Conservative commentator Candace Owens is in the spotlight again, after going head-to-head with “WAP” singer Cardi B on Twitter. The 31-year-old political right winger, who has argued before Congress that white nationalism is not an issue facing Black Americans, has battled publicly with celebs like Dave Chappelle, Lace Bass, and now Cardi B. She has also landed herself in hot water after defending the likes of Donald Trump, Kanye West, and even German dictator Adolf Hitler. Here are 5 things to know about the conservative pundit.
1. She called Cardi B “dumb” and “illiterate”. Candace took to Twitter on September 6 to criticize the Invasion of Privacy rapper’s recent interview with Joe Biden, 77, for Elle magazine. “[The interview] is one of the biggest insults…This would be akin to Donald Trump saying, ‘I’m going to give no interviews’ but he decided to give an interview to Justin Bieber. It would be absurd…it’s because you’re pandering,” Candace said to Ben Shapiro. She continued blasted Cardi, referring to her as “illiterate” in the interview which she posted to her Instagram. “[Joe’s team] looks at Cardi B’s Instagram, you see millions of followers, and you think, ‘okay, this is an illiterate person and if I appeal to this person that says okurr in the middle of the interview…Black people will vote for me.’ Basically saying, ‘Black people you are stupid, you are dumb. And you’re so foolish’.” In true Cardi fashion, she clapped back at the political right-winger, reminding her, “I have a huge platform and I can make millions go vote.”
2. Candace was criticized for her comments about George Floyd. Following the tragic death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man killed by police in Minneapolis, on May 25, she posted a Facebook Live video, titled “Confession: I DO NOT support George Floyd and I refuse to see him as a martyr.” The outspoken conservative pendit declared she doesn’t support the depiction of George as a “martyr” in the wake of national outcry and protests which reignited the Black Lives Matter movement. “We are being sold a lot of lies at the detriment to the Black community, at the detriment to the White community and at the detriment to America as a whole. So, I want to come out and say that I do not support George Floyd and the media’s depiction of him as a martyr for Black America,” she said in the June 3 video.
3. She has expressed her political beliefs before Congress. Not only has Candace made her political beliefs clear by standing up for the actions of Donald Trump and Kanye West, but she even went before congress in September 2019 to argue that white nationalism was not a major issue in the US. “White supremacy is indeed real, but despite the media’s obsessive coverage of it, it represents an isolated, uncoordinated and fringe occurrence within America,” she told lawmakers.
4. Candace has been accused of standing up for Adolf Hitler. One might think there’s nothing good to say about infamous German dictator Adolf Hitler, but Candace found a way to in February 2019. While serving as the director of communications for the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA, she defended his stance on German nationalism while speaking a Turning Point event in England. “Whenever we say ‘nationalism,’ the first thing people think about, at least in America, is Hitler. You know, he was a national socialist, but if Hitler just wanted to make Germany great and have things run well, OK, fine,” she told the audience.
5. Candace gave a TED Talk about her childhood. In a 2016 TED Talk, titled “The Truth About Your Activism”, Candace opened up about a horrifying incident from her teenage years. When she was a 17-year-old high school senior in Connecticut, Candace said she received three racist death threat voicemails. Her family sued the Stamford Board of Education in 2008, alleging they did not protect her rights, which resulted in a $37,500 settlement.