By: Hayden Cunningham

Riley Gaines took the stage at TPUSA’s AmericaFest 2025 where she spoke about young people’s desire to seek truth in a culture that is dominated by slogans and falsehoods.

Gaines criticized left-wing gender ideology, saying it is “built on deception,” “discouragement,” and “destruction.” She argued that it promotes the belief that people were born incorrectly and that God made a mistake in creating them. Gaines referenced the tragically high suicide rates among people who identify as transgender, saying the solution is to reaffirm biological reality and teach that God does not make mistakes.

“It is a lie that leads to children and adults to castrating and sterilizing themselves… chasing satisfaction that will never last,” Gaines said, adding that true satisfaction can only be found through Christ.

She said society will one day view the medical approval of transgender surgeries as the “biggest medical scandal this world has ever seen.”

Gaines went on to argue that abortion is even more sinister than transgender medical procedures. She highlighted the recent birth of her daughter, saying that becoming a mother has strengthened her conservative views on life and abortion and made her “radically pro-life.”

“Hearing her heartbeat at that first appointment,” she recalled, “then going to the 20 week anatonym scan and hearing ‘it’s a girl’… it proved to me that life, it’s no longer theoretical… She’s a human being. Small, yes. Dependent yes. Fragile, yes. But infinitely valuable.”

“Life is not disposable,” she affirmed.

Gaines said these issues demonstrate how young women, in particular, have been misled, arguing that “transgenderism, sexual liberation, and abortion have nothing to do with women’s rights.”

“Calling these movements feminism is not only inaccurate, but it’s dangerous, it’s destructive. Feminism promised empowerment, but you know what it delivered? It delivered emptiness,” she said.

She also pointed to the numerous pro-life policies under the current administration, including tax benefits for parents, new savings accounts for children, and efforts to protect women “before, during, and after motherhood.”

Addressing young people in the audience, Gaines acknowledged the cultural pressures and confusion they continue to face.

“I recognize that you are growing up in a culture that is really loud, that is confusing, that is deeply contradictory,” she said. You’re told to chase independence, but you’re punished for your vulnerability. You’re encouraged to reject limits, but given no guidance. You’re told that you can be anything, women especially, except for faithful, for feminine, or family-oriented without apology.”

“So my message to you is that you can do those things,” Gaines added. “I’m here to tell you to be bold, to say the controversial thing, to be courageous.”

Watch full speeches from all AmFest speakers on the Turning Point USA YouTube Channel.