<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Daily Wire host Michael Knowles defended the idea of Americans as a distinct people with a “real historical lineage and a real historical destiny” on Thursday night.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Knowles spoke on the main stage during the first night of Turning Point USA’s America Fest conference in Phoenix, Arizona. In a speech largely about uniting the American political Right, Knowles described the American people as having a heritage that sets them apart from others.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“To be on the team, you have to acknowledge that there is such a thing as the American people. We&#8217;re not just an idea floating in outer space. We are a real people with a real historical lineage and a real historical destiny,” said Knowles.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">What defines Americanism became a point of debate online this week after Vivek Ramaswamy, a former 2024 GOP presidential candidate and current candidate for Ohio governor, wrote an </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/opinion/republican-identity-divide.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">op-ed</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for The New York Times arguing that the “American identity is based on ideals.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Knowles appeared to push back against that idea in his speech at AmFest.</span></p>
<p><b data-stringify-type="bold"><a class="c-link" href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=christmas&amp;utm_content=christmassale25" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=christmas&amp;utm_content=christmassale25" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-33447">Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a></b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We have a real historical experience and character that is not magically imbued through a few lines of philosophy or a naturalization pop quiz,” he said. “At different times, we&#8217;ve taken in foreigners. When it&#8217;s worked, those foreigners have come to act and talk and even look like us. When it hasn&#8217;t worked, they haven&#8217;t.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If you prefer the flag of some other nation, the customs and habits of some other people, you are not on my team. If you are and want to be a member of the American people, you are on my team,” he added.</span></p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="Michael Knowles Live at AmericaFest 2024" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VQHeDhVqvyg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Follow along with The Daily Wire’s live coverage </span><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/daily-wire-live-america-fest-day-01?contentProgram=Daily%20Wire%20News&amp;contentType=ShowEpisode&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;location=Home%20Tab&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Home%20Featured%20Carousel"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and live blog </span><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/live-from-amfest-erika-kirk-and-ben-shapiro-set-to-kick-off-tpusas-amfest?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Daily+Wire&amp;category=Original&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=LIVE+FROM+AMFEST%3A+Erika+Kirk+And+Ben+Shapiro+Set+To+Kick+Off+TPUSA%E2%80%99s+AmFest"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>

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Michael Knowles At TPUSA AmFest: ‘There Is Such A Thing As The American People’