At Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest conference on Thursday night, prominent conservative voices Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson engaged in a heated public clash. Shapiro took direct aim at Carlson for platforming controversial figures like white nationalist Nick Fuentes and influencer Andrew Tate on his show, accusing him of moral failure.
Shapiro repeatedly invoked Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder assassinated in September, to underscore his point. He labeled members of the conservative movement as “charlatans,” “frauds,” and “grifters,” reserving his sharpest criticism for Carlson’s guest choices.
“[Kirk] knew that Nick Fuentes is an evil troll and that building him up is an act of moral imbecility, and that is precisely what Tucker Carlson did,” Shapiro declared. “He built Nick Fuentes up, and he ought to take responsibility for that, just as he ought to take responsibility for glazing pornographer and alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate.”
The exchange highlighted deepening fractures within the conservative sphere, with Shapiro positioning himself as a defender of principled boundaries amid rising tolerance for fringe voices.
🚨 Ben Shapiro goes SCORCHED EARTH at TPUSA on “frauds”, “grifters”, and “charlatans” Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens
He blasts Megyn Kelly for her “cowardice” for refusing to stand up for the truth and condemn Candace’s conspiracy theories and lies
Watch every second of this pic.twitter.com/j7LvZFBDJN
— Ryan Saavedra (@RyanSaavedra) December 19, 2025