It appears that Fox News has distanced itself from Turning Point USA, a major conservative organization founded by Charlie Kirk, after severing ties with CPAC months ago. Fox News and TPUSA had a close relationship in the past, with Fox News personalities frequently attending TPUSA events and Fox Nation broadcasting their events.
According to The Daily Beast, as TPUSA prepares for its big 2023 conference, Fox News is not involved in any way. According to a source within Fox News, the network’s relationship with TPUSA has ended, and they no longer want their talent associated with the organization.
The upcoming Turning Point Action Conference, known as ActCon, is set to take place this weekend in Palm Beach and will be hosted by TPUSA’s political advocacy arm. Several GOP presidential candidates and lawmakers, as well as right-wing pundits like Tucker Carlson and Dan Bongino (both of whom left Fox News in April), are scheduled to appear. However, right now, no Fox News personalities are expected to attend.
While Fox News may choose to cover certain moments of the event, their absence marks a significant shift for both Turning Point and the network. In the past two years, Fox News has played a major role in Turning Point’s annual events, with broadcasts from personalities like Hegseth and McEnany, and high-profile speeches from Carlson, Watters, Gutfeld, Pirro, and Ingraham.
According to Semafor’s report last week, the network seems hesitant to allow its stars to attend conservative events that involve election deniers and conspiracy theorists following Fox’s $787.5-million settlement with Dominion. For instance, Pirro, who was named in the Dominion lawsuit, has been discouraged by Fox from speaking at a TPUSA event and a church service to promote her new book.
Moreover, ActCon 2023’s keynote speaker is Donald Trump, whose election lies directly led to Fox’s Dominion mess, further suggesting a connection between Dominion and Fox’s break-up with TPUSA. However, Trump will appear on Fox’s air this weekend in a more controlled environment via an interview with Maria Bartiromo.
Other speakers scheduled for ActCon speeches include Mike Lindell, Patrick Byrne, and Steve Bannon, who are known as 2020 deniers and Jan. 6 organizers. Additionally, Kirk himself has been vocal about his belief that the 2020 election was “stolen” from Trump.
