Candace Owens called white supremacy an “election strategy” during a hearing on hate crimes and white nationalism before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. Owens, communications director for the right-wing organization Turning Point USA, identified herself as a former liberal who has radically changed her viewpoints. During her testimony, Owens said that white supremacy and white nationalism are “words that once held real meaning [but] are now nothing more than an election strategy.” Owens maintained that Tuesday’s hearing should be focused on anti-fascist groups. Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) told her: “I think you’ve caused my friends on the left to go to their safe spaces.”

Owens, a pro-Trump pundit, also argued that black conservatives are severely discriminated against, and denied the existence of the Southern Strategy. “Black conservatives who have the audacity to think for ourselves and become educated about our history, and the myth of things, like the Southern Switch and the Southern Strategy, which never happened,” Owens said.