Juno News - Remembering Charlie Kirk

00:00:00.000 Welcome to The Candace Malcolm Show. My name is Chris Sims. I'm the Alberta Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. I'm filling in for Candace this week. We have got a different sort of show for you today. Today is Thursday, September the 11th, and it's usually a very solemn day of reflection for many people. Today that's especially poignant because something horrible was done in the United States yesterday.

00:00:30.360 Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed while he was on stage at a campus at a university in Utah. The reason why this is so important to talk about here on this show, on Candace Malcolm's show on Juneau News, and on behalf of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, is that Charlie Kirk was different.

00:00:55.700 He wasn't what you would imagine to be a stereotypical, you know, commentator online that is, you know, owning people and destroying people in quick clips. He had his strong views, of course, as many of us do.

00:01:11.440 But Kirk did the work. He started when he was 17 years old. One of my former colleagues at Sun News Network, who is now a producer for Glenn Beck, shared this online last night.

00:01:26.900 And it's a tweet from back in 2011. So that would have been right in the middle of Sun News Network. And it was a tweet from one Charlie Kirk to then Glenn Beck, asking, saying, I'm a high school student. Here I am. I'm 17.

00:01:43.100 And how do I fight debt and deficits? And how do I push back against bias? So he started very young. And he started Turning Point USA when he was 18 years old. And what was different about Kirk is that he did the work like he went from campus to campus to campus, speaking to people all the time, having those difficult conversations all the time.

00:02:11.840 And I got to say, in the advocacy world, you know, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, we're an advocacy organization. We were started in 1990. We have a youth wing called Generation Screwed, which sets up booths and does tabling at campuses across Canada.

00:02:29.860 And we have conversations about things like free speech and about things like the government not taxing you so hard that you can't afford a house, that you can't afford to heat the house, that you can't afford to drive or buy food.

00:02:43.180 Sometimes those conversations can get pretty heated. Amplify that by the amplification that is the United States of America. And you can get a strong sense of what it was like at those campus meetings, year after year after year.

00:03:01.360 And I got to say, as someone who kind of works in that ecosystem, getting out there at the grassroots level, you're missing stuff at home, you're on the road a lot, you're setting up the booth, you're putting up the banners, you're stacking the books, you're making sure the mic works, like you're having those in-person conversations all the time.

00:03:21.140 And we have a compilation here that shows, generally, how Charlie Kirk talked to young people. Let's watch.

00:03:30.960 I want to try to win you over as a liberal for Donald Trump. So you're going to give me a chance, okay?

00:03:35.040 I will, sir.

00:03:35.680 All right. Okay. There are three things I want you to think about when voting for Trump. Number one, homeownership. I imagine you want to own a home sometime in your life, right?

00:03:42.900 Yes, sir.

00:03:43.300 All right. In order to own a home, you would have to make $125,000 a year right now just to be able to get the mortgage.

00:03:48.580 When Trump was president, it was $75,000 a year. Because Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have spent $6 to $7 trillion of unnecessary federal spending, which have inflated asset prices.

00:03:58.940 As a liberal, I imagine you don't like war, right? Under Donald Trump, it was the first president in 40 years where he had no new wars.

00:04:05.880 So which way are you leaning?

00:04:07.520 Can I get a hit?

00:04:09.000 That's a good answer.

00:04:10.700 Everybody, do me a favor. Please be respectful, okay?

00:04:13.240 Tell me more about how you view politics. Is that okay? Or if not, feel free to walk away.

00:04:20.960 Maybe not in this crowd.

00:04:21.800 That's okay. Thank you. What's your name?

00:04:23.380 My name is Archer.

00:04:24.460 Archer, thank you for coming up, and I hope you have a great day.

00:04:26.460 Thank you so much. Thank you for clarifying.

00:04:27.460 And let me just say one last thing. I could tell you probably have a negative impression of Christianity, maybe.

00:04:32.680 I hope one day we can earn back your support.

00:04:35.500 I'm sorry if the church has failed you in that way.

00:04:37.320 I do appreciate the candor and the courage to come up here, but we will pray for you. Thank you.

00:04:42.860 I go around universities and have challenging conversations because that's what is so important to our country,

00:04:51.080 is to find our disagreements respectfully, because when people stop talking, that's when violence happens.

00:04:57.260 He really said it right there.

00:04:58.900 And the response, so folks know, we're not showing the footage, so don't worry about that.

00:05:04.240 You can keep watching this show, and you're not going to get surprised with that.

00:05:09.200 He really said it there.

00:05:11.180 And after what happened, happened, you could see statement after statement coming out from everyone.

00:05:20.320 We saw opposition leader Pierre Polyev come out right away condemning this act of violence.

00:05:25.700 We saw Premier Daniel Smith.

00:05:27.720 We saw Premier Wab Kanu talking about this.

00:05:30.540 Stateside, we had everybody from U.S. President Donald Trump to Gavin Newsom, Barack Obama, talking about this.

00:05:39.460 So, Kirk did so much grassroots kind of sign up and get out there activism that he's wound up touching a lot of normal people and getting them engaged in politics.

00:05:53.780 Now, you cannot want to, you know, sign up for the Republicans.

00:05:57.900 That's obviously not what this is about.

00:05:59.980 This was about someone who was using his voice in order to have conversations with young people and get them engaged.

00:06:07.340 And you could picture someone who's trying to do it for a different party or for a different purpose,

00:06:13.120 who's out there, microphone in hand, freedom T-shirt on, speaking to a crowd.

00:06:18.860 And I think this is why this is affecting so many people.

00:06:22.800 We're going to be speaking with a young person about this very soon.

00:06:27.220 But I will share that a lot of, I would say, teenagers, so folks who were in grade 12 and up into the first years of university,

00:06:36.800 this gentleman, Charlie Kirk, and his group, Turning Point, he's had a lot of influence on a lot of people.

00:06:44.780 We can see here, there's a message from a gentleman in the United States who said that Charlie Kirk changed my life.

00:06:51.080 I was 14 years old when I was trying to make a difference.

00:06:54.180 And he reached out to me and, you know, treated me as an equal.

00:06:58.540 And I went to all of his different events.

00:07:00.720 And he said that, I think he eventually said that he had known Charlie Kirk for, I think, a third of his life because he's a really young person.

00:07:07.440 There's another that shows, this is my favorite time where we were building the headquarters together back seven years ago.

00:07:14.840 So the reason why I wanted to highlight this is because quite often in this circle, in this ecosystem, we're asking people to stand up and be heard.

00:07:25.440 We're asking people to get involved.

00:07:27.020 And it's really important that folks stay hopeful, stay very positive.

00:07:33.820 And I would advise, turn the temperature down.

00:07:38.280 Like, think about what you're going to post.

00:07:40.940 Think about what you're going to tweet.

00:07:43.600 Do your best to have a very civil dialogue, even if the person opposing you votes differently or has a different opinion.

00:07:53.240 And I just wanted to encourage, especially the young people out there, that they can keep soldiering on.

00:08:00.460 To get a better perspective of how Charlie Kirk and his organization, so that kind of grassroots, ground game activism, affects young people on both sides of the border when it comes to fighting for things like even debt and deficit.

00:08:16.520 You saw that first tweet from Charlie Kirk, you know.

00:08:19.220 Talking about things like that is our bread and butter, who's talking about accountable government, who's talking about getting rid of censorship and having free speech so that we can hold government to better account.

00:08:31.180 To get a better sense of how this is rippling through the young community, let's find out now.

00:08:38.540 Joining me now is Wyatt Claypool.

00:08:40.700 He is the host of the National Telegraph Show.

00:08:44.800 Wyatt, thanks for joining the show.

00:08:46.840 I'm sorry it's under such circumstances.

00:08:49.600 You and I were just at a conference together over the last weekend, and it was in Calgary.

00:08:56.300 And it's just such a similar scene, right, all the time.

00:08:59.380 Young people there quite often.

00:09:01.620 Everybody's got their booths set up.

00:09:03.060 Everybody's trying to have those really engaging conversations.

00:09:06.260 And on the way home from the conference, I had my teenager with me, and I asked, what's your most influential political, like, leader who, like, you know, you think of when you think of something inspiring outside of Alberta?

00:09:22.220 And she said Charlie Kirk.

00:09:24.900 And she's a high school student.

00:09:26.260 So I wanted to get your perspective on this.

00:09:28.820 First off, how are you doing?

00:09:31.380 I'm doing fine.

00:09:33.180 It did hit me really hard when this happened, because I think that you couldn't say anything more than that Charlie Kirk was a deeply decent man.

00:09:41.120 And I think what really made him, like, a powerful person is that before politics and before everything, the man loved God first.

00:09:48.800 And so that drove the way that he did everything.

00:09:51.980 And when you're at a conference like we were at a few days ago, this was just a Canada Strong and Free Network.

00:09:59.500 It wasn't a TPUSA event, but everything felt like it was kind of influenced by Charlie Kirk, because so many ways that we do things in Canadian politics, in American politics, is based off of things that Charlie Kirk had just been pioneering over the past few years,

00:10:16.820 which was direct conversation, direct grassroots organizing, you know, an opposition to radicalism.

00:10:25.700 And I think, like a lot of young people, even though I was never somebody who met him in real life, even things I do on my own show, I'd taken from things that Charlie Kirk had done.

00:10:36.760 And, like, I'd gotten inspiration from the way that he had done a lot of political organizing on the ground, tried to engage people, not just wanting people to, you know, watch content, but also go out there and then get involved themselves.

00:10:51.220 So, yeah, it was, it's, if he's going to, it's going to be sort of trite to say, because I think a lot of people are going to keep saying it, but I think it's right that it's going to be a big void left for people to fill, considering all the work he had done that I don't think can be easily replicated.

00:11:08.740 You said that very well. In the intro, we were showing just some of the very personal expressions online that I found on X and other people were seeing on X.

00:11:19.960 And just young person after young person after young person saying something along the lines of,

00:11:24.780 I was just a, you know, grade 12 high school kid who wanted to make a difference in my community.

00:11:29.380 And I started doing videos and this guy, Charlie Kirk, reached out to me and helped me get a grassroots thing going and actually roll my sleeves up and do it and organize it and do it earnestly.

00:11:42.160 And, like, people who have no followers were getting contacts like this.

00:11:46.740 And do you think that he kind of set himself apart in the sense that there's a lot of commentators that are online?

00:11:53.740 I realize I'm one of those people doing one of those things right now, but there's, I find that there's a difference between those who are kind of closed into the studio, always talking on camera, versus those who also get out there.

00:12:09.420 They're driving the vehicles, they're setting up the banners, they're setting up the booths, they've got a stack of books, they've got a microphone in their hand.

00:12:16.420 Do you think he really set himself apart in that way?

00:12:19.040 I think he sacrificed a lot of, like, in terms of his time and even, to a certain extent, his popularity.

00:12:27.760 And it's hard to underestimate how popular he was, but in the sense that he would use his show in order to drive change, in the sense that he was not trying to get people to watch, to say the flashiest thing, to have, you know, the hottest take.

00:12:43.040 It was, at the end of the day, that you have to get involved too, that you can't sit back and just consume politics as entertainment, that at the end of the day, you need to go out there and actually create social change yourself.

00:12:54.840 And I think that a great example of how you do that is, yes, reaching out to people who nobody knows who they are and maybe probably doesn't have a lot of people paying attention to them.

00:13:04.200 But he would recognize talent or even recognize even just the potential for real talent at something and want to take away his time.

00:13:11.280 He could be doing something else. He could be making money.

00:13:13.480 He could be trying to, you know, make more of a figure of himself and he would go and try and make a figure of somebody much smaller.

00:13:20.000 That's really well put. What is it in particular about Charlie Kirk's approach that appeals to young people?

00:13:29.080 Because I know that there's just so many young people.

00:13:32.460 So at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, we have a youth wing called Generation Screwed and they go to campuses like they're directly talking to other students all the time.

00:13:41.120 They're doing their tabling, as they call it, always reaching out because we have a message of low taxes, less waste, accountable government, small government, right?

00:13:48.400 What was it about Kirk's approach that you think attracted so many young people to it?

00:13:54.880 Was it because he was so enthusiastic and he was giving them the tools in their hands or what was it, do you think?

00:14:00.740 It was definitely the enthusiasm. He was a positive figure.

00:14:04.960 And I think what also got a lot of people into politics or at least directly into campaigning was just the actual change they could see him making.

00:14:14.540 Because obviously young people do want to make positive change in the world.

00:14:20.560 And I think they also saw somebody doing it who, you know, wasn't a firebrand, was a decent person who, you know, would, again, go out of his way to help other people.

00:14:33.220 And so it wasn't somebody you're looking at who seems politically cynical.

00:14:38.000 He was the furthest thing from a cynic.

00:14:40.520 And I think that that's what a lot of people were attracted by.

00:14:43.220 It wasn't what happens a lot in politics today that of naysaying and trying to, like, mock other people or trying to simply win for the sake of it.

00:14:53.460 It was winning for the right reasons.

00:14:55.320 Yeah, I don't recall many, you know, video thumbnails of destroys or, you know, things like that in the same way that I see with other commentators, both on the right and the left.

00:15:07.600 He was always different.

00:15:11.260 It's difficult because he was clearly one of those folks that we want more of.

00:15:17.800 We want more people respectfully speaking with others across the aisle, so to speak, talking about difficult subjects, okay?

00:15:26.420 Just, it's such a muted Canadian example compared to what's going on in the States.

00:15:31.420 But for the longest time, even talking about the carbon tax in Canada.

00:15:35.280 I mean, I was screamed at and called a climate change denier and a monster and you want people to burn in their homes.

00:15:40.780 Like, things can get kind of nuts out there when you're actually there advocating and speaking with a microphone in your hand.

00:15:47.800 Where do you see this going for, especially for young people?

00:15:51.820 Because I didn't want to dominate the conversation with just my generation and older because I really sensed the loss for your generation and I'm sorry for that.

00:16:02.580 Where do you see this going for kind of the youth movement, for smaller government, more freedom?

00:16:07.440 I wouldn't be able to predict exactly where it's going to go, but I think where I'd like to see it go is that in the wake of this, that a lot of people would want to step up and kind of become Charlie Kirk as well.

00:16:21.140 In the sense of not being, you know, being scared into doing what's right, but just following the model of somebody who would always do what was right, no matter what.

00:16:31.320 And I think that that's something that people can't assume that now something's over rather than you can do it too.

00:16:38.100 That there was somebody who proved that it was possible.

00:16:40.760 So that means you can absolutely follow the model.

00:16:43.060 What did you think about the wide response to this?

00:16:48.040 I know, like, in my own circles, of course, people were upset and shocked and talking about it a lot.

00:16:53.740 But it wasn't too soon before, like, we saw Boris Johnson commenting on this.

00:16:58.160 Barack Obama came out and talked about this.

00:17:00.600 Wob Canoo came out with a video statement about this.

00:17:03.300 Like, he really seems to have affected a lot of people.

00:17:06.440 And the thing is, like, naturally, you're not expecting people in high positions to have anything negative to say.

00:17:15.480 But at the same time, I think that you get to say, especially when it comes to Charlie Kirk, again, going back to his decency, that I don't think anyone could disagree about his actual virtue.

00:17:25.240 You can disagree with his particular policy solutions at times if you want, but there was never an edge to him where he was too, you know, he was too nasty to engage with in some way.

00:17:39.220 Even Gavin Newsom, when he wanted to pick somebody from the other side to do a podcast with to discuss issues, he chose Charlie Kirk for a reason.

00:17:47.660 It's because Charlie Kirk is not there to hit him with a gotcha.

00:17:51.780 You know, he believes maybe someone like Newsom is wrong, but he's there to talk with him and discuss the issues and try and bring him to his side.

00:18:01.120 And even if you have actually seen Gavin Newsom since then, in a lot of ways, he's actually had to moderate on positions post talking to Charlie Kirk.

00:18:10.320 That's very thoughtful.

00:18:11.900 Very good point.

00:18:12.680 And I saw Newsom did put out an official statement as well.

00:18:15.680 This is obviously not the last that we will be speaking about this, Wyatt.

00:18:19.340 But in the meantime, if folks do want to get involved or do want to listen to your show, where can they find you?

00:18:25.780 It's just the National Telegraph on YouTube.

00:18:28.480 Wyatt Claypool, thank you so much for your time and thank you for sharing your thoughts on this very sad day.

00:18:33.540 Thanks for having me on.

00:18:34.800 Very good to hear from someone in their 20s talking about how this affects them going forward.

00:18:40.280 And for being out in the field, it doesn't really get more grassrootsy, like we were pointing out, than something like the Turning Point USA organization.

00:18:51.380 There's others, of course, that do, you know, a lot of leadership training in that in the United States.

00:18:57.040 And there's those of us who do things like this on this side of the border in Canada.

00:19:00.920 And one of the gentlemen that really helps make that happen, who is with, you know, who was with Preston Manning.

00:19:08.900 He was with Canada Strong and Free.

00:19:11.820 He's the one that hired me to be director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

00:19:17.420 He's always out there, like at every conference.

00:19:20.640 He's always helping organize.

00:19:22.280 He's always talking to people, including young people, is a gentleman by the name of Troy Lanigan.

00:19:28.700 Let's speak with him now.

00:19:29.620 Joining me now is Troy Lanigan.

00:19:32.340 He is the president for the Manning Foundation for Democratic Education, a longtime friend of mine.

00:19:39.360 Troy hired me, along with my other boss, to be a director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

00:19:45.740 And you don't usually do a lot of on-camera interviews anymore, Troy, because you're so busy in the background.

00:19:50.960 But with what has been done in the United States, I reached out to you last night and wanted you to talk about this.

00:19:56.340 Because you started standing at booths, talking to young people, like handing out the pamphlets and pounding the pavement.

00:20:05.340 When?

00:20:05.740 1986, I think, was the first booth I stood at at East Kootenay Community College in Cranbrook.

00:20:17.220 And then going on to UVic and standing at booths as a young person.

00:20:21.020 And I've been almost 40 years doing political advocacy work.

00:20:26.340 Big time.

00:20:27.660 And one of the mottos of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, of course, which is where Troy and I worked together, is stand up, be heard.

00:20:36.800 Exactly.

00:20:37.240 And I often try to end my interviews or my podcast shows or any of my speeches that I do, mic and hand on stage, with get out there, get active, speak to your neighbors, tell 10 friends.

00:20:52.740 This is a form of fellowship.

00:20:54.740 And so when I saw what was done yesterday, it hit pretty hard.

00:20:59.620 I wanted to pull up this tweet again one more time because it hits so close to home.

00:21:05.420 This is from 2011.

00:21:07.480 And it's from a 17-year-old, Charlie Kirk, reaching out to who was then a huge media star and still is in the alternative media, Glenn Beck.

00:21:16.000 And he says, I'm concerned about debt and deficit.

00:21:20.940 And he wanted to know how he got out there and would fight.

00:21:23.460 So that really speaks to our people.

00:21:26.840 And I wanted to know just your response from yesterday.

00:21:30.420 Well, it's shocking.

00:21:31.980 It's shocking to see someone assassinated in front of a group of students.

00:21:37.100 It's shocking to see someone assassinated for their political views.

00:21:40.980 Yeah.

00:21:41.100 I mean, and I think it hit home, you know, personally to me and to you and to many others we know, Chris, because sometimes we think if something terrible like that happens, it's a politician.

00:21:55.060 But this is someone who was in civil society.

00:21:58.100 It was someone who was out there doing political advocacy who chose not to be a partisan.

00:22:04.780 So it just made you think that much deeper.

00:22:07.460 And, you know, I was talking about and thinking about all of the years out on college campuses, university campuses, you take it for granted.

00:22:19.420 You would never think or comprehend that something like this would happen.

00:22:25.040 You know, free expression, exchanging ideas in the arena of ideas is at the heart of liberal democracy.

00:22:32.760 And so no matter what side of the fence you are, this event pierces at that.

00:22:38.800 It pierces at the very essence of what we take for granted, I think it's fair to say, in this country, in the United States and in the Western world, the right to be able to exchange ideas freely.

00:22:51.700 In that, you know, in public, online, in written words, on doing shows like this.

00:23:02.420 And so it's, I think it's, it's obviously a sad day, I think, for those of us that do this kind of work.

00:23:10.340 But, but obviously, too, for a family, a man of just 31 years old with two young children under the age of five.

00:23:18.240 I mean, obviously, that's very personal for those of us that are parents, too.

00:23:22.780 His daughter was three.

00:23:24.220 His daughter is three and his son is one.

00:23:26.200 And, yeah, he's, he's 31, 31.

00:23:30.800 I mean, I, I kind of had my act together by the time I was 31.

00:23:35.440 But I sure wasn't out there every single day pounding the pavement, knocking on doors, talking to young people, signing them up on mass.

00:23:43.040 And he really did it.

00:23:45.500 And we've shown the tweets before.

00:23:47.540 But what really got me was these young people from all walks of life, clearly, who were saying things like, I was 14 years old.

00:23:55.180 I was 17 years old when I was in high school and I was trying to make a change in my local community about whatever it was.

00:24:02.780 And they would be DM'd by this guy, Charlie Kirk, of like, here's how you do it.

00:24:08.140 And so Charlie Kirk isn't, you know, yes, he was a commentator and he had his, he had his podcast.

00:24:14.140 And again, he had his personal beliefs.

00:24:16.460 And supposedly in the Western world, you're supposed to be able to have your personal beliefs and be able to express them freely.

00:24:23.700 But he, he did the work.

00:24:25.980 Like, he was out there physically on campuses over and over and over again.

00:24:30.840 And I just wanted to get your thoughts on, maybe it's too soon to ask of where do we go from here?

00:24:36.840 Does this change the environment?

00:24:40.120 Does this change the ecosystem of advocacy?

00:24:43.600 Where do you see this going now?

00:24:46.220 Well, it may.

00:24:49.720 Let, let, just, I want to talk about Charlie Kirk.

00:24:53.060 Okay.

00:24:53.440 If I could, because I'll be honest, I, I didn't, I wasn't someone who always agreed with Charlie Kirk, but I thought he was interesting.

00:25:01.400 And he was a conservative with a smile.

00:25:04.860 He definitely had a personality and a persona.

00:25:08.580 He was a successful entrepreneur and businessman.

00:25:11.080 And in that sense, I think he was a good role model.

00:25:13.580 What I liked and respected about him though, is he would talk to absolutely anyone.

00:25:19.760 There's a quote, and I've seen this quote before of him going around.

00:25:23.840 Someone asked him, why are you on our campus?

00:25:26.280 And he had the simple quote, when people stop talking, that's when violence begins.

00:25:31.720 Bit of an ironic quote, but it's so true. 0.98

00:25:34.540 I saw him once, he was on a podcast with women in the pornography industry and talking to them about the importance of monogamy and relationships and religion and things.

00:25:46.380 He was, he, he was everywhere and, uh, he reveled in it and he was good at it and there was a likability about him.

00:25:53.660 And so that's how he became a successful.

00:25:57.400 He was, I'm told turning point had a budget of over $90 million.

00:26:00.220 Now I can tell you as someone who has built organizations, whether it was the one we worked with, Chris, or the ones I work with now, building an empire that size is absolutely a remarkable success.

00:26:12.280 So I just wanted to acknowledge that now.

00:26:15.020 A huge success.

00:26:16.300 Yep.

00:26:16.880 So where do we go from here?

00:26:19.460 Um, I mean, I think everyone is out there today saying we need to tone down the rhetoric.

00:26:26.620 We need to reach across the aisle.

00:26:28.260 Uh, and I, I, I just don't know that that's the case.

00:26:31.980 I think we are living in such an amped up time with our politics and with our rhetoric that even something as simple yesterday as a moment of silence in the U S Congress.

00:26:44.260 I don't know if you saw that or not.

00:26:46.580 Um, somebody after a moment of silence said, we want a moment of prayer.

00:26:52.660 Someone objected, someone else yelled that, um, you don't care about gun violence. 0.75

00:26:57.860 And then immediately it's, I mean, you can't, even after something as tragic as this, we cannot seem to just tone everything down.

00:27:06.940 Um, and I don't know what the answer to that is exactly.

00:27:10.100 I mean, I have some suggestions, but it's just, um, it's, it's, it's bad.

00:27:17.900 It's bad.

00:27:18.820 We, you and I live in this world and it's, it's terrible and it's only getting worse.

00:27:23.480 And so, um, yeah, I'm, I'm struck by this and I'm left, um, I'm left wondering.

00:27:32.120 Me too.

00:27:32.840 Um, I will say to your point with the way that, uh, Charlie Kirk built his empire and how he worked.

00:27:38.560 Um, it was, it's, it's, it's my kid's generation who, who watch him all the time, like deeply influential for high schoolers and a little bit up.

00:27:47.340 Um, and so, but when I would tune in, cause I want to see what they're watching, right?

00:27:52.080 Um, what struck me was his Socratic method with people who clearly wouldn't vote the way he votes.

00:28:00.880 I'll put it that way.

00:28:02.320 And, uh, quite often I would see him, you could see him like almost physically bringing the temperature down to your point.

00:28:10.640 And then as a long time radio host, um, who's like, you'd have to talk to lots of people in those situations.

00:28:18.320 I think it's really important to meet people where they're at, find a sense of common ground.

00:28:24.680 If someone's really upset, tone down the rhetoric, bring down the temperature, say, I hear you.

00:28:33.020 Let's talk about something we can both agree on.

00:28:35.920 And then you start doing baby steps from there.

00:28:38.480 And I, I notice like probably not every single interaction, but many of the interactions I watched on those videos, he would do that of let's unpack this as the Socratic method of why do you think that and what's next and what's next.

00:28:53.400 And it was, it was remarkable because sometimes they'd come in hot, like those would be kind of a hostile thing.

00:28:59.460 I think the tent said, you know, prove me wrong.

00:29:01.700 Right.

00:29:02.020 It was kind of this, this debate always happening.

00:29:05.120 Um, do you think that we could carry that forward?

00:29:08.480 Well, I hope so.

00:29:11.000 I hope so.

00:29:12.020 I mean, um, often success is defined by its leaders and it's not easy just to replace somebody overnight.

00:29:19.500 No.

00:29:19.940 I think of Charlie Kirk a bit.

00:29:21.340 I'm aging myself a bit, but you remember William F. Buckley in the 1960s used to go around to university campuses, but William F. Buckley didn't have X and social media.

00:29:31.980 So did Ayn Rand, actually, one of our other favorites.

00:29:34.260 So, um, in some ways he's the, when you talk about young people today who wouldn't know who William F. Buckley is, but they know who Charlie Kirk is, in some ways he's a reflection of the times that way.

00:29:45.860 Um, but I think, you know, it's, it's been a good contribution and the fighting to make sure that, you know, university campuses are bastions of ideas and exchanges of, of, um, open debate, um, is very important.

00:29:59.740 So, yeah, I think in that spirit, something will continue what that looks like.

00:30:04.260 We don't know, but obviously he was a significant figure in, in that work, um, in that work going forward.

00:30:10.200 Um, I, you know, I have to say, um, I, I, I go back to the 1980s, um, back to the eighties and nineties.

00:30:21.740 We used to look each other in the eyes more, there's something, a dynamic that changes.

00:30:29.300 Even if you disagree with someone, if you can look them in the eyes and sit across from them, that relationship is so much different than today.

00:30:36.920 What I fear is hiding behind the internet, hiding behind your keyboard.

00:30:41.920 And it's just so much easier to get amped up with the language and the accusations of, of people you may disagree with and actual hatred of people that you've never looked at or sat beside or had lunch with, or even talked to, for goodness sakes.

00:30:57.200 Like, this is what's so crazy.

00:31:00.240 Um, you know, back then you could find people that were completely nuts or way out to lunch, but there was never a critical mass of them.

00:31:08.400 Right now you can go online and find you, you can so easily rather radicalize yourself.

00:31:14.700 Um, again, I, I don't know that there's a, so this is the world we live in, but boy, it's, um, it's not good.

00:31:22.120 It's not good.

00:31:23.400 I, I, we debated in university all the time at our clubs and different things on campuses.

00:31:28.000 We looked at people.

00:31:29.160 Yeah.

00:31:29.840 We didn't hate them.

00:31:30.960 We didn't wish them violence.

00:31:33.480 No, I think it worked up, but it's no, no, I, and it's, it's understandable.

00:31:38.120 Like what happened was horrendous.

00:31:40.760 What was done was horrendous.

00:31:42.160 And, um, it, I w it was remarkable to see quite quickly, um, statements coming out from not only U.S. President Donald Trump, but former U.S. President Barack Obama, former U.S. President Joe Biden, Gavin Newsom, Boris Johnson, Wob Canoe, Daniel Smith.

00:31:58.840 Like, it was very quick to have people say, whoa, whoa, like, let's not do this.

00:32:07.060 This is awful.

00:32:08.720 Um, we, we can't go down this road.

00:32:11.580 Um, I wanted to ask you.

00:32:14.040 Um, so at the, at the Manning Foundation, like, so for folks who don't know, it's named after Preston Manning, the former, the founder of the Reform Party, of course.

00:32:23.120 And you guys do so much direct work with young people.

00:32:26.420 Uh, I know we were just, uh, pushing the fact that you guys have an essay contest, like an entry contest for, for undergrad students.

00:32:34.000 Like, this is how directly groups like yours are involved with young people of exactly this age group.

00:32:41.020 Um, what are you hearing, um, that is inspiring young people right now?

00:32:46.780 Are, are they fighting for things like owning a home?

00:32:49.040 It was interesting, right off the top of the show, we played a clip of Charlie Kirk saying, do you care about being able to ever own a house?

00:32:56.860 Yeah.

00:32:57.000 Like, do you care about this sort of stuff?

00:32:58.760 It wasn't just social issues he went into.

00:33:00.580 He went into the fiscal stuff a lot.

00:33:02.440 Are you still hearing things like, I, I want to be able to afford a home?

00:33:06.160 I'm worried about things like this?

00:33:07.940 Of course.

00:33:09.100 Uh, I mean, we hear that stuff all the time.

00:33:12.380 Um, Chris, I think, you know, my son, uh, who is an engineering graduate from UBC has moved down.

00:33:19.040 Um, to Chicago because of high rents, um, because of high taxes, because of opportunities there that aren't here.

00:33:28.600 It breaks my heart.

00:33:29.380 I don't want him living down there.

00:33:31.560 I want opportunities for young people in this country.

00:33:33.740 So, you know, for everyone that wants, um, a better future that has ideas to contribute, um, to, to how we can do that, stay involved, stay engaged.

00:33:45.740 Don't let events like this take, take away from anything, but at the same time, I think we need to take responsibility ourselves.

00:33:55.160 I am not going to blame the radical left.

00:33:58.680 I hate that.

00:33:59.780 I'm disappointed with, with president Trump statement yesterday.

00:34:03.260 I don't think it's helpful.

00:34:04.660 I don't think it turns down the heat.

00:34:06.060 Um, we, we could all use returning down the heat.

00:34:09.280 And I think it involves all of us taking responsibility for that.

00:34:13.680 And so, yes, let's have a debate of ideas.

00:34:16.780 Let's, let's fight to be engaged in that.

00:34:19.660 It's important.

00:34:20.420 We shouldn't turn our backs to it.

00:34:22.520 Um, and let's also try and be a little more respectful and civil to each other as we go forward.

00:34:27.320 Remember that the person across from you is a person.

00:34:31.880 And, um, I was, I was struck by what you said, because I think that's one of the reasons why Charlie Kirk was going physically to the campuses.

00:34:40.040 He wasn't a, it wasn't a keyboard warrior.

00:34:42.480 Um, he wanted to have that dialogue.

00:34:44.580 And I, I would encourage anybody who's, who's watching the show, who doesn't like us, um, go watch long form video of him talking with people.

00:34:55.380 And again, there's going to be moments where you disagree with him completely.

00:34:58.280 Like, that's fine.

00:34:59.260 That's free expression.

00:35:00.540 There's going to be moments where it isn't about fiscal issues.

00:35:02.880 Again, that's fine and free expression.

00:35:04.640 But you can see the eye contact going on there.

00:35:07.320 And you can see the temperature almost always coming down.

00:35:11.920 And so, Troy, I really appreciate your work.

00:35:14.340 Thank you so much for joining us.

00:35:15.880 Where can people find, uh, more about, uh, Preston Manning, the Manning Foundation, and, uh, how to get involved?

00:35:22.580 Um, manningfoundation.org is our website.

00:35:26.120 There's a form on there to email if you wanted to reach me.

00:35:29.860 I'm also involved with secondstreet.org, which works primarily on health care reform.

00:35:33.920 Uh, that's secondstreet.org, and there's a form on there as well.

00:35:36.820 I, I appreciate the opportunity, um, Chris, and thank you for having this important discussion.

00:35:41.420 And I'm honoured that you invited me, and I'm pleased to have participated with you today.

00:35:45.920 We're fortunate to have you on on such a tough day.

00:35:48.540 Thank you, Troy.

00:35:49.380 Thank you.

00:35:49.920 Once again, that was Troy Lanigan.

00:35:52.760 Uh, he is president of the Manning Foundation, and, uh, frankly, one of the founders of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

00:36:00.920 Uh, he was there very early on.

00:36:03.000 Um, he's responsible for bringing a lot of young people up through the movement, uh, advocating for lower taxes, less waste, and smaller, more accountable government, which, of course, pulls in things like making sure we aren't being censored so that we can advocate.

00:36:19.920 So that we can hold government to account, and so that we can speak freely.

00:36:24.420 I will point out that Charlie Kirk died on stage, with a microphone in his hand, with freedom on his t-shirt.

00:36:32.920 Thank you for watching.

00:36:34.540 Thank you for watching.

Juno News - September 11, 2025

Remembering Charlie Kirk

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