The Erika Kirk and Candace Owens feud is tearing MAGA apart

In the days after Charlie Kirk was fatally shot on Sept. 10, the MAGA influencer class united in a public display of grief for the founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA). The mourning soon devolved into a public competition over who could perform sadness the loudest, which was the first indicator of what his loss would beget: a mad scramble to take advantage of a chance to seize bigger audiences, and more profit and power, in the right-wing media ecosystem.

The swift anointing of Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika as the new head of TPUSA did nothing to prevent the explosion of infighting that has been rapidly consuming the world of online MAGA media in the months since her husband’s killing. If anything, it’s backfired. As I predicted, Kirk is turning out to be a weak and ineffectual leader, persuading even more people in the very online right that now is their moment to get ahead in a crowded field.

The rhetorical slugfest is growing increasingly ugly to watch. But in the process, MAGA is revealing what is likely the movement’s biggest weakness: It’s dominated by hustlers who are more interested in making money and growing their brand than they are in MAGA as a political project.

Donald Trump‘s stranglehold on actual political power means that most traditional Republican politicians have little to no sway over the MAGA base. Instead, the role of managing the foot soldiers has been ceded entirely to the social media influencer class. Many of them are sincere fascists, but that will always be a secondary concern to squeezing their followers for money. As self-appointed MAGA mastermind Chris Rufo complained last week on X, “The Right’s media apparatus is how the Right teaches its followers how to think, and it’s currently getting consumed by conspiracy, psychodrama, and tabloid conflicts.” (That Rufo’s followers don’t mind his total contempt for them does say a lot about the psychology of the right.)

The current bucket-of-crabs situation of the online right is complex, but the biggest feud that’s emerging is between Kirk and far-right podcaster Candace Owens, who used to work for TPUSA and then for the Daily Wire, but she apparently proved too open about her antisemitic leanings to stay with either organization for too long. She reportedly remained friends with Charlie Kirk, but that didn’t stop her from seizing his killing as an opportunity to attack the power that TPUSA has amassed in the past couple of years in an obvious bid to grow her already robust media empire.

For months, Owens has been capitalizing on the Charlie Kirk’s shooting by generating a seemingly endless number of conspiracy theories about it, sending views on her YouTube show soaring. In her signature “just asking questions” style, Owens has insinuated complicity on the part of an array of parties, including the governments of Israel, Egypt and France, and even pointing the finger at Utah bee enthusiasts.

All the while, Owens’ rhetoric about Erika Kirk has grown increasingly personal. Most shockingly, she keeps implying Kirk was involved in her husband’s murder, and accusing her of defrauding TPUSA donors. Last week, Owens released a video saying Kirk doesn’t have the strength to lead TPUSA, which follows pointed comments she made in early December about about how “in love” Charlie Kirk had been with a woman she says he dated before meeting his wife.

The success Owens is having with this behavior is causing a lot of rifts. Tucker Carlson, who has long believed the future of MAGA is in getting ever-nuttier, has sided with Owens, going on the popular show hosted by Theo Von to insinuate the FBI is lying about who killed Charlie Kirk. (The accused, Tyler Robinson, 22, is believed to have acted alone. He made his first in-person court appearance on Dec. 11.) Right-wing podcaster Tim Pool, who typically loves spreading disinformation, turned on Owens, calling her a “degenerate C-word” and an “evil scumbag.” Even white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who hated Kirk when he was alive, has claimed he wants to “expose” Owens, and has unleashed racist and misogynist abuse at her.

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The personal nastiness is starting to spread. Professional troll Milo Yiannopoulos, along with labeling Erika Kirk a “sinister” figure, accused the TPUSA-aligned podcaster Benny Johnson of being a closeted gay man and called the more mainstream MAGA personality Meghan McCain “fat.” 

The assorted feuding and trading of insults has bubbling up to mainstream media outlets, just as TPUSA leaders are attempting to regain control over the conversation — and to not lose the status within the conservative community that has made the organization such a fundraising behemoth. On Saturday night, Bari Weiss of CBS News conducted a heavily publicized town hall with Erika Kirk, giving the widow a chance to, with maximum reality TV drama, tell Owens to “stop” with the conspiracy theories. On the New York Times podcast “Interesting Times,” where conservative columnist Ross Douthat regularly whitewashes far-right figures for his left-leaning audience, Charlie Kirk’s producer and replacement host Andrew Kolvet did more clean-up work. But where Erika Kirk went with the angry pose, Kolvet framed his criticism of Owens as pity, saying she’s “obviously distraught,” and suggesting she’s lost her mind.

That’s possible. But it’s worth noting that Owens was also trafficking in disinformation when she worked at TPUSA. The likelier story is that Owens is sane but opportunistic. She understands that what gets the MAGA audiences going is lurid conspiracy theories.

The death of Charlie Kirk was a big flashpoint for the extremely online right, which is her target audience. The official — and likely true — story of a self-motivated killer acting alone isn’t a very satisfying story. That’s why so many on the right, even conservatives in mainstream media, are panicking. They know their audience will be far more attracted to Owens and her wild speculation than they ever could be to the less scintillating truth.

But it’s unlikely that even this big, united push from Erika Kirk and her more establishment allies will shut Owens down or make these conspiracy theories go away. Ironically, Owens’ rhetoric and behavior has robbed MAGA leadership — including Trump and Vice President JD Vance — of their own chance to capitalize on Kirk’s killing. White House-aligned forces wanted to scapegoat trans people for the shooting, advancing an existing narrative the GOP believes is politically advantageous for them. That lie has instead gotten lost in the blizzard of conspiracy theories pushed by Owens and Carlson, which, while making money for them, has destroyed the ability of GOP leaders to exploit Kirk’s death in the manner they had intended.

Republicans, of course, have no one to blame but themselves for this failure. The party’s leadership has encouraged and normalized conspiracy theorists, correctly believing that such poison makes a big chunk of voters more misinformed — and therefore more open to voting Republican. Such forces can’t be contained forever, especially when they have priorities — such as making money — that they place ahead of party loyalty. Owens is a classic case of a Frankenstein’s monster, turning on the very people who created her. Although it’s a shame to see so many Americans continue to follow her down the rabbit hole, if it’s causing the MAGA movement to turn on each other, then that’s a result all democracy-lovers can cheer.