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PHOENIX, Ariz. – Vice President JD Vance closed out AmericaFest 2025, Turning Point USA’s first convention since founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination, by telling a raucous crowd that the “America First” movement is open to free thinkers who love their country.
Vance appeared shortly after Erika Kirk, who took TPUSA’s reins after her husband’s death in September, held a discussion with surprise guest Nicki Minaj. The vice president told the crowd that the political coalition forged by President Trump is strong enough to surmount disagreements within.
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Vice President JD Vance speaks at TPUSA’s AmericaFest in Phoenix. (Caylo Seals/Getty Images)
“People of every faith come to our banner because they know that the America First movement will make our lives better,” he went on. “They know Democrats don’t care about anything other than trans-ing their kids.”
Vowing to stand with “every patriot in this room to defend the country we so dearly love,” Vance dismissed conservative infighting that had gone on earlier in the conference, while not naming any of the podcasters or subjects involved.
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“President Trump did not build the greatest coalition in politics by running his supporters through endless, self-defeating purity tests,” Vance said, as some of the earlier speakers name-dropped each other amid divisions over Israel, Ukraine aid and other controversial issues on the right.
“We don’t care if you’re White or Black, rich or poor, young or old, rural or urban, controversial or a little bit boring, or somewhere in between… [P]eople of every faith come to our banner because they know that the America First movement will make their lives better. And they also know that the Democrats don’t care about anything other than maybe trans-ing their kids.”
“So if you love America, if you want all of us to be richer, stronger, safer, and prouder, you have a home on this team. I didn’t bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to deplatform, and I don’t really care if some people out there — I’m sure we’ll have the fake news media — denounce me after this speech.”
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Later in the speech, however, he said that such infighting is not necessarily a sign of a weak or fractious movement.
“Some of you are impatient at the pace of progress and my response to that is ‘Good,'” he said, appearing to refer to criticisms of the Republican Congress’ progress on the America First agenda.
“I know some of you are discouraged by the infighting over any number of issues. Don’t be discouraged,” he added.
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“Wouldn’t you rather lead a movement of freethinkers who sometimes disagree than a bunch of drones who take their orders from George Soros?” he quipped.
He said Charlie Kirk once told him that politics is not a “dress rehearsal or a game” but a series of decisions that will shape the future of a country.
“My friends, commit to these things, and I promise you victory: I promise you closed borders and safe communities. I promise you good jobs and a dignified life. Only God can promise you salvation and heaven. But together we can fulfill the promise of the greatest nation in the history of the earth,” he said, as he closed his speech.
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During his address, he delved further into what is important to fulfilling “America First.”
“We have far more important work to do than canceling each other — we have got to build, and President Donald Trump is a builder,” he said. “We’re building a better country right now. We build by adding, by growing, not by tearing down.”
Vance declared that 2025 represented the first year in more than half a century with negative net-migration and that millions of illegal immigrants have either left the U.S. or been deported.
“When you restore sanity at the border, it shows up everywhere else,” he said, pointing to rent costs, gas prices, inflation and unemployment declining.
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“We made it clear that in the United States we believe in hard work and merit –we don’t treat anybody [a certain way] because of their race or their sex, so we have relegated DEI to the dustbin of history which is exactly where it belongs.”
He said that to honor Kirk’s life, the Trump administration will continue working to end the “scourge of left-wing violence” including by not only arresting Antifa members who throw bricks, but “who bought the brick — and we’re going to prosecute them too” — referring to shadowy, deep-pocketed leftist interests.
