65 Facts About Ben Shapiro

Benjamin Aaron Shapiro was born on January 15,1984 and is an American conservative political commentator, media proprietor, and attorney.

Ben Shapiro writes columns for Creators Syndicate, Newsweek, and Ami Magazine, and serves as editor emeritus for The Daily Wire, which he co-founded in 2015.

Shapiro is the host of The Ben Shapiro Show, a daily political podcast and live radio show.

Ben Shapiro was editor-at-large of Breitbart News from 2012 until his resignation in 2016.

Ben Shapiro started playing violin at a young age and performed at the Israel Bonds Banquet in 1996 at age 12.

Ben Shapiro's mother was a TV company executive, and his father, David Shapiro, worked as a composer.

Ben Shapiro then attended Harvard Law School, where he studied under liberal law professors Lani Guinier and Randall Kennedy.

Ben Shapiro started a nationally syndicated column when he was 17, becoming the youngest nationally syndicated columnist in the United States, and had written two books by age 21.

Ben Shapiro became a fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center.

In 2019, Ben Shapiro published the book The Right Side of History: How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great, which focuses on the importance of Judeo-Christian values and laments their decline in modern America.

In 2021, Ben Shapiro published the book The Authoritarian Moment, which argues that there is no pressing authoritarian threat in US politics from the right wing.

In 2012, Ben Shapiro became editor-at-large of Breitbart News, a rightist website founded by Andrew Breitbart.

On February 7,2013, Ben Shapiro published an article claiming Senate sources indicated a group called "Friends of Hamas" was a foreign contributor to Chuck Hagel's Senate confirmation campaign for US Secretary of Defense.

In March 2016, Ben Shapiro resigned from his position as editor-at-large of Breitbart News following what he characterized as the website's lack of support for reporter Michelle Fields in response to her alleged assault by Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump's former campaign manager, in spite of video and eyewitness evidence of the assault.

In 2012, Ben Shapiro joined KRLA-AM 870 as a host on their morning radio program alongside Heidi Harris and Brian Whitman.

Internal emails showed that Ben Shapiro faced pressure from Salem Media executives, the syndicate that owned the show, to be more supportive of Donald Trump during the 2016 United States presidential election.

Ben Shapiro remained highly critical of Trump throughout the election.

Ben Shapiro serves as editor emeritus as well as the host of his online political podcast The Ben Shapiro Show, which is broadcast every weekday.

In June 2020, Ben Shapiro stepped down from his role as editor-in-chief, which he had held since the site's founding, and took on the role of editor emeritus.

In 2021, Ben Shapiro's podcast was ranked 9th most listened to on Apple podcasts.

Ben Shapiro spoke at 37 campuses between early 2016 and late 2017.

Some students and faculty members at California State University, Los Angeles objected to a speech that Ben Shapiro, who was then an editor at Breitbart News, was scheduled to hold at the university on February 25,2016, titled "When Diversity Becomes a Problem".

When Ben Shapiro began his speech, a protester pulled the fire alarm.

On September 14,2017, Ben Shapiro gave a speech at the invitation of the University of California, Berkeley student organization Berkeley College Republicans, in which he criticized identity politics.

On January 14,2021, Ben Shapiro was featured as a guest writer for Politico Playbook newsletter, where he defended House Republicans who opposed the second impeachment of Donald Trump.

Ben Shapiro cameoed in The Daily Wire film Lady Ballers that was released December 1,2023.

On January 26,2024, he appeared alongside artist Tom MacDonald in the music video for MacDonald's rap song "Facts", which Ben Shapiro is featured on.

Ben Shapiro has described the political left as believing in an imaginary "hierarchy of victimhood" in which the opinions of members of persecuted groups like the LGBT community are afforded more credence.

Ben Shapiro 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 2016.

Ben Shapiro is an outspoken opponent of safe spaces, especially those on college campuses, arguing that they go against free speech.

Ben Shapiro has further clarified that this includes extreme cases of mental illness where the life of the mother is at risk due to suicide.

Ben Shapiro believes that doctors who perform abortions should be prosecuted.

Ben Shapiro has referred to women who have abortions as "baby killers".

In 2019, Ben Shapiro spoke at the annual March for Life in Washington, DC, where he said abortion is a "violent act".

Ben Shapiro has been a target of online harassment and antisemitic threats from the alt-right.

Ben Shapiro is an advocate of capital punishment and "strongly" supports it remaining legal in the United States.

Ben Shapiro supported Ted Cruz in the 2016 presidential election and opposed Trump's candidacy.

Ben Shapiro supported the Trump administration's ordering of the killing of Qasem Soleimani, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, as well as the nominations of Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

Ben Shapiro supported Trump withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, cutting regulations, and his nomination of 12 appellate court judges.

However, Ben Shapiro criticized Trump for firing James Comey, for appointing Michael Flynn and Steve Bannon, and for endorsing Roy Moore.

In 2024, during 2024 Republican primaries, Ben Shapiro favored Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over Trump but later supported Trump after DeSantis dropped out of the primary.

Ben Shapiro has backed privatizing Social Security, and for lowering taxes on the very wealthy.

In 2018, Ben Shapiro argued that Facebook was targeting conservative sites after the platform implemented an algorithm change, limiting their traffic, and that they are not transparent enough.

In 2010, Ben Shapiro argued that homosexuality should not have been removed as a mental illness from the DSM because homosexuals have higher rates of depression than heterosexuals and do not reproduce.

Ben Shapiro has said that "a man and a woman do a better job of raising a child than two men or two women".

In 2021, Ben Shapiro said that he was in favor of the COVID-19 vaccine and that he was vaccinated, but is against COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Ben Shapiro later reversed his view on the West Bank issue, saying it was "both inhumane and impractical".

Ben Shapiro later stated that he was talking about the Israeli and Arab leadership, as well as terrorist groups in Palestine.

Ben Shapiro criticized the media coverage of the crisis, labeling it as "absurd" and specifically criticized The New York Times for its opinion article featuring a Palestinian writer titled "The Myth of Coexistence in Israel".

Ben Shapiro responded "I don't just condone [their] actions, I celebrate and laud them".

Ben Shapiro declared that "One American soldier is worth far more than an Afghan civilian", accusing Afghan civilians of being "fundamentalist Muslims" who provide cover for terrorists or give them money.

Ben Shapiro later apologized for these comments, stating that the 2002 article was "just a bad piece, plain and simple, and something I wish I'd never written".

Ben Shapiro has stated that, while African-Americans were historically victims of injustice in the United States, he does not believe in the existence of widespread systemic injustice today.

Ben Shapiro was one of several conservative commentators condemning Representative Steve King after King's January 2019 comments in defense of the terms "white supremacy" and "white nationalism".

Ben Shapiro called for King to be censured, and supported King's 2020 primary challenger Randy Feenstra.

On March 4,2025, Ben Shapiro launched a website urging President Trump to pardon Chauvin, though this would not cover Chauvin's state conviction for second-degree murder, for which he is serving a 22.5-year sentence.

In October 2022, Ben Shapiro condemned Kanye West's antisemitic comments, comparing them to propaganda in Nazi Germany.

Ben Shapiro condemned the attack and said he did not incite the shooting.

In 2006, Ben Shapiro called for sedition laws to be reinstated.

Ben Shapiro cited speeches critical of the George W Bush administration by Democrats Al Gore, John Kerry and Howard Dean as "disloyal" and seditious.

In 2008, Ben Shapiro married Mor Toledano, an Israeli medical doctor of Moroccan descent, and they lived in Los Angeles.

In September 2020, Ben Shapiro announced that he and his family were leaving California.

Ben Shapiro's sister, Abigail Ben Shapiro, who studied operatic singing, is a conservative media influencer who posts videos on her YouTube channel "Classically Abby".

Ben Shapiro has been subjected to online antisemitic trolling due to her brother's high public profile.

Ben Shapiro is a cousin of Mara Wilson, who has disavowed him due to their differing political beliefs: Ben Shapiro has conservative views, while Wilson has left-wing beliefs.