The Majority Report with Sam Seder

Episode 3544 – Candace Owens, Tim Pool, Charlie Kirk: The Right-Wing Conspiracy Snake Eats Its Tail

Date: December 12, 2025
Guest: Will Sommer (Senior reporter at the Bulwark; Author, False Flag newsletter)
Hosts: Sam Seder, Emma Vigeland

Episode Overview

This episode explores deep turmoil and infighting within the contemporary right-wing media and political sphere. Hosts Sam Seder and Emma Vigeland are joined by journalist Will Sommer to analyze the ongoing "civil war" on the right, centered around conspiracy theories, social media infighting, and dramatic shifts in conservative media power dynamics—particularly in the wake of Charlie Kirk's death and subsequent conspiracy theories promoted by Candace Owens. The conversation also covers the weakening grip of Donald Trump on the Republican establishment, the collapse of consensus on right-wing messaging, and the gender dynamics fueling certain parts of this turmoil.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Right-Wing Civil War: The Candace Owens and Charlie Kirk Nexus

• The right-wing is experiencing a chaotic civil war, especially intensified by the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
• Candace Owens is at the center, pushing dramatic conspiracy theories surrounding Kirk's killing, creating new rifts.
• Other right-wing figures (Tim Pool, Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk’s widow Erica Kirk) are attempting to counter Owens, but with little effect.

“Right now there is kind of this massive right-wing civil war...the hottest part at the moment is the fight over Candace Owens.” — Will Sommer [28:39]

2. Infighting and the Conspiratorial Spiral

• Right media personalities are turning on each other and imitating the conspiracy-mongering tactics they've used against the left, now targeting one another.
• Tim Pool, for instance, mirrored Candace Owens's paranoia after an (alleged) attack at his compound, accusing Owens of working for unnamed interests.

“Who's she working for? Who is Candace Owens working for? Don't you think it's a little weird?” — Tim Pool (clip discussed by hosts) [31:19]

• Owens and others continue exploiting the lack of official information on Kirk’s death to spin elaborate theories, much like QAnon previously did.

“She just sort of weaves this web that I think a lot of people are buying into, even though it doesn’t really make a lot of sense.” — Will Sommer [40:26]

3. The Power Vacuum, Money, and Motivation

• The vacuum left by Kirk’s assassination and Trump’s declining power is driving infighting; media figures are vying for influence, notoriety, and lucrative audience segments.
• Owens’ financial independence from traditional GOP donor channels especially irks peers whose funding is at greater risk.

“Trump is on his way out...so you have to then start positioning yourself to 2028. As a result, people are kind of picking out their positions and fighting over that.” — Will Sommer [38:10]

4. Turning Point USA Crisis and the Fracturing Base

• With Kirk gone, Turning Point USA struggles to maintain its grip—messages from conservative grassroots show rising distrust, fueled by Owens’s theories.
• The organization's initial bread-and-butter—persecuting “leftist” professors and campus liberals—has faded into paranoia and accusations among insiders.

“Now that he’s gone…and you’ve got those … that’s doing a show, one of whom is Blake Neff…every tweet… is just all these people saying, you know, when will you reveal, you know, why Charlie was murdered for turning on Israel?” — Will Sommer [43:17]

5. Conspiracy Culture Consumes Itself

• The hosts note the irony: right-wing commentators who built their followings on conspiracy theory are now trapped by the same dynamics, as their audience expects constant, escalating drama.
• Matt Walsh, Chris Rufo, and others express dismay at the “psychodrama,” but can't police the boundaries they helped erase.

“They want to be doing the conspiracy theories, but aimed at the left… now they’re mad that the tactics have been turned inward by Candace Owens.” — Will Sommer [60:40]

6. Gender Dynamics and Candace Owens’s Audience

• Candace Owens appeals largely to a female, nontraditional conservative demographic, drawing in viewers through “book club” formats and lifestyle/celebrity content, not just politics.
• Her narrative style, akin to “true crime” and daytime TV, allows her to build a powerful, independent brand—a rare feat among right-wing personalities.
• Candace positions herself (and is perceived) as a sort-of “female Alex Jones,” with a highly emotional, performance-driven delivery.

“I think her audience is probably majority women…there are only sort of a handful…who are really aimed at women, I guess Brett Cooper…” — Will Sommer [66:01]

7. Religion, Identity, and Right-Wing Media’s Shapeshifting

• The episode explores how personas like Charlie Kirk became more overtly religious—as a strategy to appeal to base voters and major conservative donors (especially after his death).
• The friction over identity (Jewish, evangelical, Catholic) within Turning Point USA has fueled further Discord.

“There’s all this weird stuff about, like, what was Charlie Kirk’s religion?... Candace Owens has claimed he was on the verge of converting to Catholicism.” — Will Sommer [49:17]

8. Unintended Consequences: QAnon and Conspiracy-Addicted Audiences

• The episode connects the Kirk/Owens drama to the broader right’s embrace of QAnon thinking: the “soldiers for God,” rescue fantasies, and endless amateur sleuthing online are addictive for audiences, and increasingly essential to right-wing influencers' success.
• Candace fills the “Q” role: interpreting clues, inviting user submissions, and stringing together elaborate plots.

“Now you have, in the place of Q, you have Candace Owens…” — Will Sommer [54:54]

9. The Nick Fuentes Factor and White Supremacist Undercurrents

• Nick Fuentes’s relationship to the broader infighting is explored—right-wing organizations are wary of antagonizing his base, and his presence looms large over the current fragmentation.
• Attempting to distance from Fuentes while not alienating his followers is a persistent dilemma for conservatives.

“I think people are kind of scared of the groypers…perhaps they see Candace Owens as a way they can assert some power and at least try to police the boundaries…” — Will Sommer [69:34]

10. Where Does the Right Go from Here?

• Owens has been challenged to a live “debate” at Turning Point USA, but it is unlikely she'll attend. Paranoia (including fears she’ll be “assassinated”) pervades her fanbase.
• The ongoing Kirk murder trial, Trump’s fading influence, and money flowing to new influencers suggest continued fragmentation and conflict for the right, with no clear path to resolution.

“As Trump wanes…the economic incentives are incredibly good for someone like Candace…more people are going to start splitting and making these sort of politically counterproductive conspiracy theories.” — Will Sommer [62:30]

Notable Quotes & Moments

On Right-wing Paranoia Eating Its Own:

“It is fascinating—because it really feels like a snake eating its own tail at this point.”
— Sam Seder [29:18]

Tim Pool’s Paranoia Satirizing Candace Owens:

“Who's she working for? Who is Candace Owens working for?”
— Tim Pool (quoted by Sam Seder and Will Sommer) [31:19]

On Candace Owens’s Influence:

“She’s very much like a female Alex Jones. Her incentive structure is very different than the rest of these Republican influencers. And I think that’s part of why they’re so mad at her.”
— Emma Vigeland [39:09]

On Gender in the Audience:

“Candace returns a lot to saying, you know, I don't want my children to live in a world run by pedophiles. That's kind of a refrain…”
— Will Sommer [65:24]

On Conservative Media’s Conspiracy Addiction:

“The right-wing media apparatus is…currently getting consumed by conspiracy, psychodrama, and tabloid conflicts. If left unchecked, it’ll turn the audience into the equivalent of a third-world click farm.”
— Chris Rufo (post discussed at [59:17])

On QAnon’s Lasting Impact:

“There was this sense...the religious aspect of QAnon…you’re rescuing children for God...and all you have to do is go online and post and watch YouTube videos.”
— Will Sommer [54:54]

Important Timestamps

• 06:49 — Discussion of Trump’s collapsing approval numbers and GOP gerrymander pressures
• 10:40 — Recap of Indiana gerrymander defeat, threats by Trump Jr. and J.D. Vance
• 28:39 — Will Sommer introduction; overview of right-wing media civil war
• 34:01 — Background on Milo Yiannopoulos and his (mis)adventures
• 41:47 — Turning Point USA’s struggle with post-Kirk leadership and Candace’s attacks
• 54:54 — How QAnon culture is being replicated in the Kirk/Owens drama
• 60:40 — “Snake eats its tail” dynamic and Chris Rufo commentary
• 66:01 — Discussion of Candace Owens’ gender-skewed audience and its implications
• 69:34 — Nick Fuentes’s persistent complicating presence on the right

Conclusion

The “civil war” inside the right-wing sphere has reached new levels of public spectacle and dysfunction, fueled by conspiracy culture and collapsing political authority. Figures like Candace Owens, Tim Pool, and Nick Fuentes are remaking the rules, driven by a radicalized online audience and intense competition for influence and money. Will Sommer and the hosts agree: the fragmentation will likely accelerate, reshaping conservatism in ways that may have long-term consequences, with Trump’s irrelevance looming ever larger and the future of right-wing media up for grabs.

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Full episode available at Majority.FM