Ben

Political junkie

[Ben Shapiro @benshapiro]

Felt like a good day to repost this.

Shabbat Shalom!

[SharrellAnne @SharrellAnne2]

Gold Star wife here.

When ISIS killed your wife, you supported going after the people responsible. You understood exactly why we were fighting and never called it “Israel’s war.”

My husband, Alan, was killed by Iranian proxies in Iraq. And now, after decades, the fight is finally leading back to the number one state sponsor of terrorism in the world.

You understood it when it was your loss. Now you’re minimizing it when it’s mine.

You don’t get to redefine this war just because it’s not your grief anymore.

[Karoline Leavitt @PressSec]

There are many false claims in this letter but let me address one specifically: that "Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation."

This is the same false claim that Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over.

As President Trump has clearly and explicitly stated, he had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first.

This evidence was compiled from many sources and factors. President Trump would never make the decision to deploy military assets against a foreign adversary in a vacuum.

Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.

The Iranian regime is evil. It proudly killed Americans, waged war against our country, and openly threatened us all the way up to the launch of Operation Epic Fury.

Iran was aggressively expanding their short-range ballistic missiles to combine with their naval assets to give themselves immunity – meaning they would have a degree of a capabilities that would give them immunity to hold us and the rest of the world hostage.

The regime aimed to use those ballistic missiles as a shield to continue achieving their ultimate goal – nuclear weapons.

The President, through his top negotiators, gave the regime every single possible opportunity to abandon this unacceptable course by permanently giving up their nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief, free nuclear fuel, and potential economic partnerships with our country.

But they would not say yes to peace because obtaining nuclear weapons was their fundamental goal.

President Trump ultimately made the determination that a joint attack with Israel would greatly reduce the risk to American lives that would come from a first strike by the terrorist Iranian regime and address this imminent threat to America’s national security interests.

All of this led to President Trump arriving at the determination that this military operation was necessary for U.S. national security, which is why he launched the massively successful Operation Epic Fury.

The Commander-in-Chief determines what does and does not constitute a threat, because he is the one constitutionally empowered to do so - and because the American people went to the ballot box and entrusted him and him alone to make such final judgments.

And finally, the absurd allegation that President Trump made this decision based on the influence of others, even foreign countries, is both insulting and laughable. President Trump has been remarkably consistent and has said for DECADES that Iran can NEVER possess a nuclear weapon.

As someone who actually witnesses President Trump’s decision-making process on a daily basis, I can attest to the fact that he is always looking to do what’s in the best interest of the United States of America — period.

America First.

[Brent Scher @BrentScher]

Admitting that you were texting with Iran while you were lobbying the president in the White House against fighting Iran, and expecting to be seen as the victim…might be the new definition of insanity.

[Karol Markowicz @karol]

Reminder: Ben Shapiro has owned Piers Morgan for a long, long time.

[Yoram Hazony @yhazony]

My Contacts With Tucker Carlson About Anti-Semitism on His Show

A few weeks ago, a mutual friend asked me if I’d be willing to speak to Tucker Carlson off the record. I agreed and Tucker called me three weeks ago to talk. I continued texting with him for eight days after that.

But this past Friday, Tucker released a video in which he reported to the public on his off-the-record conversations with me. Inaccurately, of course. So here’s some additional information on my short-lived discussions with Tucker Carlson about anti-Semitism on his show.

Tucker called me on Sunday, February 1. We talked for 1 hour and 23 minutes. Here’s what I noted down on my desk calendar right after the call:

"8 am Tucker Carlson 83-minute call wanting to know how to end the charges of anti-Semitism against him. Trump told him to end it on Jan 11."

As you can see, Tucker explained that he was calling because he had come under pressure from President Trump at his famous meeting at the White House on January 11. He told me the administration wants him to find a way to stop his high-profile fights with Jews and Zionist Christians. Tucker told me that he wanted my advice on “practical steps” he could take to change the impression that he is an anti-Semite.

I thought he was asking me to host him in Israel. So I explained to him that I can’t do much to help him, because just about every Jew I know believes he’s been waging a savage campaign against Jews, Judaism, and Israel for the past 18 months—and that most think his aim is to drive Jews and Zionist Christians out of the Trump coalition and out of the Republican party. I said that even a year ago, quite a few Jews would probably have jumped at the chance to appear on the Tucker Carlson Show and to present an alternative point of view, but that this looked impossible to me now—and that it would stay that way as long as there’s no change of direction on his part.

Tucker wanted me to explain to him why anyone would think he was an anti-Semite. I answered that question for more than an hour, giving him a series of examples of statements he and his guests had made on his show that seemed completely unhinged and motivated by a desire to slander Jews, Judaism, Israel, and Zionist Christians in order to do as much harm as possible. He kept expressing amazement that anyone would think he was an anti-Semite, and I kept giving him more examples of why I thought any fair observer would reach that conclusion if they were familiar with the relevant conversations he had hosted on his program.

The conversation ended with my agreeing to continue the discussion. I didn’t feel he was open to dialing down the hostility toward Jews, Judaism, Israel, and Zionist Christians constantly being expressed on his program. But I also didn’t want to close the door to the possibility that the pushback from the administration would eventually get him to make a change. (Anyone who has been following Tucker’s program in the weeks since January 11 knows that, so far, there hasn’t been any such change.)

On February 3, Tucker wrote to me asking if he could speak at the first Israeli National Conservatism Conference (NatCon), which is scheduled to be held in Jerusalem on June 8-10. I was taken aback that he would ask for something like that, given the content of our conversation two days earlier. But I did my best to draft a reply that would reinforce my previous description of what a great many Jews, Israelis, and Zionist Christians think of Tucker right now. Here’s what I wrote in response to his request to speak at the first NatCon conference in Israel:

"Tucker, I appreciate the offer. But I need people to show up at this event. Realistically, Jews and Zionist Christians are not going to share a platform with you or come to hear you under the current circumstances. I’m just speaking descriptively about the situation: Much of the lineup will revolt if you join the program and that story will blow back on you [and other public figures] in addition to blowing up the conference. If you want to change this situation, there are things you can do unilaterally to shift the dynamic and I think that’s the way to move forward."

I thought Tucker had finally gotten the message that he should stop asking me for favors, and instead consider how he could make unilateral changes that would help people get past the impression that he is one of the leading Jew-haters of our generation.

But then on February 9, he wrote to ask me if I would set up a meeting for him with Prime Minister Netanyahu. I’m not sure why he thought I was the right address for that request. But I knew very well that if someone were going to contact the Prime Minister’s office with such a misguided idea, it wasn’t going to be me. Here’s what I wrote in reply to his request that I arrange a meeting for him with Bibi:

"I don’t see how that could happen. It doesn’t serve any interest I’m aware of. It could only damage him."

This was a perfectly honest answer, and Tucker could have thanked me for giving him my honest assessment of the situation he has created. But Tucker wasn’t happy with it, and he typed an agitated little speech into his phone to indicate that our conversation had come to an end.

On February 20, Tucker released a peevish summary of the contacts between us as part of a wild video in which he also suggested that Israel might be trying to kill him and his family.

That’s the story. I’ll just add one comment. Most of what I do in public life is building coalitions. That means I talk to a lot of people who don’t agree with me on all sorts of things, and sometimes that means meeting with people who don’t like me very much. I have these in-person, off-the-record conversations because often people turn out to be quite different in private. Sometimes, I’ve just misunderstood who they are from their public appearances. Sometimes, I’ve understood very well who they are, but it turns out they are willing to explore the possibility of making a change. And also: Even when nothing else comes of it, I learn a tremendous amount about people from these private conversations.

In Tucker’s case, the private person turns out to be exactly who we’ve been seeing in public. As of now, I’m not seeing any sign that he is willing to play ball with the mainstream nationalist camp in the Republican party, much less that he has any regrets about who and what he has become since leaving Fox News in 2023. Whatever his motives for turning his podcast into what seems to be a circus of anti-Jewish messaging, right now that project is clearly more important to him than helping the administration keep its coalition together so it can govern effectively and win elections in 2026 and 2028.

[Eitan Fischberger @EFischberger]

Ambassador Mike Huckabee absolutely torches Tucker Carlson for platforming Anthony Aguilar — who lied about watching a small boy get gunned down in Gaza.

After lying for months, the boy was found alive, unharmed, and living his family

[Candace Owens Podcast @CandaceOwensPod]

Crazy Ex: Volume 1

[Ben Shapiro @benshapiro]

On the show today:

Republicans’ House majority shrinks as a GOP lawmaker dies;

We discuss how Republicans can regain momentum;

and the crusade to retake Greenland continues.

Watch here:
https://t.co/hAwoxgsZMr

[Ben Shapiro @benshapiro]

Donald Trump’s shocking and bold move to depose Nicolas Maduro: what happened, and what comes next. Watch now and tune in to @BenShapiroShow on Monday for more.

[Eitan Fischberger @EFischberger]

Matt Walsh once again torches the "Israel First" crowd.

And by that, he means the foreign psyop accounts that've been masquerading as Americans to sow division within the conservative movement — and using the topic of Israel to do it

[Joel M. Petlin @Joelmpetlin]

This comment attacking Ben Shapiro and exonerating Tucker Carlson is a new level of blaming the victim.

If pointing out Antisemitism is now considered the cause of it, then America is doomed.

[The Megyn Kelly Show @MegynKellyShow]

PREVIEW:

"We disagree on the interpretation of what Tucker has been doing for the past two years..."

@BenShapiro reveals the ACTUAL Tucker texts after Charlie assassination, and opens up about the Fuentes interview fallout.

On @SIRIUSXM ch 111 at NoonET, all platforms after:

[Raylan Givens @JewishWarrior13]

🚨The first video of @benshapiro at the @MegynKellyShow drops, watch and judge for yourself 👇

[Ben Shapiro @benshapiro]

No to the groypers.
No to cowards like Tucker Carlson, who normalize their trash.
No to those who champion them. 
No to demoralization.
No to bigotry and anti-meritocratic horseshit.
No to anti-Americanism.
No.

[Yossi Gestetner @YossiGestetner]

Trump's Truth Social post this morning is why the US should NOT be actively involved offensively in this war. The US will drag Israel down into stopping before the threat has been eliminated because US perspective/agendas in the region are not always the same as for Israel.

[Shaiel Ben-Ephraim @academic_la]

The IDF spokesperson says that the IDF has broken the main Hamas lines of defense in Khan Younis, forcing terrorists to leave their positions and fight in the open. The battle there appears to be going very well for Israel.

[Israel Defense Forces @IDF]

These fuel tanks are inside Gaza.

They contain more than 500,000 liters of fuel.

Ask Hamas if you can have some.

[Ben Shapiro @benshapiro]

#AmYisraelChai