Turning Point USA/The Megyn Kelly Show
Conservative commentator Megyn Kelly blamed Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro and CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss for rising anti-Semitism on Monday, accusing them of “making anti-Semites” with their attempts to censor discussion about Israel.
During an interview with Vanity Fair Washington correspondent and former Mediaite editor-in-chief Aidan McLaughlin, Kelly acknowledged that “the country is turning” and that “young Republicans are turning on Israel.”
“She argued that figures like Shapiro and Weiss are actually fueling the rise of antisemitism through their attempts to censor criticism of Israel,” reported McLaughlin, who spoke to Kelly after she delivered a speech responding to Shapiro’s attack on her and other prominent conservatives at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest.
She told McLaughlin, “They are making antisemites… Tucker is not making antisemites. They are.”
Kelly likened Shapiro’s demand that conservatives condemn Candace Owens and other commentators who criticize Israel to left-wing purity tests and virtue-signalling.
“I never posted the black square and I never raised my fist at a restaurant,” she said, in reference to the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. “And I’m certainly not going to condemn the people Ben Shapiro demands I condemn in order to be in his imaginary club. ‘Denounce, denounce, condemn, disassociate.’ F*ck you!”
Kelly also accused Shapiro of being Israel first and confessed that his unexpected attack on her “felt like a betrayal by a friend.”
“Ben is Israel first,” she said. “And I’m sorry, but his behavior has proven that charge to be correct. Why would you divide the American conservative movement—which was gelling, which was becoming much more cohesive for a moment after Charlie died—over Israel!”
Shapiro lashed out at Kelly, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, and former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest on Thursday, despite the fact that all three were also speaking at the event.
After referring to Kelly as a “friend,” Shapiro accused her of “moral and logical absurdity” and “cowardice” for refusing to sufficiently disavow Owens.
Shapiro’s bridge-burning speech was praised by CBS News’ Bari Weiss, who commented, “Only Cowards Tolerate Conspiracy Theorists,” to which Kelly responded, “Only cowards take to the national stage or X to attack their ‘friends’ without so much as a phone call to discuss it. And also didn’t tag me bc she is afraid.”
