Conservative commentator and Daily Wire podcast host Candace Owens declared the presidential campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis “dead on arrival” in a post that caused her to trend on Twitter.
Owens wrote she was “sorry” to make the pronouncement “but the Desantis [sic] campaign was dead on arrival and it’s time to admit it,” adding that there were “tons of mistakes” made by the Florida politician and his campaign.
She wrote that DeSantis “Needed to be more upfront about his intention to run,” apparently referring to the months-long alleged “shadow campaign” that DeSantis mounted prior to his official announcement. As a result, Owens claimed DeSantis “doesn’t come across as honest and he’s boring.”
Sorry to the say it but the Desantis campaign was dead on arrival and it’s time to admit it.
Tons of mistakes.
Needed to be more upfront about his intention to run. Doesn’t come across as honest and he’s boring. (You can say it shouldn’t matter but it does).
He also needed…
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) June 29, 2023
The Daily Wire personality also targeted DeSantis’s army of unofficial influencer supporters on social media, some of whom have reportedly soured the Republican base on the former candidate.
DeSantis “needed someone more like Kayleigh McEnany rather than petty Christina Pushaw running comms,” wrote Owens, before lamenting those “influencers” who are “still cheerleading” for DeSantis are “those that recently moved to his state and want to reap the benefits for standing firm beside him through his inevitable loss.”
Owens wrote that she is “not knocking the influencer hustle” but “calling it as I see it” and the influencers supporting DeSantis “know he can’t win either.”
It’s unclear which influencers Owens referred to, but Breitbart recently published a litany of racist and anti-Semitic texts written by high profile DeSantis supporter Pedro Gonzalez in 2019 and 2020. The rising conservative influencer described Jews as “problematic” and Owens and Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro as the “Negress and the Jew” in two of the dozens of text messages.
Many pro-DeSantis influencers rallied to Gonzalez’s defense, according to Rolling Stone, but he was formally disavowed by the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down PAC.
In another tweet, Owens assured users she would continue supporting DeSantis as the Governor of Florida but believes “he resents not just Trump – but more probelmatically, his supporters.”
“I think he’s honestly disgusted by Trump supporters,” wrote Owens, adding that DeSantis “and his team are grossed out by small-town people. That’s the vibe I catch.”
I’d still support him as Governor.
What’s become clear to me is he resents not just Trump— but more problematically, his supporters. I think he’s honestly disgusted by Trump supporters.
He and his team are grossed out by small town-people. That’s the vibe I catch. https://t.co/VG2MFBoJYK
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) June 29, 2023
Owens is a conservative commentator, author, and political activist. She rose to prominence through her outspoken views on social media and as a frequent guest on cable news programs and is the founder of BLEXIT, a movement that encourages African Americans to leave the Democratic Party and become Republicans. Owens has written for several conservative publications, including The Daily Wire and Breitbart News, and has published a book titled “Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape from the Democrat Plantation.”
