Charlie Kirk debates UW students in ‘You’re Being Brainwashed’ tour

Kirk engages with students on DEI policy, affirmative action, war in Gaza

Conservative political commentator Charlie Kirk visited campus Thursday to kick-off to his “You’re Being Brainwashed” tour.

Kirk heard from and debated students at Library Mall from noon until roughly 3:30 p.m., drawing an audience of around 200 students.

Kirk is the founder and president of Turning Point USA, a right-wing nonprofit organization which advocates for conservative values on high school and university campuses.

The crowd chanted “Charlie! Charlie! Charlie!” as Kirk arrived at his booth.

Kirk was first asked what he thought on replacing the Electoral College with ranked-choice voting. Kirk said the Electoral College gives states like Wisconsin more representation and voice in the election.

“I love the fact that Wisconsin is now one of the most important states in this election,” he said, “and that Wisconsin values and Wisconsin votes are going to have to be heard by both candidates, and that it’s not just a race in Los Angeles and New York City.”

Kirk was also asked about the war in Gaza and said he supports Israel.

When asked about a viable solution, Kirk said there will be no solution until people agree Israel has the right to exist.

Later, when another student asked about the same topic, Kirk said that Jordan and Egypt need to receive Palestinian refugees.

“There’s not a good solution,” Kirk said. “The only solution I could see to be perfectly honest with you is to get Egypt and Jordan to actually do their part and take the people of Gaza. You have to use American power and American hegemony to basically say, ‘Hey Jordan, you guys gotta take a couple million refugees, Egypt, you’re gonna take a couple million refugees.’”

At the event, Kirk wore a black t-shirt that read “Make America Healthy Again,” a slogan and initiative created by former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump in late August.

“This is why I love Bobby Kennedy coming and joining teams with Donald Trump … it’s his life mission to make America healthier,” Kirk said.

When asked about a past comment in which he called the 1964 Civil Rights Act a ‘mistake’, Kirk defended his stance.

“[The 1964 Civil Rights Act was a] wide-ranging, over-the-top bill that has created the prerequisite of what we now call ‘woke’,” Kirk said.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Affirmative Action programs were mentioned several times during the event. One computer engineering student said that DEI is beneficial in fields where women have historically been underrepresented.

“For example, like cars, the seatbelt is made especially for the male body,” she said. “They’re only tested with male mannequins, so a lot of women are at risk of dying in car crashes at a higher rate. There’s a lot of things that benefit from a diverse group of people.”

Kirk said that maybe the seatbelt issue wasn’t caused by sexism, but a lack of research funding.

While a number of students with opposing views came forward to debate with Kirk, the event was met with little to no pushback in the form of counter-protesters

Last November, another conservative campus organization, Young Americans for Freedom, hosted Ben Shapiro at Memorial Union, drawing a significant crowd of counter-protesters. But, none were present at the TPUSA event Thursday.

Kirk said to nearly every student they should register to vote in Wisconsin.

The deadline for online voter registration is Oct. 16, and Oct. 31 is the last day to request an absentee ballot. For more information visit myvote.wi.gov or your home state’s election commission website.