Donald Trump calls on his supporters to 'just vote' during the rally in Georgia, organized by Charlie Kirk

Democrats “stand for everything that God hates,” Kirk said, calling the choice between Trump and Harris “a spiritual battle.”

“This is a Christian state. I would like to see this continue,” Kirk told the roughly 10,000 Georgians, who at one point joined Kirk in a humiliating chant: “Christ is King! Christ is King!”

Meanwhile, Harris, a Baptist, used a CNN town hall in Philadelphia to describe Trump as fascist, further crystallizing the country’s polarized attitudes with less than two weeks until Election Day.

Trump’s campaign strategy of encouraging supporters to consider any voting method has taken a turn since the former president attributed his 2020 election loss to mail-in ballots; the number of people voting early has increased dramatically this year. More than 1.9 million voters have voted early in Georgia, where Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden by just 11,779 votes four years ago. Voters across the country returned a total of more than 23 million ballots in the 2024 general election. That’s record-breaking in several states, driven in part by Republicans embracing early voting at Trump’s direction.

But as the election battle enters its final days, allies like Kirk are looking for people who lean toward Trump but might sit out the election when it comes to casting a ballot.

“You have to go to every person you know and say, ‘Are you voting for Trump?’” Kirk told the crowd.

Kirk, 31, will play a major role in this year’s elections. He is using his online presence and the organization he founded, Turning Point Action, to make himself one of the most recognizable conservatives in the country and a central part of Trump’s operation. The former president has placed a particular emphasis on courting younger men, the “bro vote,” in an effort to reach them through podcasts, social media and influencers like Kirk.

The rally, at Gas South Arena in Duluth, was filled with Turning Point’s signature fireworks. Trump used it to highlight three figures who represent the populist coalition he is trying to bring together: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ran his own campaign for president this year before endorsing Trump; former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democrat who announced this week that she is joining the Republican Party; and Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News commentator who has attracted millions of followers with his bravado-heavy social media presence. He added country singer Jason Aldean, whose single “Try That in a Small Town” was a response to urban protests.

Carlson whipped the crowd into a frenzy by reassuring them that liberals and political elites were the “bizarre minority” in American politics, while Trump’s “Make America Great Again” supporters are a “gentle, tolerant” movement. Calling Trump the “father” of America, Carlson said a Trump victory over Harris would mean “daddy is home!” And he is angry!” – while also wagging a “big middle finger” at “the worst people in the English-speaking world.”

When Trump spoke later in the evening, some in the crowd shouted, “Daddy’s home!”

Wednesday’s rally was strategically located in a part of metro Atlanta where Trump underperformed in his re-election campaign four years ago. Kirk and Trump will also appear at a rally in Las Vegas on Thursday evening.

Trump praised Kirk for “working so hard” on the rally and other campaign efforts.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump made his own pitch to conservative Christian voters at a faith-focused town hall at a church in Zebulon, about 50 miles south of Atlanta. He made the dubious claim that Christians do not vote in large numbers.

“If you have faith, if you believe in God, that’s a great advantage over people who don’t have that,” he said, arguing that Christian voters are being swayed in his favor this year.

At the end of what was billed as a “Believers and Ballots” event, Trump went outside to address a packed crowd. Several hundred people gathered in the church parking lot and chanted “USA!”

In addition to its work in Georgia, Kirk’s Turning Point is pitching state and local Republican officials in an election campaign in Arizona, Wisconsin and elsewhere. Critics question the group’s claims and its use of an app that offers minimal protections to secure voters’ personal information. In a recording of a meeting obtained by The Associated Press, a group employee stated: “We are now an official arm of the Trump campaign.”

Earlier this week, Kirk and Vivek Ramaswamy took the stage in downtown Atlanta, a decidedly liberal environment for conservatives to appear in court with students. The event was part of Kirk’s “You’re Being Brainwashed Tour,” which stops at college campuses in swing states. Beyond the fieldwork, the “Brainwashed” tour has become perhaps his most visible presence in the final months of the campaign.

Within minutes, Ramaswamy, the biotech entrepreneur running for this year’s Republican presidential nomination, and Kirk were battling Georgia State University students over their choices in the Nov. 5 presidential election.

Trump and his aides argue that his populist nationalism appeals to younger voters frustrated by an inflationary economy and rising home prices.

“I’m definitely voting for Trump because he reflects my values as a conservative and as a Christian more than Ms. Harris,” said 25-year-old student Jean Pierre.

Kirk echoed Trump’s misrepresentation that Harris was particularly responsible for immigration policy. He amplified the falsehood that 325,000 children have been “lost” at the border during Biden’s term.

Kirk also defended the Trump supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, as Congress was meeting to certify Biden’s election.

Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed inside the building by a Capitol police officer, was unarmed, Kirk said. He asked rhetorically whether the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed by a white Minneapolis police officer in 2020, was acceptable. That drew cheers and more than a few expletives.

Kirk, who is white, went on to say, “Black people in America come last, which seems to be a theme in which Democrats have been in charge for the past 60 years.”

The crowd, reflecting the racial and ethnic diversity of the state of Georgia’s enrollment, was largely unresponsive. Turning Point staffers and local conservatives cheered.

Pierre praised Kirk for trying to organize on liberal-leaning campuses. Yet he seemed to be vastly outnumbered in the crowd by the students who were there to push back the host or simply to watch the combative conversations.

Jason Evans and Tyler Hill appeared in ‘White Dudes for Harris’ attire.

Said Hill: “I’m just here for show.”

Associated Press writer Stephen Groves in Washington contributed reporting.