The establishment is already scheming to derail Vice President J.D. Vance’s expected 2028 Presidential campaign.
One Never Trumper is emerging as the leader of the Never Vance faction in the GOP.
And Ben Shapiro went nuclear on J.D. Vance in this unthinkable act of betrayal.
Podcaster Ben Shapiro anointed himself as the gatekeeper of the conservative movement and has spent months attempting to purge Trump supporters from the GOP for not agreeing with him on Israel and the war in Iran.
Shapiro declared he was Never Trump in 2016 and opposed Trump in 2024.
Now, Shapiro is positioning himself as the leading voice opposing J.D. Vance as part of the Never Trump faction in the GOP, plotting to restore Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Liz Cheney-types in control of the Republican Party in 2028.
Shapiro’s latest attack on Vance came after Vance said at a Turning Point USA event that he would recommend comedian Theo Von’s podcast as one young people should listen to.
Vonn hosts the number two podcast in America and endorsed Trump in 2024.
Trump’s appearances on shows like Von’s and Joe Rogan’s were central to his media strategy of reaching irregular voters, particularly young men.
That gamble paid off as support from podcasters like Rogan and Von helped Trump build the biggest Republican coalition since 1988 and win the popular vote.’
But now Shapiro wants to purge Von from the coalition because Von opposes the wars in Iran and Gaza.
On his show, Shapiro attacked Vance for defending Tucker Carlson’s place in the conservative movement and for promoting Von’s show.
“Back in December 2025, he said, quote, the idea that Tucker Carlson was one of the largest podcasts in the world, who has millions of listeners, who supported Trump in the 2024 election. The idea that his views are somehow completely anathema to conservatism, that he has no place in the conservative movement, is frankly absurd. And I don’t think anybody actually believes it,” Shapiro ranted.
Shapiro then claimed Vance was immoral for supporting Carlson and Von and that Vance was actively trying to make Americans’ lives worse by promoting their shows.
“Laughing along with the purveyors of bullsh*t while occasionally tut-tutting, and then when push comes to shove, defending the overall importance of grifters and nuts and even endorsing them, popularizes the worst ideas, and that matters. It matters because when these same figures push the demoralization op that America is run by nefarious forces beyond your control, when you prop up and promote those people who do that sort of stuff, you make people’s lives worse. You’re making American politics worse, and that does make the world a worse place. Terrible low IQ slop ideas have consequences. Stop burnishing them,” Shapiro concluded.
Shapiro’s rant is a preview of the attacks the GOP establishment will lob at Vance come 2028.
Will Shaprio and his establishment allies see more success with this plan to win control of the GOP than they did in 2016 or 2024?
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