Is Ben Shapiro a Trump Supporter? He's Publicly Criticized and Praised the POTUS

Conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro has made a name for himself ever since, at age 17, he became the youngest nationally syndicated columnist in the U.S. These days, Ben is the editor-in-chief for The Daily Wire, hosts The Ben Shapiro Show, and writes columns for Newsweek and Creators Syndicate.

The former Breitbart News editor-at-large was vocal about not voting for Trump in 2016 — so plenty of people are wondering about his voting plans for 2020. Is Ben Shapiro a Trump supporter?

Ben was among a subset of Republicans who publicly criticized Donald Trump's candidacy the first time around; he actually supported Ted Cruz during the 2016 presidential election. When it came time to cast his ballot, he voted for neither for Trump nor for Hillary Clinton.

He even resigned from his Breitbart position when the publication's management refused to support its report, Michelle Fields, during a dispute with Trump's then campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski.

Since Trump was elected president, Ben seems to have gradually changed his tone about the controversial POTUS. Although he disagrees with how Trump approaches certain things, Ben seems to mostly agree with Trump's policy.

In October 2018, he criticized Trump's villainization of the press via Twitter, writing, "This 'enemy of the people' stuff has to stop, but it won't."

In April 2019, Ben gave both positive and negative feedback about Trump's presidential performance. "So defending the basic idea that America is good is certainly a positive thing, and that's something President Trump has done," he told Hill.TV. "The sort of divisive way in which he has done it is not nearly as helpful, I think." 

"The truth is, I think that President Trump in terms of the philosophy is basically [in] a holding pattern," he continued. "I don't think that he is pushing back forcefully in terms of the philosophies of Western civilization, he just doesn't really know enough to speak deeply to these principles."

Ben added, "On policy, obviously, he's doing a lot to push back against leftism, and I think that's great, I mean I like President Trump on policy a lot, but in terms of the educational mission, he's I just don't think qualified to really speak to the foundations of Western civilization."

By June 2020, Ben revealed his thoughts on the outcome of the 2020 election, as well as for whom he planned on voting.

"I think that a lot of Republicans will end up coming home, right. A lot of Republicans will say, 'Hey listen, at least it ain't gonna be Biden,'" he said on The Ben Shapiro Show. "But are people, like, pumped to go to the polls? Is the enthusiasm super high? I would say not."

Ben continued, "I mean, I've been seeing people who have been longtime Trump fans who are saying, 'Where is he? This is not what we bargained for.' ... Again, that doesn't mean you shouldn't vote for him. I'm planning on voting for him."

On Sept. 9, Ben tweeted in reaction to a Norwegian official having nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. "Fact: Trump deserves the Nobel far more than did Obama, who won one for the great accomplishment of being a breathing human."

Well, there you have it. It seems that, although Ben Shapiro was staunchly against President Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign, the conservation political commentator has grown to appreciate many of his policies even if he's often not fond of the POTUS's rhetoric. 

So yes. Considering Ben has publicly stated that he plans on voting for Trump on Election Day 2020, it's safe to say that he's a Trump supporter — albeit a reluctant one at times.