The BRICS TimesDonald Trump unleashed a fresh attack on political commentator Candace Owens. He shared a manipulated TIME magazine cover online. Meanwhile, Trump ally Laura Loomer claimed Owens had secretly left the country.
Trump Fires the Latest Salvo at Candace Owens
President Donald Trump escalated his very public war of words with conservative commentator Candace Owens. On Friday evening, he took to Truth Social to blast her in a post that quickly went viral. Along with a string of sharp insults, Trump shared a doctored magazine cover portraying Owens as TIME’s “Vile Person of the Year.” The manipulated image showed Owens in a black and white, overexposed photo. Splashed across the cover were lines reading “Candace Owens lies, lies, lies,” “uses rich white men,” “0% fact check ratio on all credible fact checking sites,” and “protects sex offenders!”
In the accompanying post, Trump wrote, “Candace Owens’ stock, which was never very high, has fallen a long way.” He added, “Her attack on the First Lady of France is despicable. I believe, in this case, without verification, she is an extremely Low IQ individual!” The post marked another sharp escalation in a feud that has been building for months between the former allies.
The Macron Lawsuit That Changed Everything
The immediate trigger for Trump’s post was Owens’ ongoing attacks on French First Lady Brigitte Macron. Owens has repeatedly, and without any evidence, claimed that Brigitte Macron was secretly born a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux. Those claims prompted an unprecedented defamation lawsuit from both Emmanuel Macron and his wife against Owens. Trump and Emmanuel Macron share a close personal and diplomatic relationship, making the feud even more politically loaded.
The situation around Owens’ legal battle grew more complicated recently. Marc Kasowitz, a prominent attorney long considered a Trump ally, withdrew from Owens’ defence team. He filed for his exit on April 21, without giving any reason in the court filing. Kasowitz had reportedly been representing Owens after Trump himself encouraged the arrangement, back when Owens was still firmly inside the MAGA fold.
On an April 10 podcast episode, Owens had responded to Trump’s earlier Truth Social post where he said Brigitte Macron “is a far more beautiful woman than Candace.” Owens fired back, saying “You think that you can command people, men, straight men, to suddenly think that Brigitte is hot? Did you date Jean-Michel Trogneux? Are you gay? Why are you so obsessed?”
Laura Loomer Claims Owens Fled to Italy
While Trump was posting on Truth Social, his close ally Laura Loomer added fuel to the fire. On Friday morning, Loomer posted on X that Owens had allegedly fled the country. Her claim came after Owens abruptly cancelled her podcast without any advance notice. Owens had posted an apology telling fans she was travelling with family. Loomer latched onto this cancellation as proof of something far more dramatic. She suggested Owens might be leaving the country permanently, possibly to move money abroad, hide assets, or file for bankruptcy.
Loomer went further and shared a photo of what appeared to be an airport runway. She claimed the image, sent to her by a member of her Loomer Intelligence Academy network, showed Owens boarding a plane. The origin and authenticity of the image, however, remained unverified. Much of Loomer’s theory was speculative in nature, though the lawyer withdrawal from Owens’ team was a confirmed fact.
Loomer’s Own Legal Troubles Surface
The timing of Loomer’s attacks on Owens was notable because she was simultaneously dealing with a legal setback. Her own defamation lawsuit against comedian Bill Maher got dismissed in a federal court this week. Loomer had sued Maher over a joke he made in 2024 suggesting she had a personal relationship with President Trump. Judge James Moody issued an 18-page ruling tossing the case. The judge noted that the timing and context of Maher’s joke made it obvious to any reasonable viewer that it was not a statement of fact.
A Wider Break Within MAGA Media
The feud between Trump, Owens, and Loomer reflects a broader and increasingly messy fracture inside right wing media circles. Earlier this month, Trump grouped Owens alongside Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and Alex Jones, accusing them all of opposing him. He stated, “I know why Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones have all been fighting me for years, especially by the fact that they think it is wonderful for Iran, the Number One State Sponsor of Terror, to have a Nuclear Weapon — Because they have one thing in common, Low IQs.”
Owens, who had endorsed Trump in the 2024 election, had herself grown sharply critical of his administration. She accused Trump of being unable to “put together a coherent thought.” She declared that “MAGA is no longer committed to you — and you know it.” She also went after Trump’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and clashed publicly with Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk.
Meanwhile, Loomer’s own attack on Owens drew widespread backlash. She had posted a stream of deeply personal and racial insults targeting Owens on X. The remarks were widely condemned, even among those within conservative circles, as crossing a clear line.
The feud between these once allied voices shows no signs of cooling down anytime soon.
