CONSERVATIVE CONUNDRUM

Top Backers Ditch Turning Point USA’s ‘America-First’ Academy, Report Says

Charlie Kirk still intends to open the academy, a spokesman said.

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s plan to launch his own school has gone haywire after two groups that backed it balked once realizing the Trump supporter’s true vision, according to The Washington Post. StrongMind, a programming group that had begun work on the academy and saw a potential profit of $40 million, withdrew after its employees were angered over the far-right group’s lesson plans. In Zoom meetings, StrongMind employees expressed their frustration that Kirk would be their partner, especially when told that Turning Point could have issues with some of their lesson plans. Another subcontractor—one run by military spouses and families—also left the project after realizing who the top client would be: Turning Point. Kirk still plans to open the academy—aimed at parents who want an “America-first education” for their kids—a spokesperson told the paper, and claimed the agreement with StrongMind was “nonbinding and nonexclusive.”