Tucker Carlson visited Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana on Tuesday, Oct. 21 to host the Turning Point USA event. The former FOX news host has years of experience discussing politics, religion and controversial topics across many major platforms, making him a strong candidate to sub-in for former host Charlie Kirk.
The IU Auditorium hosted the event and easily filled the seats across two levels. The modern rock architecture towered above the lines outside. Once the event began, the raucous crowd cheered after nearly every statement by the speakers. Three speakers, all associated with TPUSA, gave short speeches before Carlson was announced. Once Carlson walked on stage, attendees who wished to ask questions formed a line to ask the guest speaker opinionated questions regarding hot topics in American culture.
Abortion, foreign wars, religion and other controversial topics were discussed, with respectful disagreement invited. “I love the idea of people being able to ask any question they want,” Carlson said. Individuals who disagreed with Carlson were invited to skip the line for a respectful Q&A dialogue. Finally, the questions began, and the anxious crowd was not disappointed.
Students of various levels, backgrounds, and political opinions asked Carlson an array of questions. “Who is a part of the movement attacking your freedom of speech?” One student asked. To which Carlson replied, “I’m merely saying that big picture, the efforts to make other people be quiet on behalf of this or that marginalized group, are 100% paid for, and encouraged by the richest people in our society.”
Nearly two hours later, the event concluded with a final question, and signature sign off from Carlson. With 3,200 people packed into a small auditorium, and hundreds more discarded into TV rooms and left outside, the event was a major success.
“That was awesome,” attendee Conner Theiss said after the event. Another attendee, Gabby Robinson said, “We almost left, but the line finally started moving a minute before. It was all worth it.”
After the assassination of Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025, Carlson heavily involved himself in the late Kirk’s business, TPUSA. This included a guest appearance on “The Charlie Kirk Show” podcast, among other YouTube videos and social media.
