The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) recently added conservative political advocacy group Turning Point USA to its list of hate groups in America. If you’re familiar with how this organization works, you would only be surprised that it took them this long to apply this label to TPUSA.
This development is a clear example of how an institution that began with noble intentions has morphed into little more than a political attack dog for the left.
The SPLC put out an article on Thursday, labeling TPUSA as an “anti-government extremist group” for its supposed promotion of white nationalist conspiracy theories, hawkish immigration stance, and Christian nationalism — which has become one of the left’s favorite buzzwords over recent years. Of course, when the organization uses the term “extremist,” they really mean, “anyone who isn’t a progressive.”
The core of the SPLC’s justification for applying this label to TPUSA is founder Charlie Kirk’s supposed espousal of the “great replacement theory,” which suggests that Democrats are using mass migration to replace white Americans.
“We native born Americans are being replaced by foreigners,” Kirk said.
Perhaps the SPLC does not believe there are “native born” black, Hispanic, and Asian Americans? While there are certainly white nationalist figures who claim immigration will somehow eliminate the white race in America, Kirk has never made this argument. He is simply addressing concerns that many Americans have about the impact of mass immigration — especially illegal immigration.
The SPLC also takes issue with TPUSA’s focus on Christian values and its belief that the US should remain a Christian nation. “You cannot have liberty if you don’t have a Christian population,” Kirk is quoted as saying.
The author argues that TPUSA “is as the forefront of the movement to promote Christian nationalism, the theocratic worldview that the U.S. is a fundamentally Christian country and that Christian values and beliefs should inform the government and wider culture.”
The SPLC has classified Charlie Kirk’s TPUSA as an “anti-government extremist group” and placed it on its “hate map” alongside the KKK.
— AF Post (@AFpost) May 25, 2025
The organization accuses Kirk and TPUSA of propping up “White Christian supremacy.”
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This has been a belief among Christians since America’s founding. Moreover, Islamic countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and plenty of others believe the same for their country and religion. When has the SPLC criticized them for this belief?
TPUSA and Kirk have never claimed people of non-Christian faiths should not be allowed to exist in the United States. They don’t argue that these folks should be prevented from exercising their faith. But the fact remains that America’s founding was predicated on Christianity — and there is nothing hateful about people wanting those values to remain central to our society.
The SPLC also takes issue with the organization’s criticism of the American education system. They refer to Kirk’s past attacks on government-run schools when he said, “If you’re not willing to close the local school, then you shouldn’t be on the school board.”
So what?
It is abundantly clear that our government-run education system has been a colossal failure. Arguing otherwise would be akin to claiming people should try breathing underwater. One can’t be blamed for wanting to do away with government-run schools. I also share this belief. Does this make me an “extremist?”
But we know the real game here. Progressives have been using government-run schools to indoctrinate students into far-leftist ideology. Attacking the system is tantamount to attacking the left’s primary recruiting tool.
The author further accuses TPUSA of taking “aggressive action to silence political speech and attack educational institutions as a collective.”
TPUSA’s “Professor Watchlist,” which highlighted professors who promote leftist ideology in the classrooms is ostensibly an example of how the organization seeks to crack down on speech.
This is ridiculous. Leftists in the university have a right to promote their ideology. People who disagree with that ideology have a right to criticize it. That’s how free speech works. The notion that conservative groups like TPUSA are somehow silencing leftists on campus makes about as much sense as believing the Earth is flat.
In fact, it has mostly been folks on the left who have been shutting down dissenting views on campus. Conservative student group Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) has been locked in a fight with universities trying to prevent them from expressing their views. Why can’t the SPLC give examples of leftists groups having to file lawsuits to keep colleges from censoring them?
Of course, Kirk’s criticisms of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came up.
At its founding, Turning Point USA insisted it was committed to promoting free conservative speech on college campuses. Early on, Kirk avoided controversial social issues, including abortion and racism, and preached the virtues of America’s secular government. He praised Martin Luther King Jr. as a “hero” and a “civil rights icon,” and TPUSA sold $55 shirts featuring his image. Today, Kirk condemns King as “awful” and “not a good person” as part of TPUSA’s broader effort to discredit civil rights legislation.
These are Kirk’s personal opinions. There is no evidence that most involved with TPUSA share them. I personally disagree with him on King. But this does not somehow translate into TPUSA being an “extremist” organization.
The problem with SPLC’s definition of hate and extremist groups is that it is far too broad — and likely deliberately so. They have expanded the definition in a way that allows them to label anyone who disagrees with their politics as a danger that should be addressed, not just people with differing viewpoints.
Of course, the folks at the SPLC know this. But they obviously don’t care. Their objective isn’t to engage in reasoned debate, it is to convince people that those who disagree with them are evil, dangerous people. It is a slick way to dehumanize people for their political beliefs.
Yes, there are actual hate groups out there. The vast majority of Americans revile them. The SPLC is using our enmity toward what these groups represent to manipulate us into dismissing their arguments out of hand. Perhaps they are are the true hate group.
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