Mike Pence invites Trump activist Candace Owens – who says George Floyd was a ‘horrible human being’ – to White House for talks on ‘how we can move our nation forward’
- Black conservative activist Candace Owens was invited to be part of a discussion with Vice President Mike Pence in Washington Thursday
- Owens has been taking heat since Wednesday for calling George Floyd, the black man who died at the hands of a white cop, a ‘horrible human being’
- Owens had pointed to Floyd’s drug use and criminal record, saying only black people protest ‘for the people in our community who are up to no good’
- She said that officer Derek Chauvin is getting the right amount of condemnation for killing Floyd, but Floyd shouldn’t be held up as a ‘martyr’
- The vice president’s office did not respond to a request for comment about why an invitation was extended to Owens
Black conservative activist Candace Owens was included in Vice President Mike Pence’s roundtable on race relations Thursday, despite being criticized for calling George Floyd a ‘horrible human being.’
Pence tweeted out that he had met with some black Americans, explaining that the group had disussed ‘ how we can move our Nation forward in the wake of the tragic death of George Floyd and the protests and rioting that have ensued.’
Pence did not tag Owens in the picture, but did tag three black conservatives: Heritage Foundation President Kay Cole James, Center for Urban Renewal and Education founder Star Parker and Elroy Sailor, who previously served on the Trump transition team.
A DailyMail.com request for comment and more details about the meeting went unreturned.
Vice President Mike Pence (right) included black conservative activist Candace Owens (far left) to a discussion Thursday about the ‘tragic death of George Floyd and the protests and rioting that have ensued’
The vice president revealed the meeting attendees in a tweet, which included a number of prominent black conservatives
Owens’ meeting with Pence comes one day after a post of hers went viral in which she said that Floyd was a ‘horrible human being’ pointing to his criminal record and drug use
A source close to Owens confirmed to DailyMail.com that she was present for the meeting and she’s clearly visible in the photograph.
On Wednesday, Owens appeared on Facebook Live and explained the problem she had with people holding up Floyd as a ‘martyr.’
‘We are unique in that we are the only people that fight and scream and demand support and justice for the people in our community who are up to no good,’ she said of black America.
She said that no Jewish person, or Hispanic person, or white person would embrace someone who had done ‘five stints in prison.’
‘George Floyd was not an amazing person,’ she told viewers.
‘As soon as this video hit the internet, I did just basic searches,’ Owens went on.
What she found was Floyd’s criminal record and his arrest and autopsy report.
‘First and foremost George Floyd, at the time of his arrest, was high on fentanyl and methamphetamine,’ Owens said.
Owens also mentioned a 2007 robbery that Floyd was involved in that involved a pregnant victim and Floyd holding a gun to her abdomen.
‘And this was the biggest instant I had that made me realize this is a horrible human being, that I’m not going to pretend is a good person,’ she said.
She said her criticism was in no way defending what the lead officer Derek Chauvin did, by kneeing Floyd in the neck, until he was unresponsive.
‘But why are we pretending that this criminal should be upheld as a citizen, as a martyr, or black America?’ she asked.
Owens, the communications director for Turning Point USA, a pro-Trump youth group led by Charlie Kirk, has become a household name on the right for her controversial takes.
She’s been utilized by Republicans on Capitol Hill as a witness on Democrat-led panels, like one in September 2019 on white supremacy.
Owens had a pop culture moment too – as she tried to give Kanye West too much credit for being part of her new ‘Blexit’ moment – the ‘black exit’ from the Democratic Party.
Owens had announced at an event in Washington in October 2018 that West had designed the ‘Blexit’ t-shirts she was giving out.
That boast pressured West – who had previously paid a trip to see Trump in the Oval Office – to back out of politics for awhile.
‘I never wanted any association with Blexit,’ West said in a tweet. ‘I have nothing to do with it.’