Podcast Summary: Bulwark Takes – "Making Sense of MAGA’s Freak Show: Carrie Prejean, Candace Owens, Clavicular"

Date: February 15, 2026
Host: Bill Kristol
Guest: Will Sommer (author of the False Flag newsletter)

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode offers a deep dive into the current state of the MAGA-aligned far right, focusing on its growing extremism, internal dramas, and the mainstreaming of conspiracy theories and bigotry. Bill Kristol welcomes Will Sommer, who covers the online extreme right, to analyze recent controversies such as Candace Owens’ wild claims, the anti-Semitism swirling in right-wing circles, the bizarre “looksmaxing” trend typified by influencer Clavicular, and what it means for the Republican Party and American politics.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Rise and Impact of Candace Owens on the Far Right

[03:03 - 05:46]

• Candace Owens' Influence

  • Owens has become a massive force both inside and outside Trump circles, with millions of YouTube followers and mainstream reach.
  • She’s made increasingly wild claims, suggesting that Brigitte Macron is trans and part of a “centuries-old criminal cabal,” and that Charlie Kirk was murdered by entities such as Israel, the French Foreign Legion, or Turning Point USA itself.

• Conspiracism and Its Spread

  • These theories aren't staying on the fringe; even rank-and-file Turning Point USA members and staff are entertaining the idea that their own organization killed Kirk, fueled by Owens’ relentless speculation.
  • Will Sommer: “Ever since that murder happened back in September, she's been on this rampage.... I think a lot of rank and file people are starting to think... did Turning Point murder its own founder?” [03:50]

2. The Mainstreaming of Conspiracy Theories on the Right

[05:06 - 08:24]

• Pervasiveness and Amplification

  • Conspiracism is not new, but the Internet and Donald Trump’s embrace have made it more mainstream, respectable, and incentivized.
  • Trump’s prominence as a promoter of conspiracies makes these ideas seem legitimate to followers.

• Lack of Guardrails

  • The “immune system” to keep out the true fringe is gone; major right-wing institutions shy away from confronting extremism out of fear of “cancel culture” accusations rather than on substance or principle.
  • Will Sommer: “There’s very little engagement with what is the content of the ideas.... People really don’t want to engage in that kind of conversation.” [07:54]

3. The Right’s Response & Internal Dynamics

[08:24 - 10:47]

• Guardrails Don’t Enforce Themselves

  • Kristol and Sommer agree that the former Republican establishment is ineffective, seeming “old and stodgy” compared to the energized, conspiratorial figures.

• Inversion of Authority

  • Even Alex Jones, notorious conspiracy theorist, is seen as a voice of reason compared to figures like Owens, leading to surreal scenarios where he is marginalized for insufficient extremism.
  • Will Sommer: “…at the point where [Alex Jones] is your voice of reason, I think there's some serious trouble.” [09:25]

• Community and Entertainment Value

  • Sommer highlights the allure: these conspiracies are not just beliefs but communities and “entertainment,” making people feel part of an “inside circle.”
  • Owens herself coins “Candace Intelligence Agency” for her fans. [10:27]

4. Anti-Semitism’s Resurgence on the Right

[10:47 - 14:37]

• Owens, Tucker Carlson, and Nick Fuentes

  • Open anti-Semitism—including wild blood libels—is treated as a common attribute among right-wing influencers.
  • Candace Owens has trafficked in old antisemitic tropes “about Jews drinking children's blood… literally, I mean, Nazi stuff... she’ll hold up a book that was then favorably cited by the Nazis.” [13:10]
  • This anti-Semitism is intertwined with new and old culture war topics and increasingly attracts younger Republicans.

• The Carrie Prejean Religious Liberty Commission Debacle

  • Trump’s “Religious Liberty Commission” becomes a site of intramural right-wing feuding, notably after beauty queen Carrie Prejean is appointed and quickly becomes embroiled in a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel, and conspiracist muddle.
  • The commission, packed with eccentric Trump allies, descends into chaos over whether to fire her; meanwhile, Prejean garners a substantial online following from the drama. “She had like 3,000 Twitter followers... now she’s going to have a hundred thousand less than a week later.” [17:45]

5. Respectable Figures Enabling Extremists

[16:09 - 18:59]

• Kristol notes that when mainstream or establishment-adjacent figures (like respected rabbis) are seen appearing beside these extremes, it legitimizes the entire debate as a valid continuum.
• Even those who try to chastise the right’s fringe can only do so by invoking culture war against “the crazy left,” rather than condemning the substance.
  • Kristol: “Half of their argument is this is going to hurt us politically because it's going to take away our argument that it's the left who are extreme. It's not actually confronting it on the merits.” [18:59]
  • He cites how William F. Buckley once condemned anti-Semitism on principle—a condemnation missing today.

6. White Supremacy and the GOP’s New Staffer Class

[20:23 - 26:24]

• Mainstreaming White Identity Rhetoric

  • The Trump administration nominates figures like Jeremy Carl, who have written about “white erasure” and using explicit racial language.
  • Will Sommer suggests the operative class is significantly youthful, radicalized, and unconcerned by previous generations’ taboos.

• The Young Republican Pipeline

  • Sommer references chat leaks and public statements implying up to 30% of young conservative operatives subscribe to “Groypers” or Nick Fuentes-style far-right views. While perhaps an overestimate, he affirms that a significant proportion now hold openly racist or antisemitic positions. [24:27–26:24]

7. The Bizarre World of “Looksmaxing” and Clavicular

[26:47 - 29:09]

• Who is Clavicular?

  • The latest “internet micro-celebrity,” Clavicular is a young man who champions "looksmaxing": extreme—and sometimes self-harming—attempts by young men to become more attractive (e.g., “bone smashing” or even smoking meth for 'hollow cheekbones’).
  • Sommer: “He has smoked meth to get kind of a hollow cheekbone. He...bone smashes...whack[s] yourself to try to build...shatter your cheekbones in the hopes they grow back better.” [27:22–28:04]
  • Clavicular has been seen fraternizing with neo-fascist artists and Nick Fuentes, illustrating the overlap of internet aesthetic cults, fascism, and the new right.

• Broader Takeaway

  • Kristol links this to Umberto Eco’s “Ur-Fascism” essay about the resurfacing of dark, ‘macho’ fascist elements in society, now accelerated by online platforms.

8. Grift, Corruption, and Accountability on the Right

[34:22 - 36:24]

• Scandal Is Not a Barrier
  • Even those convicted or credibly accused of graft, corruption, or sexual misconduct (e.g., Steve Bannon, Ali Alexander) are rarely banished for long; redemption remains likely if their profile is high enough.
  • Sommer: “[The] sense of never apologizing...people have really absorbed that.” [36:17]

9. The Centrality of Trump

[36:24 - 39:10]

• Why It's All Worse Now

  • Trump’s willingness to embrace conspiracists, bigots, and extremists—not just tolerate them, but legitimize and employ them—has permanently shifted American political boundaries.
  • Kristol: “…having a president who either embraces it or at least tolerates it or thinks of these people as part of his coalition...the importance of that can't be overestimated.” [37:03]
  • Even those caught in foreign influence peddling or wild grift are no longer shamed; Trump's normalization of such behavior has changed standards for the whole coalition.

• The Comparative Power of the Extremes

  • Kristol warns that Trump's re-election and the continued power of figures like J.D. Vance mean the far right is not only not fringe, but helping to govern.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On conspiracism’s mainstreaming:

  • Will Sommer: “If you think the 2020 election was stolen, does it seem that crazy that Turning Point killed its founder? Maybe not.” [05:46]

• On the lack of Republican immune system:

  • Will Sommer: “The right has no...immune system to keep these people out.” [07:19]

• On Alex Jones as voice of reason:

  • Will Sommer: “At the point where [Alex Jones] is your voice of reason, I think there's some serious trouble.” [09:25]

• On anti-Semitism’s normalization:

  • Will Sommer: “Carrie Prejean goes, hey, wait, you can’t say that about Candace Owens. And then...I’m a Catholic...we Catholics can’t support Israel. By the way, a Catholic convert of less than a year, you know, but she’s taking all these other Catholics on the panel...” [13:31]

• On GOP operatives:

  • Will Sommer: “30% of the GOP operative class are Groypers or in other words, Nick Fuente’s followers...even if they’re not wearing the Fuentes cap...this edgy antisemitism...these racial aspects...we did not see...10, 15 years ago among young Republicans.” [24:28–25:58]

• On Clavicular & looksmaxing:

  • Will Sommer: “Bone smashing is when you take a hammer or your fist and you whack yourself to try to build, you know, shatter your cheekbones in the hopes that they grow back better. And this man is now, you know, a hero to many young men.” [27:22–28:04]

• On Trump’s role:

  • Bill Kristol: “Having all the craziness as part of a coalition that's led by the President of the United States and is a respectable part of the coalition, from the point of view of the President of the White House...these people aren’t being banished.” [37:03]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Candace Owens & Turning Point drama – [03:03 – 05:46]
• Why conspiracies spread and find new audiences – [05:46 – 08:24]
• Failed right-wing guardrails – [08:24 – 10:47]
• Normalization of anti-Semitism & Religious Liberty Commission fight – [10:47 – 14:37]
• “Respectable” right enables the fringe – [16:09 – 18:59]
• Mainstreaming of white nationalist rhetoric & staffer class – [20:23 – 26:24]
• The phenomenon of “Clavicular” and looksmaxing – [26:47 – 29:09]
• The online new right, aesthetic fascism, and the manosphere – [29:09 – 31:16]
• Right-wing grifters and lack of consequences – [34:22 – 36:24]
• Trump’s transformative effect on extremism’s mainstreaming – [36:24 – 39:44]

Episode Takeaways

• The MAGA universe’s most toxic elements—extreme conspiracy theorists, white nationalists, grifters, and outright fascists—now wield unprecedented influence, with little pushback or effective censure from mainstream conservative institutions.
• Conspiracy theories—once seen as fringe—have migrated into the Republican mainstream, enabled by the internet, profit incentives, and most importantly, by the acquiescence or encouragement of party and movement leaders, including Trump.
• Anti-Semitism, once carefully quarantined, is again open and influential in right-wing discourse, often brushed off or excused by party authorities.
• Rather than ostracizing extremists, establishment-aligned figures increasingly share forums, panels, and coalitions with them, further erasing the line between “mainstream” and “fringe.”
• New subcultures (e.g., looksmaxing) and a revived “manosphere” underscore the chaotic and often bizarre ferment on the radical right, which increasingly bleeds into real-world politics and policy.

Final Note

The episode's overarching message is a warning: the era when American politics had reliable guardrails against extremism is gone, and the most alarming elements of the new right are now a part of the governing conservative coalition. Will Sommer’s reporting is highlighted as essential for understanding just how deep and consequential these changes are.