Why I’m Picking Up the Mic Charlie Kirk Left for America

My generation will carry the memory of Sept. 10, 2025, with us forever. You probably remember the exact moment you heard Charlie Kirk had been shot during Turning Point’s American Comeback Tour.

Each of us made a decision the day Charlie left us. I know I did. Would we let Charlie’s microphone remain silenced, or would we pick it up, all the more determined to save America from the deadly ideology threatening to destroy it?

Personally, I chose the latter. That’s why I’m joining Turning Point as a campus debater on its Pick Up the Mic Tour this coming fall.

Created in the wake of Charlie’s death, Pick Up the Mic is a new version of the Prove Me Wrong events that had grown to draw thousands of college students by September 2025. My generation is hungry for the truth, and TPUSA knew Charlie would want these conversations to continue.

The Pick Up the Mic Tour will feature well-known conservative voices such as Riley Gaines, Will Witt, Graham Allen, Joshua Haymes, and Chloe Cole.

The tour also uniquely puts the mic in the hands of Gen Z, emphasizing the importance of conversations between peers. I’m excited to be joining Jaden Heard, Kai Schwemmer, Hazel Roberts, Noah Coffin, Mya Goodmanson, Macy Gunnell, and Kennedy Whetzel, among others.

As Charlie knew, the decision to speak the truth is not always well received.

Leftists have already begun calling us the “TPUSA Rejects” and making AI images of us with explosive Rode mics.

Haters never seem to come after the substance of TPUSA’s values and positions, but that probably has nothing at all to do with the fact that their progressive ideology crumbles at the slightest pushback.

Those of us stepping into Charlie’s shoes do not take the decision to pick up the mic lightly. We have all seen the preliminary hearing in Utah this week that will determine whether Tyler Robinson will stand trial. We are praying for Erika Kirk and the TPUSA family and are proud to stand with them in the midst of tragedy.

I’ve had people ask me why in the world I would pick up the mic, pull up a chair, and sit under a tent like Charlie did. The truth is, we really have no choice but to have these hard conversations if we want our country to exist for another 250 years.

As a recent college graduate, I’ve seen how much my generation is searching for answers. Many are dissatisfied with the solutions—or rather, propaganda—the Left is cramming into the culture. For the first time since 2008, Democrats are losing support among American youth, as reported by NPR.

To all the progressives, let me tell you something about Gen Z. We don’t want millions of illegal immigrants flooding into our country. We don’t want pride parades in our streets. We don’t want men taking girls’ medals away. We don’t want any part of your destructive, woke ideology that threatens to pollute the very fabric of our country.

Gen Z wants to live in our parents’ America. We want to own homes, raise families, and find the higher meaning that only God can offer. Those are the values this country was built upon that made it the greatest nation to ever exist.

And if you disagree? That’s OK. Pick up the mic and prove me wrong.