On Oct. 6, Brilyn Hollyhand, an Auburn freshman studying political science, held his “One Conversation at a Time Tour” at the Science Center Auditorium. The event, organized in coordination with Auburn’s Turning Point USA chapter, aimed to promote the involvement of the next generation of conservatives in the political process.
A line formed at 6:15 p.m. near the auditorium, and the event itself began at 7:00 p.m.. The president of Auburn’s TPUSA chapter, Jacob Roose, talked with members about upcoming events until introducing the night’s speaker, Hollyhand.
This event is one of ten stops on Hollyhand’s “One Conversation at a Time” campus tour, which is being held in partnership with TPUSA collegiate chapters throughout the Southeastern US.
“I am more excited for this [stop] than any other stop we’re doing, because it’s a small campus. I get to see my friends. I get to do it with my professors and the community. This event is so unique, because this is the largest Turning Point chapter in the country, and I happen to be a student here,” Hollyhand said just before giving his speech.
During the event, Hollyhand first spoke for 20 minutes, recounting his start in politics by referencing the newsletter he began writing in the fourth grade, ‘The Truth Gazette.’ Hollyhand then told audience members that one day, while in his high school math class, he received a call from President Trump and was forced to answer it from the bathroom. As a result of this phone call, Hollyhand was eventually named as co-chair of the Republican National Committee’s Youth Advisory Council. While no longer involved with the RNC, Hollyhand believes he has continued to be a voice for young voters through cable news appearances and his social media.
To close his speech, Hollyhand reminded listeners of the ideas of his late mentor, Charlie Kirk and urged them to seek out conversation with people they know they disagree with. After the speech, the floor was opened for questions, and a meet-and-greet session was held for all attendees.
“Every single one of you could do something super easy this week. Have a conversation with somebody who you know disagrees with you. That is the number one problem in this country, because our generation was raised to believe that faith and politics were taboo topics,” Hollyhand said. “Our generation was told that you can’t talk about faith and politics out in public or at the dinner table. Therefore, when we start to disagree on faith and politics, we don’t know how to disagree, because we can’t communicate with each other. It’s super easy to dye your hair, it’s super easy to scream at somebody, but it’s really hard to talk to somebody. That’s your homework this week. Go have a conversation.”
Just two weeks ago, fresh off the announcement of his tour, Hollyhand was at the helm of an overnight internet frenzy due to a post on his official accounts, where he was seen on a private jet en route to the University of Arkansas for a tour stop. Various X users targeted his credibility and questioned Hollyhand’s true intentions regarding his campus tour, as well as within conservative spaces. On Sept. 27, one X user stated, “Icarus moment?” Only a day before that comment, another wrote, “Charlie Kirk was exceptionally good at connecting with college students, and I have to think at least one small part of that was probably by relating to them and not taking videos…on the private jet he was using to get to their campuses.”
“The criticism is attacking me for a tour that I'm funding entirely myself. [I’m] not charging any campuses. I'm not charging the campuses to get me there, yet when I pay for it myself, the keyboard warriors still get upset,” Hollyhand said. “You know, this is unfortunate that our own party is eating one of our own and supporting other people. I can't tell you the amount of times I've opened social media and seen our party calling for the next generation, to get off the sidelines. But when somebody from the next generation gets off the sidelines, they get criticized, which makes it very hard for me to go on a campus like we're speaking tonight and say, ‘Please step into the fight.’”
Additionally, as the comments online continued to swirl, Brilyn’s relationship with TPUSA came into question. On Sept. 19, Hollyhand announced that he was joining forces with TPUSA to launch his "One Conversation at a Time" campus tour. However, when asked via X if Hollyhand was employed by TPUSA, Tyler Browyer, the COO of Turning Point Action, stated on Sept. 28: “No, he’s not. TPUSA has thousands of chapters. He just set up to speak to 8 or so local ones and is calling it a tour. [The] team is in [the] midst of bigger issues right now, and although it has come off as distasteful, usually these things work themselves out.” This response obviously led to speculation about how Hollyhand promoted the tour and explained its development.
“Turning Point chapters reached out to headquarters, and headquarters reached out to me. I remain a speaker on their website today. Turning Point chapters reached out and made it an opportunity,” Hollyhand said in defense of his relationship with TPUSA. “I think the biggest way to continue in the movement is how the 24 chapters [who reached out] are doing it. The students are setting it up; the organizations are hosting us. This isn't the Brilyn Hollyhand Tour. It never has, and it never will be. It's a continuation, a turning point in their growth.”
The controversy didn’t end there; Hollyhand was entangled in a culminating argument debating America’s continued support of Israel and its respective wars, with many citing back to prior posts of Hollyhand confirming his strong support of the nation-state.
“So, the first thing I'll say is, despite what everyone on Twitter believes. I grew up as a Baptist. I went to a Baptist Church this past weekend. At no point in my life have I been Jewish. The second thing I'll say is that I'm a Christian first and a conservative second. So, all of my political beliefs come strictly from the Bible, and I quote a lot of scripture, as you see in these speeches,” Hollyhand said as a response to the ongoing discussion. “Now, my Bible says very clearly that the Lord calls us to bless Israel, to support Israel. Now, in no way, shape or form do I think that we should continue to send a blank check to any nation, Israel or Ukraine. I think that [there] should be a hard line for America, that the US draws, and we say that that's not the situation that we should get ourselves into, and that should not be something that continues. We, for too long, [have] bankrolled nations that have proxy wars. We've got to move past that. I think this is the time that we passed that. We will forever and always support Israel. They are one of our greatest allies. That doesn't mean that we have to bankroll their entire nation.”
Hollyhand indisputably has been placed on a grander stage since the assassination of Turning Point USA founder, Charlie Kirk, on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University during an event. Even with the heightened danger of public appearances and increased involvement of online skeptics, Hollyhand says he will continue to fight for what he believes will help the future of America.
“Every single time that I have a conversation with a college student immediately following this speech, the number one thing I get every single time is ‘Brilyn, this is awesome, but this isn’t realistic for me. Young people have no place in politics.’ I am standing on this campus, this Monday night, to be the one to tell you that there is a place for you in politics,” Hollyhand said ending his speech at the Auburn campus stop. “You need to understand that the people who founded this great nation, [like] Alexander Hamilton, was 18 years old. We’re all in this age range in this room. You can shape the future of this country.”
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