Podcast Summary: Part Of The Problem – "The TP USA Spectacle"

Host: Dave Smith (w/ Rob Bernstein)
Date: December 23, 2025
Main Theme:
Dave Smith and Rob Bernstein examine the fallout from the Turning Point USA (TP USA) conference, highlighting deepening rifts in the American right over Israel, censorship, and the demand for ideological conformity. They dissect Ben Shapiro's contentious keynote address, reactions from the conference's other major voices, and the implications for the future of right-wing politics.

Episode Overview

This episode delves into the spectacle of the recent TP USA conference, focusing on the ideological battle lines drawn around Israel and the culture of calling for public denunciations within the conservative movement. Dave and Rob specifically analyze Ben Shapiro’s keynote speech, the reactions from other speakers like Tucker Carlson and J.D. Vance, and what these dynamics reveal about the shifting ground on the American right.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dave’s Battle with the Flu and Quick Intro [00:36–03:59]

• Dave kicks off by recounting his recent illness, establishing a casual, self-deprecating tone.
• Rob jokes about Dave’s "flu flight" and being "unvaccinated," drawing analogies to childhood toughness and fatherhood.
• They quickly pivot to Rob’s comedy tour update and minor plugs for their own projects.

2. Trump’s (Non-)Announcement on Venezuela [03:59–08:28]

• BG: After rumors (fueled by sources and media figures like Tucker Carlson and Dave DeCamp) that Trump would announce military action against Venezuela, the actual address turns out to be a non-announcement, focused on the economy.
• Dave expresses exasperation at Trump’s "trolling" style and the rollercoaster of speculation:
  “Donald Trump's just gotten to a point with me... I'm just over this shit, dude...” [06:20]
• Compares Trump’s tactics to a scene from "The Office" where a prank leads to unnecessary panic.

3. Motivations Behind US Policy on Venezuela & Cuba [08:28–13:58]

• Rob speculates Trump’s team floats war rumors to test reactions.
• Dave references Scott Horton’s book Provoked, noting "legacy-building" and personal incentives often drive foreign policy decisions, not national interest.
• Pinpoints Marco Rubio as the biggest US driver on Venezuela policy, highlighting the outsized influence of individual actors:

  "Marco Rubio's Cuban. This is my point. That's what I'm getting to with all of this… they had to give him some toy to chew on and it happens to be Venezuela." [12:07]

• Discussion expands to the cynical use of humanitarian or narco narratives as cover for interventionism.

4. The Drug Pretext for War & Cynicism of War Justifications [13:58–15:03]

• Rob mocks the flimsy justification of military action to "save America’s drug addicts," drawing a sharp line between compelling national security arguments and contrived pretexts.
• Dave draws parallels to Iraq—multiple shifting rationales for intervention signal bad faith:

  "Why do you need seven different things if the first one wasn’t bullshit?" [15:17]

5. Responding to Online Criticism & War Footing with Iran [15:03–16:42]

• Dave addresses critics who attacked him for a now-deleted tweet about an imminent Venezuela escalation, emphasizing the absurdity of being "wrong" for being preemptively cautious against war.
• Reveals: Netanyahu meeting with Trump soon, reportedly to push for US strikes on Iran.

The Turning Point USA Conference: Main Event

6. The TP USA Divide and Ben Shapiro’s Keynote [16:42–24:41]

• Context: TP USA event showcases deep right-wing splits, particularly over Israel and demands for denouncements of figures like Candace Owens and Nick Fuentes.
• Dave sets up Ben Shapiro’s opening speech as overtly self-righteous and combative: "He just starts off the event by just chastising everybody in the whiniest possible manner for not condemning Candace Owens and Nick Fuentes…" [22:49]
• Rob notes Shapiro dispenses good advice about truth, but is hypocritical, ignoring his own biases on Israel and COVID.

7. The "Truth" Rhetoric and Dismissal of Dissent [24:41–27:52]

• The hosts compare Shapiro’s "truth arbiter" position to CNN’s notorious "this is an apple" campaign.
• Quote [Ben Shapiro, 26:52]:

  "If Candace Owens decides to spend every day since the murder of Charlie Kirk... to cast aspersions... or outright claim complicity in a cover up... then we as people with a microphone have a moral obligation to call that out by name."

• Dave argues this is a tactic to avoid substantive policy debates—especially on US support for Israel:

  "These guys want to talk about anything except the issue…” [27:52]

• Calls out Shapiro’s shifting argumentation and focus on character attacks instead of policy debate.

8. Denunciation and Forced Conformity [27:52–38:56]

• Rob likens the right’s calls for public denunciations to woke demands for anti-racism.
• Dave expands the critique:
  "You have a moral obligation to denounce any of the people who oppose this gigantic regime..." [44:58]
• Critique of the tactic of shutting down discussion by labeling dissenters with accusations (anti-Semitism, conspiracy thinking).

Notable Moment [32:38] — Dave on Standpoint Censorship

"Why am I supposed to help you do that, when I disagree with the policy to begin with?”

9. Ben Shapiro’s Hypocrisy on Liberty & Truth [43:23–46:38]

• Ben Shapiro claims TP USA’s mission is "freedom, free markets and limited government."
• Dave flames the contradiction that supporting a vast US empire and interventionism is fundamentally opposed to libertarian principles:

  "You don’t believe in liberty or free markets, because we couldn’t be a world empire that would prop up Israel if we had that…" [44:37]

• Rob:

  "Limited government with a carve out for wars..." [44:41]

10. The Debate Challenge and Right-Wing Influence [53:09–58:14]

• Observes Shapiro’s plummeting grassroots relevance, especially compared to surging voices like Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, and Nick Fuentes.
• Dave:

  "Ben Shapiro was so huge and he’s fallen so far from where he was… Ben Shapiro was getting tens of millions of views on videos before me and you ever hit 10,000…" [53:09]

• Notes that Shapiro doesn’t engage in actual debate with these rising stars, instead resorting to decree and censure.

11. J.D. Vance’s Crucial Statement at TP USA [62:57–65:10]

• J.D. Vance pointedly refuses to play the denunciation game in his speech:

  [J.D. Vance, 63:00] "I didn’t bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to deplatform. ...The best way to honor Charlie is that none of us here should be doing something after Charlie’s death that he himself refused to do in life."

• Dave sees this as Vance siding, if subtly, with the side of debate and inclusion, rather than Shapiro’s call-out approach.
• Rob notes Vance’s careful language: it’s a bit of politician-speak, avoiding specifics about Israel or Nick Fuentes, but still a clear rebuke of the denouncement culture.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Dave Smith

• "You don't get to just put yourself in this chair like up here on a mountain where you're the arbiter of what everybody else is supposed to talk about. How about fuck you.” [31:40]
• "If you want to ask me, like, if you want to be an adult and treat me like an equal and look me in the eyes and ask me how I feel about something, I will gladly tell you. Criticize me for all the things you want… But the fact that you need me to go denounce somebody else when it’s already clear where we disagree, that’s just lame.” [41:35]

Rob Bernstein

• "It’s the Ben Shapiro censorship tour." [51:42]
• "Limited government with a carve out for wars..." [44:41]

Ben Shapiro (from the conference)

• "The conservative movement is also in danger from charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle, but actually traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty... These people are frauds, they are grifters, and they do not deserve your time." [46:38]

Important Timestamps

• 03:59 — Trump’s rumored Venezuela announcement and what really happened
• 08:28 — Rubio’s Venezuela obsession; personal incentives in foreign policy
• 13:58 — Ridicule of war over drugs; comparison to Iraq
• 22:43 — Breakdown of Ben Shapiro’s TP USA lecture
• 26:52 — Ben Shapiro denounces Candace Owens and “conspiracists”
• 32:38 — Dave’s critique: "Why am I supposed to help you do that…?"
• 41:35 — Refusal of denunciation on command
• 43:23 — Shapiro appropriates classical liberal language
• 44:41 — Rob: "Limited government with a carve out for wars"
• 46:38 — Shapiro’s generic “truth” rhetoric
• 53:09 — Shapiro’s waning influence
• 63:00 — J.D. Vance’s refusal to denounce fellow conservatives

Final Analysis: What Does This All Mean?

• The conference exposed the increasingly unbridgeable divide on the right over foreign policy, the Israel issue, and the morality of public denunciations as a tool for ideological policing.
• Dave and Rob side strongly with pluralism and real debate, castigating both the Zionist camp’s focus on hall-monitoring and the right’s drift towards tactics that echo the worst of woke culture.
• J.D. Vance is seen as tentatively siding with the inclusive, anti-denouncement contingent but is also walking a tightrope between the base and donor class.
• The episode closes out with an overarching sense that new power centers on the right are emerging—and Shapiro’s old-guard tactics are increasingly unpopular with the grassroots.

Summary Verdict:
A sharp, irreverent breakdown of the new conservative civil war: celebrity dogmas, calls for ideological purity, and a fight over what future the movement will choose—open debate or top-down enforcement. Essential listening for anyone tracking the post-2024 American right.