The ideological civil war inside the conservative movement exploded on the AmericaFest stage Friday night when Steve Bannon unloaded on Ben Shapiro, accusing the Daily Wire co-founder of being anti-MAGA, anti-Trump, and aligned with foreign-policy priorities that, in Bannon’s telling, put America last.
Bannon’s blistering takedown capped a chaotic, multi-day feud at Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest, where Shapiro had spoken the night before.
During his Thursday address, Shapiro castigated conservatives who declined to publicly condemn Candice Owens, saying their silence amounted to “cowardice,” and widened the blast radius by swiping at Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, and Steve Bannon as well.
STEVE BANNON: Ben Shapiro is like a cancer, and that cancer spreads. It's a cancer and it metastasizes. He tried to take over Breitbart and I ran him out of there. He tried to take over David Horowitz, who was his mentor.
Mark my word. He will make a move on Turning Point… pic.twitter.com/qyvbPYr9p8
— Bannon’s WarRoom (@Bannons_WarRoom) December 20, 2025