Candace Owens at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 19, 2024 (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
Conservative columnist and podcaster Josh Hammer has expressed sharp criticism regarding the internal direction of the populist conservative movement following the death of former Turning Point USA leader Charlie Kirk.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Hammer stated that the movement is experiencing a tumultuous shift, with fringe figures and conspiracy theories threatening to tear down its foundation.
"Since Kirk's death, the madness has only ratcheted up," Hammer told the Daily Mail. "Crackpot, revisionist historians now appear regularly on the world's largest podcasts, conservatives-in-name-only traffic in ancient hatreds and sincere commentators are increasingly drowned out." He added that there has been "a breakdown in the ability of many on the Right to distinguish between fact and fiction, truth and lie, right and wrong."
Hammer argued that the rise of these fringe theories stems from a loss of public trust caused by institutional actions. He cited several events, including the Russia investigation, the institutional response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the handling of the Hunter Biden laptop story, and the legal prosecutions of Donald Trump. According to Hammer, these events led many people to conclude that they cannot trust mainstream information, creating a vacuum for opportunistic commentators.
"Into this vacuum have crawled opportunistic ghouls who are willing to sacrifice credibility for clicks," Hammer said. "But there is nothing good down that rabbit hole, only suffering and immiseration, the very toxic mentality that Kirk fought against so passionately."
Following Kirk's death, podcaster Candace Owens launched a public campaign against Hammer, who is Jewish, accusing him of being complicit in Kirk's murder. Hammer described Owens' claims as "vile and utterly baseless smears," noting that the common denominator among those targeted by such rhetoric is often their Jewish faith or public support for Israel.
Hammer also criticized political leaders for failing to address these elements within the movement. He highlighted Vice President JD Vance's response to questions about his ongoing relationship with commentator Tucker Carlson, whom Hammer considers a primary source of online conspiracy theories.
When asked about Carlson, Vance stated, "Tucker is a friend, despite the fact that we disagree on a number of things. I'm not going to play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them."
Hammer rejected that characterization, countering that the issue goes far beyond standard policy debates. "If this were a matter of political disagreement, I may agree," Hammer said. "But it is not. If Carlson were just some friend of the Vice President's, I may let it pass. But he isn't."
Hammer concluded by stating that the conservative movement must regain its footing. "America's conservatives cannot abandon the work of discerning right from wrong," Hammer said.