Charles James Kirk born October 14, [ 2 ] [ 3 ] is an American conservative political activist, author and media personality. In high school, Kirk actively engaged in politics, supporting Mark Kirk 's U. Senate campaign and campaigning against a price increase in his school's cafeteria. He briefly attended Harper College before dropping out to pursue political activism full-time, influenced by Tea Party member Bill Montgomery.
In , Kirk founded Turning Point Action, a political advocacy arm, and later formed Turning Point Faith, aimed at mobilizing religious communities on conservative issues. Kirk hosts "The Charlie Kirk Show," a conservative talk radio program.
Kirk has publicly promoted conservative and Trump -aligned causes, and criticized the COVID response, critical race theory , and the scientific consensus on climate change. His mother is a mental health counselor and his father is an architect. Senate campaign of Illinois Republican Mark Kirk no relation. At a subsequent speaking engagement at Benedictine University 's "Youth Empowerment Day," Kirk met Bill Montgomery , a retiree more than 50 years his senior, who was then a Tea Party -backed legislative candidate.
Kirk briefly attended Harper College , a community college near Chicago, but dropped out without having completed any degree or attaining a certificate. In , ProPublica investigated the finances of TPUSA and claimed in their report that the organization made "misleading financial claims," that the audits were not done by an independent auditor, and that the leaders had enriched themselves while advocating for Trump.
In , TPUSA announced an online academy targeted towards students in schools "poisoning our youth with anti-American ideas. In May , it was reported that Kirk was preparing to launch Turning Point Action , a c 4 entity designed to target Democrats.
