Vice President JD Vance closed Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest 2025 by urging unity under the America First banner, promising policy wins and a tolerant, big-tent movement. He followed a session led by Erika Kirk that included a surprise guest and used his remarks to calm tensions, push border and economic priorities, and cast the movement as open to free thinkers. Vance moved between sharp criticisms of the left and repeated promises about borders, jobs, and community safety, keeping his remarks squarely focused on action over purity tests.
Vance took the stage after Erika Kirk’s conversation that surprised many in the room, and he made it clear his message was about holding the coalition together. He positioned America First as inclusive of people with differing views so long as they love the country and want to build. That tone framed the rest of his address, which mixed fiery lines about the left with specific policy pledges.
“People of every faith come to our banner because they know that the America First movement will make our lives better,” he went on. “They know Democrats don’t care about anything other than trans-ing their kids.” Those lines landed with the crowd and set up his broader point that cultural differences should not fracture the conservative cause.
Vance promised solidarity: he said he’d stand “with every patriot in this room to defend the country we so dearly love” and pushed back on the infighting that showed up earlier in the program. He refused to single out podcasters or personalities by name, preferring to call for unity and focus. That refusal was deliberate, meant to move the conversation toward results rather than purges.
“President Trump did not build the greatest coalition in politics by running his supporters through endless, self-defeating purity tests,” Vance said, speaking to the fractures on the right. He made it clear the movement’s strength comes from tolerating disagreement while pursuing shared goals. The point was blunt: voters care about outcomes more than ideological litmus tests.
“We don’t care if you’re White or Black, rich or poor, young or old, rural or urban, controversial or a little bit boring, or somewhere in between… [P]eople of every faith come to our banner because they know that the America First movement will make their lives better. And they also know that the Democrats don’t care about anything other than maybe trans-ing their kids.” That full-throated appeal to inclusion under a common program was central to his pitch.
“So if you love America, if you want all of us to be richer, stronger, safer, and prouder, you have a home on this team. I didn’t bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to deplatform, and I don’t really care if some people out there — I’m sure we’ll have the fake news media — denounce me after this speech.” He used the line to push back on cancel culture and to signal he preferred growth to internecine conflict.
Vance admitted frustration is real but insisted impatience can be productive. “Some of you are impatient at the pace of progress and my response to that is ‘Good,'” he said, inviting activists to channel urgency into organizing and legislative pressure. “I know some of you are discouraged by the infighting over any number of issues. Don’t be discouraged,” he added, demanding persistence from grassroots activists.
“Wouldn’t you rather lead a movement of freethinkers who sometimes disagree than a bunch of drones who take their orders from George Soros?” he quipped, using blunt Republican rhetoric to contrast grassroots energy with outside influence. He invoked Charlie Kirk’s counsel about the seriousness of politics, quoting that politics is not a “dress rehearsal or a game” but a series of decisions that shape a nation’s future. Those appeals were meant to ground the conference in mission over noise.
“My friends, commit to these things, and I promise you victory: I promise you closed borders and safe communities. I promise you good jobs and a dignified life. Only God can promise you salvation and heaven. But together we can fulfill the promise of the greatest nation in the history of the earth,” he said, closing with policy promises that appealed to voters’ basic priorities. He framed those promises as the work of builders, not wreckers, tying the agenda to President Trump’s emphasis on construction and growth.
“We have far more important work to do than canceling each other — we have got to build, and President Donald Trump is a builder,” he said. “We’re building a better country right now. We build by adding, by growing, not by tearing down.” That builder framing threaded through his talk, stressing investment in communities and the economy rather than internal purges.
Vance also seized on immigration metrics, declaring 2025 the first year in decades with negative net migration and saying millions of illegal immigrants have left or been deported. “When you restore sanity at the border, it shows up everywhere else,” he said, pointing to falling rents, gas prices, inflation, and unemployment as linked wins. He doubled down on cultural policy too, asserting, “We made it clear that in the United States we believe in hard work and merit –we dont treat anybody [a certain way] because of their race or their sex, so we have relegated DEI to the dustbin of history which is exactly where it belongs.”
Finally, Vance promised a tougher stance on political violence and those who fund it, vowing the administration would pursue accountability. He said the effort to “honor Kirk’s life” includes continuing to target left-wing violence and to go after not only the perpetrators but “who bought the brick — and we’re going to prosecute them too.” That closing warning was meant as a reminder that political violence will face consequences and that the movement will focus on both policy wins and public safety.
