Turning Point USA asks Phoenix to keep competition away from AmericaFest
In the contract Turning Point USA executed for AmericaFest, the four-day convention scheduled for Dec. 17 in Phoenix, the nonprofit dedicated to free market and capitalistic principles asked for the city’s help in keeping competing organizations away.
Turning Point USA asked the Phoenix Convention Center not to lease space to organizations it considered direct competitors in the days surrounding its event. The contract, signed by Charlie Kirk, Turning Point’s CEO, listed seven groups by name.
Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, said the provision was not anti-capitalist, but instead reflected free market freedom.
“It’s the basic freedom of us to be able to ask for exclusivity and they agreed to it,” Kolvet said. “We exercised our freedom of enterprise to give ourselves an opportunity to have a better position.”
It was not clear if any of the organizations that Turning Point USA asked the government-operated center to ban were planning any December events in Phoenix.
AmericaFest has scheduled a cavalcade of conservative stars as speakers: Tucker Carlson, the Fox News Network host; Steve Bannon, the former Trump adviser who was convicted for contempt of Congress; U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia; and Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow.
Tickets for students, whom the event is targeted toward, are $55. Adult general admission is $350. VIP tickets top out at $750 for adults.
Although the convention is scheduled for Dec. 17 through Dec. 20, Turning Point USA asked the convention center to apply restrictions to other conservative organizations spanning from Dec. 12 through Dec. 21.
Turning Point USA had a similar contract provision in place for its 2021 AmericaFest, which also took place at the Phoenix Convention Center. That year, the direct competitors listed were College Republicans, Young Americans for Liberty and Young Americans Foundation.
Its 2022 contract added four more groups. Those groups included American Populist Union, American Conservative Union, America First Foundation and the American Freedom Tour.
The contracts were released to The Arizona Republic under the state's public records law.
In an emailed statement, Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, the group that puts on the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, known as CPAC, said he considered Turning Point USA an ally, rather than a competitor.
During the 2021 AmericaFest, a group called Republicans for National Renewal held a Christmas-themed reception, “It’s a Wonderful Nation,” which featured political figures who were also slated to speak at the Turning Point USA event.
While Republicans for National Renewal was not listed as a direct competitor by Turning Point USA, one of the sponsors of the event, American Populist Union, was.
The event’s location was only disclosed to attendees, though it was described as being within walking distance of the Phoenix Convention Center, and thus not subject to the no-compete clause.
Prices for that three-hour event were not listed on an old listing for it. VIP tickets included an open bar and copies of a book penned by Kelli Ward, the head of the Arizona Republican Party.
Kolvet said Turning Point USA, with the clause, was simply aiming to have category exclusivity. It did not want back-to-back conventions with a similar theme, saying it would cause fatigue among potential participants.
“You want people excited about your event,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Turning Point USA asks Phoenix: Keep competitors away from AmericaFest
