Daily Wire host Matt Walsh addressed the meltdown over his colleague Ben Shapiro’s presence at a podcast event in Dallas earlier this week, pointing to what the incident says about today’s political climate.
Podcast Movement, a group that hosts the world’s largest annual conference for the podcast industry, issued an apology Thursday after one event attender complained on social media that Shapiro was allowed to show his face at the venue. Walsh explained on Friday’s episode of “The Matt Walsh Show” that the outrage and ensuing apology from Podcast Movement shows a much deeper problem among the Left’s intolerance of conservative voices.
“Our sin is that we are conservative and wildly successful. That’s why they can’t stand us,” Walsh said, “In fact, they’re more than happy to have conservatives who are in these same spaces but are not successful … but to be successful in their space, and to be more successful than them, that’s unthinkable.”
“What happened yesterday represents an escalation beyond all of that. It’s not simply Ben’s opinions that are dangerous now. It is his presence. His existence in physical space is harmful and painful,” Walsh added.
Shapiro stopped at the event Wednesday where The Daily Wire had set up a booth. The Daily Wire co-founder was seen chatting with event-goers as many asked to take a picture with him, but one person in attendance was triggered by the mere presence of Shapiro and complained to Podcast Movement on Twitter.
WARNING: Some viewers may find the following video of @benshapiro at @PodcastMovement disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised. pic.twitter.com/hBL7kT8y7G
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) August 25, 2022
Podcast Movement, a group that claims to embrace diversity, wrote in its apology that Shapiro’s presence caused “harm” to some in attendance and promised to be “more careful” when considering sponsors in the future.
“Hi folks, we owe you an apology before sessions kick off for the day,” Podcast Movement tweeted Thursday morning. “Yesterday afternoon, Ben Shapiro briefly visited the PM22 expo area near The Daily Wire booth. Though he was not registered or expected, we take full responsibility for the harm done by his presence.”
Walsh said the apology “may go down in history as the most pathetic apology of all time.” He then explained that if people go to a podcasting conference, they should want to learn from successful podcasters, regardless of political disagreements.
“The point here is that if you’re a podcaster attending a podcasting convention with podcasting talks and workshops, you should want us there,” Walsh remarked. “You should be coming up to us for podcasting classes. You should be asking us to teach our secrets. If you see Ben Shapiro walking around, you should be coming to him for advice, not running away in fear with your hands over your ears.”