The MAGA movement is eating itself alive after an explosive claim by Candace Owens turned the already chaotic aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s murder into a full-blown ideological war.
Owens, a longtime ally of the late right-wing activist, lit the fuse Monday with a jaw-dropping post on social media. “Charlie was done with Israel bullying him, and I am now going to present to you proof of what I am saying,” she declared. “This is an actual group chat which happened two days before Charlie Kirk was assassinated.”
The screenshot Owens shared allegedly shows Kirk complaining about losing “another huge Jewish donor,” reportedly due to his decision to keep Tucker Carlson on the speaker list for an upcoming Turning Point USA event. “$2 million a year” is what Kirk allegedly said it cost him.
Owens named Rob McCoy, co-chair of Turning Point USA, as one of the participants in the chat. The rest remained unnamed. While the authenticity of the messages hasn’t been independently verified, Owens’ post ripped open a gaping divide on the right.
The donor in question is widely speculated to be Robert Shillman, a conservative billionaire known for bankrolling pro-Israel causes. A New York Times report last week said Shillman “angrily questioned Kirk for giving a platform to Carlson,” and confirmed he withdrew a $2 million pledge from Turning Point. That report directly echoes the alleged messages Owens posted.
The suggestion that Kirk had become disillusioned with Israel in his final weeks has been circulating for a while—fueled, in part, by Carlson himself. Just days after Kirk’s death, Carlson appeared on The Charlie Kirk Show, where he slammed Israeli leadership as “disgusting” and accused them of trying to hijack Kirk’s death for political gain. He also revealed that Kirk was under “enormous pressure” from donors, and that he had been “worried” about him.
But Owens’ post went nuclear—and the fallout has been ugly.
Laura Loomer, who commands serious clout inside Trumpworld, came out swinging: she called Owens’ statements “psychotic rants.” Dinesh D’Souza, best known for pushing debunked election conspiracies, chimed in to call Owens’ claims “bogus investigations” built on “wild allegations.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even responded to the whirlwind online, calling Owens’ implication of Israeli involvement in Kirk’s murder “insane.”
But Owens hasn’t backed down—and she’s not alone. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who’s become one of the loudest anti-Israel voices in Congress, shared Owens’ video Monday night. That set off Loomer again, who accused Greene of trying to “rip apart evangelical coalitions in the GOP to undermine [President Donald] Trump.”
Meanwhile, other MAGA heavyweights are playing it safe. Megyn Kelly refused to condemn Owens or Carlson when asked to weigh in, instead choosing silence. That silence is telling—and probably strategic.
What started as a murder mystery is quickly turning into a purity test on the American right. Owens’ claim didn’t just spark outrage—it peeled back the layers on a deep and growing fracture in the MAGA movement: one where unwavering support for Israel is no longer the rule, and where questioning the old alliances can get you labeled a traitor—or worse.
And in the middle of all of it, Charlie Kirk’s name is now at the heart of a war he might’ve seen coming.
