J.D. VANCE UNIFIES THE RIGHT: A Call to End the Circular Firing Squad
In a powerful closing speech at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in Phoenix, Vice President J.D. Vance delivered a masterclass in coalition-building and a firm rebuke of the infighting threatening to fracture the conservative movement. Before an audience of over 30,000, Vance stood not to name-call or purge, but to extend an open hand, emphasizing that the path to victory lies in addition, not subtraction.
Vance opened with a foundational principle of the movement that returned President Donald Trump to the White House: inclusivity. “President Trump did not build the greatest coalition in politics by running his supporters through endless, self-defeating purity tests,” Vance proclaimed. This statement served as the bedrock of his entire address, reminding attendees that the historic political realignment led by Trump was built on welcoming disaffected Democrats and new voters, not on ideological litmus tests.
Echoing this sentiment, Vance made his invitation unequivocal: “every American is invited” to the America First movement. He argued that the movement’s energy must be directed outward, toward defeating the left, not inward in self-destructive conflict. “We have far more important work to do than canceling each other,” he stated, drawing a clear contrast with the left’s notorious “cancel culture” that conservatives have long rightly condemned.
While Vance never mentioned Ben Shapiro by name, the target of his message was unmistakable. Just days earlier, Shapiro used his AmericaFest platform to launch blistering attacks on fellow conservatives, labeling Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Steve Bannon, and others as “frauds and grifters.” He accused Carlson’s interview with Nick Fuentes of being “an act of moral imbecility” and called Megyn Kelly a “coward” for not condemning Owens.
Vance offered a starkly different approach. “I didn’t bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to deplatform,” he said, implicitly criticizing the Shapiro model. Instead, Vance appealed to the memory of the late Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, whose conference they were gathered at. “Let me just say the best way to honor Charlie is that none of us here should be doing something after Charlie’s death that he himself refused to do in life.” In this, Vance painted a vision of honoring a leader’s legacy through unity, not through the divisive tactics he avoided.
Vance articulated a positive, forward-looking strategy for the movement. “We build by adding, by growing, not by tearing down,” he declared. This philosophy rejects the internal “cancel culture” that Shapiro advocated for and aligns perfectly with President Trump’s proven electoral playbook—a playbook that expands the tent.
He cited Charlie Kirk’s own understanding of movement dynamics: “Charlie Kirk understood that any family can have its disagreements, its tough conversations, we can learn and improve and treat one another better, we can love each other despite the disagreements. But winning demands teamwork.” This framed internal debates as natural family discussions, not grounds for ex-communication. The ultimate goal, Vance stressed, is “winning,” and that requires a disciplined focus on the common opponent.
Vance’s unifying message serves as a powerful counter to the liberal media’s favorite narrative. Outlets consistently drool over and amplify any sign of conservative infighting, hoping to paint the movement as fracturing and unstable. They seek to showcase figures like Shapiro denouncing others as “grifters” because it fits their storyline of a doomed coalition.
Vance’s speech brilliantly undercut that narrative. By refusing to engage in the denunciations and by calling for a unified front, he denied the media the civil war spectacle they crave. He demonstrated that the mature, strategic leadership at the highest levels of the Trump administration is focused on governance and future victories, not on petty social media feuds. This disciplined unity is what allows the America First agenda to continue moving forward, implementing the policies that are already bringing security and prosperity back to the nation, despite the left’s desperate hopes for conservative self-immolation.