The Philip DeFranco Show - Candace Owens' Assassination Plot Scandal is Crazy & MTG's Resignation is Bigger Than It Seems

Starting point is 00:00:00 Candace Owens is now claiming that the French president is going to kill her, and that is sparked concern, disbelief, and we're seeing this in the infighting on the right, with many on the right, saying that she's using Charlie Kirk's death to become the ultimate grifter. Right, in this latest chapter kicked off on Saturday with this post from Candace, where she said that two days prior, she had spoken to a high-ranking official in the French government close to the president, Emmanuel Macron, and his wife Brigitte. And she said that this official told her that the Macron's have, quote, executed upon and paid for my assassination, saying specifically that the green light was given to a small team, which she says includes at least one Israeli assassin. And Candace did not stop there. She also said that the official told her, quote, Charlie Kirk's assassin trained with the French Legion 13th Brigade with multi-state involvement.

Starting point is 00:00:38 And she then closed out her initial statement saying that she isn't sure who to trust in the U.S. government because this official claims that leaders here knew of this plan to kill her. But then also with that she promised to share, quote, definitively verifiable information to any U.S. official that reaches out to her. In the middle of this, she says that she looked into her source and that they have, quote, provided concrete proof that they are well placed within the French government apparatus. And so there is a lot to unpack just in that first tweet, but that's also not where her story ends. Because Candace, she then continued tweeting about this entire thing in the days since that first post. And so her next bomb show was that she

Starting point is 00:01:05 said that the payments in question were made through the club des Saint, which is a famous gastronomic society that was founded in 1912, but essentially think a fancy dining club with a hundred members who get together once a week for meals at the top restaurants in Paris. Or at least I imagine it's that. There's also a cycling club that also shares the same name for people who conquered the 100 mountain passes. But anyway, right, Candice again highlighted the supposed Israel connection, saying that both a French female assassin as well as a male Israeli one were chosen to kill her. She called this alleged plan for her murder, quote, joint state operations. And then from there, she goes on to talk more about the Charlie Kirk part

Starting point is 00:01:36 of this whole thing. Re-sharing a Google search result showing that members of the French military were training in the Marines in California for three weeks back in August, saying French foreign legionnaires were involved in Charlie Kirk's assassination. They were not the only ones, but they were involved. And then yesterday, she posted that she contacted the U.S. federal government about this alleged plot against her and added that she is, quote, willing to provide full details as well as the name of the assassins and international accounts in France and Canada through which money was exchanged. She even put a number to that,

Starting point is 00:02:01 saying this morning that Macron allegedly moved more than a million dollars for her assassination. Now, with all this, let's say this is the first time you've ever heard of this situation, right? You're coming in on Chapter 87. You might be wondering if this is even true, why the hell would Macron be trying to assassinate this random right-wing political commentator

Starting point is 00:02:16 and why would this involve Israel? And well, Candace Ellen, she has spent the last several months posting what she has called investigation after investigation that Brigitte Macron is secretly transgender. Plus, Candice has been very vocal in her criticism of Israel, though many have accused her of just using that kind of a cover or a blanket for anti-Semitism. You know, this alleged assassination plot,

Starting point is 00:02:33 it sparked a bunch of reactions online. Everything from genuine concern for Candace's safety to accusations that she is using Charlie Kirk's name for clout and money. You've got people taking Candace entirely at her word, calling this the biggest story in the world right now and expressing serious concern for her safety. Even had people like comedian and commentator,

Starting point is 00:02:48 Dave Smith, saying they should know that taking out Candace Owens will turn all of us into Candace Owens. But then also, you had another part of the internet saying this is an obvious sign that Candace Owens needs help mentally. Right, arguing that something's clearly to have her fully believing and widely sharing what seems to be a far-fetched idea. Are people saying things like the most popular media production in the country as a woman talking herself into psychosis to thunderous applause?

Starting point is 00:03:08 As well as nobody in this woman's life loves her enough to tell her to stop. I honestly feel kind of bad for her. But then also you had many others immediately dismissing this as an obvious grift and that was coming from across the political spectrum. You know you had some big names including Representative Dan Crenshaw from Texas going after Candace and Dave Smith by saying, we all know Candace has lost it but don't forget about our co-conspirators. They're all in on the grift. Begging for your engagement on social media. And that is you also had arguably Trump's most loyal foot soldier Laura Lumer calling Candace out, asking her to share the evidence that she claims to have. And then among this, you had some saying that she's doing this specifically to further capitalize on a pension and cash that

Starting point is 00:03:40 come from her connection with Charlie Kirk. Are people saying things like countries, Candice Owens is accused of killing Charlie Kirk? Israel, Egypt, US, France, I wonder who's next. Also saying it's beyond tacky that Candace Owens is now attempting to connect the very real and tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk to her crackpot Brigitte McCrone series. As you can see from where she left off, it was pure gibberish, exactly where Candace is quickly returning, which will leave plenty embarrassed they ever took her seriously. And Candice Owens deciding who next to blame for the Charlie Kirk assassination, and, you know, it's her throwing darts at a pre-1990 map of the world, including the Soviet Union. You know, for now, it's going to be very interesting to see how this plays out,

Starting point is 00:04:12 both specifically with Candace Owens and this whole situation, as well as how it connects to the general commentary online about politics and the MAGA infighting that we've seen. Lots of messy moving pieces. Then, next up in the news, we've got to talk about the Marjorie Taylor Green fallout. Because Green, she represents Georgia, and she came into office as one of Trump's most die-hard supporters. But then, as I covered him, we talked about over the past few months, she has increasingly defied Trump by opposing U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts, demanding the Epstein files, and even supporting the extension of health insurance subsidies at the center of the government shutdown. Right, and all of that, it led to Trump labeling her traitor,

Starting point is 00:04:45 withdrawing his support, and threatening to run a primary opponent in her district. And then you had Green saying that she faced a wave of death threats aimed at her and her family from apparent supporters of the president. I mean, she even went on CNN and accepted that, you know, she hadn't spoken out against Trump's rhetoric in the past as fair criticism and then she apologized. I would like to say humbly, I'm sorry for taking part in the toxic politics. It's very bad for our country. And all of that to many, it seemed like she was in for the long fight, but then her resignation came in and you had many shocked. Though then with that, you had green explaining her decision in a 10-minute video and four-page statement that she posted

Starting point is 00:05:18 online. And apparently her team was even shocked. One associate even saying that she didn't let her inner circle know about it until 20 minutes before the video went up. And in this as far as what she had to say, you know, she took aim at the country's political system as a whole, but she also had choice words for Trump and Republicans specifically. I have fought harder than almost any other elected Republican to elect Donald Trump and Republicans to power. Meanwhile, most of the establishment Republicans who secretly hate him and who stabbed him in the back and never defended him against anything have all been welcomed in right after the election. I have too much self-respect and dignity. I love my family way too much, and I do not

Starting point is 00:05:56 want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the president that we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms, and in turn, be expected to defend the president against impeachment after he hatefully dumped tens of millions of dollars against me and tried to destroy me. It's all so absurd and completely unsurious. I refuse to be a battered wife, hoping it all goes away and gets better. And then also with that besides, Trump, you had Green sharing specific criticism of House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans for, quote, refusing to proactively work diligently to pass a plan to save American health care and protect Americans from outrageous overpriced and unaffordable health

Starting point is 00:06:41 insurance policies. And even with that, as far as many on the left, they've been unimpressed. You know, it's not without reason. Like, you've got to keep in mind, you know, Green touched on bipartisan issues related to affordability. But she's also clearly a statement. her credentials as a far-right politician. And with that, she accused Johnson of failing to bring legislation that she introduced to the House floor that she said reflected Trump's executive orders. And that, including bills to exclude non-citizens from the census, criminalize gender-affirming care, and eliminate H-1B visas.

Starting point is 00:07:06 And so also with the likes of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slamming green claiming, she's carefully timing her departure just one to two days after her pension kicks in and arguing her actions have not backed up the rhetoric. For all her talk, she's still voting with them to gut healthcare. Right, and you then also had Jasmine Crockett, who's fought with her. who's followed Green in the past, blasting her on CNN. You're on the other side of the president for one week, and you can't take the heat.

Starting point is 00:07:27 Imagine what it is to sit in my shoes, to not only be on the opposite side of him, but to have people like her who are constantly fanning the flames of hate and imagine what those threats look like when you literally are someone like me. Now that said, we've also seen some Republicans coming out in support of Green.

Starting point is 00:07:46 For example, you had Congresswoman Victoria Sparks of Indiana claiming, unfortunately there's a lot of truth to what Marjorie had to say. I can't blame her for leaving this institution that has betrayed the American people. As well as Thomas Massey, who has regularly disagreed with Trump saying, there's more honesty expressed in these four pages than most politicians will speak in a lifetime. And actually with that, we're now seeing reports that other GOP lawmakers may be planning to follow Green out the door. With one senior House Republican reportedly telling Punch Bowl news,

Starting point is 00:08:09 this entire White House team has treated all members like garbage and dadding. Morale has never been lower, and finally claiming, Mike Johnson will be stripped of his gavel and they will lose the majority before this term is it. But then as far as Donald Trump himself, he celebrated Green Regine's resignation, again, labeling her a traitor in claiming that she resigned because of plummeting poll numbers. Saying that, you know, she just didn't want to face a primary challenger with a strong Trump endorsement where she'd have no chance of winning. But then also amid the critique, he said, nevertheless, I will always appreciate Marjorie and thank her for her service to our country. And then with that, he later told NBC News that he'd like to see Green resume her political career.

Starting point is 00:08:40 Which actually, on that note, Time magazine reported that allies of Green said that she had considered running for president in 2020. So there, I have to mention that she quickly denied that in a post on social media, calling it a complete lie and adding, I'm not running for president and never said I wanted to, and I've only laughed about it when anyone would mention it. You know, as far as what's actually next for Green, we'll see, right? She's officially going to be out of office on January 5th. And then the short term, right, in addition to this being part of the growing divisions that we're seeing among Republicans, this is going to leave Republicans with an empty seat in the house until at least March when a special election in Georgia to replace her is expected to be held. You know, for now, we're going to have to wait to see how this plays out.

Starting point is 00:09:12 And I guess in the meantime, what are your thoughts on what is next for Marjorie Taylor Green? Because news cap off, this part's my opinion. The idea of her running for president seems impossible or cruel. But also, you know, a decent chunk of the population said that before Trump right. Well, obviously, that is not a one-to-one comparison, but hey, we'll see. My money would be more on maybe, like, a Senate or governor run, but probably more likely, like, just going into the commentary talking head podcast space. But also, like, who the hell really knows what's going on in Marjorie Taylor Green's head?

Starting point is 00:09:40 And then there's more we're going to dive into in just a minute, but first let me say, you know, fresh start, sure, but the system that you're stuck in, same as ever, right? Banks win, you bleed cash, and the fees and calls never take a day off. Unless that is, you push back, and that's where today's sponsor, PDS debt comes in. PDS debts already helped hundreds of thousands of people, cut their debts, stop the calls, and finally keep more of their money instead of feeding the banks. Credit cards, personal loans, medical bills, collections, if it feels like your debt situation's giant, they've seen it before.

Starting point is 00:10:06 And no minimum credit score, no one-size-fits-all nonsense, they look at your actual numbers and build a plan that makes sense for your life. Right, PDS debt's whole thing, it's simple. They help you get out faster, reduce what you owe, and end the cycle that keeps you paying forever. They're A-plus rated with a BBB with thousands of five-star reviews. across Google and Trust Pilot because wild concept they actually do what they say they'll do. You shouldn't have to drown in fees just because the system's built to squeeze you. So hey, you're just 30 seconds away from starting your own fresh start.

Starting point is 00:10:30 Get your free debt assessment at PDSdebt.com slash DeFranco. That's PDSDet.com slash DeFranco or just use that QR code on the screen. Make their holiday unforgettable with a gift that says it all from Pandora Jewelry, a gift that tells a story and shows you know theirs that doesn't just sparkle but speaks. From new festive charms to forever rings and personal engravings. season, give a gift that's perfectly theirs. Whether you're shopping for a shiny surprise for your significant other, matching bracelets to celebrate your friendship, or a heartfelt gift for a family member. Say more this holiday season with Pandora. Shop now at ca.pandora.net or visit your closest

Starting point is 00:11:06 Pandora store. The next step today, this is crazy and embarrassing. Federal judge just dismissed the charges against former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Latisha James. We're just a massive blow to Trump's efforts to prosecute his precede political enemies. And specifically, you had the judge ruling that Lindsey Halligan, the prosecutor overseeing both cases, had been appointed illegally and, as a result, the indictments that she secured needed to be tossed. Which, you know, just shocking news, considering that she's a close ally and personal lawyer of Trump who had zero experience as a prosecutor. You know, loyalty is really all Donald Trump cares about, so he put her in as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, forcing out her predecessor because he declined to prosecute

Starting point is 00:11:40 Comey after concluding that there just wasn't enough evidence to do so. And both of the cases in question today, they've been riddled with perceived mistakes. The judge's ruling today actually doesn't focus on any of that instead, it focused on how Halligan can even legally serve in the job. Because in a normal world, the Senate usually needs to confirm a president's U.S. attorney picks. And if there are any vacancies, Attorney General Pam Bondi has the power to temporarily make an interim appointment who can serve for 120 days. But then, say, the Senate still has a confirmed the president's nominee for a U.S. attorney by the end of those 120 days.

Starting point is 00:12:05 Well, under the law, the federal judges in the district would then be able to pick a temporary replacement. But with that, you had the DOJ claiming in court that when the deadline expires, Bondi has the power to just reset the clock. Essentially, allowing her to repeatedly appoint an interim U.S. attorney for a success of a 120-day stints, or which is exactly what she's done with Halligan. Then lawyers for Comey and James, they hit back, arguing that it effectively creates a loophole in the nomination process. And in our ruling, the judge agreed, though the judge also denied a request to block

Starting point is 00:12:28 the DOJ from trying to indict Comey and James under a lawfully appointed prosecutor. The judge also noted that it might be too late to do so for Comey's case because of the statute of limitations. It's seemingly a win for both Comey and James, but definitely more so for Comey. But then, Elon Musk, intentionally or not, just expose the House of Cards that was right-wing Twitter. We've got to talk about what this means, and also why some are gloating about it, other are furious and many are defensive.

Starting point is 00:12:50 Because over the weekend on X, they rolled out a new feature called About This Account. And so basically you can click on anyone's profile and now it tells you stuff like when the account was created, how many times they've changed their username, and most notably, where the account is based. And you had X's head of product, Nikita Beer, saying in the announcement,

Starting point is 00:13:05 this is an important first step to securing the integrity of the Global Town Square. We plan to provide many more ways for users to verify the authenticity of the content they see on X. Then as the curtain got pulled back, what was immediately clear was that a huge chunk of the online Magosphere, accounts labeling them as America first and American Patriots? They were in fact anything but American.

Starting point is 00:13:22 So for example Maga Nation an account with nearly 400,000 followers in a bio line that reads Patriot voice for we the people says that it's from Eastern Europe and Ivanka Trump fan account called Ivanka News which is a million followers is apparently from Nigeria and Cold War Patriot which tells it's more than 140,000 followers that it's a USAF veteran it appears to actually be from Chile and you would countless other similar accounts that have racked up huge followings revealed to be coming from Russia, India, Thailand, Turkey, Serbia, Macedonia, Morocco, and on and on them.

Starting point is 00:13:49 Name any place on earth, and there's probably an America first Trump-loven Maga-Patriate constitutional is there, or at least someone that says that they are. Now that said, to be clear, just because someone's location is outside of the United States, that doesn't necessarily mean that they're not American or that they actually live there. Right, as someone pointed out, VPNs exist and X apparently updated the feature, so that if it detects a VPN, the account's location will come with a warning. And so with that, if you do that for my account, you know, it says the account was created in the United States, but there's also that mark.

Starting point is 00:14:13 And that is because I use a VPN. Pretty much every device, I try to have a VPN on. Also, except for me, it seems that some of the location data is just simply incorrect for technical reasons. And there you had Nikita Beer saying that there are a few rough edges that will be resolved by Tuesday. And in general, but also, in the meantime, you should be careful about believing what you see anyway because, you know, misinformation. I mean, maybe one of the biggest examples was, you know, when you had people sharing screenshots showing, oh, this account's not actually from America. There were some that appeared to show the official account for the Department of Homeland Security was actually created in Israel, which, you know, does not appear to be the case. And you had beer quickly shutting that down, writing, this is fake news. location was not available on any gray check account at any point.

Starting point is 00:14:49 Furthermore, the DHS has only shown IPs from the United States since account creation. You had the DHS itself posting, I can't believe we have to say this, but this account has only ever been run and operated from the United States. Screenshots are easy to forge, videos are easy to manipulate. But also with that said, you know, some, if not most of the revelations, they do appear to be true, since you have certain accounts disappearing or deleting all their posts after they got exposed. And so with that, what you saw is on left-wing Twitter, people were spending the weekend popping bottles, claiming vindication, writing things like, This is total Armageddon for the online right. It's looking like half of their large accounts were foreigners posing as Americans all along,

Starting point is 00:15:21 and it's almost as if Trump has outsourced his propaganda to other countries for cheap labor. And then as far as, you know, why these accounts were created or the people behind them were doing what they were doing, you know, you had some saying that it was a foreign governments or foreign actors trying to sow chaos, so others said it might just be poor people in poor countries trying to make some money.

Starting point is 00:15:37 But especially because ex-pays verified premium users in American dollars based on the level of engagement they drive with their content. And you know, if you're just some random guy in Bangladesh, a few bucks is worth, way more than it is for an actual American. Though also, that's not to say that there aren't well-organized, well-funded foreign influence operations. Whether it be bots or, I mean, even accounts run from the United States have allegedly received funding from Moscow,

Starting point is 00:15:56 whether they knew it or not. A la Tim Poole, Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson. Now, with all that said, as far as the rights reaction to all this, it's been varied. Right, on one end, you have people like Congresswoman Anna, Paulina, Luna, trying to spin this as a vindication for MAGA. Writing all these pretend pro-America accounts that we're pushing in-fighting within MAGA are literally foreign grifters. And telling you, the foreign op is real, and so are the botic. But then also at the same time, you have people like Matt Walsh, apparently under the impression that, you know, these accounts are actually real people with genuine opinions about U.S. politics, something that he strongly opposes. With him writing, if you're a foreigner, I'm sure you have a lot of great opinions about the stuff happening in your own country. Talk about that all you want. The debates in and about America are for Americans. Mind your own business. Rep, then it also sparked some debate on the right, with the Malaysian-born right-wing influencer Ian Miles Chong shooting back, American politics impacts the world, whether Americans like it or not. You're not an isolationist country any more than China is. And Americans have had plenty to say.

Starting point is 00:16:45 about what goes on in Russia and Ukraine and every other country. To which Walsh responded, you've never set foot in America, and yet you spend every day trying to influence our culture and politics. You talk about our country exclusively and never say a word about your own. If you don't see why that might rub Americans the wrong way, I don't know what to tell you. Chong, then firing back, talking about another country is now influencing it, according to Matt Walsh.

Starting point is 00:17:04 Welcome to the United States, a democracy so fragile that merely talking about it will cause it to fall apart. But then also, as that was playing out, you had outlets like Fox News and the New York Post, as well as the Israeli Foreign Ministry, mostly ignoring the foreign MAGA accounts and highlighting the ones that claim to be from Gaza. Right, like these two accounts, which both say they report from Palestine, but lists their locations as Egypt and East Asia and the Pacific respectively.

Starting point is 00:17:23 And it also doesn't stop there, right? Other countries get involved, the UK, for example, you had the BBC uncovering pro-Sk Scottish independence accounts that appear to actually be run from Iran. And so, you know, it feels like we've always known that this kind of shit was going on, but again, it raises a startling question. How much of our reality is actually just a hyper-real, matrix-style postmodern situation? You know, how can you trust anything that isn't Philip DeFrancoeur, or the Philip DeFranco show.

Starting point is 00:17:44 I don't know, it might be best to just exclusively watch me. I hate to say it. I hate to say it, but you know, like, follow, share, subscribe. But really, joking aside, like, more than ever, not only be, you know, very skeptical about the information that you're seeing and consuming, but also whether it be text or video and really more than ever with the rise of AI as well as faceless accounts,

Starting point is 00:18:02 I mean, I think it's important to think of, like, who is behind the content and why might they be saying the things they're saying? You know, part of it, yeah, it could be about money, but also part of it could be they want Americans at each other's throats. You don't kill a country like America with bombs, you kill a country by letting it kill itself. You know, you stoke the flame inside of the house. But that, my friends, brings us to the end of today's show. At least, for now, you've got more just to click away.

Starting point is 00:18:24 You can check out the latest episodes of my other two podcasts in good faith and crashing out. But hey, no matter what you do, let me just say thank you for watching. I love yo faces and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.

The Philip DeFranco Show - Candace Owens' Assassination Plot Scandal is Crazy & MTG's Resignation is Bigger Than It Seems

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.