Why Candace Owens Is Becoming Bigger Than MAGA and TPUSA Is Freaking Out

[00:00] The other day, a friend of mine in the

[00:03] biz asked me, and maybe you get this,

[00:05] too. I don't know. He asked me, "Are you

[00:09] still talking about Candace Owens?"

[00:12] [laughter]

[00:15] I said, "Uh, yeah, yeah, yeah." He said,

[00:20] "Well,

[00:22] how long are you going to talk about

[00:24] Candace Owens?"

[00:26] said, "Well, uh, do you do you think

[00:29] this is about Candace Owens? It's just

[00:31] about her. Is that what you think it

[00:33] is?" He said, "Yeah." I said, "Oh, I

[00:35] see. I see." Well, what what would you

[00:38] like to talk about? I said, "Well,

[00:41] should you talk more about what's going

[00:43] on in Minnesota?" I said, "Well, that's

[00:44] very important." I said, "Let me ask you

[00:46] something." I said, "Can you tell me how

[00:49] what is happening in Minnesota, which is

[00:50] very important and elsewhere around the

[00:52] world, will affect this country for the

[00:55] next 25 years?

[00:57] Can you?" He said, "Well," I said, "It's

[01:00] very important. ICE and replacement, you

[01:04] know, all these theories, very

[01:05] important." I said, "Let me explain

[01:07] something to you right now." I said what

[01:09] you were seeing is something that has

[01:11] not been this significant since the

[01:16] early 70s late60s with the southern

[01:20] strategy. And I'm not trying to make a a

[01:22] comparison between, you know, Stram

[01:23] Thurman and and Candace Owens, but she

[01:27] is the beginning of a new wave of

[01:32] political involvement, specifically of

[01:34] of disenfranchised young people and also

[01:38] other age groups who never really felt

[01:42] a part of, you know, MAGA per se or

[01:46] Republicans or certainly not I don't

[01:47] think uh liberals are progressives.

[01:50] says, "But maybe." But she has hit a

[01:52] nerve. She has hit something.

[01:56] And I don't care why. Is it because of

[01:58] her cand? Is it because of her American

[02:00] first program? Is it because of her

[02:01] Middle East theories? I I I don't know.

[02:04] I think it's a combination of

[02:05] everything. I said, "But if you don't

[02:07] understand what's happening," I said,

[02:08] "Let me let me go a step further." And

[02:09] my he was taking it back. I said, "She

[02:11] is going to replace Maga."

[02:15] MAGA is this kind of a generic

[02:19] reference to people who are proTrump.

[02:23] It's very powerful to be sure, but it's

[02:25] not it's it's um it's I think it's used

[02:29] too much. I think it's used too

[02:33] too frequently to explain what is

[02:36] considered to be Republican.

[02:39] Candace Owens is not Republican. This is

[02:42] what I have been looking for for the

[02:44] longest time because we've been trying

[02:45] to I'm suggesting that the days of

[02:47] leftright politics are over. Leftright

[02:51] politics are over. Parties are over.

[02:53] People don't under this doesn't make any

[02:55] sense. Yeah. If you were raised on it, I

[02:57] guess so, but not really. What Trump

[03:00] brought to the for whether you like

[03:02] Trump or not was that he defied

[03:05] traditional conventional historic rules

[03:09] regarding Democrats and Republicans. He

[03:11] did something. He He He hit a nerve. And

[03:14] Candace has hit a nerve.

[03:17] And what she's done is because of this

[03:20] story, because Charlie Kirk meant so

[03:22] much to so many people, because she's

[03:24] been trying to adjudicate his

[03:28] the correct history of his legacy.

[03:31] People have been brought forward. And

[03:33] what they are saying right now is

[03:35] they're looking at her and they're

[03:36] saying, you know, we like her

[03:38] authenticity. We like her her honesty.

[03:41] and we like her

[03:43] and that's it. They're actually doing

[03:46] what in many respects some must a lot of

[03:49] people felt regarding Trump. They like

[03:51] her. They like her. They like what she's

[03:55] saying. So, let me just tell you

[03:58] something.

[03:59] She is picking up millions,

[04:03] okay? millions

[04:06] of people who are

[04:10] attracted by her cander, her

[04:12] authenticity, her reality,

[04:15] her forthrightness, her brilliance, her

[04:17] delivery, whatever, whatever you want to

[04:19] call it. And then when she gets all

[04:22] these people and she says, "Hey folks,

[04:25] members of Candace's army or whatever

[04:28] you want to call this particular group,

[04:29] if she says, you know, I think this is

[04:31] the way. I think this candidate, I think

[04:34] this movement, I think this issue, I

[04:35] think this piece of legislation. Do you

[04:37] know the power she has? You know the

[04:40] power what that means

[04:42] and what that can affect. So, let me

[04:45] just say something to you. You if if you

[04:47] think this is about just Candace or some

[04:49] story involving

[04:51] Erica K, you're missing the point. Yeah,

[04:54] that might have brought you to the to

[04:56] the to the dance, so to speak. But

[05:00] what's going to keep you here is all of

[05:03] this kind of a newfound sense of a

[05:05] commitment to something where people

[05:07] never felt a part of anything before but

[05:09] now they feel they feel connected to

[05:12] this. Now let me just explain a couple

[05:15] of things to you. Maybe you can I hope

[05:18] you agree with me. In fact, please in

[05:19] the comments I I trust you will disagree

[05:22] if possible. Candace Owens is winning

[05:24] right now because she's not just

[05:26] building an audience. She's building

[05:28] belief. And that is the difference

[05:31] between temporary popularity and

[05:34] long-term power. Because people do not

[05:37] rally around hashtags forever. They

[05:41] rally around ideas that make them feel

[05:44] awake and motivated and committed and

[05:48] connected to something bigger than

[05:50] themselves. And that is exactly and

[05:53] precisely what Candace is doing while

[05:55] Turning Point USA under Erica Kirk keeps

[05:59] drifting deeper and deeper into the

[06:03] world of this weird branding and donor

[06:05] dinners and controlled messaging and

[06:08] these weird

[06:10] let's make heaven crowded or what

[06:13] whatever these things are. I mean I I

[06:15] don't know. And this she's also getting

[06:18] weirder and weirder in her presentation.

[06:24] And these supposedly safe controversies

[06:27] don't work. And this contrast between a

[06:31] very real and believable and honest

[06:33] Candace sitting in front of her, you

[06:36] know, camera compared to these

[06:40] productions, these

[06:44] kind of like Gloria Swanson,

[06:47] I don't say Busby Berkeley, but these

[06:49] these these processions where I think

[06:54] somebody probably told Erica, "Look, as

[06:56] long as this makes you look great,

[06:58] people will love it. No, not

[07:00] necessarily. And by the way, this this

[07:02] contrast feels even sharper.

[07:04] When you remember remember the Tea Party

[07:07] wave of 2009, remember that we have we

[07:10] have different ways we remember the make

[07:11] America great. No uh no the um oh god

[07:16] during N Gingrich, what the hell was the

[07:17] name of that? There was he always walked

[07:19] over those 10 points. You know what I'm

[07:21] talking about. Anyway, but the Tea Party

[07:23] wave of like 2009, 2010, remember when

[07:25] American uh when regular Americans

[07:28] flooded town halls and rejected party

[07:31] bosses and pushed back against endless

[07:33] debt and fake leadership and demanded

[07:37] real accountability and all that. It's

[07:40] very similar because Candace sounds just

[07:42] like that.

[07:44] Just like that same rebellious energy.

[07:46] While TPUSA increasingly looks the very

[07:50] type of polished nonprofit machine that

[07:52] the Tea Party originally rebelled

[07:53] against. See, they don't even get it.

[07:55] They don't even know their history. They

[07:57] don't even get their history. And and

[07:58] and high school students who grew up on

[08:01] social media understand this instantly

[08:04] because they can spot performance versus

[08:08] authenticity

[08:09] in seconds.

[08:12] And Candace speaks directly. I can't say

[08:14] this enough. Argues aggressively,

[08:17] challenges both parties, is fearless,

[08:19] calls out hypocrisy, and refuses to

[08:21] soften her message just to stay

[08:24] comfortable. While TPUSA often feels

[08:27] like it's trying to manage a a movement

[08:30] instead of unleashing one, you know,

[08:33] hosting these impressive conferences

[08:36] that look good on Instagram but feel

[08:38] hollow and disconnected from everyday

[08:42] frustrations. By the way, the the

[08:45] Republicans do this thing, too. Remember

[08:46] the CPU uh uh CPAC and all these these

[08:51] groups that figure they just want to

[08:52] make money.

[08:54] Have you ever seen CPAC? Hey, you want

[08:56] to go to that? No. Want to be a part of

[08:59] it? You join. You want to get the the

[09:00] Ronald Reagan Silver Club for $25

[09:04] million or whatever it is. You you can

[09:05] have breakfast and you could hear

[09:09] Janine Piro, fine person. But I'm saying

[09:12] they'll throw a name at you.

[09:15] And I'm thinking, excuse me, I want to

[09:17] know direction. I these are great

[09:18] people, but I'm not into I'm not This

[09:20] isn't a fan club. I want to know about

[09:22] direction policy.

[09:25] Stop repeating slogans that sound bold

[09:28] but rarely turn into anything serious.

[09:33] Uh we we want confrontations with power

[09:37] and we want we want stop leaning on

[09:40] branding instead of building organic

[09:42] loyalty. You know this this is again why

[09:44] Candace's audience keeps growing faster

[09:47] and her clips spread wider. Her

[09:50] engagement feels more real. You've seen

[09:52] this. And this is why her supporters

[09:54] defend her without being asked, while

[09:56] TPUSA relies more on promotion and

[09:58] partnerships and threats. Think about

[10:01] that. And institutional support to

[10:03] maintain their attention. And the deeper

[10:05] issue is that TPUSA was built on Charlie

[10:10] Kirk's personality and momentum. And

[10:12] after his death, which I'm still not

[10:15] sure what exactly happened, the

[10:18] organization didn't reinvent itself. It

[10:22] froze.

[10:23] It tried to preserve an image. They were

[10:25] so worried about losing the money and

[10:28] losing the donors instead of creating

[10:30] new leadership energy and realizing and

[10:33] that that Erica Kirk could not handle

[10:35] it. And when she stepped into the

[10:37] spotlight or when they recruited her,

[10:38] when she claims Charlie always said, "I

[10:40] want you to do this." Okay.

[10:45] And it's interesting too how sometimes

[10:47] Charlie would say, "I think women should

[10:48] stay at home and raise their family."

[10:50] Okay, that was interesting. Except for

[10:53] you, Erica. You're different. Okay, I'll

[10:56] let you do the math on that one. But

[10:58] when she stepped into the spotlight, the

[11:00] emotional connection disappeared

[11:02] immediately. You could feel it. you

[11:03] realize, oh,

[11:06] huh,

[11:08] she was always there. I mean, as much as

[11:10] people might love

[11:13] I'm trying to give an example of

[11:14] somebody who's,

[11:17] you know, President Trump or Melania or

[11:21] there's really no other, you know,

[11:22] Truman and Best Truman. I'm trying to

[11:23] think of, you know, Obama and Michelle.

[11:26] See, the the spouse is a very unique

[11:29] thing. the spouse, you realize you

[11:31] recognize, okay, we this is your spouse

[11:33] and we and we love you derivatively

[11:35] through the person that we care for, but

[11:38] but you're not the reason why we're

[11:40] here. You know, thank you for for your

[11:42] help and thank you for your assistance,

[11:43] but you're you're not the reason. Okay?

[11:48] And the thing I'm saying, this is not

[11:50] about cruelty or about Erica, but but

[11:53] leadership in the media age requires

[11:55] presence and confidence and the ability

[11:57] to command attention. And right now,

[12:01] right now, Erica Kirk does not project

[12:03] that authority on camera. Her delivery

[12:06] feels rehearsed and cold and plastic and

[12:10] fake and mean. Her tone is shrill. It

[12:13] feels distant. And her appearances lack

[12:16] the emotional spark that young audiences

[12:19] respond to. Remember, always think

[12:22] young. Why do I say that? Why do I say

[12:25] that? Not because young people are cool.

[12:28] because they get to be old. You build

[12:31] the audience. You always think 10, 15,

[12:33] 25 years in advance. Every leader, good

[12:36] or bad, has always looked to youth

[12:40] because they don't always stay youth.

[12:42] This is axiomatic. Everybody knows that.

[12:46] I mean, Erica is like every, you know, I

[12:48] found myself You maybe do the same

[12:50] thing, and I'm not proud of this, but

[12:51] but but I I can't wait to see what she

[12:52] does next, just to see how bad she's

[12:54] going to blow it. And while Candace

[12:56] brings intensity and humor and anger,

[12:59] appropriate anger and conviction, the

[13:02] same em emotional fuel that that that

[13:05] powered the Tea Party movement and

[13:07] others as well when people were tired of

[13:10] polite conservatism that lost every

[13:13] cultural battle. And this this emotional

[13:16] authenticity matters. It matters more

[13:18] than polished

[13:20] professionalism, whatever that means.

[13:22] Because the internet rewards

[13:25] personality, not hierarchy.

[13:28] It loves voice, not

[13:32] logos and trademarks and flash and drum

[13:36] rolls and sparklers.

[13:40] It it's it's

[13:43] Have you ever seen

[13:46] Have you ever seen a rally

[13:52] I I use this by comparison without any

[13:54] disrespect to Scientology because I

[13:56] don't know anything about it. But

[13:57] remember when they would have these

[13:59] these incredible events where Tom Cruz

[14:03] would show up or or not not uh Travolta

[14:06] but Tom Cruz and and it was like you you

[14:08] would look at like say like what is this

[14:10] because you didn't understand it you

[14:13] know Miss Cavage or whatever his name is

[14:15] and and it's this incredible

[14:18] my god the they're like rallies they're

[14:21] almost like a it's it's different and

[14:26] When you when certain things get too too

[14:30] big, they lose their sight. Billy

[14:33] Graham, no matter how big his audience,

[14:35] he never it was Billy Graham. It was it

[14:38] had a little music, but it was always

[14:40] Billy Graham. There were some people who

[14:42] who can just do it. Trump during his

[14:45] rallies would do it whether you like him

[14:47] or not. His rallies were incredible.

[14:49] Something happens though. Something

[14:52] happens when TPUSA does something. It's

[14:54] so It doesn't work. It just it doesn't

[14:57] connect.

[14:58] I can't say this enough because today if

[15:01] you can't connect on social media,

[15:02] that's it. And you think that they're

[15:04] they're still thinking this is like the

[15:05] like this is the Academy Awards. You

[15:07] know, Academy Awards programs, nobody

[15:09] cares about them. Awards programs, don't

[15:12] kid, nobody cares about that. They mean

[15:15] nothing, but the people who run it still

[15:17] think they do. See, Candace understands

[15:21] this battlefield.

[15:23] while TPUSA still behaves like some

[15:25] traditional organization that believes

[15:28] its structure is influence or something.

[15:32] And this gap keeps widening because

[15:34] Candace moves fast, responds directly,

[15:38] creates viral moments and speaks plainly

[15:41] in a way that kids, high school

[15:45] students, college can understand without

[15:48] political translators.

[15:52] And TPUSA apparently moves of course

[15:54] cautiously filter statements in some

[15:57] cases as you know not good PR

[16:00] threatening and sensibly threatening

[16:01] people with litigation who dare to speak

[16:04] up against it either prior employees

[16:06] even candidates. This I mean they you

[16:09] cannot you cannot be any more tonedeaf

[16:13] in terms of PR than they are.

[16:16] This this is incredible. They avoid

[16:18] topics that might upset donors.

[16:21] They prioritize image control over raw

[16:24] honesty. Remember, the donors are great,

[16:27] but it's the younger people who are

[16:29] going to fill in the seats. It's that

[16:30] influence. What is the purpose of a

[16:32] donor if there's no audience for that

[16:34] money to be directed?

[16:40] I I I mean you can have all the donors

[16:41] you want, but if your message is flat,

[16:46] see years ago, this is important to

[16:47] understand this. And again, I don't want

[16:49] to use these terms like conservative and

[16:51] all this, but but but I'm going to do my

[16:52] best.

[16:54] There was a time in this country when I

[16:56] mentioned the southern strategy,

[16:59] a bad example, but but the principles

[17:01] here towards the end of the 60s when

[17:06] after civil rights after after civil

[17:09] rights improvements and the like a lot

[17:11] of southern Dixierats, remember who the

[17:15] clan was? Remember who who the hardcore

[17:18] was, George Wallace and all these

[17:19] people, these people were like

[17:20] Democrats. It was a different story.

[17:22] Remember the Republicans were the first,

[17:24] remember the Republicans in their first

[17:26] their first national convention, 1856 I

[17:29] believe in Philadelphia. They had their

[17:31] their position was they said they called

[17:32] it the twin pillars of barbarism,

[17:35] polygamy and slavery.

[17:38] Republicans were anti-slavery. They were

[17:40] the Lincoln and it was a different time.

[17:42] But anyway, what happened was a lot of

[17:44] the tips felt completely lost by the

[17:48] Johnson's and others and they felt lost

[17:51] post civil rights. They didn't they and

[17:54] again I'm not arguing why this is good

[17:56] or bad. What I'm saying is they felt

[17:58] that their south was being lost that

[18:00] their values were being completely

[18:02] muddled if not bulldozed. They needed

[18:04] somebody to help. So Nixon and others

[18:07] reached out Republicans and said,

[18:08] "Listen, why don't you come to our side?

[18:10] We're more of your theory or your

[18:13] particular ideology than the Democrats

[18:15] are. Come to our side. Okay. So, they

[18:19] brought all those people over. Okay.

[18:21] Then later on there, the Second

[18:22] Amendment people, you know, we don't

[18:24] really come on in. The tent got real

[18:26] big. The constitutionalists come on in

[18:28] the Tea Parters. Then in the 80s, moral

[18:31] majority, Christian right, everybody

[18:34] came in. and the libertarians.

[18:37] So many people pre saw something in the

[18:42] Republican conservative movement that

[18:44] the Democrats didn't have and they

[18:45] noticed this and they saw this and they

[18:47] felt it and it was something which was

[18:49] critical and they utilize this and the

[18:52] thing I'm trying to tell you is that

[18:53] this could be doing happening right now

[18:54] and I believe it is regarding Candace

[18:57] because Candace sees this and she's

[18:59] pulling people into her tent and she's

[19:02] saying come to me listen I don't care

[19:04] whether you're left or right or Democrat

[19:05] or Republican. Do you want truth? Do you

[19:08] want somebody who's tired of this? Let

[19:09] me Do you just want somebody just to

[19:11] speak to you like you're a human being?

[19:14] That's all I want to win you over with

[19:16] my logic, with my theories, with my

[19:18] ideology, with my thinking, and not with

[19:22] sparklers and gold lame and this weird

[19:25] this this strange Erica Kirk thinks it's

[19:28] a beauty pageant. There's something

[19:30] about I'm sorry, beauty pageantss and

[19:32] cheerleading and and all this. I'm

[19:35] beautiful. It it it to some people it

[19:37] does something. It does something when

[19:40] you have thought your life that somehow

[19:42] you are possessed with some kind of raw

[19:45] pulkeritude that just is overwhelming.

[19:48] You're the madhari. You're some kind of

[19:50] a your beauty is so mess. I'm sorry to

[19:52] say this. A lot of people in those

[19:54] pageantss they think that there's some

[19:57] doesn't work anymore. Nobody even know

[20:00] kids they don't even know it. What's

[20:01] what's a beauty pageant? It's a

[20:03] minstreal show. It's a modern day. It's

[20:05] it's an anacronism.

[20:07] And younger conservatives and people who

[20:09] I believe are conservatives are

[20:10] rebelling against this this weird

[20:13] message because they see a country

[20:15] drowning in debt and culture wars and

[20:18] intensifying censorship and expanding in

[20:22] political elites protecting themselves

[20:25] but not their interests. while telling

[20:28] young people to be patient, relax,

[20:31] Candace channels that frustration while

[20:33] TPUSA ignores them. They tried they try

[20:36] to contain it but they they talk about

[20:38] but they talk about how great they are.

[20:40] You know a lot of kids remember they

[20:42] went through co was the chance for

[20:44] people co changed everything and now's

[20:47] the time to get those people and seize

[20:49] those people and get them on our side

[20:52] and this different also makes up shows

[20:54] up and how criticism is handled because

[20:57] Candace confronts critics publicly. She

[21:00] debates aggressively. She takes risks.

[21:03] She keeps moving and when mistakes

[21:05] happen it's the way it is. TPUSA,

[21:08] however, often responds with silence,

[21:10] legal threats, complaints, injunctions,

[21:13] or carefully worded statements that make

[21:16] the organization look almost defensive,

[21:19] out of touch with online culture. And

[21:21] the Tea Party comparison matters because

[21:24] the Tea Party was not polished. It was

[21:28] loud and messy and sometimes

[21:30] rambunctious and emotional, but it felt

[21:32] real. And that realness created momentum

[21:36] that scared establishment politicians

[21:38] out of their mind on both sides. And

[21:41] Candace represents that same disruptive

[21:44] force inside, I guess, conservative

[21:47] media today. No matter how much they

[21:49] attack her, she challenges gatekeepers.

[21:52] She questions party loyalty. And she

[21:54] refuses to play it safe. While TPUSA and

[21:58] Erica have slowly become a gatekeeper

[22:01] itself, deciding what topics are

[22:03] acceptable, what voices get promoted,

[22:06] who gets promoted, and which cons

[22:08] controversies are too risky. And young

[22:11] audience see this contradiction clearly

[22:14] because you can't claim to be

[22:16] anti-establishment

[22:17] while behaving like an establishment

[22:21] brand, some hardcore. And you can't sell

[22:25] rebellion while managing everything

[22:28] through committees and donor

[22:30] expectations. And Erica Kirk's

[22:33] leadership

[22:34] symbolizes this problem glaringly

[22:37] because she didn't rise through

[22:39] grassroots support or independent

[22:42] influence. She she stepped into a role

[22:45] built on symbolism, symbology, semiodics

[22:49] rather than earned media authority. And

[22:52] sympathy doesn't equal leadership.

[22:54] Especially in the digital world where

[22:56] attention is ruthless and eancent. And

[22:59] when Erica speaks, people do not lean

[23:02] forward emotionally. They don't dab

[23:05] their eyes as she does hers almost in

[23:08] this Pavlovian type of it's it's sad.

[23:11] It's like a stickick. They don't flood

[23:14] comment sections with excitement or

[23:16] clipper speeches for viral sharing.

[23:18] While Candace creates moments that spark

[23:22] debate, inspire anger and support and

[23:24] conversation, which is exactly and

[23:28] precisely how influence spreads online.

[23:31] And here's where the shift becomes even

[23:33] bigger than TPUSA because Candace, I'm

[23:37] telling you, I I hope she doesn't run

[23:39] for office. I want her to be the the the

[23:41] the William F. Buckley, so to speak, to

[23:44] to control a movement. But Candace is no

[23:48] longer just competing with

[23:50] organizations. She is building something

[23:53] now and listen carefully that could

[23:55] eventually and I say stand beside and

[23:58] even beyond MAGA itself. Not by

[24:01] replacing loyalty to Trump or whatever

[24:03] but by offering something that many

[24:06] young people feel is missing,

[24:08] desperately missing. a sense of purpose,

[24:12] intellectual challenge, some emotional

[24:15] connection that goes deeper than slogans

[24:18] and fireworks and sparklers because MAGA

[24:21] started as a political movement centered

[24:24] on one man and one moment while Candice

[24:28] is

[24:30] I guess she's she's building a cultural

[24:32] movement centered on ideas and identity

[24:36] and long-term engagement. That is why

[24:39] people are saying she gives young

[24:42] conservatives and older as well. Don't

[24:43] don't think I'm just, you know,

[24:46] eliminating them. But she gives them

[24:48] something to believe in, something to

[24:50] really care about and something to think

[24:53] about, not just something to chant. And

[24:58] this is why her influence feels

[25:00] different because she's not just

[25:04] repeating talking points. She's shaping

[25:06] how people see the world, how they

[25:09] interpret news, and how they think about

[25:12] power and how they what they feel and

[25:15] they emote culture and identity and the

[25:19] kind of influence that lasts longer than

[25:21] election cycles. And it's also explains

[25:23] something why those who try to block her

[25:25] and destroy her or dismiss her power are

[25:29] going to regret it later. Because in

[25:32] politics and media, there is an

[25:34] unwritten rule that you do not want to

[25:36] be on the wrong side of a rising force.

[25:41] Not because of personal revenge

[25:42] fantasies, but because influence decides

[25:46] who gets invited, who gets amplified,

[25:49] and who gets ignored. And Candice is

[25:53] becoming the type of figure, the type of

[25:56] personality who controls attention

[25:58] flows, who can elevate allies and and

[26:01] and freeze out opponents simply by

[26:04] choosing where to focus her energy. And

[26:07] that kind of leverage

[26:10] is rare and it's growing. And it is why

[26:13] some insiders quietly admit she could

[26:16] become bigger than anyone expected,

[26:19] bigger than early MAGA media figures,

[26:22] bigger than

[26:24] bigger than traditional conservative

[26:26] organizations and more powerful more

[26:30] powerful than nonprofit brands that want

[26:33] dominated youth outreach. And the reason

[26:36] is simple. She owns her audience. She's

[26:40] not dependent on one platform, one donor

[26:42] network or one organization. She can

[26:45] pivot. She can adapt. She can evolve

[26:48] while TPUSA remains stuck tied to

[26:52] sponsors, internal politics and

[26:54] reputation or risk management and and

[26:57] speed matters online. You know this

[27:00] boldness matters online and emotional

[27:03] connection matters. And Candace Owens

[27:06] checks all three boxes. While TPUSA

[27:10] struggles with all three and the larger

[27:13] trend is that influence is shifting away

[27:16] from centralized organizations and

[27:19] towards individual creators. Individual

[27:22] creators who speak directly to audiences

[27:25] because I'm telling you people no longer

[27:28] trust gatekeepers

[27:30] to represent them. They trust voices.

[27:33] Voices who feel human, flawed, and

[27:36] direct. And Candace, by the way, fits

[27:37] this model perfectly. While TPUSA

[27:39] remains stuck in the old one, this old

[27:41] method, this whole thing where

[27:43] conferences and branding and official

[27:46] statements were, oh, and these Cordo

[27:50] Erica, do you have an announcer? Like,

[27:52] what is this? It's like Golden Globes.

[27:54] It's tacky. It's anacronistic. It's from

[27:57] the past.

[28:00] This is important to be able to dominate

[28:02] conversations.

[28:04] That's what we need. And the result

[28:06] right now is that Candace Owens is

[28:08] building a personal media empire while

[28:10] TPUSA is trying to preserve relevance

[28:14] through infrastructure rather than

[28:16] influence.

[28:17] And young conservatives or people that

[28:20] don't know they're conservative who are

[28:22] looking for something that Charlie

[28:23] provided, they can sense this difference

[28:26] instinctively because they live online.

[28:29] They understand algorithms and know

[28:32] attention flows towards authenticity,

[28:36] not bureaucracy.

[28:39] And the Tea Party energy, which I say

[28:41] again, that once disrupted Republican

[28:44] leadership now lives more in independent

[28:47] creators like Candace than in organized

[28:49] nonprofits. And that should scare the

[28:53] hell out of TPUSA leadership and Erica,

[28:56] if she's even paying attention, because

[28:58] it means the audience is voting with

[29:00] clicks and shares and subscriptions. And

[29:03] those votes increasingly favor Candace

[29:07] and her movement, if you will. And this

[29:09] doesn't mean that Candace is perfect or

[29:12] immune from mistakes. No, in fact,

[29:14] that's what makes her human. But it does

[29:16] mean she's brave enough to be

[29:17] independent.

[29:19] And as you will find, independence

[29:21] builds respect even among critics. While

[29:24] this corporate messaging thing

[29:28] disguises activism, this TPUSA stuff, it

[29:31] builds cynicism. And the long-term

[29:33] danger for TPUSA isn't just declining

[29:36] relevance, but becoming a symbol of

[29:39] controlled opposition, a brand that

[29:42] looks rebellious on the surface, but

[29:45] never truly challenges the power

[29:47] structure. I'm saying this again to the

[29:50] point of exhaustion. Young people are

[29:52] especially sensitive to this because

[29:54] they grew up watching corporations

[29:56] pretend to be edgy and you know hip and

[30:01] whatever you want to call it while

[30:02] selling products and they recognize that

[30:05] the same pattern in political groups

[30:07] that sell rebellion while protecting

[30:09] donors and relationships doesn't work

[30:11] here. You listen to me. Candace Owens

[30:14] breaks that pattern by being willing to

[30:16] offend allies and challenge party

[30:19] leaders and say uncomfortable truth. And

[30:23] that willingness, that ability to speak

[30:27] is exactly what built the Tea Party in

[30:30] the first place. When people were tired

[30:32] of politicians who promised change, a

[30:35] lot of I mean, you know, who made a lot

[30:37] of long-term uh uh promises and pledges,

[30:42] but they delivered compromise. And the

[30:43] lesson for anybody watching this shift

[30:45] is simple. Authenticity beats branding

[30:48] every single time. And boldness beats

[30:51] safety. Look, I I've said it a gazillion

[30:53] ways. I'm telling you I'm telling you

[30:55] exactly what's happening right now. I'm

[30:57] telling you exactly. Listen to me. The

[31:00] other issues are important. Yes.

[31:02] Minnesota and ICE. Yes. Yes. Yes. I'm

[31:05] not in any way uh saying they're not.

[31:07] And there's some fine fine commentary

[31:11] and news on that. And and you know where

[31:15] to go and they're doing a wonderful job.

[31:16] It's a very critical issue. But I'm

[31:18] talking about something that's going to

[31:19] be around for 25 years.

[31:22] I'm looking right now at the end of the

[31:24] two-party system, the end of this

[31:25] leftright paradigm, this illusion, and

[31:28] I'm looking at the end of the Republican

[31:30] party because there are a lot of people

[31:32] who found out that because of Charlie,

[31:33] they realize, you know what, this this

[31:35] guy Charlie is pretty good. I feel

[31:36] pretty um

[31:39] I guess I'm a conservative because

[31:40] that's what he was saying. And they're

[31:43] going to lose that.

[31:45] They're going to lose all that.

[31:48] But not for Candace, my friends. Thank

[31:50] you for this. Thank you for watching.

[31:51] Thank you for your for your for your

[31:54] involvement.

[31:56] You know, we were talking about this

[31:58] this Lori and all of these these people,

[32:00] these these folks who are involved with

[32:02] kids. I want to thank you immensely for

[32:05] you having uh shown support for my

[32:08] wife's Linds Warriors. You know, we've

[32:12] been talking about this left and right.

[32:15] The biggest issue bigger I dare say than

[32:18] anything is child predation and human

[32:20] trafficking.

[32:22] And there's an expression hurt people

[32:23] hurt people. And the number of people

[32:26] who are out there who have been

[32:27] themselves who have been subjugated and

[32:29] harmed and abandoned by folks especially

[32:32] in the church whatever it it's enough

[32:34] it's enough to make you to to you can't

[32:38] believe this. and she's fighting this

[32:40] and I'm telling you where they're

[32:41] getting kids is online predation online.

[32:45] So anyway, follow Lind's Warriors. Thank

[32:47] you for that. Thank you also for liking

[32:50] this. Do you know that when you like a

[32:52] video, it puts us into a category.

[32:56] [snorts] And by the way, I'm catching

[32:57] more grief,

[32:59] which is good because I'm doing

[33:01] something right from people who do not

[33:03] feel that I'm that maybe I'm straying

[33:06] from my

[33:08] conservative roots. I said, "Who says

[33:09] I'm a conservative? I'm not a

[33:11] Republican. I'm not a Democrat." But

[33:14] they felt like, "Oh, but but we thought

[33:15] you don't don't ever anticipate what I'm

[33:17] thinking

[33:19] because like John Maynard Kane said,

[33:20] when the when when the when the facts

[33:22] changed, I changed my opinion." and I

[33:24] didn't uh leave the Democratic party or

[33:26] whatever it is. They left me or

[33:28] Republicans. Republicans aren't doing

[33:29] anything for me anymore. They ain't seen

[33:32] nothing. And I'm not going to go into

[33:33] this yet, but when you see what's

[33:34] happening regarding uh um um

[33:38] just this when when I saw Trump even

[33:41] despite Lutnik at the World Economic

[33:43] Forum. Anyway, that's a different story.

[33:45] Don't want to confuse the issues. Thank

[33:47] you. Please like this video. Like these

[33:49] videos, like the videos, like them. Like

[33:51] them, like them, like them. like them.

[33:53] Please uh please hit that little bell so

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[34:00] noble effort. We appreciate that so

[34:02] much. Is so critical that you do that

[34:04] because subscriptions matter. And also,

[34:06] I've got some questions for you in the

[34:08] in the section in the comment section

[34:10] which are really good. And also your

[34:13] thoughts and comments. I read them. They

[34:15] are incredible. So, thank you for

[34:17] watching. Thank you for watching my dear

[34:19] dear dear dear family, my friends. And

[34:22] now comment as you see fit.