Turning Point USA President Charlie Kirk and TPUSA contributor Rob Smith pushed back against white nationalist and anti-gay "trolls" who "sabotaged" the Q&A portion of a "Culture War LIVE" event at Ohio State University on Tuesday night.
Benny Johnson, the organization's chief creative officer, noted the following on Twitter:
There were a number of trolls who sabotaged the Q&A portion of tonight’s @tpusa event. Many of the questions were… https://t.co/D3ayxOzxGV— Benny (@Benny) 1572401526.0
Smith — a gay, black conservative who served in the Iraq War and notes in his Twitter bio that he's "proudly despised by leftists AND the alt-right!" — helped Kirk slap down a number of inappropriate questions.
There’s a difference between asking genuine questions & trolling “How does Anal Sex help win the Culture War” isn’… https://t.co/XOCn1YNUOy— Benny (@Benny) 1572451362.0
Another questioner asked Kirk and Smith how America could maintain "white" values, and Kirk decried the premise, telling the individual, "I find that to be a racist question" and "I do not think that America should become a white ethno-state," adding he considers such a view a "fringe perspective."
Kirk also said he'd been getting that type of question over the last few weeks — and indeed Washington Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy tweeted that "a bunch of Holocaust deniers and other assorted anti-Semites and Alt-Righters are targeting Turning Point USA events under the guise of 'free speech.' It's transparent bulls**t and should be rejected outright, no matter what you think of Charlie Kirk."
You can check out the full video of the event below. (Content warning: Language from at least one audience member):
Culture War LIVE from the Ohio State University featuring @charliekirk11 , @robsmithonline and @fleccas! https://t.co/Tc9Qy1THC5— Benny (@Benny) 1572391894.0
(H/T: Twitchy)