page_title: Ben Shapiro
section_title: Political ideology
hierarchical_section_title: Ben Shapiro / Views / Political ideology
caption_attribution_description: English: Ben Shapiro speaking at Politicon in Pasadena, California
context_page_description: Benjamin Aaron Shapiro is an American conservative political commentator, media host, and attorney. At age 17, he became the youngest nationally syndicated columnist in the United States. He writes columns for Creators Syndicate and Newsweek, serves as editor-in-chief for The Daily Wire, which he founded, and hosts The Ben Shapiro Show, a daily political podcast and live radio show. An editor-at-large of Breitbart News between 2012 and 2016, he has written eleven books, the first being Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America's Youth and the latest being How to Destroy America in Three Easy Steps.
context_section_description: In 2016, Shapiro described himself as "basically a libertarian". The New Yorker, Haaretz and Vox have described Shapiro as "right-wing". Shapiro's views have been described by The New York Times as "extremely conservative". According to a 2020 study, The Ben Shapiro Show "offered a mainstream conservative perspective that favors President Donald Trump." 
  Shapiro accuses the left of believing in an imaginary "hierarchy of victimhood" in which the opinions of members of persecuted groups like the LGBT community are afforded more credence. He has argued that the left has dominated American culture through popular entertainment, media, and academia in a way that has made conservatives feel disenfranchised, and helped lead to the election of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
  Shapiro supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq, arguing that "China is a dictatorship. North Korea is a dictatorship. Saudi Arabia, Libya, Syria, Pakistan and Egypt are all dictatorships. We can't overthrow all of those regimes simply to free their citizens. We have to focus on those regimes that endanger American security."
  In 2006, Shapiro called for sedition laws to be reinstated. He cited speeches critical of the George W. Bush administration by Democrats Al Gore, John Kerry and Howard Dean as "disloyal" and seditious. Shapiro subsequently retracted these views in a 2018 column, stating that his 2006 column "absolutely blows. It's garbage" and adding that the idea of sedition laws was "inherently idiotic".  Shapiro later described President Barack Obama's 2010 State of the Union Address as "philosophically fascist."
  Shapiro has called for lowering taxes on the very wealthy. He has also backed privatizing Social Security and repealing the Affordable Care Act.
  Shapiro has acknowledged that climate change is occurring, but questioned "what percentage of global warming is attributable to human activity." Regarding sea-level rise as a result of climate change which will result in coastal property being flooded, Shapiro said, "You think people aren't just going to sell their homes and move?"
caption: Ben Shapiro speaking at Politicon in Pasadena, California in 2016
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