Trump invokes Charlie Kirk at RNC convention

It’s Thursday, and the 49ers play the Rams tonight. May the best Californians win.

Programming note : We’re Abigail Walker and Claire Leibowitz filling in for Cate today. Please send us your tips, comments and story ideas to awalker@thehill.com and cleibowitz@thehill.com .

Thursday marks one year since conservative activist and leader of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) Charlie Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University (UVU).

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) declared Sept. 10 Charlie Kirk Day in Utah and said moments of tragedy should not deepen divisions, but rather foster empathy.

Kirk was a well-known debater who went toe-to-toe with college students, liberals and occasionally public figures in a “Prove Me Wrong” format that allowed anyone to walk up to his table and discuss topics including immigration, race and social issues.

TPUSA is one of the most dominant youth-oriented conservative groups in the country, with chapters spread across U.S. universities. It also received extra chops after President Trump and Vice President Vance credited Kirk and the organization for electoral victories.

Although his wife, Erika Kirk , took over the nonprofit after his death, TPUSA is still left with a void that is difficult to fill, The Hill’s Caroline Vakil reports.

Could the next Charlie Kirk be like Forrest Gump?: Blake Neff, another conservative activist who worked with Kirk, has taken over the radio program the “Charlie Kirk Show.”

He describes himself as being like Forrest Gump, Politico reports , because he was a little-known figure who was pushed, with luck and pluckiness, toward the center of many important moments for conservatives.

He shares Kirk’s values and aims to host healthy debate about conservative tenets without censoring or cancelling his opponents to silence them.

Trump and TPUSA: Trump called Kirk “a great friend” at Wednesday night’s Republican National Committee midterm convention in Dallas.

The president tied together his opponents and Kirk’s demise, saying “the mask came off the radical left” as people cheered Kirk’s death.

“Those same people are trying to get power over you in this election, and they’re all voting Democrat,” he added. “We will not let them win, in Charlie’s honor.”

Trump shouted out Erika Kirk, who was in attendance and received applause from the audience, along with chants of “Charlie.” She is set to speak Thursday night.

Memorial maelstrom: TPUSA is hosting a memorial Thursday night at UVU, which has once again split the campus, per the New York Times . While some students welcome the opportunity to honor Kirk, others, including those in the chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, are planning a protest outside the memorial.

“This is almost like making this a holiday,” Ethan Cunningham, the president of the campus Students for a Democratic Society, told the Times.

The university president also told the outlet that he is planning to attend the memorial and the protest to show that the university can foster dialogues on both sides.

The university canceled classes and ramped up security.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) made a video appearance at the RNC’s first midterm convention, stirring the partisan pot.

“Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I’m a commonsense Democrat,” the lawmaker said in introducing his Pennsylvania colleague, Sen. Dave McCormick (R). He then criticized the Democratic Party’s leftist flank, calling socialism an “anti-American way of life.”

Commentator Stephen A. Smith , when asked about Fetterman’s RNC appearance, told NewsNation host Chris Cuomo that while it’s one thing to reject socialism, “It’s another thing entirely to be a Democrat and be a part of a hype video at a Republican convention.”

“That is just pretty much spitting in the face of Democrats who elected you to office,” Smith added.

Bill O’Reilly also spoke with Cuomo about Fetterman gracing the RNC. The former Fox News host predicted the senator “is going to be a Republican,” a switch that might threaten potential Democratic control of the Senate come November.

Fetterman has frequently criticized his party in recent months, typically citing democratic socialism and a diminished support of Israel as reasons for his growing distaste for Democrats.

Trump announced at the RNC convention that should Republicans maintain control of Congress, American adults would each receive $5,000 .

The president’s promise begs many questions. As The Hill’s Mallory Wilson wrote: “The legality of this disbursal is unclear. There are about 270 million adults in the U.S.”

Trump said the proposed payouts would be possible “because we’ve done so well and because our country is making so much money.”

Totally not controversial : Vance late Wednesday night defended the president’s dividend promise on Fox News. Host Bret Baier said critics would label the payout, which would amount to around $1.3 trillion, as “bribing voters.”

Like Trump, the vice president responded that the Trump administration was “taking an extraordinary amount of revenue,” pointing to recent tariffs as a source of so much cash.

“If you keep us in power and allow us to continue to do these things, then you’re going to share in some of the benefit of this incredible wealth that we’re creating in the United States of America,” Vance added. “I don’t think it’s a controversial idea.”

Hostilities in the Middle East have heightened in recent days, with the Islamic Republic increasing its attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.

“Iran is escalating because they don’t see other options,” Marc Sievers, the former U.S. ambassador to Oman, told The Wall Street Journal . “They’re under tremendous pressure from the blockade and the new sanctions.”

In a conflict first, the Islamic Republic launched missiles directly at American naval ships and aircraft carriers.

According to U.S. Central Command, the warships thwarted the strikes, which, if successful, the Journal posited “would almost certainly trigger a fierce U.S. response and risk reigniting a full-scale war.”

Meanwhile in Jordan , Iranian forces between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning local time struck multiple U.S. aircraft at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, individuals with direct knowledge of the situation told CBS news .

One A-10 Thunderbolt and eight F-15s were among the damaged aircraft, according to the anonymous sources.

Didn’t happen : In a phone call with NewsNation’s Robert Sherman on Thursday, the president denied any damage to U.S. aircraft.

“None whatsoever. No damage. No nothing,” Trump told Sherman.

ABC late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel said an interview he conducted with Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico will not air on broadcast because of what he called threats issued to his network by President Trump’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins (R) is appearing before the state Supreme Court on Thursday as judges weigh whether to hold him in contempt amid an escalating battle over the state’s congressional map.

Talarico in a Wednesday interview with Fox News expressed his qualified opposition to transgender athletes playing in girls’ sports, saying such athletes should not be allowed to play if it is not fair or safe.

Associated Press : Farmers see spiritual calling in regenerative agriculture

New York Times : How Fighting Fires Became an All-of-Europe Project

Politico : California’s health care reckoning could soon become Becerra’s problem

CNN : When passenger jets became missiles, they investigated. They’re remembering it 25 years later

The House and Senate out. President Trump is in Dallas. (All times EDT)

2 p.m.: Democrats hold a protest against the RNC convention at Dallas City Hall Plaza.

8 p.m.: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Donald Trump Jr. speak at the RNC convention.

9 p.m. Vance and Trump close out the Dallas convention.

🍽️ Celebrate : Today is National TV Dinner Day. Does Trader Joe’s frozen gnocchi count?

🏈 The Patriots were leading the Seahawks last night 10-0, until the latter surged to a 13-10 win. Seems like a nice comeback, but we just hope both teams had fun.

🏄🏼‍♂️ Because you made it this far, here’s a video of a squirrel waterskiing at the Alaska state fair. I wonder if they offer lessons?