Candace Owens Unironically Claims Trump Is An Example Of True Feminism

What is a true feminist, anyway? If you believe conservative commentator and author Candace Owens, it’s Donald Trump. This is apparently an opinion based on the fact that he spoke, during his CPAC presentation, in favor of discrimination against transgender athletes.

Candace Owens is hardly the first person to frame anti-trans discrimination as pro-woman and protective or defensive. As the Equality Act passed the House and headed for the Senate, this popular right-wing trope was renewed and revitalized.
In a tweet following CPAC, Owens praised the former president for speaking against the bill.

If you guys are wondering what actual feminism is, it’s Donald Trump having the courage to stand up on stage and call out the insanity of biological men dominating women’s sports.

He never kowtows to the Left. #CPAC2021 #CPAC

— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) February 28, 2021

Vox describes the legislation as a modification to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, essentially adding gender identity and sexual orientation as classes on the basis of which it is illegal to discriminate. If it survives the Senate, and President Joe Biden signs it, this would add protections against being fired or denied service for being transgender or gay, for example.

Trump claims that trans women are "biological males" pic.twitter.com/WqmzUm7ITW

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 28, 2021

Trump falsely claimed in his speech that transgender athletes are actually “biological males,” and that they’re breaking records — “Hate to say that, ladies, but got a lot of new records. They’re being shattered.”

Aside from his anti-trans rhetoric, more of Trump’s record must surely be considered in determining whether he is the bar for feminism. For example, his sexual assault defense against allegations from E. Jean Carrol was to denigrate her appearance. There’s also his hot mic boast about grabbing women and kissing them without waiting for consent, and the string of women who describe Trump as sexually assaulting them in exactly the way he described in that tape.