Candace Owens has sparked backlash after launching an attack on Karoline Leavitt over the Iran war by posting an unflattering image of the press secretary.
Owens was accused of taking Leavitt out of context when she posted previous comments by the White House spokeswoman stating that Iran did not present a threat to the US homeland.
Leavitt had actually been referring specifically to an ABC News story about an Iranian drone threat to California, not a nationwide terror threat more broadly, which the Trump administration has acknowledged is a risk of the conflict.
Owens overlaid the text of Leavitt’s statement onto an extreme close-up of Leavitt’s face from a recent Vanity Fair exposé.
‘TO BE CLEAR: No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did,’ Leavitt stated in response to the California drone story earlier this month.
Owens shared the image and quote with the caption: ‘Unserious administration’.
Users on X were quick to call out Owens for not providing the full context of Leavitt’s comment.
YouTuber Joey Salads wrote, ‘Show the whole thing – it actually destroys your entire narrative.’
Candace Owens took a political attack to a personal level with a jab at the White House press secretary
The image of Karoline Leavitt, shot in unflattering lighting, was included in a December Vanity Fair exposé about senior Trump administration officials
The Steak for Breakfast Podcast quoted Owens’s post, calling her a ‘r****d grifter.’
Owens’s direct attack on Leavitt was perhaps more shocking, given that both she and Leavitt’s careers benefited from the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
Leavitt has heralded Kirk as a key mentor during her political rise, including his support of her congressional campaign in New Hampshire in 2022.
The White House press secretary still appears to enjoy a close relationship with the Turning Point USA organization.
Leavitt is scheduled to appear at an event with Kirk’s widow, Erika, who has taken over leadership of the non-profit after her husband’s murder.
Erika and Leavitt will appear at George Washington University as part of TPUSA’s This Is The Turning Point Tour on April 2 at 6.30pm.
Owens herself is also scheduled to appear at a DC event this week.
The podcaster will take the stage at the Catholics For Catholics 3rd annual Catholic Prayer For America Gala on Thursday in Washington, DC.
Leavitt’s original comment, posted on X, came as a response to an ABC News story, which had warned that Iran could attack California
Leavitt is scheduled to appear at a TPUSA event with Kirk’s widow, Erika, next month
The White House spokesman will be at the This Is The Turning Point Tour in DC on April 2
Although Catholics For Catholics has partnered with Turning Point USA in the past, the group does not appear to be involved in this event or Owens’s speech.
Owens will also interview former Trump Administration national security official Joe Kent at the March 19 event.
Shortly after the killing of her former friend, boss, and mentor, Charlie Kirk, Owens appeared to explicitly blame members of President Trump’s administration for Kirk’s murder.
‘He gave so much of his life to Trump and to politics, and they were just like NOPE. That’s it,’ Owens said during an October episode of her show.
‘So here’s a holiday. What is with them giving them a holiday after they kill them? As soon as they give you a holiday, they definitely killed you. There’s no question – they killed you.’
A spokesman for Owens denied at the time that she had suggested Trump killed Kirk.
‘Candace never stated that Trump killed Kirk. If you spent the time to watch her full episode, instead of regurgitating a distorted clip that Candace’s opposition paid someone to post, you would know Candace was questioning the FBI covering up Kirk’s death – just as the FBI covered up for MLK’s murder, then the government gave MLK a holiday and a boulevard,’ he said.
After being snubbed from speaking at Kirk’s memorial in Arizona last year, Owens stated that the memorial event, attended by nearly 100,000 people, was ‘being controlled by the White House.’
‘Why would I be invited by anyone in Trump’s Zionist administration, as I am speaking about the topics that I am speaking… It’s common sense they’re not going to allow me to share the stage,’ Owens added at the time.
Kirk was shot dead on September 10 while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. Tyler Robinson, 22, a left-wing college dropout, has been charged with his murder.
