Candace Owens accuses Trump of treason over "Israel" boycott aid policy

Conservative commentator Candace Owens has sharply criticized President Donald Trump over his administration’s now-reversed policy requiring US cities and states to oppose boycotts of "Israeli" companies in order to qualify for federal disaster aid.

In her latest podcast episode with Tucker Carlson, titled "Tucker Carlson and I Discuss Brigitte’s Genes and Trump Commits Treason," Owens accused Trump of betraying American values.

“What Trump is doing is considered treason,” she declared, blasting the policy as a betrayal of the American people.

US reverses aid policy tying disaster funds to "Israel" boycott stance after backlash

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday quietly removed language from its website that required states to certify they do not support boycotting "Israeli" companies as a condition for receiving Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding.

The move, initially reported by Reuters, had applied to at least USD 1.9 billion in grants used for search-and-rescue equipment, emergency salaries, and infrastructure.

Although the policy was later reversed, Owens expressed outrage over the fact that it was ever implemented. “He is going to deny Americans in need of disaster funding if he finds out that the city or state they live in is boycotting Israel,” she said.

Owens emphasized that Americans have the moral and legal right to boycott any company, foreign or domestic. “You might say, actually, morally we think it is wrong for us to in any way engage with Israel because we are watching them starve children,” she said, referencing the 'Israeli' siege on Gaza.

She went on to warn that conditioning disaster relief on political loyalty to a foreign government sets a dangerous precedent. “This isn’t just wrong, it’s un-American,” she added.

The original DHS terms had labeled any refusal to do business with "Israeli" companies a “discriminatory prohibited boycott,” targeting supporters of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. That language has since been removed from the updated guidelines.

“FEMA grants remain governed by existing law and policy and not political litmus tests,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement Monday afternoon.