'A Managerial Error': Candace Owens Rips Turning Point USA's Decision to Name Erika Kirk as New CEO Days After Husband Charlie's Assassination
Candace Owens said Erika Kirk 'very quickly decided' she was equipped to be Charlie.
Dec. 10 2025, Published 12:45 p.m. ET
Candace Owens has ripped Turning Point USA to shreds over naming Erika Kirk as CEO in the wake of Charlie's death, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
According to Owens, the move from Charlie to Erika was not one that should have been made.
Appointing Erika Kirk As New Turning Point CEO Was A 'Mistake'
Owens expressed she thinks Turning Point USA should have 'put in place an interim CEO' instead of having Erika Kirk lead the ship.
Owens specifically branded the appointment of Erika as a "mistake."
"She should have never become the CEO and chairman overnight," Owens exclaimed. "Because now when people have questions, you gotta answer them. Now you're not just a grieving widow who there has to be respectability for and space and allowing her to be a mother.
"You very quickly decided that you were equipped to be Charlie. Well, guess what? That’s gonna be a trial by fire. Charlie had to go through it. It’s painful. The public’s gonna go through every layer of your life. And so it’s people go, ‘it’s not fair.'"
Candace Owens 'Has Questions' for David Hogg
Owens said people say you have to 'listen' to David Hogg.
Owens then insisted you "can't do" what she referred to as the "post-school shooting thing."
The conservative pundit elaborated, saying it's a thing where people say you have to "listen to David Hogg," but then you "can't question David Hogg."
Hogg, a gun activist, was a survivor of the 2018 Parkland High School shooting.
"I got... questions for David Hogg," Owens continued. "If you're now gonna say that I have to accept him as a political leader, I'm sorry this tragedy happened to you. It’s fair for me to say, David Hogg, ‘Why are you on CNN?'"
Owens noted part of being in the public eye is people going 'through every area of your life.'
The outspoken political commentator noted people "are feeling" like it's "not fair" to ask Erika questions due to Charlie's untimely and recent death.
"... They should have put in place an interim CEO," Owens ranted. "Like that’s what any company would do. You would say for a couple of months, 'We have to figure things out. The COO's gonna become the CEO and give everybody time to grieve and adjust the fact this is a new company, and we’ve got to figure things out without the head of the company. I think they made a managerial error." "All is fair and love in war is what I mean," she added. "If you’re gonna be in that position, everyone goes through it… I’m going through it every day. That’s the downside of fame. They’re gonna go through every area of your life. It’s not fair, but it’s fair. Everyone does it. It’s just a part of being in the public eye."
Erika Kirk's Under the Microscope
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Erika Kirk's actions have been under scrutiny since Charlie's death.
Erika has been under the microscope while in the public eye following her husband's tragic passing. The 37-year-old even faced backlash for her intimate hug with Vice President JD Vance, which many deemed as inappropriate.
She also came under fire for an embrace she shared with country singer Jason Aldean.
Erika has kept Charlie's memory and message alive, all while making numerous media appearances to support his posthumous book, Stop in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life.
