Hasan Piker Says Candace Owens Was Pro-Israel Before Her Daily Wire Split

Streamer Hasan Piker said that conservative commentator Candace Owens "used to be openly very pro Israel" before she and the Daily Wire split. He argued that her reversal reflects a broader shift on the American right.

Piker is a left-wing Twitch streamer. His remarks come as the Republican Party's divide over Israel has become a public fight. In February, Gallup found that Republican sympathy for Israelis had fallen to its lowest level in roughly two decades.

"Candace Owens has been an anti-Semite for like the last decade, but she also used to be openly very pro Israel. This is not unique in the Republican circles," Piker said on his stream. The antisemitism charge is his opinion, and Owens rejects it. After StopAntisemitism named her its 2024 "Antisemite of the Year," Owens said on her podcast, "We're doing the exact same thing again with antisemitism."

Hasan Piker on Ben Shapiro and Candace Owens

Piker said Ben Shapiro, the Daily Wire co-founder, hired Owens in spite of her views. "Ben Shapiro hired Candace Owens knowing full well that she was anti-Semitic at the Daily Wire. Why? Because she was also pro Israel. She stopped being pro Israel. She got fired," he said.

"Fired" is Piker's word. On March 22, 2024, Daily Wire co-founder Jeremy Boreing announced on X that "Daily Wire and Candace Owens have ended their relationship." Owens responded on X that she was "finally free." Shapiro said on Dave Rubin's show that there were "a lot of other factors … at play" besides Israel.

The public break began in November 2023, after Owens criticized Israel's military campaign in Gaza. Shapiro wrote in a post on X, "Candace, if you feel that taking money from The Daily Wire somehow comes between you and God, by all means quit."

Her earlier record fits Piker's description. On May 14, 2018, the day the U.S. Embassy opened in Jerusalem, Owens wrote in a post from Israel that "not a single elected Democrat is here to celebrate this historic event in Jerusalem, a bonafide signal that they do not stand with Israel."

Republican Support for Israel in the Polls

Piker said many on the right "had a wake up moment," adding: "Many people did after October seven, but for the longest time, the far right in the United States ... was openly anti-Semitic, but also very pro Israel."

The polling shows movement, though Republicans still side heavily with Israel. In a Gallup survey conducted February 2–16, 70 percent of Republicans said they sympathized more with the Israelis and 13 percent with the Palestinians. That was down from 75 percent in Gallup's 2025 survey.

Among all Americans, 41 percent sided more with the Palestinians and 36 percent with the Israelis. It was the first time in Gallup's long-running measure that Israelis did not hold the lead.

The split by age is sharper. A Pew Research Center survey conducted March 23–29 found that 57 percent of Republicans ages 18 to 49 had an unfavorable view of Israel, up from 50 percent a year earlier. Overall, 58 percent of Republicans viewed Israel favorably and 41 percent unfavorably.

Nick Fuentes and the Right's Fight Over Israel

The segment opened with Piker discussing rumors about Owens's sexuality and marriage, which an online account that Piker described as a fan of Nick Fuentes, whom Piker called a "neo-Nazi," alleged in a post. The post's allegations were unproven. Piker said some of it was "half effort posting half schizo posting."

Piker said Fuentes's hostility toward Owens is personal. "I think Nick Fuentes personally has a lot of envy for what Candace was able to establish as like a big brand after Charlie Kirk," he said. He added that Kirk "was always an operative for the Republican Party, and therefore, he was never Israel critical." Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed at a Utah Valley University event on Sept. 10, 2025, PBS NewsHour reported.

The feud is part of a wider conflict on the right. In late 2025, Tucker Carlson interviewed Fuentes, and Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts defended the interview before later apologizing and denouncing Fuentes. The episode exposed a rift among Republicans, PBS NewsHour reported.

What Happens Next

With the midterms five weeks away, the party's younger voters are moving away from Israel in Pew's data. Whether that gap shows up in GOP primaries, or in who inherits Kirk's audience, is still an open question.