A video meant to showcase the conservative vision of an ideal American town has unexpectedly backfired, and people online are not letting it slide.
Earlier this week, conservative commentator Charlie Kirk posted a video on social media of what he described as a peaceful and patriotic small town.
The video was originally posted by Annie Agar, an NFL correspondent. The video, set to the country song Small Town USA, showed scenes of parades, front porches with American flags, farmers’ markets, horseback police officers, a lake house, and even a beach-themed bar.
Highlights
- Charlie Kirk posted a video of what he called a 'lovely and orderly' small American town
- The town in the video—Rockford, Michigan—actually leans Democrat, contradicting Kirk’s conservative message.
- Rockford voted for Democratic candidates Biden and Harris in both the 2020 and 2024 elections by clear margins.
- Critics highlighted the town’s lack of diversity in the video and accused Kirk of implying small towns are nice due to whiteness.
- Kirk’s video faced widespread online mocking for showcasing an affluent, Democratic-leaning suburban town as a conservative ideal.
Charlie Kirk praised a peaceful small town, but it was later revealed that the town was actually blue
Image credits: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Kirk, a conservative activist and the founder of Turning Point USA, captioned the video, “I wonder why America’s small towns are so placid, lovely, and orderly. It’s a total mystery.”
But the internet quickly pointed out a major flaw in his message: the town in the video, Rockford, Michigan, isn’t a conservative stronghold. It actually leans Democrat.
“This is Rockford, Michigan, which is a suburb of Grand Rapids, and part of the congressional district I represented,” former Republican congressman Justin Amash confirmed in a post. “Rockford voted for Biden over Trump in 2020 and Harris over Trump in 2024.”
Online users were quick to roast Kirk for the irony.
“I love how every time these LARPers post 'small town' and 'real American' content to contrast with L.A. its always affluent suburbs that vote Democratic,” one viral tweet said.
Another said it was so placid and lovely because “this town voted for Harris by a 52–45 margin.”
According to voting data, Rockford supported Democratic candidates in the last two presidential elections.
In the 2024 election, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz won the town over Donald Trump and JD Vance by a margin of 52% to 45%.
Image credits: Kent County Elections
Others pointed out that while the town looks like a traditional small town, it’s actually a suburb of Grand Rapids, Michigan’s second-largest city.
“I love the framing of Rockford being a small town lol. 3rd biggest high school in GR and is essentially an annex of the city. But tractor on street,” a Tweet stated.
Some critics also noticed the lack of diversity in the video.
“So what Charlie Kirk is implying here is that small American towns are nice because there are no brown people,” one person said.
Another said, “They don’t even try to hide the racism anymore.”
Although Kent County has leaned more Democratic in recent years, it is predominantly white with 72% white population, compared to the national average of 58%. The video featured almost no people of color.
Despite the criticism, Kirk has not responded to the backlash.
Image credits: Rebecca Noble/Getty Images
Charlie Kirk’s NPO, Turning Point USA, is a right-wing student organization aligned with Donald Trump. It aims to promote conservative values among young people. He is known for his strong support of right-wing policies, including limited government, anti-abortion, and traditional social values.
Kirk is known for his public debates with liberal people, mainly college-going students.
Trump and his allies often lean on a nostalgic image of American towns, which are safe, white, and orderly, in contrast with what they portray as liberal-run cities.
His MAGA campaign and movement leans heavily on nostalgia—rooted in 1950s America, known for post-World War II economic prosperity, traditional Christian values, and cultural homogeneity.
Kirk recently got into another online controversy after his debates at Cambridge University where they clashed over various topics. He claimed “lockdowns were unnecessary,” “life begins at conception,” and that the Civil Rights Act was a “mistake.”