Right-wing convention showed 'the future of MAGA' — and it’s 'ugly': conservative

Steve Bannon speaks during AmericaFest, the first Turning Point USA summit since the death of Charlie Kirk, in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. December 19, 2025. REUTERS/Cheney Orr

During Turning Point USA's first AmericaFest convention since the fatal shooting of co-founder Charlie Kirk, Republicans weren't shy about attacking one another. The Daily Wire's Ben Shapiro, during his speech at the event in Phoenix, called out podcaster Candace Owens (who used to work for him), "War Room" host Steve Bannon, Infowars' Alex Jones and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson as unhinged conspiracy theorists. But Bannon fired back during his speech, arguing that Shapiro is the antithesis of MAGA.

In a video posted on his Substack page on December 22, journalist Matt Lewis and his guest — fellow Never Trump conservative Charlie Sykes — pointed to AmericaFest 2025 and Rep. Elise Stefanik's (R-New York) frustrations as examples of the chaos surrounding the Republican Party 11 months into Donald Trump's second presidency.

"A lot of it is performative," Sykes told Lewis, "but people need to understand that this is real. In Phoenix, you saw the future of MAGA. And it is brutish. It's going to be ugly. The knives are all out…. I want to give thumbs up to Ben Shapiro; I'm glad that he's standing on principle."

Sykes argued that Trump "threw" Stefanik "under the bus" three times in a row, rejecting her as: (1) his 2024 running mate, (2) U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and (3) governor of New York State.

Lewis said of Stefanik, "This was somebody who was on the short list to be Donald Trump's vice president." And Sykes observed, "The thing about Elise Stefanik that makes her so interesting — and this story is not over — is that she's been a rising star in different categories."

Sykes continued, "You remember, she was like a rising star of moderate GOP women…. Then, there was kind of a shock when she decided to go all-in on MAGA and she became just this Trump toesucker. And she did absolutely everything to carry his water and curry favor with him."

Stefanik, according to Sykes, is proof that Trump's loyalty "only goes one way."

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