Submind YouTube summaries
Thumbnail for Tom Bilyeu: Candace Owens Isn’t Lying — She’s Playing a Different Game

Tom Bilyeu: Candace Owens Isn’t Lying — She’s Playing a Different Game

Watch on YouTube

Video summary

The podcast examines a viral confrontation between Piers Morgan and Candace Owens on his show, *Uncensored*, where Morgan accused Owens of fabricating claims regarding Charlie Kirk's assassination to inflate her YouTube viewership and revenue. The central dispute arose from Morgan's skepticism about the closed-door meeting between Owens and Erica Kirke instead of a public appearance with Megan Kelly as moderator, leading him to suggest that Owens was prioritizing content creation over journalistic integrity. In response, Owens defended her position by arguing that she is not afraid to ask difficult questions or be treated like an interrogator for seeking truth about the assassination attempt on Charlie Kirk in his neck. She further alleged that there may have been individuals within Turning Point USA with foreknowledge of the event and provided two specific names to Erica Kirke for investigation, though she refused to release them publicly due to their status as private citizens without concrete evidence. A significant portion of the discussion focuses on whether Owens is motivated by financial gain from her controversial content. While Morgan pointed out that increased views directly correlate with higher ad revenue and brand deals, noting that several advertisers had already pulled support following the controversy, Owens dismissed the idea that she would sell a friend for money or move from poverty to wealth overnight due to Charlie Kirk's death. The host analyzes this exchange as "vibe journalism," suggesting that while it is undeniable that high-profile topics generate substantial income and entertainment value, Owens likely believes her gut instincts reveal objective truths rather than simply chasing viral moments. He argues that she possesses a legitimate argument regarding the public's fatigue with elite narratives but fails to leverage it by acknowledging the financial mechanics of her platform instead of dodging them. The analysis delves into the psychological framework driving Owens' approach, describing it as relying heavily on gut feelings and emotive radiation rather than traditional evidence-based journalism. The host notes a parallel between this mindset and other controversial figures who prioritize emotional conviction over factual verification, warning that such an approach can lead to "conspiracy brain rot" where individuals reject contradictory facts regardless of the outcome. He predicts that Owens will likely distinguish between her core claims and satellite ones during future legal proceedings or investigations; she may concede on peripheral details if pressed but remain steadfast in her central theories even when faced with evidence, such as a court ruling determining whether Tommy Robinson acted alone in his case. Ultimately, the summary concludes that while Piers Morgan's strategy aims to undermine Owens' credibility by framing her actions as purely money-driven, this tactic overlooks her potential willingness to update her mental model based on judicial outcomes if they contradict her beliefs. The host suggests that Owens has a "trump card" available: she could shift the conversation entirely toward the veracity of her claims rather than defending against accusations of financial motivation, but instead chooses not to play it for reasons that may include guilt or a desire to maintain her specific worldview. As legal processes unfold and facts emerge regarding the assassination attempt, observers will be able to determine whether Owens adjusts her stance on core allegations or doubles down on them despite external validation proving otherwise.
Read the full video transcript
We've got Piers Morgan versus Candace Owens. You're lying for money is essentially the vibe. It was a viral showdown between Piers on his show Uncensored with Candace, and it ended up with Piers directly accusing Candace Owens of lying to boost her YouTube numbers about Charlie Kirk and Bridget Macron. The clash centered on Piers's belief that Candace is making assertions about Charlie Kirk's assassination without sufficient evidence. Needless to say that did not go over well with Candace. Piers also seems skeptical about Candace and Erica Kirk meeting behind closed doors instead of having the public meeting with Megan Kelly moderating, which was the original stance that they were taking, but Candace had decided that Turning Point USA was probably right that taking down the temperature first was probably the right place. So, they did that, but we'll see if anything super productive comes out of that. Now, Candace pushed back on Piers and all of his accusations making it clear that she thinks the public is being fed what she called more fed slop like we were with the JFK assassination, and she is, and this is a paraphrase, but it's pretty damn close to a quote, she's not going to be treated like asking questions is the crime. The real crime, she said, was Charlie getting shot in the neck, and she is not going to let anybody stop her from asking questions. She also said directly that she wouldn't be surprised if there were people inside of Turning Point USA that had foreknowledge of Charlie's assassination, a pretty big claim, and that she gave two very specific names to Erica for further investigation. She was not prepared to release those names to Piers. She said she does not have concrete evidence, and given that they are private citizens, that did not feel right. interesting part of the exchange for me, if I'm being honest, is the way that all of this highlights the James Burnham of it all. We are witnessing right now in real time a broader credibility crisis as it relates to official sources, and ultimately we're pushing into what I'm going to call vibe journalism. I really think that Candace is creating a new form of entertainment, and I think it being understood as entertainment is the right play. >> Let's jump into the clip. This is the first clip where Piers accuses her of just extrapolating this whole saga just for clips and money. There are, as you know, right now a lot of people, from Tim Pool to New York Post to others, who've come out very stridently in the last week alone, in the last week, and say that's exactly what you've been doing with Erica Kirc. >> Yeah, but you haven't answered the question. So, this is just made up. It's It's I said this is a soft fluff. You're You're suggesting that I'm making money. Did I sign a new advertiser? Are we meeting more every reading more ads? Do we put this somewhere else? Do we sign The more views you get on YouTube, the more money you make. >> a T-shirt? Okay, but look, come on now. Piers, money on YouTube? Are Are you kidding me? >> So, money on YouTube, the way she says it is like you don't really make There's She's making millions of dollars off of money on YouTube. Let's be very clear about that. And then her podcast probably does three, four, five X that. So, anyway, back to it. But, I do think, honestly, that part of the claim from Piers was bang on in terms of for sure, as rev as the views go up, she's going to be making a lot more money. But, she's right in terms of everything I do has made me extremely popular. And do you really think I'm going to sell out my friend to go from five to one? Anyway, back to the clip. >> global before Charles was assassinated. And if you think that I would want my friend to be assassinated so I could go from being in the top five to being number one, you're out of your mind. Okay? And also it's so disrespectful. No, no, but like the point is that nobody Everyone who is saying that I'm making more money cannot say how I'm making more money because it's just not true. He literally just said how you're making more money. You are driving views. So, I think she has a legitimate argument, which is, "Listen, I cover topics that are extremely controversial. I've got the She doesn't say this, but she's got the balls to like take the heat for said new form of entertainment from where I'm sitting. It is self-evident that this is a money-making endeavor, that this will, if it hasn't already with all the legal bills and stuff, this is going to make her a fantastically wealthy person if she's able to to this for years. Look at how much money Joe Rogan has made and she's got a chance to have that same kind of reach, have sustainability if she can avoid being taken down by all the legal stuff. There is a ton of money, a ton of money to be made in this. So, that part's very disingenuous. I if I were her, the argument that I would be making would go something like this. Yes, I'm making money off of talking about these things because the public is sick and tired of being trapped inside of an elite bubble where they're being fed a bunch of bull and the fact that I can get attention by drawing people over to what's actually true or the pursuit of the truth, obviously peers, this is a whole new era and it should be rewarded. That would be where I would come from versus the money on YouTube, like what are you talking about? Nobody can tell me how I'm making money. Not only can they, they just did. So, that part is insincere. I'm not sure why she's trying to dodge that, like just lean into it. Yes, there's a ton of money to be made, but if you're really going to be journalistic which I don't think she is, but I don't think she's lying. I think she believes the things that she's saying. I think she is the person that is going to rise up in this moment because she is vibes. That's seems to be how she navigates the world. She has a gut instinct, she believes that gut instinct is I I'm now being a little unfair in my paraphrasing, but like the Lord speaking to her through her gut instincts, her friends coming to her in dreams and revealing truth. It's like, okay, if you've got that world view, then you put that all together into well, I feel this way and therefore it's true. So, pretty wild coming from somebody who pushed back so hard on well, I feel like a woman and therefore am a woman. I would say she's falling into a very similar trap, but it shows you how humans are in my estimation so victimized by their own emotions. Like people are just convinced that is real, which is wild. I don't think this is a I'm making more money type thing. Yes, number goes up, views goes up, but the brand deals that Candace broke, she didn't break them on the back of Charlie Kirk. We know cuz there's been a bunch of brands that are like, "Hey, who What's your topic this week? Uh we don't want to advertise on that. We'll take a step back." So, it's not like she to her point, she didn't sign a new brand deal. These are the same brand deals she's been doing since through the summer. So, I I don't want to say that she went from, you know, poverty to started talking about Charlie Kirk and now she's living in a penthouse. It's definitely nothing that drastic. Viewership numbers do go up and that does make, you know, selling ads easier for your team, but I definitely don't think that, you know, she's bringing raking in the money hand over fist to her point just because her friend died. Like, I don't think anybody would take that deal. So, I think that while we are rightfully acknowledging that she's getting millions of views for her for this conspiracy being drawn out this far, I just don't think that she's doing it to make the money. I don't think that's her goal. I don't think that's her goal. >> I don't think that's why she picked this at all, but the mechanism is she is going to always talk about whatever is going to capture the public's imagination the most. She's always going to frame things in a way that is the most entertaining. It's part of her brilliance and people wasting time being mad about that, I think is dumb, but her trying to pretend that that isn't the game is also dumb, in my opinion. Like, it's one of the things that gives her a weak point of credibility is when she's like making out like, "What do you mean I'm making money off this? What do you mean that like my number's going up is going to be better for the business?" It's like, just own that and now get into, "But, I'm representing the truth. Why are you mad about that? Why aren't we talking about the veracity of the claims?" Like, she has an avenue to slap him around way harder, in my opinion, but she's not taking it. And so, I don't know if she's not taking it because she does have a little bit of guilt around like, "Okay, numbers do factor into my thinking." Which is perfectly fine. Numbers factor into my thinking in terms of, "Okay, what are going to be the topics that the audience cares about?" You need to take into consideration that you're in this like two-way dance. I'm not going to Like, I would love to talk about video games and TCG more, but it's it just doesn't work with the channel. I would have to do that as a separate channel if I wanted to do that. And if I was on that channel and I wanted to talk about politics, I'd remind myself, "Bro, you you have a channel for that." That's just being honest about the way that the dynamic works. I don't know if she's spinning herself, if she's trying to spin her audience, if she just doesn't want to talk about that part of it, or she knows that people will run with that and and not talk about the veracity of the claims, but that would be my advice to her is like just focus on the veracity of the claims, give people to go after the argument and stay focused on that. I don't know. I think it's a spin conversation in general cuz I think now we're talking about how much more money she's making versus what she's actually talking about. And I think that that in general is a way to I don't want to say defame her like it's defamation >> what he's trying to do. He's trying to get people to not take her seriously, to say, "Listen, the way that you're going after this is obviously money motivated." I think there are a ton of people that are predisposed to dislike Candace that are going to like run with that narrative. What I'm saying is she's got a trump card that she can play to shut that down, and she's not playing it. And so the question becomes, "Okay, well, given that there's a way better argument, why aren't you playing that?" From that perspective, she's got a much better card to play and she's not playing it. What I want to see is when the quote-unquote facts come out and they like disagree with the way that she feels, what will she do? Because if she's like, "Wow, crazy. I really felt like this is true, but this is true, and I'm going to go with the facts." Or is it going to be endless conspiracy brain rot where it's like no matter what you show her, she's like, "No, no, no, but this feels true." Like the Egyptian plane thing. When pressed, she's going to say I've no idea what it is, but there is like this emotive radiation coming off of her that the Egyptian plane thing means something. And so what happens if it's proven air quotes that nothing. Coincidence, whatever, there's nothing there, no problem. >> she's backed off claims once she got pressed. She mentioned that in her Eric Kirk her Erica Kirk sit-down that there was some things about Turning Point that she said, then they kind of gave her clarifying, "Oh, this person that she's not affiliated. And she's like, "Okay, but he was acting like he was, so that's why I reacted that way." So, I don't want to say she said my bad and walked it back. She clarified at least those points where she misstepped. that you're going to be able to delineate between core claims and satellite claims. And she'll give on satellite claims, and the odds that she gives, this is my prediction. And if I'm wrong, I will gladly update my mental model. But I'm going to guess satellite claims she'll let go of, core claims not so much. We'll see. This is all going to play out. Like, Tommy Robinson is going to be put on trial, and we are going to find out what the justice system thinks of whether he did this or not, and then we'll be able to see if she's like, "No way, don't buy it. Jury bias, whatever, whatever, whatever." Or if she's like, "Oh, wow. Look at that. I have to update my mental model." Cuz that's a core claim, right? If if what the justice system ends up saying is Tommy Robinson acted alone, will Candace Owens update her mental model and say, "Wow, I guess Tommy Robinson did act alone." In fact, play this clip back in a year or whatever when the trial's over, because I want to see. And then, because I am obsessed with trying to figure out cause and effect, I will certainly update my Candace Owens mental model if she proves me wrong and is like, "Oh, yeah, cool."