There’s some real anger spilling over at the Daily Wire this week but I think it’s fair to say this has been building up for a while now. Ben Shapiro, the co-founder of the Daily Wire, has obviously been one of the most outspoken defenders on Israel online. Candace Owens works there as one of their most prominent voices but she’s taken a very different view. For instance, she has argued that the charge of anti-Semitism has been “weaponized” to silence people.
I agree with Queen Rania’s assertion that antisemitism is being weaponized in order to silence critics and bully people into compliance.
That Charlie Kirk, Elon Musk, and Thomas Massie have recently been smeared as antisemites is proof of this charge.
This is the same behavior… https://t.co/vVn1Demd8u— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) November 6, 2023
And this tweet which didn’t mention any specific countries but came as people on the far left (and far right) were accusing Israel of genocide.
No government anywhere has a right to commit a genocide, ever.
There is no justification for a genocide.
I can’t believe this even needs to be said or is even considered the least bit controversial to state.
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) November 3, 2023
And so on:
Yeah this was disgusting. Utterly dehumanizing.
Of course there are innocent civilians on either side of every conflict and we should not forget that.This is shameful, inhumane rhetoric. https://t.co/PxK7JLjRMb
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) November 1, 2023
Suffice it to say, Owens was staking out a position questioning both sides while Shapiro has been in full-throated support for Israel. And then yesterday, a video appeared in which Shapiro was apparently speaking at a private event and expressed his disappointment with Owens’ approach.
Hours after a video was posted in which Ben Shapiro said that Candace Owens’ rhetoric on Israel has been “absolutely disgraceful,” Owens posted these tweets, which were her first in two days.
Adding a note here to say that while the tweets themselves in this context is not… pic.twitter.com/VRv8z7GLnF
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) November 14, 2023
Candace Owens didn’t respond directly but did tweet this quote from the gospels soon afterwards.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against…
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) November 14, 2023
That seemed to be the end of it until today when Ben Shapiro tweeted this invitation for Owens to quit if she felt the need to do so.
Candace, if you feel that taking money from The Daily Wire somehow comes between you and God, by all means quit. https://t.co/qachKhAuHo
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 15, 2023
Owens claimed the tweet had nothing to do with Shapiro.
You are utterly out of line for suggesting that I cannot quote biblical scripture.
The Bible is not about you. https://t.co/HjNLZKOJnM
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) November 15, 2023
She then accused him of “acting unprofessional and emotionally unhinged.”
You have been acting unprofessional and emotionally unhinged for weeks now. And we have all had to sit back and allow it and have all tried to exercise exceeding understanding for your raw emotion.
But you cross a certain line when you come for scripture and read yourself into…
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) November 15, 2023
Owens’ allies are taking her side.
I am genuinely confused why asking questions and quoting Bible verses about peace warrants a call to resign from Dailywire. There should be more room in the conservative movement for disagreement. We can do better than this. https://t.co/crFLcM2Atg
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) November 15, 2023
And there are lots of anti-Israel (and some just plain anti-Semitic) accounts always looking for any opportunity to attack Ben Shapiro.
Ben Shapiro is such a weak dork that he is trying to get Candice fired or to quit because she has different opinions https://t.co/s2Phdw1m2G
— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) November 15, 2023
As I was saying.
🚨🇮🇱 I am not surprised that the GENOCIDAL ZIONIST Ben Shapiro is OFFENDED by The Bible! pic.twitter.com/nAM6QbvzD1
— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) November 15, 2023
And of course Nick Fuentes has been doing his best to attack Shapiro based on this. But again, most of these people have other axes to grind and this is just a pretext to grind them.
That’s still not the end of the drama because Tucker Carlson just released his latest video (filmed yesterday) which is an interview with Candace Owens. It contains a long segment about all of this, minus the invitation to quit which hadn’t happened yet.
Ep. 39 Candace Owens responds to Ben Shapiro.
TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Candace is attacked – even when she’s right
(4:27) Ben Shapiro’s comments
(12:50) The emotional response to news out of Israel
(23:05) Nikki Haley vs. free speech
(30:34) 2024 predictions pic.twitter.com/VOThqpQQ48— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) November 15, 2023
On the issue of Israel I think I find myself much more in Ben Shapiro’s camp, i.e. there is no peace possible with Hamas and a ceasefire would only give them time to regroup for another attack. That said, I do think Owens acquits herself pretty well in this Tucker Carlson interview. She doesn’t sound angry or unhinged and she doesn’t seem to have a grievance against the Daily Wire as a company.
But again, that was before Shapiro invited her to quit and she called him “emotionally unhinged.”
So I guess we’ll see where this goes next. It’s a very unusual situation to have two such high-profile people taking different positions within the same company. It would be great if the civil disagreement could continue but with the elevated temperature created by the Hamas-Israel war I’m not confident that it will.
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