- Owen Shroyer, pardoned for Jan. 6 role, says president’s confidence appears diminished
- Conservative commentator calls Wednesday speech “Trump’s worst” and message “stale”
- Criticism follows address focused on economic claims amid declining poll numbers
WASHINGTON, D.C. (TDR) — Owen Shroyer, the former Infowars host who received a presidential pardon in January for his involvement in the Capitol riots, issued a sharp rebuke of President Donald Trump following Wednesday night’s primetime address. Reacting to the speech, Shroyer said the president’s swagger is gone, adding that Trump was “stuttering” with his “confidence fading” and “can’t lie through the reality anymore.”
Sharp Words From a Former Ally
The criticism represents a notable turn from someone who once championed the president on conservative media. Shroyer called the address “Trump’s worst speech yet,” faulting the president for “bashing Biden because he needs a fall guy” while making economic claims that “can just easily be disproven.”
In a video posted to social media, Shroyer delivered his assessment with unusual directness.
“We’ve never seen Trump like that before. He was not his usual confident self. He seemed to be speed-reading, the charisma was gone, the aura was gone, the swagger was gone, and the message was stale.”
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The commentator warned that “the poll numbers dropping is very real” and predicted more supporters would abandon the administration, concluding that “the storm is approaching, but I don’t think it’s the storm that we wanted.”
From Pardon to Sharp Criticism
Shroyer has had a complicated relationship with the Trump administration. Prosecutors had argued that the Infowars host helped create January 6 by spreading election misinformation and issuing “thinly veiled calls to violence” to viewers in the weeks leading up to the Capitol attack.
He pleaded guilty to illegally entering a restricted area and was sentenced to 60 days in prison in September 2023. On January 20, 2025, the first day of Trump’s second term, Shroyer received a pardon along with nearly every other participant in the Capitol attack. The former host later departed from Infowars in September 2025 following a public dispute with founder Alex Jones over editorial direction.
Wednesday’s Address Draws Scrutiny
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Donald Trump delivered a 20-minute primetime speech focused on economic policies and immigration, opening by declaring that “eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I am fixing it.” The address came amid sagging approval ratings across multiple issues.
According to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll, Trump’s approval rating on the economy has hit a new low of 36 percent. The poll found 45 percent of Americans identified prices as their top economic concern. A Fox News poll showed approximately twice as many voters blame Trump for current economic conditions than said the same of former President Joe Biden.
Shroyer’s Previous Concerns About Trump
This was not the first time Shroyer raised questions about the president. In July, he expressed concern about Trump’s health, noting that the president was “wearing more makeup than he normally does, including on his hands now,” and suggesting “things are just getting weird.”
The criticism from a pardoned supporter underscores potential fractures within Trump’s base as economic anxieties persist heading into the 2026 midterm election cycle.
Will criticism from former allies impact the president’s standing among his core supporters?
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