Steve Bannon derided conservative commentator Ben Shapiro as a “cancer” in a speech at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference.
Speaking on the second day of the conference, Bannon continued the ideological war between major conservative commentators, which had been sparked the previous day with speakers giving denunciations of one another. Bannon took his time on the stage to vent his anger against Shapiro, accusing him of not supporting President Donald Trump.
“Benji Shapiro sat up here last night, and he was all, you know, I’m going to you know, it’s all about the truth. Ben, I’ve known you a long time, brother, you can’t handle the truth,” he said, drawing a mixed reaction from the audience.
Bannon described Shapiro as a “hardcore Never Trumper,” citing his initial criticism of Trump in 2016, followed by his eagerness to support Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) over Trump in 2024. He accused Shapiro of being “Israel First,” rather than America First, and claimed he wanted a “Greater Israel,” a vastly expanded Jewish state geographically. Bannon implied Shapiro and his ideological fellows were trying to drag Americans into another ground war, this time with Iran.
“Ben Shapiro is like a cancer, and that cancer spreads… it metastasizes,” Bannon said.
“He tried to take over Breitbart, and I ran him out of there,” he boasted. “And mark my word, he will make a move on Turning Point, because he’s always been envious of Charlie Kirk.”
WATCH LIVE: STEVE BANNON SPEAKS AT TPUSA’S AMERICAFEST CONFERENCE
After a brief unifying moment, the assassination of Kirk has splintered the American conservative commentariat. Much of the animosity has centered on the assassination itself, with conspiracy theorists led by Candace Owens suggesting a grand conspiracy was at play, even going after Kirk’s widow.
The infighting has split the commentariat into multiple camps, divided among key issues such as support for Trump and the direction of U.S. foreign policy.
