The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro delivered pointed criticism of several prominent conservative media personalities during his Thursday address at AmericaFest in Phoenix, calling for greater accountability in hosting decisions and questioning practices.
The co-founder spoke at the four-day Turning Point USA conference at the Phoenix Convention Center, where founder Charlie Kirk’s organization gathered supporters to celebrate conservative values and principles.
Shapiro’s remarks centered on what he described as fundamental responsibilities media figures bear toward their audiences.
He outlined specific obligations he believes hosts must uphold when selecting guests and conducting interviews.
“We have a duty to take responsibility for what we say and do. If we hire awful people, we’re responsible for that. I have some experience there, as you might suspect,” Shapiro stated during his address.
“That means that if we offer a guest for your viewing, we owe it to you to ask the kinds of questions that actually get at the truth,”
He emphasized that agreement with a guest does not absolve hosts from responsibility for providing their platform.
Shapiro cited controversial internet personality Nick Fuentes as a prime example of someone he believes should not receive mainstream attention.
Shapiro referenced specific statements Fuentes made about public figures, including remarks about the vice president being a “fat, gay race traitor married to a jeet.”
He also noted Fuentes called Charlie Kirk a “retarded idiot” and claimed he “took Turning Point USA and fucked it, and that’s why it’s filled with Groypers.”
The conflict between Fuentes and Kirk stretches back to 2019.
During that period, Fuentes and his followers, called Groypers, repeatedly interrupted Turning Point USA gatherings while accusing Kirk of supporting establishment conservative positions.
Kirk responded by publicly denouncing Fuentes and his movement.
He banned them from TPUSA events and privately cautioned other conservatives, including Dinesh D’Souza, against engaging with Fuentes.
Shapiro directed specific criticism at Tucker Carlson. He accused Carlson of elevating Fuentes despite knowing his controversial nature.
“He knew that Nick Fuentes is an evil troll and that building him up is an act of moral imbecility. And that is precisely what Tucker Carlson did,” Shapiro said.
“He built Nick Fuentes up. And he ought to take responsibility for that, just as he ought to take responsibility for glazing pornographer and alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate, or for mainstreaming fake historian and pseudo-Nazi apologist Daryl Cooper as America’s best and most honest popular historian,” he added.
The Daily Wire co-founder argued that hosts bear responsibility not only for their guest selections but also for the questions they pose during interviews.
He insisted this responsibility stems from a fundamental duty to pursue truth.
Shapiro also targeted Candace Owens, criticizing her approach to presenting information to audiences.
He suggested her statements lacked proper evidentiary support and relied too heavily on speculation.
“Emotive accusations, conspiracy theories, and just-asking questions. That’s lazy and stupid and misleading,” Shapiro said. “None of them are a substitute for truth. None of them are a substitute for evidence.”
“So, when Candace Owens says,’ I don’t know, no, but I know,’ that is retarded. And we are all more retarded for having heard it,” he continued.
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Owens has made claims about the circumstances surrounding the death of a TPUSA founder. She has suggested multiple people may have been involved in the assassination.
