ATLANTA (AP) — Charlie Kirk and Vivek Ramaswamy took the stage recently in downtown Atlanta, a decidedly liberal environment for two famous conservatives to hold court with college students.
Within minutes, Ramaswamy, the biotech entrepreneur who sought the Republican presidential nomination this year, and Kirk, the professional provocateur, were jousting with Georgia State University undergraduates over their choices in the Nov. 5 presidential election.
"What is Kamala Harris' greatest accomplishment?" Kirk tersely asked two students who accused Donald Trump of being "un-American" and wanting to suspend the Constitution.
The 31-year-old Kirk has an outsize role in this year's election, using his online presence and the organization he founded, Turning Point Action, to make himself one of the nation's most recognizable conservatives and a central part of Trump's operation. The former president has put a particular emphasis on courting younger men, the "bro vote," trying to reach them through podcasts, social media and influencers such as Kirk.
Kirk hosts a rally on Wednesday for Trump in Duluth, Georgia, part of the wide swath of metro Atlanta where Trump underperformed four years ago in his reelection campaign, losing to Democrat Joe Biden. Kirk and Trump are scheduled to appear at a rally Thursday evening in Las Vegas.
Harris will be in Philadelphia for a town hall broadcast live Wednesday night on CNN.
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 whether the presidency.
Kirk's Turning Point is pitching state and local Republican officials on 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 one meeting obtained by The Associated Press, a group's operative declared, "We now are an official arm of the Trump campaign."
More than the field work, Kirk's "Brainwashed" tour has become perhaps his most visible presence in the closing 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 noticeable 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 Ms. Harris," said 25-year-old Jean Pierre. He credited figures such as Kirk and Candace Owens for "helping me recognize I'd always been a conservative."
Yet Pierre seemed vastly outnumbered in the crowd by students who were there to push back at the host or simply to watch the combative exchanges that ensued.
When Turning Point staffers walked through the crowd handing out free "MAGA" hats, some students turned them down 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 male take this hat!"
Jason Evans and Tyler Hill, showed up in "White Dudes for Harris" attire.
"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 reprised some of the pitches he used in his own campaign. He accused Biden's administration of censoring internet speech. He defended Trump's protectionism as he explained to students that China is the leading supplier of the U.S. military.
"That doesn't make any sense," he said.
Kirk delved into specious claims and conspiracy theories.
He repeated Trump's misrepresentation that Harris has been singularly responsible for immigration policy and said the vice president was the decision-maker on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and how the U.S. responded to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Kirk amplified the falsehood that 325,000 children have been "lost" at the border during Biden's term.
Kirk also defended the Trump supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress met to certify Biden's election.
Ashli Babbitt, who was shot dead by a Capitol Police officer inside the Capitol, was unarmed, Kirk said. He asked rhetorically whether the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man killed by a white Minneapolis police officer in 2020, was acceptable. That drew jeers and more than a few expletives.
Kirk, who is white, went on to say: "Black people in America are getting put last, which seems to be a theme the last 60 years when Democrats are in charge."
The crowd, which reflected the racial and ethnic diversity of Georgia State's enrollment, largely did not react. Turning Point staffers and local conservatives cheered.
Kirk drew 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."