Graduation Speaker Disinvited From UVU Over Charlie Kirk Posts Tells All

Sharon McMahon, a bestselling author and civics educator dubbed “America’s government teacher,” was scheduled to deliver the commencement address at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. UVU had endured a traumatic school year that began when Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder, was assassinated on campus last September. The administration wanted her to help close out a devastating year.

McMahon had built an organic social media following by refusing the binary thinking that dominates American public discourse. She runs a popular Substack newsletter called “The Preamble,” hosts a podcast, and has written books on civics. She had spoken at UVU twice before to packed arenas. When the school announced her as commencement speaker, she did not expect the backlash.

“There began an organized, coercive pressure campaign on the part of government officials, both congressional officials and state level officials, along with Turning Point USA, to try and pressure the school into removing me as the speaker,” McMahon told Carlo Versano on Newsweek’s The 1600 podcast, explaining why the invitation fell apart.

The invitation was rescinded days before the ceremony. An organized pressure campaign, involving government officials at both the congressional and state levels as well as Turning Point USA itself, forced the university’s hand. With it came security threats-not just against McMahon, but against the school president, the board of trustees, and the institution itself. “Let her get up on the stage and we’ll just take her out that way,” some wrote, according to McMahon.

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“The idea that we are somehow entitled to only be surrounded by information that we agree with, I think that’s actually a huge problem in the United States right now,” she said. “I agree with it. So it’s true, right. And if I disagree, it’s a lie.”

The system, she argues, is designed to learn what holds attention. It tracks what angers you and what you like, then serves up more of it. Sometimes it confirms your beliefs. Sometimes it provokes you. Either way, it keeps you engaged, and the space for genuine learning shrinks.

Yet McMahon says her newsletter and podcast have built a “cult following” because they push against that pattern. People often tell her they disagree with her on many points, but still find themselves thinking more deeply after listening.

“You cannot develop critical thinking skills or intellectual maturity without wrestling with information you might disagree with,” she said.

What Her Commencement Address Would Have Said

The commencement speech McMahon was planning to give would have centered on America’s 250th anniversary. She wanted to talk about what it means to love a country while also demanding it be better.

“Celebrating something does not mean you agree with every aspect of it,” she said. “It doesn’t mean you ignore the realities of history. It doesn’t mean that you pretend we have not made mistakes.”

She offered a simple metaphor: You can love your spouse and also be frustrated by them. You can be proud of your accomplishments while recognizing your laziness. These contradictions are not strange in the human mind. Why should they be strange when we think about the concept of America?

What is worth celebrating, in her view, is the long arc of American expansion of rights and freedoms. Over 250 years, the country has gradually extended political inclusion to more people. It has welcomed immigrants from around the world. It has, despite profound challenges, held together as a multiracial democracy.

“Most other enduring democracies don’t have nearly as challenging a hand,” she said. “The fact that we have made it this far, I think that’s worth celebrating.”

But celebration is not complacency. “When you love something, you want it to be the best you can be. And that’s how I feel about America. I want America to keep being better.”

That message-that two things can be true at once, that nuance is not weakness, that engaging with opposing ideas is a prerequisite for citizenship-was supposed to be her parting words to the UVU graduating class. Instead, it remains undelivered.

Watch the full conversation between Sharon McMahon and Carlo Versano in the video player above or on YouTube.

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This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 11:35 AM.