A rally Tuesday at San Francisco State University drew hundreds of supporters and protesters of Charlie Kirk, who was speaking on campus. But across the street, a punk show in a grassy roundabout drew a similar-size crowd, including many who came over after heckling the right-wing personality.
“This song goes out to them,” singer Joey S. said, pointing to the Kirk supporters. “It’s called ‘Fuck You.’”
The local band, Surprise Privilege, also played tracks like “Bite Your Dentist” to a crowd of students and other young fans. Numerous mosh pits broke out and, between songs, chants of “Free Palestine” and appeals for working-class solidarity.
Kirk, the Turning Point USA director who campaigned hard for President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2024, has made a career of debating random people and posting videos of his so-called victories online. This has earned him a massive platform — he has nearly 5 million followers on X and recently appeared on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s podcast — and millions of rivals who describe him as a witless provocateur whose face is too small for his head.
The protesters gathered around a stage in a public field outside the university health center, where Kirk and anti-trans activist Riley Gaines debated members of the public. Topics included abortion, immigration, quality of life in San Francisco, and whether the Bible endorses slavery. But some in attendance found it tough to make out the finer points of the arguments over the music.
“I’m trying to hear Charlie,” said a man in a MAGA hat and a “Filipinos for Trump” shirt who declined to provide his name. “I’m trying to hear a good conversation, and all I hear is, ‘AGGHHH.’”
“Yup, that’s the idea,” said Donovan McNitt, a Surprise Privilege fan.
When the band began playing, students who had been lining the fence outside Kirk’s stage rushed to cheer.
John Willins, 19, is not a student but came to the show after learning of it on Instagram. He was impressed by the crowd.
“It’s certainly siphoning off a good portion of their contingency,” Willins said, referring to the dwindling numbers at Kirk’s rally. He added that protest music is powerful. “It’s a legacy of the punk movement.”
Nick White-Spenik, an SFSU senior who was decked out in punk regalia, said the concert was a way to show opposition without directly engaging with Kirk, whose debates he described as “a setup.”
Not everybody liked it. A Kirk supporter who ran up and gave the middle finger to the lead singer of another band, False Flag, was immediately surrounded by dozens of the band’s fans. A chant of “Fuck you!” broke out, and the man was escorted away by police. Another man, wielding a Trump flag, circled the show and yelled that Trump had won before being struck in the neck with a loogie. A preacher who was there for Kirk set up his own speakers to recite Bible passages and play gospel music.
Meanwhile, a core of diehard right-wingers in Trump gear and U.S. flags cheered for Kirk. Wearing a dollar-store U.S. flag around her neck, Kennedy Luty, an SFSU alumna and registered Republican, said she had come out to show support.
“You go to where people don’t like you to try to change that,” said Luty, 27.
But was Kirk really changing minds? Audience members who approached the stage seemed to be either adoring fans or vehement opponents of the Turning Point USA founder, who has been trying to recruit college students to the political right since 2012. Regardless, Kirk seemed more focused on owning libs than on finding common ground.
This didn’t bother Luty.
“You know what? Charlie’s winning the debates,” she said.
Before the music started, freshman Benni Toe led a small counterprotest to discourage students from entering the fenced-off field where Kirk spoke.
“They wanna do nothing but embarrass you and get you mad,” she shouted through a megaphone. “Arguing with mentally ill people is absurd.”
Three volunteers with the event declined to comment, as did a student trying to recruit members to the school’s College Republicans club. But a third-year history student who said he works for the clothing company Will2Rise, which describes itself as “dedicated to fostering a healthy, purpose-driven lifestyle for the White youth,” said he’d come to hear Kirk out.
“I don’t necessarily agree with everything Kirk says,” said the student, who declined to provide his name, but “I support the message of a Christian country.”
He wore an “Appeal to Heaven” logo on his hat, a symbol that has become synonymous with Christian nationalism.
From the other side of the fence, a British exchange student named Joe said he didn’t dare join the counterprotest.
“As much as I’d like to show fascists they can’t do this, my visa is precious to me.”
He added that Kirk is “an opportunist looking to profit off hate and bigotry.”