{"id":2523049,"date":"2025-12-19T02:21:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T07:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/conservative-republican-podcaster-wars-continue-at-turning-points-america-fest\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T02:22:50","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T07:22:50","slug":"conservative-republican-podcaster-wars-continue-at-turning-points-america-fest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/conservative-republican-podcaster-wars-continue-at-turning-points-america-fest\/","title":{"rendered":"Conservative Republican podcaster wars continue at Turning Point\u2019s America Fest"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fconservative-republican-podcaster-wars-continue-at-turning-points-america-fest%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2523049&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>At Turning Point USA&#8217;s America Fest, conservative Republican podcasters Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson, once political allies, clashed publicly, highlighting ongoing infighting within the conservative movement. Shapiro criticized Carlson and Candace owens for promoting conspiracy theories and undermining conservative principles in pursuit of personal gain. He accused them of spreading distrust and failing to provide proper evidence in their commentary. Carlson responded by dismissing Shapiro&#8217;s critiques, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-cancel-culture-is-a-barrier-sen-blackburn-gop-senators-introduce-legislation-defending-free-speech\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: \u2018Cancel Culture Is A Barrier\u2019: Sen. Blackburn, GOP Senators Introduce Legislation Defending ...\">defending free speech<\/a>, and emphasizing the importance of open debate &#8211; a value he said was championed by the late Turning Point USA founder charlie Kirk. Carlson condemned calls to deplatform or silence dissenting voices, characterizing such efforts as contrary to the spirit of the movement and reminiscent of authoritarian tactics. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >controversy reflects broader tensions<\/a> and disputes among <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/4-bombshell-stories-censored-by-big-tech\/\" title=\"4 Bombshell Stories Censored By Big Tech\">prominent conservative voices<\/a> in the wake of Kirk&#8217;s death.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Conservative Republican podcaster wars continue at Turning Point&rsquo;s America Fest<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2449278\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Friends turned foes, podcasters <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ben-shapiro\/\">Ben Shapiro<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tucker-carlson\/\">Tucker Carlson<\/a> took to the stage at Turning Point USA&rsquo;s America Fest on Thursday night, headlining the event.<\/p>\n<p>Shapiro and Carlson, once Republican political allies, have grown apart in recent months, with each criticizing the other&rsquo;s views, actions, and words on their respective podcasts. Infighting among those considered among the leaders of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kyrsten-sinema-leaves-democratic-party-registers-as-independent\/\" title=\"Kyrsten Sinema Leaves Democratic Party, Registers as Independent\">conservative political movement<\/a> has dominated headlines since the assassination of Turning Point USA Founder and CEO Charlie Kirk. The aforementioned Shapiro and Carlson, along with fellow podcasters Candace Owens, Megyn Kelly, and, to a lesser extent, Tim Pool, have been at the forefront of the controversies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3927149\/brown-mit-shooting-suspect-professor-portugal\/\">Brown-MIT shooting suspect studied with murdered professor in Portugal, authorities say<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3926743\/watch-live-brown-university-shooting-suspect-update\/\">WATCH LIVE: Officials hold briefing after Brown University shooting suspect found dead<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3927074\/brown-university-shooting-suspect-dead-new-hampshire\/\">Brown University shooting suspect found dead in New Hampshire storage unit<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The feud continued on Thursday between Carlson and Shapiro. Kirk&rsquo;s widow, Erika, kicked off the main event lineup on the first night of the convention. She was followed by Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson. Sandwiched between Shapiro and Carlson were actor Russell Brand and activist and author Michael Knowles.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Shapiro opened by scrutinizing Owens and Carlson and warning of the dangers of their rhetoric, ideas, and conspiracy theories. He accused them of undermining conservative Republican ideals and politics in exchange for their own fame and fortune. Shapiro identified both of them as being dangerous to the conservative movement.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Today the conservative movement is in serious danger, not just from the left that all too frequently excuses everything up to and including murder,&rdquo; <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/ben-shapiro-denounces-tucker-carlson-conservative-fraud-americafest-conference\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> Shapiro. &ldquo;The conservative movement is also in danger from charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle but actually traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty, who offer nothing but bile and despair, who seek to undermine fundamental principles of conservatism by championing aggravation and grievance. These people are frauds, and they are grifters, and they do not deserve your time.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Shapiro was also heavily critical of their supposed journalistic techniques, or lack thereof, when making claims without inducing proper analysis and presenting valid evidence. He scolded them for their approach to their characterization of just &ldquo;asking questions&rdquo; while discussing controversial topics and presenting these matters to the public.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our duty to provide you evidence means we actually have to do more than just ask questions,&rdquo; Shapiro said in his critique. &ldquo;Just asking questions is something my five-year-old does. And it&rsquo;s really cute when it comes from my five-year-old, but when grown men and women spend their days &lsquo;just asking questions&rsquo; without, you know, seeking answers, they are lying to you.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In fact, they&rsquo;re doing something even worse,&rdquo; Shapiro added. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re seeding distrust in the world around you, and they are enervating you in the process.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Carlson responded later when he was on the stage.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I just got here, and I feel like I missed the first part of the program,&rdquo; Carlson said in his opening statement. &ldquo;Hope I didn&rsquo;t miss anything meaningful. I don&rsquo;t think I did.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;No, I&rsquo;m just kidding,&rdquo; Carlson added. &ldquo;I watched it. I laughed. That kind of bitter, sardonic laugh that emerges from you when like, upside-down world arrives. When your dog starts doing your taxes, and you&rsquo;re like, &lsquo;Wait, it&rsquo;s not supposed to work this way!&rsquo;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He rebuked Shapiro&rsquo;s calls to silence himself (and others), categorizing them as antithetical to the spirit of AmericaFest.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;To hear calls for deplatforming and denouncing people at a Charlie Kirk event. I&rsquo;m like, &lsquo;What! That&rsquo;s hilarious!&rsquo;&rdquo; Carlson said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That guy is pompous,&rdquo; Carlson <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/12\/18\/maga-infighting-erupts-at-day-one-of-turning-point-usa-conference-00699665\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> about Shapiro.<\/p>\n<p>Carlson then pivoted his speech from criticism about Shapiro to the tenets of free speech and its importance in society.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I really thought that the impulse to &lsquo;deplatform people,&rsquo; or even to use the word &lsquo;platform&rsquo; as a verb, which it&rsquo;s not, it&rsquo;s a noun, don&rsquo;t steal my nouns,&rdquo; Carlson <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.c-span.org\/event\/public-affairs-event\/erika-kirk-ben-shapiro-tucker-carlson-speak-at-turning-point-usas-americafest-summit\/439000\">said<\/a>. &ldquo;Deplatform and denounce &mdash; &lsquo;Why haven&rsquo;t you denounced somebody else&rsquo; &mdash; the whole like, Red Guard, Cultural Revolution thing, that we so hated and feared on the Left, that we did everything we could to usher in a new time, where you can have an actual debate.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I mean, this was kind of the whole point of Charlie Kirk&rsquo;s public life. I think that he died for it, I really believe that,&rdquo; Carlson said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3919151\/tpusa-americafest-post-charlie-kirk-death\/\">TPUSA LOOKS TO DRAW A LINE UNDER &lsquo;CONTENTIOUS&rsquo; FEW MONTHS WITH AMERICAFEST: &lsquo;TIME TO GET TO WORK&rsquo;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And I know a lot about it because the last several months of Charlie&rsquo;s life, were devoted in part to arguing about this event, in fact this speech, in fact my speech here, which he asked me to do earlier this year, this summer, and was immediately put under just immense pressure, from people who give money to Turning Point, I would assume good people, but who wanted him to take me off the roster,&rdquo; Carlson <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.c-span.org\/event\/public-affairs-event\/erika-kirk-ben-shapiro-tucker-carlson-speak-at-turning-point-usas-americafest-summit\/439000\">said<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And this has all become public, the whole thing is so sad that I never talk about it, except to say, Charlie stood firm in his often stated, deeply held belief, that people should be able to debate,&rdquo; Carlson said. &ldquo;And that if you have something valid to say, if you&rsquo;re telling the truth, you ought to be able to explain it calmly, and in detail to people who don&rsquo;t agree with you, and that you shouldn&rsquo;t immediately resort to &lsquo;shut up, racist!&rsquo; You shouldn&rsquo;t immediately go to motive.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If someone doesn&rsquo;t like what I think, fine with me, as long as I get to express it,&rdquo; Carlson said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s my view.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Conservative podcaster feud continues at Turning Point Fest<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2677,"featured_media":2523050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-collage-6ohdkxtes-1766126614538-e1766126667334.jpg?1766108676&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[69071,4914,23400,3911,43670],"class_list":["post-2523049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-america-fest","tag-conservative","tag-podcaster","tag-republican","tag-turning-point"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-collage-6ohdkxtes-1766126614538-e1766126667334.jpg?1766108676&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2523049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2677"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2523049"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2523049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2523053,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2523049\/revisions\/2523053"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2523050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2523049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2523049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2523049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}