TheVoiceOfJoyce Is Nashville ground zero for the youth Conservative movement? Are the kids in high school and middle school closer to MAGA? Be aware of this young political movement that sees Politics as a game to win ,they support a Christian Nation and their theme was fight: ICE PROTESTORS & Trans folks & fascists.

Posted on by jaslvr

After chants of “U-S-A,” the President spoke. 

“A very special hello to everyone gathered at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. I love Nashville…” President Trump said from a video recording from the Oval Office.

This was a surprise cameo to the packed room of young conservatives who came from around the country to meet in Nashville. Cheers and screams of excitement rose from the shocked crowd. 
The President closed with“Keep on fighting, keep on winning, and have a great time.” 

Those words wrapped the feeling of the Freedom at 250 rally last Friday. This was a gathering of 700 young conservatives from colleges across the country. The whole event, which included a conference the next day, was a partnership between Young America’s Foundation, a conservative youth organization with chapters around the country, and The Daily Wire, the combative conservative juggernaut media company founded by Ben Shapiro and headquartered in Nashville. 

I attended Badger Boys State, a political camp for boys in high school. In college I majored in political science.

The mood and tone have shifted since then. So let me take you inside the rally.

WHAT TO KNOW

Young Americas and Daily Wire Freedom at 250 rally. Photo: Justin BarneyNashville was selected by the conservative collaboration of YAF and The Daily Wire as the first city to kick off a series of rallies celebrating the 250th anniversary of America’s independence. 
There were a couple of main themes in the rally: 

  1. The theme of the night was “fight.” Many beliefs started by first taking a couple jabs at “the enemy,” which included trans folks, ICE protesters, and anti-fascists.
  2. Modeling America around the “one true God” — a Christian God. 
  3. Staying victorious. Politics as a game to be won. 

Winning is fun. The atmosphere in the room was like a locker room after the Super Bowl. There was a lot of excitement and celebratory speeches. Students described the atmosphere to me as “electric.” There was genuine enthusiasm. 

And a lot of jokes. In between firebrand speeches from Daily Wire contributors, there were panel-style games. A host asked four pundits a question and they would see who got the biggest reaction.

For example:

Q: You can pick one problem that plagued America and you can make it disappear. What are you picking? 
Michael Knowles: Somalis.  

He says that he was joking. In the green room afterwards he told me that the key to winning young voters is being authentic. Many speakers tried to out-do each other for the edgiest joke, oftentimes saying the quiet part out loud. The crowd ate it up, yelling out some of their own, and getting in on the action. 

Finally Knowles got to his serious answer to the question.  

“Too many people are voting. There are a lot of people who don’t know anything, and that’s what the Democrats rely on. Low information voters.” 

A big goal for this rally and conference is to teach young conservatives in the style of the Daily Wire. Scott Walker, the former governor Wisconsin who now leads YAF, told me that in the conference they would show the students how to debate in the style of Daily Wire founder, Ben Shapiro. 
Young America’s Foundation has chapters in colleges and high schools across the country, and Walker said they just started their first couple chapters in middle schools.

Gen Z and Alpha are important to the conservative movement. A gallop poll showed Gen Z at 56% independent, an all time high. Walker sees opportunity to meet Gen Z where they are: YouTube and podcasts. That’s where The Daily Wire has excelled. Founder Ben Shapiro has over 7 million YouTube subscribers alone. This rally and conference brought the two together.

“ This is the biggest freedom conference we’ve ever had and one of the biggest conferences in the history of Young America’s Foundation.” Walker said from the stage. 

Next year they are hoping for bigger.

The NashVillager is supported by

and Nashville Public Radio members

On today’s episode of the NashVillagerpodcast with host Nina Cardona 🎙️ 

Will Rutherford County’s libraries perform a mass ban on children’s books? An upcoming vote may see the library board and library staff at odds. Plus the local news for February 11, 2026 and this week’s edition of What Where Whens-day. 

Listen and subscribe on your favorite podcasting app
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Pocket Casts | Web

MORE TO KNOW

  • Tennessee’s Office of Homeland Security has existed since 2003, when then-Governor Phil Bredesen created it through an executive order. Now, Governor Bill Lee’s administration is seeking to codify the agency in state law and expand its powers. In addition to shaping the state’s strategy against terrorist attacks, it would authorize the office to covertly investigate a wide range of threats and “assist with securing the state’s election infrastructure.” Meanwhile, a separate bill would make records of the agency confidential, even after investigations have concluded. Democratic state lawmaker Aftyn Behn tells the Tennessee Lookout that the idea amounts to creating a “secret police.” Senate Majority leader Jack Johnson, who’s sponsoring the Senate versions of the bills, pushed back on that, saying plenty of law enforcement agencies are shielded from public records laws. However, those records typically do become public when an investigation has closed. The head of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government says the proposals could allow Homeland Security to operate in new ways with little accountability or transparency. [Tennessee Lookout]
     
  • The Professional Educators of Tennessee want a delay in T-CAP testing due to the recent ice storm. The Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program is a state test given to students in the spring – and the stakes can be high. Third graders who don’t perform well enough can be held back or sent to summer school. The ice storm knocked out power for thousands and caused many kids to miss a week of school or more. Teachers say missing those days costs kids valuable test preparation time. The educators group sent a letter to the State Commissioner of Education suggesting that school districts have flexibility to decide when to give students the T-CAP. [WBIR]
     
  • All this month, the Tennessee Highway Patrol will set up sobriety checkpoints to cut down on the number of alcohol-related accidents. Troopers will be stationed across the state in both urban and rural counties including Davidson, Cheatham, Rutherford, and Williamson. So plan ahead and have a designated sober driver.  

FROM WNXP

Join us at The Blue Room Thursday, Feb. 12 for Music Trivia Night to show off your music trivia skills for your chance to take home tickets to see Pavement, Paul Simon & Courtney Barnett.

Doors open at 6:30pm and trivia begins right at 8pm — get there early to save your seat. See you there!

FROM THIS IS NASHVILLE

We just lived through the same crisis — an ice storm that froze Nashville in place for the better part of a week and caused the worst power outage the city has ever seen. While we all experienced it, everyone’s experience was different, even from one neighbor to the next. Some lost power for two weeks. Others had lights and heat the whole time. Some had trees split their home in two. Others just had to clean up a few sticks. Some had frozen pipes that left them homeless. Others were already unhoused and “remarkably unbothered” by the cold. The ice storm of 2026 will become a core memory for many of us. 

Your input is central to our show. Call (615) 751-2500 to leave us your feedback. Submit your idea or email us. Stream This is Nashville with host Blake Farmer on YouTube, or listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts |  Spotify | YouTubeCHECK OUT TICKET GIVEAWAYS

THE LATEST FROM NPR

NashVillager is supp

Leave a Reply