In a podcast with conservative icon Ann Coulter today, Turning Point USA leader Charlie Kirk casually announces what appears to be a major policy shift for himself, and possibly his organization, but it is too soon to tell yet exactly which direction things will go.
Previously, Kirk has advocated for bringing up to 50 million immigrants into the United States over 10 years, many into swing states, based on his observation of empty land from airplane windows. These policies seemed to have come without due diligence of whether or not the end result would mean the potential to end the Republican party as we know it. It seems that perhaps, he just might be starting to understand that things are just a little bit more complex than filling empty land with people for the sake of the GDP.
Yes, the American economy is the envy of the world, and before the COVID-19 pandemic that has temporarily stunted the growth of the United States and the rest of the world, was setting records. All that is very important but with high economic growth due to mass immigration in part, there comes another price.
Native-born Americans face higher competition in the workforce out of college, and low-end workers sometimes get pushed onto welfare because of cheap immigrant labor. This is a highly discussed topic that many may disagree with, but a large group of conservatives calling themselves proponents of America first, are starting to latch on to the idea that we as Americans needs to slow down immigration, and even foreign aid to all other countries, to get our affairs in order first.
As President Trump put it when he banned travel from 6 countries deemed to be a high risk for terrorism, “until our representatives find out what the hell is going on”. Congressional Candidate Jarome Bell retweeted the video clip posted by Media Right News from the Ann Coulter – Charlie Kirk podcast.
In the partial clip below, Kirk starts out with Coulter by saying “I have long been an illegal immigrant border hawk around building the southern border wall and allowing ICE to do their job and deporting individuals that have broken immigration law. Like some people in the conservative movement, I have really intensified and clarified my position on even legal immigration in saying that we need to be just as serious with restricting visas, and also how legal immigration can be equally harmful.” It’s unclear if he has “bent the knee” to pressure from the like of Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, and others on the issue overall, or if this is just because of the pandemic or some combination. For hardline conservative and immigration hawks this is a welcome change to hear from the likes of Kirk, considering how much influence he and his organization are believed to have on the Trump administration and beyond.
This being the case, Kirk has previously condemned others for having similar positions as he is taking now, including people who posed questions about immigration at some of his Q&A sessions, and it is unclear if he will brush that under the rug or perhaps offer some sort of olive brand to many of the people who held these tough positions for some time now. It was previously of Kirk’s belief, that legal immigrants could be easily assimilated in our culture at the rate of which the United States has been allowing them to come here for some time now.
Been saying it for how long now…. https://t.co/LPXqitYk3R
— Jarome Bell (@JaromeBellVA) May 22, 2020
In this video below, a questioner asks a question: “I’m actually pretty anti-immigration. I’m actually from California, and my home state, since the immigration act of 1965, has gone to shit. And it’s mainly because of mass immigration, that’s just an undeniable fact. It’s changed the voting trends it’s changed the makeup of LA, it’s changed San Francisco, it’s changed my hometown of Santa Cruz California… The fact that LA went from being predominantly an English speaking city to now one that speaks like 100 different languages and is culturally divided beyond recognition..” Kirk then takes over before a question actually gets posed: “I push back a little bit though, respectfully, I think this growing anti-immigration portion of the Republican conservative movement is dangerous. Let’s make this huge distinction, this difference between coming here legally, and border jumping, huge difference, ok?” The person asking the question agreed at that point. Kirk then goes on to say “I think the best and the brightest and the most aspirational from all over planet earth, should be able to get a shot at coming here, legally!”… “Is 1.1 million per year a sustainable number?” the questioner hits back with. “Are they coming with skills…” Kirk goes on. Then the questioner says “80 percent of immigrants vote Democrat though…” Kirk continues to push pack “I actually don’t think you can design immigration policy based on politics, and that’s very dangerous” Kirk says. See the exchange:
Kirk has faced a ton of pressure to address his immigration policies over the last year or so, going back before the COVID-19 pandemic, which has added fuel to the fire of those people who have been calling for an immigration moratorium for a long time now. Kirk’s shift in policy could be a result of the pressure from young people showing up to some of his “Culture Wars” Q&A events and asking him tough questions about things like his “stapling green cards to diplomas’ comments which he has since reversed course on as well, as reported previously by Big League Politics’ Shane Trejo here.
Coulter has espoused pretty much the same opinions for many years now as opposed to other mainstream conservative icons who have shifted their views over time. Coulter can be seen in the video below from 3 years ago discussing the same immigration stance as she holds now. Watch:
