Candace Owens: ‘Trump thinks his base is stupid'
Owens accused Trump of 'gaslighting the public' after the FBI and Justice Department (DOJ) published a memo earlier this month stating there's no evidence Epstein had a 'client list' and reaffirming that he died by suicide in a jail cell while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges in 2019.
'The Epstein scandal is definitely terminal cancer to Trump's MAGA movement,' she said in the video, which was first highlighted by Mediaite. 'There's no question about it.'
Owens, a staunch supporter of Trump during his first White House bid, compared the administration's move to the Hunter Biden controversy, which included his stolen laptop that contained a massive record of documents, including business dealings, personal photos and emails. It was seized on by Republicans as a campaign issue after it was disseminated to the public.
Owens, who has shifted her tone on Trump through out his second term in office, said the Biden case was dismissed by the 'Deep State,' accusing those around Trump of being 'people who hate him and have infiltrated his base.'
'It seems like you think your base is stupid. That's how I feel,' Owens said. 'I feel like Trump thinks his base is stupid, or, again, because I don't think he's pressing send on these messages, the people around him think that Trump is stupid. And that shouldn't surprise you given the fact that all of these people were 'Never Trump.' They were 'Never Trump.''
Owens also accused the administration of sending more weapons to Ukraine as a way to distract the public from the Epstein files, calling it 'Operation: Just Give Them More War.'
'Look at this headline: Trump announces an aggressive, or Trump is to announce an aggressive Ukraine weapons plan. Yeah, he already indicated that in that same press conference that there's just going to be more weapons sent to Ukraine, they're going to attack Russia. We're just going to have to have a world war and another reset, I guess. So, you guys just stop talking about Jeffrey Epstein,' she said.
Owens asserted that she would be 'very last person that will stop talking about Jeffrey Epstein.'
'I will do his entire genealogy backwards and forwards, including everybody around him, get their genealogy, before we let go of this,' she added.
The former supporter turned critic of Trump said last month that she's 'embarrassed' after campaigning for the president during the 2024 election cycle.
'He's been a chronic disappointment. And I feel embarrassed that I told people to go vote for him because this wasn't going to happen, and it is happening,' Owens said before criticizing Trump's decision to engage in the Israel-Iran conflict.
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Associated Press
24 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Live updates: Congress debates $9 billion cuts on foreign aid and public media
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The Hill
26 minutes ago
- The Hill
Justice Department steps in for Nancy Mace
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A magistrate judge ruled the government can't justify detaining him on the charges, and U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, a former President Obama appointee, may order his release as soon as a hearing set for 1 p.m. CDT. If that occurs, Abrego Garcia will not go free. He is expected to immediately enter custody of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The administration has repeatedly declined to finalize what would happen next, saying they don't make those decisions until someone is in ICE's hands. But Abrego Garcia's lawyers are concerned a plane is gassed up and ready to deport him within hours. Here's a look at the administration's options heading into Wednesday's hearing: Lift order preventing El Salvador deportation: An immigration judge in 2019 protected Abrego Garcia from being deported to El Salvador over gang threats to his family's pupusa business, an order known as a 'withholding of removal.' 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What we're reading
Los Angeles Times
26 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Letters to the Editor: Why is Trump waiting 50 days to follow through on Russia tariff threat?
To the editor: President Trump has threatened tariffs against Russia if a Ukraine peace deal is not reached within 50 days ('Trump threatens Russia with tariffs and boosts U.S. weapons for Ukraine,' July 14). That raises an immediate question for Trump: How many more people need to die? Can you imagine Trump's rhetoric if President Biden made the same decision under the same circumstances while in office? Russia could make the decision to cease military action immediately if that government were motivated to do so. Instead of 50 days, the mandate should have been five days. How does Trump rationalize the 50 days after his experience of being dragged along by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's destruction of civilian buildings, hospitals, schools, maternity wards and homes? Is it weakness or fear? How can anyone who has the power to change the course of events live with complicity in allowing Russia to continue the obliteration of so many people's lives? Congress, the MAGA base and the American people should demand more of Trump. Sidney Pelston, Beverly Hills .. To the editor: This article ('Trump to meet NATO secretary general as plan takes shape for Ukraine weapons sales,' July 13) and earlier ones show that European leaders are getting serious about Russia's assault on Ukraine and are cooperating with the U.S. on using the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to counter Putin's aggression. This could be more effective than Putin originally feared when he launched his first attack in 2014 — an attack that only strengthened Ukraine's desire to join NATO. Dale Pfremmer, Agoura Hills .. To the editor: It has become increasingly apparent that, for his own sake, Putin cannot afford to end his war in Ukraine. Putin probably y knows that if he does, he will almost certainly lose control of Russia, which could lead to dire consequences for himself. But what if he had an alternative? Trump could offer Putin asylum here in the U.S. Who wouldn't choose to live out their retirement years in Florida next to Disney World? Trump just needs to make sure Immigration and Customs Enforcement leaves Putin alone. Dave Wilson, Murrieta, Calif.
