Candace Owens returns from Iceland, recounts meeting Justin Baldoni, and reveals Pentagon involvement in the Charlie Kirk investigation
Candace Owens hosts a solo episode of her podcast following a break, sharing personal reflections from a fishing trip to Iceland.
Summary
Candace Owens opens Episode 380 of the Candace podcast by revealing she spent her break in Iceland on a fishing trip with her husband George to celebrate their seventh wedding anniversary. She recounts catching her first Atlantic salmon on the fly and, more strikingly, a chance encounter at the Reykjavik airport with Justin Baldoni and his wife — a meeting she describes as near-miraculous given the circumstances. She reflects at length on the emotional significance of the past year, framing the Charlie Kirk investigation as a survival experience from which she is now emerging. The episode's most significant revelation concerns Jennica Pounds, a Utah software engineer and Pentagon special government employee who Owens alleges was deployed to run a propaganda campaign against her investigation — a claim Owens says Pounds inadvertently confirmed by publicly disclosing her own government employment status. Owens also alleges coordination between Turning Point USA figures, the State Department, and the Department of War to suppress the Charlie Kirk investigation, and closes by previewing what she describes as explosive new revelations for the coming week.
Key Takeaways
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Return from Iceland and the fishing trip
Candace Owens: Happy Monday. I missed you. I am back. I can now reveal that I actually went up to Iceland to do some fishing for my seventh anniversary. George and I are really big into fishing, and we had this trip booked since, I think, the end of last year. I have to tell you that I was mildly concerned when I saw Rumpelstiltskin — known to some people as Rabbi Shmuley — up in Iceland, as well as Ivanka and Jared Kushner, just a couple of weeks before we were going to go. I was worried that maybe Ivanka had swum over and discovered another island and that Rabbi Shmuley was going to clear it out for her. But all is well that ends well.
I caught my first salmon on the fly. I'll tell you about that. Feeling very proud of myself. Well fought, well won. And ladies and gentlemen, while I was away, some things were revealed about our government — actually still trending right now.
Remember way back on October 27th of last year when I said this? I said I want war with all of you. Well, it turns out that the Trump administration heard the call and took me literally, because it was revealed that the Department of War has people on payroll who are attacking me for my investigation into Charlie Kirk's assassination. That's weird. Donald Trump and Charlie were friends. Don't they want to know who killed him?
If I didn't know any better, I would say that the reason they're putting those people on payroll could be because they killed him. They killed Charlie Kirk. But I do know better. I am sure that's not the case. Can you imagine our tax dollars going toward fighting a propaganda war against me? It's absolute madness.
Anyway, I have a positive story to share with you about who I ran into in Iceland. You are not going to believe it. It truly is unbelievable, but it happened. Welcome back to Candace.
Iceland: the trip, the salmon, and the Viking tradition
Iceland — the land of the Vikings, my people. Okay, not really. I'm kidding. My ancestors are not actually from Iceland, but I had a fantastic time anyway. It was my very first time in the country. We went there because we love to fish. There also is a direct flight from Nashville — who knew. And I was especially excited after they effectively chased Rabbi Shmuley out weeks earlier. Shout out to that individual who was like, "Get out of our country. Peace."
Now, why was I there? Like I told you at the top, each and every pregnancy, George and I take a little fishing excursion. It's just our thing. Today is actually our seventh anniversary, so it was in fact a special occasion — made even more special for a couple of reasons.
First and foremost, like I said, I caught my very first Atlantic salmon on the fly. If you are a fisherwoman or fisherman, you know that is a big deal. It was a big one. Really big one. I was jumping up and down. I couldn't believe that I had done it.
I should also add that there is an Icelandic tradition that goes along with that accomplishment. I learned about it at dinner — wherein they take the fin of the fish from your first catch on the fly and they make you swallow it in a shot glass. So I partook in this Viking culture. I am very proud of myself. Now, for expectant mothers, I will tell you that I don't know what is in those salmon fins up in Iceland, but my unborn child proceeded to kick for about 24 hours thereafter, like he was at a rave party. It was unrelenting. Take from that what you will. Maybe I will now give birth to a Viking. Who knows?
John and Arena Mappen — friendship through the investigation
But actually, the best part of the trip was the company. George and I went and met up with our friends John and Arena Mappen. Now, those names may be familiar to you. I've told you guys the story a few times, but I met my husband rather serendipitously at an event hosted in London. I was with Charlie. The event was hosted by John and Arena back in 2018, and me and Charlie were on stage. George did not know them. He had never met them. He heard that Charlie and I were coming to town and he phoned them up because his friend who was supposed to go to the event said, "I can't go — do you want to go see if John will allow you to come?" George was heavily involved in Brexit at that time, so he was politically inclined and he wanted to come hear me and Charlie speak. So he called them up and said, "Can I come?" They said yes, and the rest is history.
Now, to jog your memory beyond that — John and Arena have been among the most vigorous supporters from the very beginning of the Charlie Kirk investigation. And it should be known that they were close to Charlie. They helped bring Charlie and Turning Point USA to the next level by making introductions for Charlie that I would say launched the organization into a different stratosphere financially. They made those introductions. They also knew — or knew, I guess — Erika Kirk very well. I don't know how much they keep in touch with her now, but in fact the four of them went to Israel together. Charlie and Erika and John and Arena were invited and they went. They also know Mikey McCoy very well. They adore Mikey, actually.
I'm saying all that just to express that they played an extremely significant role in keeping me sane following Charlie's assassination, because they knew the players and they were not biased one way or the other. Upon reflection, I believe that there was a very obvious and intentional effort to drive me to the point of insanity — to bring me to the point that Britney Spears was in back in 2007 when she shaved her head, because she was reaching this moment where the constant vicious headlines and the media cycle were driving her mad. And let me just say this: Britney Spears did not watch her friend get murdered, and then watch the people she thought were his friends lie about what he believed, who his friends were, and then attempt to gaslight her into believing that she wasn't actually friends with him.
John and Arena were the only people who were around Charlie or present in his life who were astute enough to recognize in that moment what John described to me as a black propaganda campaign. He said, "This is psychological, and I don't know why this campaign is happening to you, but it is happening to you." They obviously knew me and Charlie's friendship, and they dared to openly question the narrative. Donors have come to me in private and spoken about what they believe to be strange, but John and Arena were exceptional in the fact that they were authoring pieces questioning the narrative openly and really asserting what was at stake with this assassination, this investigation.
You guys might recall specifically a piece that they published on October 6th, because I read it on my show in its entirety, which touched a lot of people worldwide. We were flooded with emails. The piece was entitled Candace Owens, Charlie Kirk and the Pursuit of Truth. And in part, they wrote this — I'm going to just reread this little part:
John and Arena Mappen (quoted): "Charlie's execution is an assassination with potentially far-reaching political consequences for America and the world. What we have seen so far beggars belief — a crime scene apparently completely destroyed in days, and plenty of evidence that simply does not seem to add up. This investigation, and the truthful answer as to who was really responsible for deciding that Charlie would be executed in front of the world, will affect America's future, its collective soul and conscience forever. The truth, when known — and we believe it will be known — will have far-reaching international consequences. The very idea that someone could be convicted and could receive the death penalty when there remains even the slightest shadow of a doubt or a shred of uncertainty that they may not be guilty of that crime, and that Christian souls would tolerate that possibility, is anathema to all the teachings of Christ."
Candace Owens: So powerful to reflect on and to reread. You should reread it in its entirety. And I remember when I received those words, I was extremely fragile. It meant so much to me. Their words gave me the strength to keep going, to get up, to keep fighting. I'm obviously not in that fragile state anymore, and it is in large part thanks to their friendship and to the people that I didn't know around the world.
It's really been my experience that when I am with them, I could probably count on one hand how many times I've seen John and Arena, obviously because of the distance and how we met. The strange circumstance of me telling Charlie, "We need to go to the UK — just find someone who will put together an event." All of this happening, by the way, in the same few weeks that Erika first lays eyes on Charlie. Charlie's having dreams about his death. It was a crazy time. May of 2018 — to think that I was saying, "I need to go to the UK," that was the dream I was having. And Charlie's having dreams about his death. And then we both meet who will become our significant other. It's something to reflect on.
And I will say that in the few times that I have actually physically been able to see John and Arena, I always find that something beyond chance occurs. Something just always seems to manifest. You go, "How could this have possibly happened?" Like meeting my husband — I see them rarely, but I met my husband, who did not know them, who did not know me. It was this chance night with Charlie Kirk, followed by an 18-day engagement that people still do not accept.
A morning of gratitude at the fishing lodge
Anyway, on the morning of our departure from the fishing lodge, I was sitting in the breakfast area with Arena and for the first time really expressing and truly thanking her and John for their friendship during what has been clearly the most difficult year of my life. We're coming up now to the one-year anniversary of Charlie's death. I'm reflecting on that.
For the majority of this past year, I can now appreciate that I was just in survival mode. Researching it felt like the only thing I could do — the only way that I could get control of the situation was to explore every single thing that happened on that day. And during that time, I could not even bring myself to thank them for their unwavering support, because I was so fragile that even uttering the words "thank you for your support" would have meant sort of acknowledging the state of pain that I was in. I don't know if that makes sense, but I was just putting one foot in front of the other and surviving, and not acknowledging the fact that I was surviving.
Iceland allowed me an opportunity to reflect on what and who it was that sustained me through that critical time. And you guys get it. When people are going through it, really going through it, they just have to try to breathe and keep going. And on the other side of that are people who are giving without even looking for a thank you. That's what I realized speaking to John and Arena. They were at no point going, "Is Candace going to thank us?" To them it just made sense. They're just doing the right thing. They're telling the truth. They don't even consider that they're saving a life, so to speak.
So anyway, I finish this conversation with Arena, and then me and George get into the car and we begin to head back to the airport. It's about a two-hour drive from the lodge to the airport, and we're in this deep conversation about how grateful we are for having made it through the year. Honestly, the last two years have been kind of crazy. We're thinking about all of the people. I'm even speaking about the emails that we received that sustained me — people like you back at home. You will never know how many of your emails I never responded to but I read. The prayers that were sent — I received them and they comforted me. And now I feel sort of nursed back to myself.
The chance encounter with Justin Baldoni at Reykjavik airport
Fast forward: me and George are sitting down at the airport after having reflected this whole morning on gratitude, and we're waiting to board our flight back home. George gets up first and gets into line and tells me, "You just keep sitting until the last second," because I didn't want to be standing unnecessarily with my luggage — I'm pregnant and tired, and he can stand better during this time. Finally, he calls my name because they're about to begin the boarding process. I get up, I get into line, and I'm standing directly behind a woman. As soon as I see her face, I'm like, "Oh, I know her." And I instantly start doing that thing where you're scanning the face index in your mind, thinking first that she was a retired model. I'm like, "Is this like a Gisele Bündchen type character? She's very pretty, no makeup on."
And I kid you not, as soon as it clicks for me who she is, her jaw hits the floor and my jaw hits the floor, and I look up and I see her husband. Ladies and gentlemen, in Iceland, I got in line behind Justin Baldoni — my literal actual long-lost cousin. I could not even believe this. You could not make this up. I actually wish that I were a mathematician so that I could work out the impossible odds of this occurring.
It's a weekday. We are in a country of only 400,000 people. Justin himself was not visiting Iceland — it turns out he was on a layover from Sweden, where his wife is from. That's why she's so pretty. He's there with their two children. It's not a traditional holiday week or vacation week, so it's not like we're running into a bunch of people. My husband and I were just astonished, beyond belief. How could this be happening in this country? And you have to remember, I've never met Justin. I've never spoken to him or his wife. I've never even tried to reach out to them, not even once. I got involved in the case because I just couldn't believe what I was reading when I went through the lawsuit. I just had a suspicion.
Revisiting the Blake Lively–Justin Baldoni case
I'll be frank with you guys — way back when I was interning for Glamour magazine, Blake Lively had the front cover, and the person I was working for worked on the shoot and said Blake Lively was awful. It was like her least favorite person to work with. So it wasn't passing the sniff test for me. And when I read through the documents of what was happening in that lawsuit, I was just astonished.
I have to tell you this, even now, because so much has happened since the Blake and Justin lawsuit — I had to remind myself of the absurdity of that case. You have this man who read a book series, loved it, truly appreciated the work of the author, met with her, purchased the rights to create a film about the books using his movie studio. This is like a passion project to him — something he wants to do for women who have been in domestic violence relationships. He then casts a woman he is a fan of as the lead character: Blake Lively, an A-lister by proxy. By proxy meaning her best friend happens to be the most famous person in the world — ex-best friend — Taylor Swift. Her husband is Ryan Reynolds, who is apparently a routine psychopath who has been cosplaying a superhero throughout the Marvel movies.
And what happens next? They just decide that they want to take his movie, that it's their right to have it because they are them and they're shinier or more A-list or something. And then we learn throughout our investigative series that despite being cast as the main character, Blake Lively sort of fancied herself in her own head as the writer. She sought to edit the script. And they had the media power to do it. The New York Times just drops a hit piece and they're like, "We will ruin your whole life, or you're going to hand over the rights to this movie." That's what she wanted. It's difficult to comprehend that level of narcissism when you go backward in your mind.
And I'm now so reminded of the more hysterical aspects of a lawsuit like Blake's — her implicit threat when she got started. Taylor Swift is there, and if she doesn't get what she wants, she's going to release her dragons. Like Taylor is one of her dragons. "If you ever get around to watching Game of Thrones, I'm Khaleesi. I have a few dragons." So loony. It was so crazy what this woman did to him.
Also, please don't forget — in her CCRD filing, because first she filed that civil complaint, she even accused Justin's business partner, Jamie Heath, of showing her pornography on his phone. She said a woman's legs were open. And she said, to add insult to injury — this is from the filing — "Mr. Heath approached Miss Lively and her assistant on set and started playing a video of a fully nude woman with her legs spread apart. Miss Lively thought that he was showing her pornography and stopped him." These were the parts that were pulled by the New York Times. And then of course we learn later on in this filing that it was actually a birthing video. He showed her a birthing video because Blake was preparing to do a birthing scene. They thought it might be helpful. Like, no one ever watched a woman give birth and thought, "This is pornography." It's just so nutty to reflect on.
And them making Justin Baldoni sit in the basement during the premiere of his own movie because Blake said so and she didn't want to see him — and they made the best of it, and it really wasn't that great to be next to bottled Dani water. It's not even good water. It's disgusting water. They couldn't even give him good water to sit in the basement with, and he just did it. He had so much class.
I was also reflecting with my team on Ryan Reynolds then re-shooting scenes of Deadpool, incorporating a character that was supposed to be Justin Baldoni called Nicepool, and then having him overkilled in the scene. They poured hundreds of bullets into his back and it just kept going and going and going, and then the character's head explodes. Totally crazy. And again, just full-blown A-list power. This is how it's going to go — like a mafia of sorts, ruining this man's life, or attempting to ruin this man's life.
What was said at the airport — and what it meant
Anyway, you'll probably want to know what was said. I want to tell you the most important aspects, because there were just so many people who gave themselves to this case. Going through the filings, there was no upside other than: this is wrong and we should do something. Steph with the Deets, Marcos of the Be Better Company — people who sank into every filing on their own time because we all just sensed that it mattered.
And what was so beautiful about this moment — which I kind of forgot about for a long time because the Charlie Kirk assassination happened and I was obviously compelled in a different direction — it was kind of the first fracturing of this sort of left-versus-right thing. After I had just poured all of this gratitude into Arena, and then seeing Justin and his wife, they were just explaining to me how grateful they were, how close they were to hitting rock bottom. And it was the same exact feeling that I felt when I received the letter from John and Arena — the public letter that they wrote.
They were just in a state, and then people started making videos on the internet, actually reading the paperwork and investigating this. They didn't understand why this was happening. They didn't know what had motivated good people to stand up and do something. Justin was interested in that — asking me what motivated me. And truly, I told him: I just remembered that Blake Lively was awful, and I wasn't buying this victim act. I've been following Taylor Swift and I know how she moves, and I knew that friendship was going to be over. And when I got into it, I just couldn't look away. So I was just motivated by wanting to see a wrong corrected.
I mentioned to him how disturbed I was by the Deadpool scene, and he told me he never even watched the Deadpool movie or the scene — which makes sense, because when you're in that sort of survival mode, you're not going to engage with things that are just going to make it even worse. We just discussed how much he learned, how much he grew, and how much he challenged himself. And he's still so nice, guys. My husband just goes, "He's so nice." I'm like, "Yeah, that's why I had to waddle my pregnant self down to the playground to stand up for my cousin, because I was like, this is not happening on my watch." I'm not that nice when I'm pregnant with a boy and at the end of pregnancy, which I was when this was all going down. You remember I was pregnant with Roman and it was a boy and I was just — it couldn't happen. I just had to fight somebody.
And he was just so sweet, so kind, so grateful. His wife — I just did not need to see someone that pretty without makeup when I'm this fat and pregnant. The way that I would describe them: they radiate goodness. That's a very strange thing to say, and I mean this truly. They radiate goodness. They had nothing bad to say about anybody. They were just so grateful, and they wished that they could go out and thank every single person who just stood up for them — and not even stood up for them, just told the truth. You're not really standing up for people when you're just telling the truth, you know.
And it was just this amazing thing to happen, where I was going, "I wish I could reach out to all of you guys and thank you for this past year." And then I have these people reminding me that sometimes we are that person who's helping somebody and we don't even think of it that way.
He did tell me one thing that was really disturbing and I have to share it: he doesn't actually drink kombucha. He's not a big kombucha drinker. So I kind of wrote this little piece of fan fiction, and I will not accept it. I feel like he will forever be a kombucha drinker in our minds. He's fine with the fact that he owes me kombucha, but — he's a kombucha drinker. We have written that into the history of this case. Justin Baldoni loves kombucha. He drinks it every single day. I would not accept that bit of truth in this story.
The deeper meaning — David and Goliath
Anyway, the point that I wanted to make to you guys about what felt like this almost divine meeting in Iceland is this: my takeaway from it was that all this noise was happening in the background. I didn't really care about things that were trending, and there is so much to discuss in terms of the Department of War and what's going on. But what it really demonstrated to me was just this reminder that we can win. We can win even when the odds seem insurmountable, when people claim that they have dragons.
And in many ways, that really was the lesson for me in all of this — in the Justin case, he was up against an established power. It was the New York Times, it was the most powerful PR people in the world, the most famous woman in the world, who was apparently part of this peer pressure campaign — or not, according to her version; who knows who's telling the truth, Blake or Taylor. But what was done to him was positively cruel, and it was done out of sport. The truth was enough to fix it.
The Baldoni case sort of represented that first blow to the left-right paradigm, and suddenly it seemed like there was something more evil that needed to be addressed and our political skirmishes would have to wait. We all just sort of went, "Wait a minute — did someone just kick a puppy in the mouth for no reason?" That's what that case was. Kicking a puppy in the mouth for no reason because you can, and you can't get in trouble because you're very powerful. And we agreed that it wasn't okay, and we all teamed up and were completely relentless in what John and Arena describe as the pursuit of truth.
I just wanted to leave you with that positive message. It felt like the perfect end of that case. It just all came together. I've just been in such a positive mood lately. I want to leave you guys with that biblical reminder that David won against Goliath. David won with a sling and some stones and insurmountable odds. He took down a giant. And I'm feeling that way about the Charlie Kirk case.
The Pentagon and the propaganda campaign against the investigation
All right, you guys. We are all recognizing right now that there are a ton of chaos agents that have suddenly been sent into the Twitterverse to distract — to pull people away, truly, from the investigation. I want you guys to know that. Stay focused. The Andrew Wilsons of the world you should probably just ignore. They know nothing. We don't know how they're getting paid or where their money is coming from. But we had suggested that this looks like a very well-funded campaign. I almost would say it looks like a military campaign, like a psychological operation.
Well, a funny thing happened while I was away. I learned the Pentagon is apparently at war with me.
Now, you will remember, particularly during the week of Tyler Robinson's preliminary hearing, I was in Spain. I took two weeks off for the summer, and yet there was a full-blown media assault that was executed against me on behalf of Turning Point USA — and in particular, on behalf of Erika. A new narrative had dropped. You would have thought that I was on trial and not Tyler Robinson — that I was on trial for murder, for having investigated Charlie's assassination. They were like, "That is akin to getting Erika Kirk killed."
It began with that absurd NCRI-issued report. It's just a team of Zionists. You've got NCRI led by none other than Andrew Kolvet's former partner at a PR firm, Cyros Company. And they called that report "Permission to Kill" and referred to me as a digital assassin. You can't get over how insanely precise the timing of that was. The person they're claiming assassinated Charlie Kirk goes on trial, and they drop this report on the first day.
Jennica Pounds — "Data Republican" — exposed as Pentagon employee
And then we have this report being mysteriously expanded upon by a woman named Jennica Pounds, known online as Data Republican. So let me tell you about Jennica first, before I tell you how we learned that the Pentagon is behind this.
Jennica Pounds is a Utah software engineer. She kind of gets a little jet fuel because Elon Musk promotes her in 2025 — Data Republican on X. She created a following. We're supposed to think she's some data wizard. I feel like all these people are just being programmed by the government. She's looking at government spending and Elon Musk is like, "This is our girl. She's telling us where all the money's going." And lo and behold, Jennica Pounds, Data Republican, has kind of hit the map.
Anyway, she jumps in after this report is released and immediately does a thread — a thread that is boosted by Andrew Kolvet. She basically says the report is legitimate. She says, "Let me show you how Candace targets her audience and Erika's author." And then she starts showing random people on the internet. And these people could, by the way, work for the Pentagon. So when people are threatening Erika on the internet, it's totally plausible that they actually are working on behalf of the Pentagon so that they can have the data that they can then expand upon.
You can see how long this thread is, how deep she went into the stuff. She's speaking about how I work on people and then eventually people are going to wake up one day and want to kill Erika. That was the narrative that was seeded — instantly retweeted by Andrew Kolvet. We're supposed to think he has nothing to do with this. Of course he does. He writes, "Thank you, Data Republican, for doing this. This thread exposes how Candace and her ilk have created the requisite permission structure for some lunatic to try and kill Erika." They're accusing me of murdering Erika for investigating her husband's murder. This is beyond.
And then, in this very same period — actually three days later — Bill Ackman promotes Data Republican. "An important read on Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens." I bet, Bill. I bet. You're always a little too close to the situation, Bill. What is it about the Charlie Kirk assassination that just keeps bringing you out of the woodwork? Bill Ackman, you're a billionaire. Why are you retweeting Data Republican and what everybody is registering as bizarre propaganda that's meant to essentially say that investigating the investigation is what's wrong? People saw right through this.
The State Department leak — Sarah Rogers and Blake Neff
Well, Data Republican looks to be mildly unstable, and it turns out that she is. She accidentally revealed that she got very paranoid. She was working on a piece, and the State Department was leaking to her. A woman named Sarah Rogers, who is the Under Secretary and works in the State Department, was leaking to her. Sarah Rogers gave her something, and Data Republican — Jennica Pounds — got paranoid about it. She thought that she was being set up, that they were leaking her documents so that they could charge her with a crime. So she then reveals that Sarah Rogers is leaking to her. And Sarah Rogers just happens to be close friends with Blake Neff.
So now we realize that Turning Point USA is working with the State Department. Blake Neff writes about their friendship: "My friend Sarah Rogers was one of Charlie's favorite Trump nominees. She was finally confirmed a week ago and sworn in last Friday as the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy at the State Department. Her chief goal will be promoting free speech around the world."
So this Sarah was leaking to Data Republican, and Data Republican got paranoid and then outed the fact that she was doing it. And then she couldn't put the genie back in the bottle. And then she admits — Jennica Pounds admits — that she's working for the Department of War. She admits that she's been working for the Pentagon since July. The very week that they came after me, she was working as a special government employee. She wrote, "I began working as a special government employee for the Department of War in July to serve the country in a more hands-on way." And what she means is to serve the Department of War in propagandizing Americans not to look into Charlie Kirk's assassination. That's what she means.
She writes, "My press credentials at the Pentagon expired in June. I did not seek to renew those credentials. I currently am not a member of the Pentagon press corps and no longer attend briefings or events as a journalist" — because she is a Pentagon special government employee. And this all came out because she had a little freakout and thought that she was being set up. By the way, not particularly an unreasonable freakout given how duplicitous these people are. If you're dealing with anybody connected to Blake Neff, I'd be paranoid too. You probably did the right thing, Jennica Pounds, by outing yourself as an absolute scumbag and dishonest human being who was not attacking me because you were looking at the data.
Apparently she also set up an institute for herself. So somebody should look into who's funding her. I'd make a guess that Bill Ackman maybe is cutting a check somewhere in the background of this. And she gets this special employee benefit and instantly comes for me — part and parcel of people that are trying to push this narrative, which we now know is being backed by the State Department, the Department of War, Blake Neff, and Andrew Kolvet allies.
So the question remains: why is the investigation into who killed Charlie Kirk something that the State Department and the Department of War would be interested in controlling the narrative on, if they were all friends of Charlie? Wouldn't they be joining us in trying to help, and not launching propaganda wars against us with made-up data reports that reflect nothing other than the fact that anybody will sell their soul to get next to power?
That's what Jennica Pounds did. Jennica Pounds is based in Utah. Where was Jennica Pounds on September 10th? Where is the positive evidence? This is what they're doing. They are accusing us of exactly what they are doing. They are putting a target on my back while accusing me of putting a target on Erika's back. And it's the Department of War. That is so incredibly sinister, but it's important for us to know what we are up against.
And I want to be clear: we'll win. I said I want a war with all of you. I didn't expect it to be the literal Department of War. But I'm up for the challenge, because like I said, from the moment that Charlie was shot, I knew that he was betrayed, but I also knew that the people who betrayed him wouldn't get away with it. And the more that stuff like this comes out, the less likely it is that you're going to get away with it.
I have explosive things to reveal to you for the rest of the week, which are going to reveal that Turning Point USA has some explaining to do. Everybody's alibis are in. You can't change them now. The story is just going to have to get more ridiculous. It's going to get fun, because the story of September 10th is going to have to just get so much more ridiculous until you guys are crushed by the weight of your own lies and inconsistencies.
Turning Point USA's new tour and the state of the organization
Anyway, something that was pretty funny: TPUSA announced their new lineup, their new tour — which sounds like a Jennifer Lopez 2000s song. It's called "Love It or Leave It." I'd like to leave it, thank you. And it is basically the Daily Wire. That's what's happening. There are some older names — Michael Knowles, obviously, and Brandon Tatum, who have traditionally toured with Turning Point USA. Beyond that, we're kind of getting Alex Clark and Ben Shapiro. Now we know why they were trying so hard to explain to us that Ben Shapiro was friends with Charlie Kirk — because he wants the company. He's like, "Mine has failed. That one looks pretty. I'm a parasite. I'd like to be here." He wants to pick up that bloody mic, and by golly he's going to do it.
They're also trying to launch this obscure Matt Gaetz — I mean, this obscure weirdo who works for the Daily Wire and has just been a tragic mistake of a hire. First and foremost, because if you didn't look into it, he got caught — he's one of these people that has struck up a real relationship with Claude in ChatGPT, like asking him, "Hey, what do you think about me? Do you like my shirt, Claude?" Something weird about that kid. Also, allegedly — and there's a whole news article you can look up — there's his arrest back in Florida for making terroristic threats against a daycare. Now he's on tour with Turning Point USA because he's going to be a debater. We are just really scraping the bottom of the barrel.
This company is over. I'm just going to be frank with you. Erika Kirk — to me, when she speaks, I feel like my soul is being sucked. She is a dementor that should be guarding Azkaban. Every time she speaks, I just feel depressed. She can't lead this company. She doesn't have the spark. She doesn't have the intelligence. She doesn't even have the emotional intelligence. Forget IQ — she doesn't have the EQ to run this company. It is being run into the ground.
People are rightfully outraged that they would partner with his enemies. Who even cares at this point? We get it. They are his enemies. Everyone knows what Turning Point USA is and what these people are. And unfortunately, what's going to happen now is another organization is going to rise and take its place. But I do think that's what Charlie would have wanted. And that's a strange thing to think, but what it has become — what it is pushing — is pushing against the ideas that Charlie himself expressed, what he believed in. The idea of partnering with the Department of War to propagandize Americans rather than winning the debate honestly because you told the truth and had the better idea — who cares what happens to Turning Point USA? Matt and Ben Shapiro, have at it. You will have no influence because you already have no influence. That's the whole reason you wanted it — because you thought you could just take it over and wear it like a skin suit. You guys are so gross.
But like I said, what it's meant to be will be. And be happy. We are winning. David won. That's the point. David won against Goliath.
The "emotional asset" email and FOIA stonewalling
I also want to remind you guys that we told you about the email from the Department of War calling Erika an "emotional asset" the night of the fake Trump shooting that happened during the White House Correspondents' event. And we have basically just been getting stonewalled. It's like a brick wall has been put up between us and these FOIA requests that we're filing. They keep only saying it didn't come from this department. We are asking you: is this email real? This is not hard to answer yes or no. We have to keep filing.
But this just further proves our point. It has been the Department of War that has been behind Erika, and she thinks that she's going to win by just having sheer power behind her. And that's just not going to be the circumstance. In many ways she's already lost, because she had that perspective. As soon as you get in your head that you're too big to fail and you don't have to come down, you view yourself as some sort of a queen that has too many people in your Rolodex who are going to back you up — you lose. Charlie was very much a person who got down in the trenches and connected with people, and he also told the truth. Erika seems unwilling to do that. Andrew Kolvet seems unwilling to do that. And Blake Neff is the least believable person in the world.
So glad to know that you guys think that having the State Department and the Department of War behind you is going to win the game, and billionaires like Bill Ackman who are willing to promote your nonsense. But we see right through all of it.
Viewer comments
Top comments from last episode before we went off air. Big Hair Do Care wrote: "The way she drops these bombs and then goes on vacation." Get excited, because this week we have a lot of bombs and we will not be going on vacation — but we are in the countdown before I go on maternity leave. You've got me for the next six weeks.
DM Uncut wrote: "I just know they're at home like, 'Where is she getting these videos from?'" I mean, telling you guys — the Holy Spirit has been on the move. People have been encouraged for a while to be brave, even at a point when I was very weak. And we have been going backward in the investigation, looking back at everything. And braveness inspires other people to be brave. This is something that I have really found out throughout this investigation. So if you do have another piece of the puzzle, please do email us more tips. We've been interested in a lot of different angles. Maybe you work inside the State Department and would like to tell us some things. Whistleblower — please do email us. We're closing in. I feel confident in what we have this week. It's going to be a bad week for them.
And you're not going to distract me with nonsense from Andrew Wilson. We see you guys. I love that they're using him as their attack dog, because it just further reveals to parents what this organization is. Why would you want your children working for an organization that purports to be Christian while using attack dogs throughout government and now scraping the bottom of the barrel with people that are more suited to be on reruns of Jerry Springer? That's just not going to work. Everyone can perceive this fraud. And then you're going to get up there and go, "The Lord, the Lord, the Lord" — but say it like you're a dementor and we don't know who the Lord is, and it might be Voldemort. Like, that's scary for a lot of people. It feels like a scary movie.
Comments from today's episode. True Detective writes: "My heart breaks for Charlie knowing what he discovered during his last days — that something demonic had infiltrated his inner circle. I agree with you that a dark force written about in ancient texts had actually manifested in his life now that he was a prominent voice in politics. My heart finds peace knowing that he told evil no. Matthew 16:25."
I totally agree with you. That was the heartbreak of it. We just know that he knew in the end. And I can't imagine what that felt like. To know that he had texted multiple people on September 9th saying that he wanted me back — they will never tell the truth about that. I know for a fact it's true. And he — I knew he would come to see what was happening to his organization. I saw it a little earlier than he did, but he got there not far after me. That was the whole basis of the last year of discussions that we had since October 7th and moving forward. I think he started to see those people in a different way — how radical they were, and how unrelenting they would be to destroy anyone who didn't go along with the narrative.
Natty Nicole writes: "That picture with Justin Baldoni — God is so good. I love being on the winning side. I can't get over it."
And I just want you guys to know he was exactly what we thought he was when we were going through his Instagram and I was just getting angrier at how nice he was. And then when we read his messages and every time Blake was so mean, Justin was just nice — and it was so frustrating because I was so pregnant and I was like, "No, this is not what you say to someone who's trying to take your movie." He is just so nice. We took the right side in that, and we all deserve to just acknowledge that we stood up for truth. We just shared the truth. Not even standing up — we just shared the truth and we wouldn't let it go. We just were not here to watch a puppy get kicked in the mouth. We just have to come together when we see puppies getting kicked in the mouth.
Dam — Damujian, maybe, I hope I'm saying that right — writes: "David's real test wasn't Goliath. It was Saul, his own king, his own government. That is your challenge."
Well said. I'm up for the challenge because I've got you guys. You guys are the homies. You've helped me. And I will never have the words to tell you what it meant to be at such a low moment and to really need to rely on honestly perfect strangers to give me the push — the other content creators who got involved and investigated it, who didn't know Charlie, even people who didn't like Charlie, who showed more respect to his legacy than the people that he worked with every single day, who just lie. Tucker Carlson is not slated to speak. Ben Shapiro is — there's something so sick about it. But it's now laughably sick, where you can just go, "Okay, this is all fake. The whole thing is fake. You're going to get a bunch of YAF people to come in, pay them to come hear them speak, to pretend like you've taken over the youth movement." You should laugh at it. And in that regard, we already won. Again, not referencing everybody on that list — Brandon Tatum has been speaking for them for a very long time, as has Michael Knowles. But it is hard to look at the rest.
Alaska Dog Lady writes: "When I think I can't love you anymore — fisherwoman to fisherwoman, congratulations. And next year, might I suggest silver salmon in Alaska? It's the season."
I did do silver salmon — not in Alaska, but in British Columbia. There was a picture that I think I showed you guys of me and Charlie holding that massive salmon. I did very well, actually. I won the weekend for the heaviest salmon. It was 38 pounds. I don't think I had the most, but I did have the heaviest salmon. And I had the heaviest halibut as well, which was 200 pounds — too big to put in the boat, which was fantastic. I do love fishing. There's something about being on the water that naturally relaxes you and allows for reflection.
Please Be Real Rice writes: "I feel like we are seeing your face as you looked on your wedding day. Glowing and radiant. Thanks for easing back in with your positive energy and good vibes. We missed you. Christ is king. Keep going, Max."
Thank you. I'm not really glowing — I'm kind of sweating, actually. When we went on to that last break I was like, "Can someone turn the air up?" I'm having a pregnancy hot flash. But if it looks like I'm glowing, I'll go with that. Tell me I'm glowing. Okay, I'm glowing, not sweating. It's beautiful.