Daily Wire co-founder and editor emeritus, Ben Shapiro, blasted the left’s authoritarianism in an appearance on “Real Time with Bill Maher” alongside MSNBC contributor Malcolm Nance.
Facing a difficult audience, Shapiro took on the left at every available opportunity, blistering the left — and the Democratic Party — for their authoritarian policies aimed at controlling Americans’ lives.
“It is the Democratic Party large scale across the United States currently engaged in mask mandates, vaccine mandates, and lockdowns,” Shapiro argued when asked to defend the premise of his book, “The Authoritarian Moment,” against accusations that the Republicans, not the Democrats, were working to limit freedoms and undermine democracy.
After pointing out that, contrary to the behavior of leftists, Donald Trump isn't in power and #Tucker only went to the small country of Hungary, "people are actually experiencing top-down control from the government," which, as per the balance of power, are all Democrats. pic.twitter.com/YhV3hn62mG
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 7, 2021
He went on to point out that Americans are clearly responding to the Democrats’ heavy-handed policy — and that the Democrats should expect to learn how Americans feel about COVID-related restrictions in the mid-term elections.
When Nance tried to suggest Republicans had “cozied up” to dictators, Shapiro fired back, reminding the MSNBC contributor that former President Barack Obama stood alongside the head of Cuba’s oppressive regime, even attending a baseball game with Raul Castro, brother and successor to the brutal Fidel Castro.
And when asked to illustrate how the right and the left differ in their approach to control, Shapiro used Nance’s own history against him.
After falsely claiming 40,000 people stormed the Capitol on 1/6, @BenShapiro SCHOOLS Malcom Nance's nonsense and dangerous conflation of all right-of-center Americans as terrorists.
Shapiro THEN points out that Nance has called him a "racist" who should be banned from D.C. pic.twitter.com/hgkr22uU08
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 7, 2021
“You’ve tweeted about me, for example, that I’m such a racist I shouldn’t be allowed in Washington, D.C. That sounds rather authoritarian in attitude to me,” Shapiro added. “I’ve never called for you to be kicked off of MSNBC; I’ve never called for anybody not to buy your book.”
Shapiro’s best moments, though, came on the subject of Critical Race Theory, a controversial method of viewing American history through the lens of oppression. In just 65 seconds, Shapiro masterfully dismantled CRT, laying it bare substantively and succinctly.
WATCH: In only 65 seconds, @BenShapiro gives the best and most substantive definition of critical race theory you'll ever hear or read. pic.twitter.com/7pXXIxQHo6
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 7, 2021
Critical Race Theory at its core, Shapiro noted, teaches that “all disparity equals discrimination.”
When Nance said that he agreed with the precepts of Critical Race Theory, Shapiro was ready with an answer.
“You seem to be a pretty good beneficiary of the meritocracy because you have merit,” Shapiro told Nance. “If you’re going to criticize the meritocracy as an outgrowth of white supremacy, then you’re going to have to tear down the system you’ve succeeded in.”
Nance could only claim, then, that “Critical Race Theory,” as a term, had been “hijacked and been framed” by the right as a negative, like “Defund the Police” — another concept that the left both embraces and denies embracing.
In a statement to media following the broadcast, Shapiro said he hoped his appearance laid bare the reality of the left’s authoritarianism.
“Tonight, Americans will see the reason the Left plays semantic games when it comes to critical race theory: because when advocates for CRT are confronted with the overt racism of the program, they can’t defend it,” Shapiro said.
“If we’re going to talk about authoritarianism, we must look at who holds institutional power,” he continued. “The simple fact is that the Left controls the commanding heights of our media, social media, corporate world, scientific institutions, and bureaucracy — as well as the House, Senate, and presidency, at least for now. Americans can feel the danger of creeping authoritarianism each and every day, from evidence-free mask mandates to social media crackdowns on dissent to admittedly unconstitutional edicts from the White House.”