Conservative commentator Kaitlin Bennett returned to UCF in February 2026 after visiting the campus twice in the fall of 2020. While Bennett’s arrival in 2020 was to support conservative students during a protest, this time, Bennett interviewed students for her YouTube channel, Liberty Hangout.
Salome Caballero Borboa
With the afternoon sun beaming in the Student Union courtyard, conservative political commentator Kaitlin Bennett arrived with her camera crew to interview students at UCF on Tuesday.
Bennett arrived on campus without warning, interviewing students mere feet away from the UCF Turning Point USA and UCF Students for Life of America tables in front of the Student Union. To some, this seemed like a curated political event. To others, a chance for open conversation.
Kiyanah Rodney, a senior political science major, spoke to students across campus to get their thoughts.
“With people coming in, right-wingers who are having extremist views, a lot of kids I talk to are very uncomfortable with what’s happening right now,” Rodney said.
On the other hand, Anderson Fish, a junior majoring in political science, said he doesn’t agree with Bennett politically, but still welcomes the conversation.
“At the end of the day, a conversation’s a conversation,” he said.
Conservative student organizations’ tabling, as well as Kaitlin Bennett’s arrival, occurred in the middle of the afternoon Tuesday, around 1:00 p.m., a time when the campus is bustling with students walking between classes through the student union. This sparked many side conversations among students after they spoke with Bennett or another group.
Minaal Arain
To Bennett, this was simply an opportunity to film for her YouTube channel, Liberty Hangout. Bennett said her team was there specifically to talk to students about a variety of hot-button political topics, such as voter ID laws.
Liberty Hangout, Bennett’s YouTube channel, is a conservative media outlet “promoting faith, family and freedom” by engaging with students in “free speech and open dialogue,” according to the channel’s description.
Bennett first gained attention upon graduating from Kent State University in 2018. In her graduation photos, Bennett strapped on an AR-10 semiautomatic rifle while on campus, and held her cap, which read, “come and take it.”
Bennett posted the photos on Twitter, where she received large publicity from people on both ends of the political spectrum. Claiming she was protesting the university’s gun policy, Bennett also referred to an incident where protestors at KSU were met with gun violence from federal agents during the Vietnam War.
This is not Bennett’s first time filming at UCF. She was on campus in September of 2020, when many students were outraged by her arrival and refusal to wear a face mask during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fish thinks most people like Bennett serve as entertainers rather than political commentators.
“They’re here to start a discussion that’s immediately going to be loaded,” he said. “She goes up to people and puts them in a situation where they don’t have enough time to compose their thoughts, making for very clippable content of showing her arguments exceeding, where obviously it’s not a fair competition.”
Sometimes, Bennett would get the debate she wanted to spark. Other times, such as when a student brought up the Epstein files, it would backfire.
“Ms. Bennett didn’t really have a response for that. She just changed the subject,” Fish said.
“That shows the nature of discussions like that,” he added. “It’s meant to be a takedown, it’s meant to be a quick clip. It’s not meant to be an in-depth conversation that leads to a natural conclusion.”
During their own conversation, Fish said Bennett made “provocative” and “dehumanizing” statements about immigrants lacking permanent legal status in the United States. However, he emphasized that, regardless of his disapproval of Bennett, there is value in having a discussion in a public forum.
“We’re all entitled to political beliefs,” he said. “I find hers to be very distasteful, to be anti-human, but even then, the very fact that we got to have that discussion, there’s value in that. That’s what a university campus is for.”
That, Bennett said, was her very purpose for going to university campuses.
“Dialogue [is] incredibly important in a public square, like a college campus. So that’s why it’s important to do this here,” she said.
Bennett’s presence occurred at the same time and place as the UCF chapters of TPUSA and SLA, along with graphic abortion photos from those not affiliated with the university.
The UCF chapters of Turning Point USA (front) and Students for Life of America (back) were tabling at the same time conservative commentator Kaitlin Bennett was interviewing students outside the student union, Tuesday.
Minaal Arain
Avery Witt, junior history major tabling for Turning Point, and Aila Giannini, a freshman political science major tabling for both UCF TPUSA and UCF SLA, said that they weren’t aware that Bennett would be on campus. Still, Giannini said she saw no issue with Bennett’s appearance.
“I think it’s great. I think she’s a peak rage-baiter. I think it’s hilarious what she does,” Giannini said. “I think it’s really funny when people say she twists people’s words to make them look ridiculous when maybe your opinion is just ridiculous. So, I think that more people need to understand that, and I think they need to be more open to different viewpoints.”
Giannini and Witt both agreed that Bennett’s presence helped both clubs amplify their message.
“It’s always great to have a more prominent figure on campus, to kind of enforce what we already believe, and what we’re trying to promote around on campus,” Giannini said.
Rodney came to see what Bennett and other students had to say because of the commotion caused by the gathering of conservative groups on campus. Rodney said she believes Bennett is trying to shock her audience with her content.
“She’s trying to cause anger. There’s no peaceful political debate with her. It’s all division. She’s right, you’re wrong,” Rodney said.
Despite her belief that Bennett is simply trying to rile people up, Rodney doesn’t think Bennett accomplished that mission.
“I’ve also seen students who’ve walked by, they’re intimidated by what’s going on,” she said. “A lot of students just look kind of uncomfortable and questioning what’s happening on campus.”