative exchanges that followed.

As Turning Point staff walked through the crowd handing out free “MAGA” hats, some students rejected them, while others put them on and began mocking the idea. One student desperately walked around trying to give it away: “Please, will some straight white man take this hat!”

Jason Evans and Tyler Hill showed up in “White Dudes for Harris” gear.

“I definitely have some questions for Charlie and Vivek,” said Evans, a junior from New York, though he never got to ask them.

Said Hill: “I’m just here for the show.”

Ramaswamy repeated some of the pitches he used in his own campaign. He accused the Biden administration of censoring Internet speech. He defended Trump’s protectionism when he explained to students that China is the leading supplier of the US military.

“It makes no sense,” he said.

Kirk delved into outlandish claims and conspiracy theories.

He echoed Trump’s misrepresentation that Harris has been singularly responsible for immigration policy, saying the vice president was the decision maker on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and how the US responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Kirk reinforced the lie that 325,000 children have been “lost” at the border during Biden’s term.

Kirk also defended the Trump supporters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, when Congress met to confirm Biden’s election.

Ashli ​​Babbitt, who was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer inside the Capitol, was unarmed, Kirk said. He rhetorically asked whether the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis in 2020, was acceptable. It drew jeers and more than a few exclamations.

Kirk, who is white, went on to say, “Black people in America are being put last, which seems to be a theme of the last 60 years of the Democrats being in charge.”

The crowd, which reflected the racial and ethnic diversity of Georgia State’s enrollment, was largely unresponsive. Turning Point staff and local conservatives cheered.

Kirk received his biggest applause, at least from many students wearing red hats, when he quoted from the New Testament. “We are all sinners,” he said. “We all fall short of the glory of God.”