Posted on 12/18/2025 9:37:11 AM PST by thegagline
Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro denounced right-wing podcast titan Tucker Carlson as “an opponent of conservatism” who “has trafficked in nearly every conspiracy theory under the sun” in a speech***
Shapiro appeared at the largest conservative think tank in DC ostensibly to discuss his book, “Lions and Scavengers: The True Story of America (and Her Critics).” Instead, he took advantage of the platform to address what he called “the elephant in the room.”
“If we care about conservatism, if, as Heritage Foundation proclaims, our goal ought to be to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values and a strong national defense,” he rattled off, “then we must stand up against those who would pervert and twist the conservative movement into a movement without principles, or worse, a movement that promotes the very opposite of the principles that conservatives hold dear.”
The Ben Shapiro Show” host then railed against Carlson’s influence in the conservative movement for at least 15 minutes, accusing him of flirting with socialism, conducting softball interviews with dictators like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and the president of Iran and hosting “conspiracists on nearly every topic under the sun, uncritically nodding at their most bizarre assertions.”
“He has accused the Trump administration of covering up a Mossad-run child sex trafficking ring run by Jeffrey Epstein without of course actually mentioning Donald Trump’s name because Tucker is a coward when it comes to President Trump,” Shapiro said.
“Carlson, of course, reserves his chief foreign policy ire, unsurprisingly, for Israel with which he has a peculiar obsession,” he said. “And of course, Tucker Carlson has hosted and glowingly treated America’s foremost Hitler apologist, Nick Fuentes.
“A conservatism that treats Tucker Carlson as a thought leader is no conservatism.”***
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Put them in Thunder Dome together.
Fuente’s classic riff on Shapiro:
https://rumble.com/v71oek8-ben-shapiro-hates-you-and-your-country.html
Boy, Shapiro really is a one issue guy, isn’t he? Tucker is a mixed bag, especially lately, but Shapiro sees everyone in black and white: pro Israel or traitor to the world, nothing in between.
I used to like TC...until he fell off the cliff into the Leftist camp.
Who died and made Shapiro the arbiter of conservatism? MIGA is NOT MAGA.
Long past time for this worm to make aliyah.
Shapiro is obnoxious.
Tucker abandoned conservatism in ways that have absolutely nothing to do with Israel.
I don’t listen to either one if them. They’re both creepy.
I don’t listen to either one of them. They’re both creepy.
Carlson is not there to argue with his subject but to give his audience their perspective. There is value in that style which a combative interview will not provide. I certainly did not come away with the impression that Fuentes, or Putin, were good guys but I did gain insight into their motivations.
By doing the long form interviews you also get Carlson’s perspective which is a mixed bag as far as what I consider “conservative” but then Carlson never indicates he is some arbiter of thought for the movement.
Shapiro doesn’t participate in the long form interviews to my knowledge. Most of his content is curated and most of his conversations are panel style. I imagine if we saw him unvarnished as often as we see Tucker I would find plenty to disagree with, as I already suspect he cares more for Israel than the US.
From the article:
‘Fuentes dubbed himself “a fan” of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin and derided the influence of “organized Jewry” in American politics during the two-hour sitdown on “The Tucker Carlson Show.”’
I heard him say he was a fan of Stalin. It was towards the end of the interview and there was no follow-up. Stalin murdered tens of millions of people. So, Fuentes should be asked what the heck he meant by that comment.
I don’t remember him saying “organized Jewry.” However, those words seem consistent with what he said. Perhaps nothing says “organized Jewry” quite like Shapiro attempting to drum both Fuentes and Carlson out of the conservative movement.
If I remember right, Carlson accused Israel of funding Hamas. Another WTF moment. Carlson should recant or justify his claim.
Neocon David Frum used to claim that title. Frum wrote the "Unpatriotic Conservatives" article for National Review in 2003, seeking to purge conservatives who didn't support the Iraq War.
Perhaps Frum has passed his torch to Shapiro?
Tucker is 6’1”. Shapiro is 5’6”.... you can’t put them in a knife fight. Shapiro has all the good cuts, all Tucker could do is try to stab his head.
Thankfully they have to fight in the world of ideas where Shapiro is unarmed.
Nither one of them are. Can’t stand either one.
We all support Israel. You don’t see people who are in favor of giving money to Ukraine, calling them Ukraine first. It’s only with Israel.
I too don’t listen to either one of them, though I wouldn’t say either is creepy. Never a regular fan of Shapiro, I’d read him but his voice was such a distraction; and I started tapering off Carlson when he began harping on UFO’s (and I had some issues with his voice too — that high-pitched laugh).
Israel did fund Hamas in the 1980s. That can't even be disputed (merely suppressed as a past embarrassment).
In the 1980s, Israel's chief opponent was the PLO, a secular Marxist group. Hamas was a non-entity, a tiny Islamist rival to the PLO.
Israel financed Hamas as part of a "divide and conquer" strategy. Split Palestinian support between the PLO and Hamas. Create in-fighting. Force the PLO to focus on Hamas rather than Israel.
It probably seemed like a good idea at the time.
“You don’t see people who are in favor of giving money to Ukraine, calling them Ukraine first. It’s only with Israel.”
It is the double standard.
Blood and soil for Israel.
“Diversity” and “Principles” for America.
That is simply not true. Carlson has been extremely combative with guests on his show that he does not like, like Ted Cruz. He wasn't just trying to give his audience. Ted Cruz's perspective, he was trying to belittle that perspective and Cruz himself.
His "I'm just asking questions" schick is transparent as hell.
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