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Ben Shapiro used Monday’s episode of The Ben Shapiro Show to deliver a scathing rebuke of Tucker Carlson, calling him “the most virulent super-spreader of vile ideas in America” and an “intellectual coward.” The criticism came in response to Carlson’s recent interview with Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist known for antisemitic rhetoric and ties to the so-called Groyper movement.
In the nearly hour-long show titled Tucker Carlson Sabotages America, Shapiro accused Carlson of giving legitimacy to extremist views by failing to challenge Fuentes’ history of Holocaust denial and racist commentary. The episode included clips of Fuentes making inflammatory statements, which Shapiro argued serve to undermine core conservative principles such as meritocracy and rejection of bigotry.
Groyper Influence Branded a Threat to the Right
Shapiro took direct aim at the Groypers — a loose online movement aligned with Fuentes seeking greater influence within conservatism. He described the group’s rise as corrosive to the conservative movement, warning that embracing their ideology would lead the right down a dark path and could ultimately relegate the GOP to a permanent minority.
As Mediaite reports:
Shapiro went on to play a number of the heinous comments made by Fuentes over the years, giving viewers “just a brief glimpse into the twisted mind of Nick Fuentes,” as well as to torch Carlson for “rhetorically fluffing” him.
“Tucker Carlson acts as an ideological launderer for other people’s evils. Tucker Carlson says many inflammatory things, always buying back just enough of it to appear as though he’s not saying what he’s clearly saying. He’s a master of gaslighting. Tucker Carlson, for example, would never say out loud what Nick Fuentes does. He wouldn’t say the things many of his guests say. And so instead, he acts as an ideological wanderer,” submitted Shapiro. “He takes other people’s hideous ideas, he softens them, he treats them with love and care, and then he provides them with a massive signal boost. He isn’t merely talking to people in good faith, of course. He’s promoting certain people and ideas and attacking others. So, for example, he’ll ask a series of wildly obsequious questions to Nick Fuentes. He’ll even let Nick Fuentes’s support for Joseph Stalin slide.”
“But he will grill Ted Cruz about the population of Iran,” continued Shapiro after playing a clip.
Montage Links Carlson to Authoritarian Regimes
Shapiro also released a five-minute video compilation from his podcast highlighting Carlson’s past interviews with figures tied to authoritarian regimes; he framed it as proof of a disturbing pattern — growing leniency toward anti-democratic strongmen.
Heritage and Cruz React as GOP Faces Divisions
The fallout extended beyond Shapiro’s show. Late last week, Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts defended Carlson, describing the backlash as a coordinated attack from a “venomous coalition” and declaring that “the attempt to cancel him will fail.” Roberts stopped short of addressing the former Fox News host’s failure to challenge Fuentes directly.
Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz stood by his earlier description of Fuentes as a “little Nazi,” pointing to video evidence of Fuentes praising Adolf Hitler, denying the Holocaust, and spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories. Fuentes responded by accusing Cruz of pandering to pro-Israel interests and abandoning the “America First” agenda.
You can watch the full episode of Ben Shapiro’s podcast below:
As well as Carlson’s interview with Fuentes:
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