Ep. 2305 - “Rabbis For Mamdani” And Other Idiotic Ideas

Summary

The Ben Shapiro Show – Episode 2305: “Rabbis For Mamdani” And Other Idiotic Ideas

Host: Ben Shapiro (The Daily Wire)
Date: October 28, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode opens with Ben Shapiro analyzing the latest developments in the New York City mayoral race, specifically the tightening contest between former Governor Andrew Cuomo and progressive frontrunner Zohran Mamdani. Ben casts a critical, sarcastic eye on Mamdani’s campaign messages, the use of identity politics, and viral left-leaning social media moments—most notably, the “Rabbis for Mamdani” video, which Ben thoroughly ridicules. The episode also features an extensive segment on the government shutdown, with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson joining to discuss congressional gridlock and left-wing influence in the Democratic Party. The episode closes with a broader reflection on Western civilization, current American political culture, and an interview with Harvard’s Professor Hankins on the importance of historical literacy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. NYC Mayoral Race: Cuomo, Mamdani, and the State of the Left

(00:00–12:54)

• Poll Shifts:

  • Andrew Cuomo is closing the gap with Zohran Mamdani, now trailing by 10 points (44% Mamdani, 34% Cuomo, 11% Sliwa). Ben sees this as evidence both of Cuomo’s weaknesses and the fragmented opposition.
  • "If his [Sliwa's] vote share is larger than the margin of victory for Mamdani, there are going to be a lot of questions to be asked." — Ben Shapiro (01:19)

• Mamdani’s Messaging:

  • Ben critiques Mamdani for making his campaign about Islamophobia, following a controversy over Mamdani’s references to a relative impacted by post-9/11 bigotry.
  • "His final closing pitch is: why won’t you give me the mayoralty? And if you don’t, it’s because you’re mean to Muslims." — Ben Shapiro (03:56)

• Fact-Checking Mamdani:

  • Shapiro points out inconsistencies in Mamdani’s personal anecdotes, emphasizing a lack of transparency over whether the relative in question was really his aunt and her whereabouts during 9/11.

• Identity Politics Critique:

  • Ben scoffs at accusations of Islamophobia, arguing Mamdani is deflecting criticism by playing the victim.

  Notable Quotes

  • Zoran Mamdani:
    “For the takeaway from my more than 10 minute address about Islamophobia in this race… to be the question of my aunt tells you everything about Andrew Cuomo and his inability to reckon with a crisis.” (04:45)
  • Ben Shapiro:
    “It is the mark of a person who truly feels entitled to everything…” (05:14)

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2. Red-Green Alliance and Radical Rhetoric

(10:39–12:22)

• Mamdani’s 2023 Remarks:

  • Ben highlights Mamdani linking the struggles of New Yorkers to the Israeli IDF and capitalism, labeling it classic "red-green alliance" ideology (Marxism/Islamism).

    “When the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it's been laced by the IDF…”
    — Zoran Mamdani (10:39)

  • Shapiro interprets such remarks as antisemitic and conspiratorial:
    “It’s really the Jews in Israel who are tied to the capitalist interests in New York City.” (11:32)

• Vague Policy Promises:

  • Ben mocks Mamdani’s repeated buzzwords about “affordability” and rent freezes, suggesting Mamdani has neither specific plans nor realistic prospects for delivering on ambitious leftist promises.

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3. “Rabbis For Mamdani”: Viral Video and Identity Politics

(12:54–17:50)

• Viral Video Breakdown:

  • Ben plays and ridicules the “Rabbis for Mamdani” video, emphasizing that none of the speakers meet his definition of rabbinic authority and mocking their apparent lack of Jewish or religious content in their arguments for Mamdani.
  • “Not one of these people is a rabbi in any real sense… Trotting out your Jewish identity and wearing it as a costume. My identity is not your costume, ladies.” (14:21)
  • On the identity politics underpinning core left-wing coalitions: “The new core of the Democrat coalition is liberal white ladies and people who are angry about minority status [or] have grievances against the majority culture.” (18:41)

• Critique of Sincerity:

  • Ben accuses the “rabbis” of using Jewish identity superficially for political gain, drawing a sharp analogy to “as a Catholic, I love abortion”—demanding credibility and tradition, not mere self-assertion.

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4. Democrats, Radicalism, & Party Coalitions

(22:39–26:48)

• Democratic Leadership and Left-wing Pressure:

  • Ben highlights the progressive push within the Democratic Party—seen in both support for Mamdani and policy demands during the government shutdown.
  • Kathy Hochul is booed at a rally despite supporting Mamdani, underlining intra-party tensions.
  • Chuck Schumer is described as performing the “bidding of the AOC-Zohran Mamdani wing of his party.”

  Audio Clip:

  • Chuck Schumer accuses Trump of neglecting Americans while spending on dubious foreign priorities, but Ben emphasizes the tenuous logic and the political pain looming due to SNAP benefit cutoffs.

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5. Government Shutdown: Speaker Mike Johnson Interview

(28:14–40:54)

• Shutdown Dynamics:

  • Johnson argues Democrats are holding out due to left-wing fear, listing their “extreme” demands and accusing them of shutting the government over a “clean continuing resolution” for the first time in history.
  • “They are motivated by fear. They fear the radical left base, the Marxists in their party.” — Mike Johnson (29:07)
  • Johnson itemizes Democratic asks—restoring free healthcare for illegal immigrants, funding left-leaning causes overseas, and cutting rural health funding.

• Political and Practical Impacts:

  • Johnson and Ben agree that outside the DC/media bubble, the shutdown hasn’t yet hit most Americans—but warn that soon, unpaid military, SNAP benefit losses, and flight disruptions will hit home.
  • “These are young soldiers… they live paycheck to paycheck and they’re not going to get that paycheck because the Democrats are playing games.” — Mike Johnson (38:26)
  • Johnson predicts that Democrats are risking long-term political loss by surrendering to their radical base, calling the party’s leftward turn “political suicide.”

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6. The Decline of Historical Literacy & Western Civilization

(61:00–67:25)

• Professor Hankins Interview:
  • Ben and Professor Hankins discuss the new book “The Golden Thread,” aimed at reviving historical understanding of the West among younger generations.
  • Hankins decries the decline in historical knowledge among elite college students, warning “you can’t defend what you don’t know.”
  • “We are, unfortunately, in a clash of civilizations... The Chinese know about their civilization. The Muslims know about their civilization. We are unilaterally disarming…” — Professor Hankins (66:18)
  • Both agree: without knowledge of Western history, the U.S. risks losing cultural cohesion and resilience to bad actors or activists.

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7. Other Notable Moments & Quotes

(Throughout)

• On AOC’s Social Media Spat with Riley Gaines:
  Ben attacks AOC for belittling swimmer Riley Gaines, framing AOC as emblematic of an unserious, identity-obsessed new left.
• On “Saturday Night Live Skit” Politics:
  Ben repeatedly calls out the performative absurdity of both the “Rabbis for Mamdani” video and the Democratic Party’s current rhetorical and coalitional strategies.
• On “Third Term Trump” Panic:
  Ben debunks both right- and left-wing claims that Trump could run for a third term, calling it a clickbait distraction.

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Key Timestamps

• NYC Mayor Race & Mamdani Islamophobia Controversy: 00:00–06:31
• Mamdani’s 2023 “Red-Green” Alliance Rhetoric: 10:39–12:22
• “Rabbis For Mamdani” Video Segment: 16:50–17:50
• Democratic Party Leftward Drift & Shutdown Politics: 22:39–26:42
• Speaker Mike Johnson on the Shutdown: 28:14–40:54
• Decline of Historical Literacy (Prof. Hankins Interview): 61:00–67:25

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Memorable Quotes (with Attribution)

• Ben Shapiro:
  • “The real story is that if you don’t vote for Zor Momdani, it’s because you’re a big meanie who doesn’t like Muslims. You mean mean person, you.” (05:14)
  • “Rabbi means teacher. Not one of these people is a rabbi in any real sense.” (14:21)
  • “The new core of the Democrat coalition is liberal white ladies and people who are angry about minority status…” (18:41)
• Zoran Mamdani:
  • “For anyone to care about these issues, we have to make them hyperlocal… when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF.” (10:39)
• Speaker Mike Johnson:
  • “They care more about the Marxists and the pain they’ll endure from them than the pain they’re inflicting on the American people.” (29:08)
• Professor Hankins:
  • “We are, unfortunately, in a clash of civilizations… We are unilaterally disarming because our students know nothing about Western civilization. How are you supposed to love and defend something you know nothing about?” (66:18)

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Summary Takeaways

This episode is a sharp, fast-paced indictment of what Ben Shapiro sees as the intellectual, moral, and organizational collapse of both New York City’s politics and the Democratic Party as a whole. Highlighting identity politics, performative activism, and internal party divisions, he warns of the cultural and historical ignorance underlying progressive ascendancy. The conversation with Speaker Johnson underscores this dynamic at the federal level, especially in the context of the government shutdown. Finally, through Professor Hankins’ historical perspective, Ben connects today’s political turbulence to a loss of shared historical narrative, warning that “bad actors” are filling the resulting void.

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For listeners interested in the deeper cultural roots of current American polarization and the practical stakes of the NYC mayoral race and congressional negotiations, this episode gives a detailed, polemical, and sometimes caustic conservative analysis.

Transcript

[Ben Shapiro]

A ton. Coming up on today's show, new polls showing that Andrew Cuomo is closing the gap on Zorn Mamdani. What does that mean? Plus, we examine one of the more bizarre videos of the campaign season. Rabbis for Mamdani. Is that a real thing? Spoiler alert. Not so much. Plus, we're joined by the speaker of the House of Representatives about the government shutdown. First, less than two weeks ago, we launched our new flagship show, Friendly Fire, right here on Daily Wire. Plus, it's me, Matt Walsh, Michael Moles, Andrew Clavin coming together live to debate, discuss and yes, disagree on the biggest stories making headlines. In our very first episode, we dropped two massive announcements, the all new Daily Wire lifetime membership and the first look at our upcoming epic the Pendragon cycle. Tomorrow night, we're back with an all new live episode and more big announcements you're not going to want to miss. Plus, our deal of the decade is happening right now. Join Daily Wire plus for as little as $7 a month at DailyWire.com watch Friendly Fire live tomorrow night at 7pm Eastern on Daily Wire. Plus. Well, folks, there is some good news out of New York. Now, it's not enough good news out of New York, but it's some good news. Apparently there's a brand new poll in New York that shows that Cuomo is actually catching up to Zoran Mamdani. Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced former governor of New York who is really the only hope at stopping Zoran Mamdani in the New York mayoral race. Curtis Lewis sticking around for reasons unknown to anyone but himself and his family. Apparently this brand new poll that is out from Suffolk University shows that Mamdani no longer leads Cuomo by 20 points or 15 points. That lead is down to 10 and Mamdani is stuck at 44%. Now, typically when somebody wins that New York mayoral race, they win well over a majority. Here you have Mandani at 44, you have Cuomo at 34, and you have Sliwa at 11%. And so again, there's gonna be a lot of talk if Mandani ends up mayor about why Curtis Lewa stayed in the race. And this is not an anti Curtis point. This is just a reality point. Curtis Lea is not going to be the next mayor of New York. And if his vote share is larger than the margin of victory for Mandani, they're going to be a lot of questions to be asked. And again, the main question is going to be asked of Andrew Cuomo. Why is he such a terrible candidate? And there'll be big questions of the New York population. Why are you all insipid? But the real question for Sliwa is going to be why you didn't drop out. As David Paliologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research center, says, there's one person in New York City whose voters could have an outsized impact on the outcome, and it's Sliwa. So this is the first poll since Mayor Adams, Eric Adams dropped out of the race. Most of his support was led on over to Andrew Cuomo. It is also the second poll to show Cuomo narrowing the gap with Mamdani since Adams dropped out of the race. A lot of the opposition to Mom Donnie is materializing his support for Cuomo, which is precisely what you would expect, because again, it's not like Andrew Cuomo is any great shakes. Momdani is running a terrible final week of this campaign, truly an awful, awful final week of this campaign. He has decided that his closing message is going to be that New York City is famous for Islamophobia and if you don't elect him, it's because you don't like Muslims. Which is a wild statement in a city that suffered 9 11, where apparently the only victim of 9 11, according to Zoran Mamdani, was his not aunt. And I say not aunt advisedly because as it turns out, it was not in fact his aunt who was wearing some sort of hijab on the subway and somebody gave him a mean look. According to the New York Post, the aunt whose wrong mom, Donnie said was too afraid to wear her hijab on the subways after 911 is actually his father's cousin, a distant relative. In other words, how many of your father's cousins do you know? Like a lot of them. My parents have cousins and we know like maybe one. Maybe like that kind of strange. The socialist mayoral frontrunner made the revelation during a press conference Monday after critics pointed out that his actual aunt doesn't have a hijab and was in Tanzania during the time period he was talking about. So instead, he said, I was speaking about Zara Fuhi, my father's cousin who passed away a few years ago. That relative he affectionately called his aunt. Mamdani's campaign, however, did not provide the cousin's full name when asked, because if they did, then there might be some fact checking as to whether this person was in New York City at the time and whether this person was in fact subject to the predations of evil New Yorkers looking askance at hijab wearers on the New York subway system. And Zoramdani, who has spent his entire life being useless. And now his final closing pitch is why won't you give me the mayoralty? And if you don't, it's because you're mean to Muslims. That's the closing pitch. I mean that is the mark of a person who truly feels entitled to everything. Is that if you won't give him the mayoralty of the financial center of planet Earth, it must be not because he's a bad candidate, not because he's an out and out communist, not because he is a sympathizer with jihadists, but because you are mean to Muslims. So here is Zoramdani doubling, tripling down on this.

[Zoran Mamdani]

Yesterday I was speaking about my aunt. I was speaking about Zairafui, my father's cousin sadly passed away a few years ago. And for the takeaway from my more than 10 minute address about Islamophobia in this race and in this city, to be the question of my aunt tells you everything about Andrew Cuomo and his inability to reckon with a crisis.

[Ben Shapiro]

Ok, so it's a crisis of Islamophobia. Is, is, is what's happening here. And you even ask him questions about the identity of his aunt, his aunt, his father's cousin, who he won't even name. If you ask that question, it's because you must hate Muslims. It can't be because you doubt his honesty, because he is in fact a manufactured candidate who is smarmy and fake and smug in every single video of him with the bizarrely conjured emotional moments, with the strange smile that breaks out creepily on his face like an outtake from get out. Like it's it, it is, it is a very. He is a strange candidate, but if you ask questions, it's because you're being mean to him. And that's really the story, isn't it? The real story is that if you don't vote for Zorma Dani, it's because you're a big meanie who doesn't like Muslims. You mean mean person. You, you meanie, mean mc. Mean, mean person who you and your Islamophobia. Not voting for the guy who wants to nationalize resources, not voting for the guy who wants to spread every idiotic third grade secretary idea he ever had across America's most populous city. It's because you're mean. Why don't you just give it to him? Just give it to him. I mean he, he's, he's diverse. Give it to Him. And if you won't, it's because. Probably. Probably because you're. You're like a white supremacist or a Nazi or something. Here's Zoramdani.

[Zoran Mamdani]

This tells you everything you need to know about the Republican Party. At a time when 4 million Americans are in danger of losing their health care, we. When the federal government is choosing to price hungry Americans across this country out of their very groceries, their focus is to take on the Muslim guy who won the democratic primary by 13 points. This is a moment where active duty military families are lining up for food pantries across this entire country and for congresspeople in the Republican Party to see that and say that their answer to it is to try and nullify the results of an election. It tells you everything that you have to know.

[Ben Shapiro]

You're so mean. You're so mean. I mean, yes, he volunteered to run. Yes, he won the Democratic primary. Yes, he's very likely to be the next mayor of New York. But if you pay attention to that, you. What you should be paying attention to is all these other issues he wasn't talking about until five seconds ago. Look, Squirrel, seriously, what a sad, sad candidate he is. And it is a, it is a real statement about what a terrible candidate Andrew Cuomo is that he lost to the schmuck in a primary. Truly. Coming up, we're going to be joined by speaker of the House Mike Johnson to talk about this continuing government shutdown. First, have you ever heard of the audience effect? It's the psychological theory that every person's behavior changes when they know they're being watched. We become more rigid, more performative, even if there isn't anyone telling us what to do. The feeling of watching eyes alters the things we do and say, taking away just a little bit of our freedom without us even noticing. Here's the thing. We are being watched every time you use the Internet. Your ISP is recording everything you do online. Your Internet service provider watches what websites you go to, how much time you spend there. They can see everything you're doing, even if you're using a private browser. If you don't want to fall victim to this digital version of the audience effect, well, you don't have to. You can use ExpressVPN. With ExpressVPN, 100% of my online activity is rerouted through secure, encrypted servers. This makes it impossible for my ISP to see what I'm doing online. ExpressVPN also hides my IP address, the number that identifies you on the Internet. Data brokers use it to build a profile on you, then sell it to marketers and other companies. ExpressVPN is easy to use. It takes one click and it works on all of your devices. Phones, tablets, smart TVs, desktops. And you can have it on up to 14 devices all at once. So you can give the gift of privacy and freedom to your whole family. I'm using ExpressVPN for years whenever I'm traveling on public wi fi at an airport. ExpressVPN is making sure my Internet activity is safe right now. You can get an extra four months when you use my special link. Head on over to ExpressVPN.com men get four extra months of ExpressVPN. That's E-P-R-E S vpn.com SL Ben also think about this time of year always reminds me, you know, maybe take a moment, slow down. After a busy summer of work, travel, family activities, falls when I try to intentionally carve out time for the simple comforts of home. Quiet weekends, cozy evenings with loved ones, a bow and branch makes a huge difference in my sleep quality. Whenever I'm on the road and I don't have my Bowen Branch sheets, I just don't sleep as well because their stuff is in fact the best. Bowen Branches bed bundles are perfect for creating your own sanctuary of comfort. With just a click you get everything you need for an effortless bedroom upgrade from new sheets and blankets to a complete transformation. There's a bundle option for every kind of refresh and every kind of sleeper, whether you like things cool, cozy or super soft. And every bundle is made from the highest quality 100% organic cotton in durable customizable styles. Plus everything comes with a 30 night worry free guarantee so you can sleep confident you made the right choice for your home and your family. Bolt and branch makes upgrading your bed easier than ever with curated bundles for a sanctuary of comfort for a limited time, get 20% off bed bundles plus free shipping and returns at BollandBranch.com/Ben that's Boll and Branch B O L L A n d branch.com/Ben to save up to 20%. Exclusions apply. And just lest you lest you truly believe that Mamdani is some sort of soft hearted wonderful person, I'd just like to point out a clip of him from 2023. You want to know where his ideology comes from? His ideology is deeply, deeply ensconced in the Red green alliance that has characterized the wild left. The alliance between communists and radical jihadists that has characterized so much of the left these days is a clip from him in September 2023 explaining that basically his hatred for capitalism springs from his dislike of the quote, unquote, Zionist. Here we go.

[Zoran Mamdani]

The importance for me of international solidarity is that it takes me out of the American political landscape and reminds me just how tame some of the things are that I'm actually calling for. And it reminds me of the necessity of grounding ourselves in the struggles as opposed to the fights around the struggles. For anyone to care about these issues, we have to make them hyperloma. We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it's been laced by the idf. We are in a country where those connections abound, especially in New York City. You have so many opportunities to make clear the ways in which that struggle over there is tied to capitalist interest over here.

[Ben Shapiro]

So you see, it's really. It's really the Jews in Israel who are tied to the capitalist interests in New York City. And capitalism, of course, is bad. And if you missed it, he said, when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck has been laced by the IDF. This is not 15 years ago, gang. This is two years ago. He was a full grown ass man when he said this sort of stuff. And they're going to elect this guy mayor. But if you point this out, it's because you're mean, it's because you're Islamophobic in some way. Don't point that out. He's a nice man who only cares about affordability. In fact, he said yesterday he's going to deliver affordability. How is he going to deliver affordability? No one knows. But if he just says affordability over and over and over, then affordability will magically appear in New York City. It's like Beetlejuice. If you say affordability three times, then magically all of the rents go down. Why? It's amazing. It's like magic. He's a conjurer of affordability.

[Zoran Mamdani]

And I was proud to be on that stage alongside Senator Bernie Sanders, Congressman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Governor Kathy Hochul, Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins, and Assembly Speaker Carl Hasty. And what I asked of Those more than 10,000 New Yorkers yesterday was more. More door knocking, more phone banking, more commitment to this campaign that has already transformed our city and is on the verge of actually delivering affordability. And that is our message to New Yorkers with these final eight days.

[Ben Shapiro]

They're on the verge of delivering affordability. You know, just by Just by electing him, everything will become more affordable. Now maybe that's true because so many people will move out of the city to avoid his horrific tenure. That's possible. Maybe the real estate prices drop specifically because he's such a crap mayor that everybody who can afford to get out gets out and now there's some vacancy. Maybe. Or maybe he's making promises he can't actually cash. But that doesn't matter because understand Mamdani is a mood. And Mamdani is not an actual basket of policy priorities. Nobody knows what the hell he's talking about when he talks about how he's going to free freeze housing. He has no idea how he's going to actually be able to do that. He was quizzed by reporters over how he would specifically outmaneuver Mayor Eric Adams's latest plan to stack the Rent Guidelines Board with members who will tank his rent freeze proposal. And he said, we would use the full extent of powers that we would have as mayor with the Rent Guidelines Board. And when asked about how he would do that, he said, I continue to be confident of our ability to deliver a rent freeze and I continue to be confident that we will be able to match whatever last minute betrayal Eric Adams tries to concoct. Because we've seen it's not just that he's actively looking to betray New Yorkers. So the answer is he has no idea how he's going to do any of this. Because it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. The reason people support Mamdani is because he's fetch and he's brat. And apparently there are a lot of idiots in New York and those idiots in New York are fetching fully on board with the idea that if you don't vote for Zor Momdani, it must be because you are some sort of racist or because you hate gay people, or because you hate black people, or because you are are one of those capitalist tools. And this is why you have people. I, I, I, I can't even really describe them how they would like to be described. There's a video going around of people who call themselves rabbis supporting mom Donnie. Now I'm just going to point out here that not a single person here knows more about basic Jewish law or Jewish philosophy than my five year old. These people are a joke. Not one of these people is a rabbi in any real sense. Rabbi means teacher. The history of the Rabbinate goes back thousands of years. And you have to have like a baseline level of high learning in order to become A rabbi. Or at least you're supposed to. That's the basic idea. Also, in traditional Judaism, men are rabbis. Women can't become rabbis. There are other roles that women can fulfill. But putting aside the sex problem here, these women know less about judaism than my 5 year old. By leaps and bounds, there is no question this is the case. And so trotting out your Jewish identity and wearing it around as a costume. My identity is not your costume, ladies. Trotting around pretending that you are a rabbi in favor of Zoran Mamdani, a pro jihadi who pro Marxist, radical, betrays whatever supposed religion you profess to believe. These people are a joke. They are a joke. And the joke, by the way, becomes inherently funny because at the very end, it turns out that the only male rabbi in this particular video is a trans female at the very end, popping his head up to explain that as a trans female rabbi, who, by the way, openly says does not believe in God, is speaking on behalf of the Jews. Okay, the reason I point this out is because there are many idiots and crazy people all across the land and many of them reside in New York. I'm also pointing this out because if somebody like this ever says, as a Jew, if the only time you as a Jew is when you're supporting someone who legitimately hates Jews, then I don't believe you. I don't believe you. I think that what you are actually doing is just trying to claim minority status because you don't want to be labeled a liberal white lady, which is really what you are, unless you're a liberal white man pretending to be a liberal white lady. So this video is going viral yesterday for good reason. Because it's nuts. Or lack thereof. Or maybe including nuts, depending on where you are in the video. Here we go.

[Fake Rabbis Supporting Mamdani]

Hi, Rabbi.

[Ben Shapiro]

Hi, Rabbi. Hi, Rabbi, not rabbis. Hi.

[Fake Rabbis Supporting Mamdani]

I'm one of the thousands of Jewish New Yorkers who've been out door knocking and phone banking towards elect Zoran Mamdani. We're also rabbis.

[Ben Shapiro]

We know Zoran will fight to make our city affordable and safe for our families and for our neighbors.

[Fake Rabbis Supporting Mamdani]

We know that as New Yorkers, we're also just people who live here who.

[Ben Shapiro]

Don'T want to get priced out of.

[Fake Rabbis Supporting Mamdani]

This incredible city that we call home.

[Ben Shapiro]

We know fellow Jews want to be.

[Fake Rabbis Supporting Mamdani]

Able to afford housing, transportation, and childcare.

[Ben Shapiro]

For their families too. As Jews, as rabbis, as New Yorkers, we believe that all people deserve to thrive. Zoran agrees.

[Fake Rabbis Supporting Mamdani]

But let's get real. This isn't only about belief. It's about Action. So let's build a flourishing city together.

[Mike Johnson]

Let's elect Zoran.

[Ben Shapiro]

My favorite thing about that is that they come out and they're like, hi, Rabbi. Hi, Rabbi. Oh, look, we're all rapping, not rabbis, that we're all rabbis. And then the thing that they cite as the rationale for supporting Zoran Mamdani is not anything to do with Jewishness. It's because we want lower rent. First of all, you ain't going to get lower rent. Second of all, I mean, if you're going to do the identity politics things here, ladies, if this is your thing, if you're going to like do the as a Jew thing, you might want to make a reference to anything remotely relating to Jewishness as opposed to as a generic human. I want lower rent. As a rabbi. As a rabbi. Like, people are deservedly making fun of these people, and they should. But I suppose that this is the new core of the Democrat coalition. The new core of the Democrat coalition is liberal white ladies and people who are angry about minority status in the United States in some way or have grievances against the majority culture. I suppose. I mean, that's what the polls show. Because it turns out the native born New Yorkers are voting for Cuomo and the people who are voting for Mamdani tend to be immigrants, young and liberal white ladies who proclaim that they're rabbis. And again, in order for me to actually take seriously your claims of Jewishness, you have to show me a scintilla of Jewishness other than you claiming it. Like, I need to, I need to know what would make you. In the same way that if you claim, as a Catholic, I love abortion, I'd be like, well, you know, I'm going to need to see your credentials on that one. Just pathetic and deservedly being mocked. It's a Saturday Night Live skit. All right, coming up, AOC and Riley Gaines, they're going at it. AOC she really is kind of a terrible person. I mean, truly. 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That's free Premium Meals for Life by using code BEN FREE or heading on over to cookunity.com BEN FREE also, do you guys ever read protein bar labels and feel like you're just reading the ingredients to, you know, like a Hershey bar? Most health bars are packed with unnecessary sugar and chemicals. My team and I have tried countless bars that either tasted not great or left us hungry again within an hour. Luckily, we then found Equip Foods Prime Bar. It's the first of its kind Grass fed beef protein bar with only real food ingredients and absolutely nothing to hide with 20 grams of clean protein. Starting today, my listeners will receive an exclusive discount on Equips Prime Bar, which has become our team's favorite protein bar on the market with 20 grams of protein. And every bar is a lot of protein made with just 11 clean ingredients like collagen and colostrum. The These bars deliver 20 grams of grass fed beef protein without the bloat. They're free from whey seed oils and artificial additives and they're naturally sweetened with dates and honey so they taste like dessert without the guilt. Producer Justin he basically is chowing down on these all the time because, you know, we're constantly on the go. He needs his protein. If you want to try the cleanest protein bar on the market that already sold at Once, go to equipfoods.com Ben Shapiro use code Ben Shapiro at checkout to get 25% off one time purchases or 40% off your first subscription order for a limited time. That's E Q u I p foods.com Ben Shapiro use code Ben Shapiro at checkout. Speaking of Saturday Night Live skits, Kathy Hochul, who you remember, replaced Andrew Cuomo. She should be backing Andrew Cuomo because if it weren't for Andrew Cuomo, she wouldn't be governor of New York. Kathy Hochul ended up as governor of New York because Andrew Cuomo couldn't stop grabbing ass or killing old people. And he ran out of old people and she ended up becoming the governor of New York. Well, now she's endorsing Zoran Mandani and everyone booed her in the crowd, which is hilarious. And then she tried to interpret that as a chant in favor of the Buffalo Bills, which was awkward. Here's what it sounded like.

[Fake Rabbis Supporting Mamdani]

All right, I hear tax the rich.

[Ben Shapiro]

Tax the rich.

[Professor Hankins]

Yeah.

[Fake Rabbis Supporting Mamdani]

I thought they were saying, let's go Bills. I, I wasn't, I wasn't sure when you're up there. I heard some noise. I heard a lot of cheese tears. But later on it became clear to me that there is a, I know there's passion for that.

[Ben Shapiro]

So they booed her. And then they started chanting, tax the rich. That's what they're actually taxing. That's what they're actually chanting. And then mom Donnie came out, grabbed her hand, raised it and walked her out. Because everyone hates Kathy Hochul. But this is the nature of the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party is made up of a bunch of more traditional, they're still very, very left wings, more traditional liberals who are making way for the Marxists. Because every revolutionary movement is willing to break the movement in order to take over the movement. That's always the threat is that Mamdani and the rest of his Marxist pro jihadi crowd is going to break the movement in order to take over the movement, that they'll sit it out, that they won't get involved in politics anymore. And so constantly, because they're willing to make those sort of extreme threats about their own side, the liberals, the good little liberals are willing to pat them on the head and give them a hug and talk about how really, yeah, we don't agree with them. But really their great sin, if they have any sin, is that they're just too passionate. They're just too passionate. And this is why Democrats continue to maintain this ridiculous government shutdown. Truly ridiculous. It is old school mainstream left wingers who are doing the work of the radicals in their party because they're afraid that if they don't, then they'll get eaten. Led by Chuck Schumer. Now, again, Chuck Schumer has no interest in a government shutdown. Chuck Schumer knows this is dumb politics. We're about to hit the snap cutoff end of this week. And when that happens, 42 million Americans are going to be short on their food stamps. Now, again, it is insane that there are 42 million Americans on food stamps. That is a wild statistic. And the amount of government dependency in this country is just way too high, period. But they are, in fact dependent on food stamps. And when those cut off, there's going to be hell to pay for Democrats who won't just vote for continuing resolution. And yet Chuck Schumer continues to do the bidding of the AOC Zorn Momdhani wing of his party. Here was Chuck Schumer yesterday. The Senate minority leader.

[Chuck Schumer]

Donald Trump says there knows there's no money to pay hungry kids workers, but he's spending 40 billion to bail out Argentina. 300 billion on his vanity ballroom. 172 million on two luxury jets for Kristi Noem. Hundreds of millions, millions for outfitting his foreign jet. But nothing, nothing, nothing to help hungry kids. What war priorities, What a bubble this president lives in. Apart, away and not caring about the trauma the American people are facing when it comes to health care.

[Ben Shapiro]

So this is his pitch. His final pitch is Trump is doing a ballroom really like that. That's, that's going to explain why you're doing what you're doing. And then hilariously, Chuck Schumer's like, why does the president keep going on foreign trips? Maybe because he's doing things on those foreign trips, like, for example, finalizing a peace deal in Gaza and maybe in the region or going over to Malaysia to broker a peace deal over there. Like he's, he's supposed to what, sit home and stare at you? CHUCK Schumer. All right, here we go.

[Chuck Schumer]

Starting this Saturday, tens of millions of Americans face the specter of financial crisis, all while Donald Trump is dancing on the tarmac in Malaysia. Donald Trump may be having a nice time abroad, but people here at home are dreading dreading open enrollment.

[Ben Shapiro]

Oh, boy. Okay. Good luck with this. President Trump for his party says, listen, you guys want to keep going with this? Sure. But what you really want is just us to spend a bunch of money on illegal immigrants. The Democrats should just do a simple extension. That's the best way. The Democrats are holding it up. They want a $1.5 trillion for people that came out of prisons or illegal aliens that come into our country. We don't want to do that because.

[Zoran Mamdani]

That will help really hurt the health care that we have in our country.

[Ben Shapiro]

And, well, again, this seems like a bad move for Democrats. And in fact, according to Politico, the Democratic shutdown movement is fraying. According to Politico, Democrats grappled Monday with the first major fraying of their coalition amid the government shutdown, with a federal employee union calling for them to stand down. Four weeks into the standoff, there was no immediate surrender from party leaders, but the union's plea forced many Democratic lawmakers into a defensive crouch. Their number two Senate leaders said it would be subject of internal conversations this week with bipartisan talks all but ground to a halt. Senator Dick Durbin said it has a lot of impact. They've been our friends and he says Democrats take them seriously. The push by the American Federation of Government Employees for Congress to immediately pass a clean stopgap funding bill, which is exactly what Republicans are offering, is among a laundry list of pressure points that are bearing down on lawmakers. By the end of the week, snap runs out and Americans who get health insurance through Obamacare will confront premium spikes as open enrollment starts without a deal on how to extend soon to expire subsidies. Senator Mark Warner is showing some signs of caving. He is from Virginia. He says, I think we can still deal with health care and snap, but shutdown is a real challenge. Federal employees feel like they've been abused and it's going now weeks without pay. Asked whether the American Federation of Government Employees statement would change his position, he said, let's see. So the pressure is building on Democrats. It is quite possible that they fold this week, which again, they show this is a really stupid hill for them to die upon. Joining us online to discuss the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. Speaker Johnson, thanks so much for taking the time. Really appreciate it.

[Mike Johnson]

Hey, my friend, great to be with you as always.

[Ben Shapiro]

So let's talk about the status on the shutdown. Democrats seem continuously intransigent. Here we are now, multiple weeks into the shutdown. We're about to hit the snap cutoff in terms of funding for some 42 million Americans who are on snap, which is an insane number. Where do we stand right now?

[Mike Johnson]

Well, we stand in the same place we've been for 28 days. The Democrats are dug in in the Senate, and I think it's really important for all of us to analyze the simple facts. People forget the Democrats are out breathlessly stating that Republicans are in charge of government, so this must somehow be our fault. That's partially true, but we're not in charge of the Senate. You have to have 60 votes in the Senate. We only have 53 Republicans. So the simple, clear fact is we must have Democrats to reopen the government. The other fact is they've now voted 13 times to keep it closed. And the big question is why? Why would they be doing this? You know, Ben, I think the answer is very clear for anyone who's paying attention as exhib most recently by Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrat leader in the House's endorsement of Mandami in New York on Friday. They are motivated by fear. They fear the radical left base, the Marxists in their party. They know that they will be challenged for their own seats. It is their own political survival they have put in front of the needs and the desperate demands of the country. So they care more about the Marxist and the pain that they'll endure from them than the pain they're inflicting on the American people. And that's clear for everyone to see.

[Ben Shapiro]

Now, Speaker Johnson, one of the things that's really astonishing about all this is, of course, their list of demands basically just involves rolling back a bill that they lost. I mean, the one big, beautiful bill, which was a major legislative accomplishment by you and by Senate Majority Leader Thune and President Trump, they don't like it. And so now, I guess their goal is they want to roll back many provisions of the OBBB in order to, I suppose, achieve a victory they couldn't have achieved any other way. And they are holding up the workings of government in order to. In order to do this. I've never seen a shutdown where the side that was demanding change was not blamed for the shutdown. Typically speaking, the side that is calling for a continuing resolution is usually considered, properly, I think, by the American people to be the side that actually would like to keep the government open because it is just a continuation of government funding at current levels. It's Democrats who are demanding major changes. What are the major changes they're demanding here? For those unfamiliar, yeah, you're right on both counts.

[Mike Johnson]

First of all, this is the first time in history that any party has had the audacity to shut the government down over a clean, continued resolution. Clean cr. And that's really an important point. The Republicans are not demanding anything, Ben. This is Biden era policies and spending that we were made to continue until now. We're working through the appropriations process to change all those priorities, but we hadn't finished that, that, that process yet. And so the clean CR simply continues exactly what has been done. What the Democrats have already voted for, they have no excus. What they're doing. Again, motivated out of fear by the far left base. They can't face the angry mobs and the crowds and all of that, so they've decided to ask for the moon. And I mean, it's wild. Partisan spending priorities. Not only do they want us to restore free health care for illegal aliens paid for by US taxpayers to the tune of almost $200 billion, they also want to give back money to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, for example. They want a half a billion dollars to go to that cause. They want to, they want to give money to all these boondoggle foreign spending priorities. Again, I mean, it's crazy things. They want, you know, $4 million, for example, one of the line items that would go to lgbtq, whatever the acronym is, plus, okay, awareness campaigns in foreign countries. They want to spend money in the Horn of Africa to promote feminist ideals. I mean, all this kinds of stuff that the American people have had enough of during the DOGE effort early in this Congress and the administration, we recognized all the amazing abuses and fraud and waste that was being spent, and we fixed all that. They want to restore it. And by the way, they want to cut the $50 billion that Republicans put in that big bill to prop up our rural hospitals. They can't claim they're about health care. They want to take that away from red states and rural areas. So it's filled with all sorts of nonsense that they absolutely know, Ben, we could never go forward. And that is the point. They want to shut the government down because they think it's going to hurt President Trump and the Republicans. But the American people are smarter than they give them credit for.

[Ben Shapiro]

Now, Speaker Johnson, one of the things about this shutdown that I find fascinating is the amount of attention that's paid to the shutdown outside of the Beltway, outside of the media seems to be fairly low for most Americans, at least comparatively with other government shutdowns. I think part of that is because with Republicans in charge, there's been an attempt to mitigate the effects of the shutdown. Usually when Democrats are in charge, if there is some sort of shutdown, Democrats in the White House, Barack Obama did this. Joe Biden did the same thing. There is usually an attempt to maximize the amount of pain that Americans are suffering. So I'm old enough to remember when Barack Obama literally shut down outdoor World War II memorials that required no actual staffing in order to sort of maximize the pain that Americans were feeling over a government shutdown. Republicans seem to be trying to minimize that. There have been several bills that have been promoted in the House and the Senate that would have continued to pay members of the military, for example, would have continued to pay certain tranches of federal employees, keep the FAA working and all the rest. And Democrats keep shutting that down in an attempt to maximize the amount of pain. So in this situation, it's not just the Democrats are calling for changes. They are the ones who are attempting to maximize the pain from their own refusal to reopen the government.

[Mike Johnson]

Absolutely right. I mean, think of it as a control panel of dials. You know, that is at the White House in a shutdown situation, the executive branch has all those dials. You're right. Barack Obama turned them all up to level 10 immediately. I mean, remember, they put yellow red crime tape around the World War II memorial out on the National Mall. They wouldn't even let veterans who traveled into Washington get close to the memorial because they wanted it to hurt so badly. And unlike the Democrats, Republicans do not take pleasure in hurting the American people. I mean, you've heard them in their own words, say the quiet parts out loud. Chuck Schumer literally said here six or seven days ago that every day of the shutdown gets better for us, meaning his party. You had the number two ranked Democrats, Democrat in the House just the other day say, yeah, we, we understand it's going to cause pain, but that's the only, really, the only time we have leverage. They admit that they're doing this intentionally and that they want people to hurt. Conversely, you've got the President Trump, who doesn't want it. He's. He's moving money around, trying to find unobligated funds to cover troop pay and to cover SNAP benefits and all these other things. But we are running out of that money. And this is a desperate, serious time. Real Americans feeling real hardships because the Democrats are here playing politics and running away from the Marxist and their party. That is just clearly and simply exactly what's going on. And history will tell the story here of who imposed this Pain. I think people are waking up to it.

[Ben Shapiro]

You know, Speaker Johnson, one of the things you've mentioned a couple of times here is the Democrats being in hock to the left wing. It is very clear the Democratic Party unfortunately continues to move to the left and away from even the moderates in their own caucus. There's been talk about attempts in the Senate to primary Senator John Fetterman, who remains a very popular senator in Pennsylvania. He's a Democrat who votes almost all the time with the Democrats. I think he's voted with President TRUMP Some 6% of the time. But because he opposes the government shutdown and likes Israel, this means that he is not in fine fettle with the Democratic base. Obviously, Zormandi and AOC are sort of leading a wing of the Democratic Party that seems to be trying to take control of the Democratic Party with very little objection from sort of the more mainstream Democratic Party. What do you make of the future of a Democratic Party that continues to hand itself over to these people? The.

[Mike Johnson]

The party is committing suicide in a political sense. They truly are. And we're watching it develop day by day. Now, this is not your father's Democratic Party. I mean, my, My grandparents wouldn't recognize this, this party at all. They have taken a hard turn to the left and they have their, their, their pedal to the metal on that. They're going all the way. And you saw that they've endorsed Mount Dami for mayor in New York City. I mean, you know what this guy is for. He's a radical leftist, a true Marxist in his ideology and his belief, and not only Israel, and engage in anti Semitism and endorse that kind of anti Semitic speech. But I mean, he wants to defund the police and legalize prostitution and take over the means of production. I mean, the guy is a true communist. And they're supporting that. They're cheering it along. I saw his rally, a clip from his rally that he did AOC in Bernie, where they stood up on the stage and literally promised everything for free to everyone. That's never ended very well in history. But they're not students of history. But we are. The point is that the chasm is so wide now between the two parties, you're actually seeing a split screen in American politics and society. And on one side, you think of it, you know, in the last nine and a half months, this Congress and the second Trump administration, President Trump and Republicans are delivering for the people we have cut taxes, cut regulations, eliminated fraud, waste and abuse. And on a massive scale, we solved the border crisis. We're solving the crime crisis around the country. President Trump is literally resolving armed conflicts and wars around the globe. That's just nine months. And what have the Democrats done in that same time period? They shut the government down and they've assaulted some ICE officers and they've encouraged violence. In the political sphere, the stark contrast is so clear. And I think people see that, and hardworking Americans understand who is here every day working for them, trying to make their lives better, and who is engaging in this political obstruction and hugging up to the communists. I mean, when we get into this midterm election next year, we have quite a story to tell. And I think the facts speak for themselves. And it's a great time to be alive when you have the facts.

[Ben Shapiro]

Now, Speaker Johnson, when we look at the future of this shutdown, can you lay out for us sort of the calendar of the things that are slated to happen if the shutdown continues? Because while the shutdown has not been, I think, at the forefront of most people's imagination right now, that's going to change very shortly as the calendar progresses.

[Mike Johnson]

It is really by the end of this week because that the heroic measures that we discussed that the president and the administration have taken to mitigate the pain, we're running out of those funding sources. So there's a real question, as you and I speak right here, about whether the troops will get paid at the end of this month. We got them paid mid Monon. We don't know if the next check is is there. We had some benevolent donor give, everyone knows, famously, $130 million. That's really a drop in the bucket. When you have so many active duty military personnel, 1.4 million of them, that's a lot of funds that are needed to make sure their families are paid. And think of it. These are young soldiers and airmen and sailors who are many of whom are deployed around the world defending American interest and our safety. And they've left young families at home. And they're, you know, for example, young moms I know in my district have a big district, two major bases there, and we've got young families, young moms with, you know, two or three kids, and they live paycheck to paycheck. And they they're not going to get that paycheck because the Democrats are playing games. You have TSA agents and Border Patrol agents and air traffic controllers. Guess what? If you have plans to travel in the coming weeks, you better factor in delays and maybe canceled flights, because as Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said here with a. In a press conference a couple days ago with me, he's going to. He doesn't want. He wants you to be on time, but he'd rather you be late then jeopardize your safety. So if we don't have people in the towers because they're not getting paid and the stress levels too high, they're going to cancel the flights. They have no choice. So it's just going to reverberate all the way through the economy and to every community around the country. SNAP benefits are going to dry up November 1st. We have 42 million Americans who depend upon that for food. Literally, it's food stamps as we used to know it, that is that funding is no longer going to be available. We had the small business administrator, Kelly Loeffler with us at our press conference yesterday, and she explained how small businesses would provide. Like, 99% of the jobs in America are really struggling because so many of them have government contracts that have been delayed. And it just. It just goes on and on throughout the society. You have veterans services, health services for the elderly and disabled. All the things that the federal government provides have been turned off by the Democrats, and it cannot be emphasized enough. Ben, we have voted 13 times to open the government. They have voted 13 times to shut it down, and they have no way out of it. They have. They have painted themselves into a corner. Everything they're asking for cannot be delivered, and they know that. And so it seems they're taking great pleasure in causing all this chaos around the country, and it's just disgusting to us.

[Ben Shapiro]

Now, Speaker Johnson, obviously, we'll keep an eye on everything that's happening. We appreciate your stalwartness and your leadership in the House of Representatives. You have a very rough job and you've done an amazing job with that very, very difficult job, as we've discussed many times before. Thanks so much for your time. Thanks for stopping by.

[Mike Johnson]

Great to be with you, my friend. Keep up the great work.

[Ben Shapiro]

We'll get to some more on the foreign front in a moment. First, I always assumed restless sleep was inevitable. Night after night, tossing, turning, waking up with my back aching. You know, you think that's how sleep is supposed to be, because what do you care? You're just like you're on a mattress. It's fine. But here's the thing. Helix Sleep makes a mattress just for you, and it changes your sleep quality. It's been transformative for me. Now I easily fall asleep in minutes, even as the weather gets colder. And you know the stress levels get higher. What makes Helix different is they don't just sell you a random mattress. They actually match you with the perfect mattress for your body and sleep style. Whether you're a side sleeper, back sleeper, somewhere in between, they've got you covered. They make it so simple to get your best night's sleep every single night. All you have to do is take their sleep quiz and get matched with a custom mattress based on your body type and sleep preferences. And trust me, when you find the right match, you'll wonder how you ever slept on anything else again. I have a firm but breathable mattress. That means that my back is feeling great and I am not overheating at night. Right now, Helix is offering a great sale for you. Visit helixsleep.comBen to get 20% off site wide. That's helixsleep.comBen for 20 off site wide. Make sure you enter our show name after checkout so they know we sent you. Again. Just visit helixleep.com ben for this exclusive offer. The news might not sleep, but at least now I do with Helix. Also, let me show you this book. This is a book. It is a book by my friend Andrew Clavin. And Andrew is a great writer, truly a great writer. And his new book is fantastic. Love, Betrayal, Deadly secrets, and a conspiracy that spans from Oklahoma to Connecticut. Andrew Cleveland's only book after that the Dark is out. Today is the fifth Cameron Winter mystery. It's probably the best yet. Winter's past and present collide in the most dangerous way possible. He'll do anything to protect the woman he loves. It's already receiving praise, including a starred review in Publishers Weekly. You can secure your copy of after that the dark [e-mail] Clavin if you want a signed copy, you can get yours only available at the daily wire shop. Go to dailywire.comclavin to order. After that, the Dark today. Alrighty, it's time for some fast fact. We'll begin with Joe Biden. So Joe Biden is back out there talking and honestly, it's a miracle of modern medicine that he is because clearly the former president is ailing. Never forget, they tried to run this person for President of the United States, telling you that he was healthy and fine and everything was going to be fine if you made him president again. It is currently what would have been 10 months into his second term and the man does not look great. Here was Joe Biden yesterday. Folks, we can't kid ourselves.

[Professor Hankins]

We are in one of those moments Right now, my over 50 years of elected public life. This is the worst I've seen it.

[Ben Shapiro]

If Ted were here today, he'd still be fighting like hell, but his optimism.

[Professor Hankins]

Would be surely tested because, truth be told, our very democracy is at stake, in my view.

[Ben Shapiro]

We'll leave aside all the jokes about Ted Kennedy and Chappaquiddick right here, but I'm just going to point out that Joe Biden does not look great. Karine Jean Pierre, meanwhile, his former press secretary, the worst press secretary in American history, by far. No close competitors. She has a brand new book out titled Independent A Look inside a Broken White House, outside the party lines. She's left the Democratic Party. She has a hilarious interview over at the New Yorker with one Isaac Chotiner, who's a pretty terrible columnist over there. And it's really, really, really funny. Like, it's really funny because Chotiner does not understand for the life of him what she objects to about Democrats now criticizing Joe Biden's health. So he says, you feel like you had to leave the Democratic Party because of the way it treated Joe Biden. How did it treat Joe Biden? And she says, I call it a betrayal. And the reason I say this, and I really want people to understand my perspective and where I come from and the role that I played in those three weeks from the debate to the President deciding that he was no longer going to be at the top of the ticket and handing over the baton, is that I was the person who was standing on that podium, behind that lectern, having to take in all the hard questions on this, rightfully so. And I was watching what Democratic leadership was doing. It was an all out, full on campaign to embarrass him, to push him out. And I just thought to myself, wow, you don't have that much time left this election year. And I thought to myself, this man is one of the most decent people that I know. And objectively, objectively, it was a good presidency. Some have even said he did more in one term than most presidents do in two. So I just didn't understand why this was happening. And Chotiner says, you said that the party was trying to undermine Biden. What do you think they were doing and why? And she said, well, I mean, I just laid it out. I said, there was an obvious campaign you just had to watch. And Chotiner said, sure, but why were they doing that? And she said, because they believed that he needed to step aside. There's more to this than just that period of time. This is Very layered. Right. There's a period of time that I questioned what was happening and how do we treat our own. How do we treat people who are decent people? And then you also have to think about how I'm thinking about this as a black woman who's part of the LGBTQ community and living in this time where I also don't think Democrats. Right now, Democrats leadership is protecting vulnerable people in the way that it should. So she gets stuck in a question, and she just starts babbling about how she's a gay black woman. Yeah, she was a great presser. Solid choice there by. By President Biden. Really good thinking there by. By President Biden. And then Chotner says, sorry, I'm not trying to be dense. To be fair to Chotner, he can be dense by accident. I mean, he's. He's dense nearly all the time. But he says, sorry, I'm not trying to be dense. I'm a little unclear about what this has to do with Democratic leaders and many Democrats in the country thinking that Joe Biden was going to lose to Donald Trump, which was what all the polls showed, and therefore thinking he should be replaced. And she said, okay, wait a minute. Hold on a second. Nobody knows anything. Nobody knows what would have happened. People also thought that if you replaced Joe Biden, we were going to win or have a better chance of winning. Millions of people who showed up in 2020 didn't show up in 2024. We can't forget. There was an incumbency issue as well. This is real. There are, like, several G10 countries with incumbents who do not get reelected. There was an incumbency issue as well. And Chandra says, I'm not sure what you're saying. And she says, no, no, no, wait a minute. It's like an Abbott and Costello routine. It's like, who's on first? Who's the White House press secretary. Unbelievable. Says, no, no, no, wait a minute. You are saying that this was their thinking and they were kind of predicting, but nobody knew what was going to happen. Nobody knew Joe Biden was going to win in 2020. Nobody knew what was going to happen in 2024. People believed in their hearts Kamala was going to win. They believed it. They saw the polling, and they thought she was going to win. Looking at the polling, nobody knew anything. I'm only bringing up polls because you brought up the polls to me. And then Chotner says, you said you were speaking as a black woman who's part of the LGBTQ community. And I think people were very and she interrupts, and she says, I'm talking about it in this moment, too. I do not feel seen in the party because I think they're throwing the LGBTQ community under the bus. They're not fighting enough for migrants and immigrants. You have to be a big tent party. You have to fight for everyone. And Shatner keeps saying this. I just don't understand. You argue Trump is a threat to democracy. A lot of people thought Biden was not the best person to go up against Trump. Shouldn't those people have tried to give Democrats the best chance to replace Trump? You're talking about Biden like loyalty was owed to him. Isn't loyalty owed to the country? And she says, that's not what I'm saying. I'm not talking about that. I'm saying this is not how you treat somebody. And Chotiner says, is this a matter of how you treat someone or a matter of putting the country first? And she says, wait a minute, wait a minute. Treating somebody with dignity is not the same as loyalty. I mean, the way he was treated, I had never. If you had seen something like that in the Democratic Party, please, please point that out. And he says, so what was an example of the way he was treated? And she says, I mean, it was nasty articles that were coming out daily. And he says, so you'd think asking him to step aside was okay, but there shouldn't have been nasty articles? And she says, look, what I'm saying is it shouldn't have happened that way. And Chotiner says, so it should have happened or it shouldn't have happened? And she says, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I don't think it should have happened. I believe that we should have done everything we could, regardless of who was at the top of the ticket, and fought extremely hard and just goes on like this, like the remainder of the interview. And this is the person that Joe Biden chose to be his press secretary. Yes, he was not a good president. Yes, he was senile. Yes, it was all bad. And congrats to the Democrats on elevating terrific, terrific employees like Corinne Jean Pierre. Okay. Meanwhile, what is the future of the Democratic Party? Well, the future of the Democratic Party is very likely aoc. I'm just pointing that out that that is the future of the Democratic Party, and AOC is a truly despicable human being. So our friend Riley Gaines, of course, the NCAA champion swimmer, she tweeted out a picture of Bernie Zoron and AOC at this rally. And she said, we're being destroyed from within. Which, I mean true. And AOC then promptly replied to Riley Gaines, maybe if you channeled all this anger into swimming faster, you wouldn't have come in fifth. Okay, okay. So first of all, let's be clear. Aoc, the amount of work that AOC has put into her political career pales in comparison to the amount of work that people actually have to put into becoming NCAA competitive swimmers. Riley was swimming hours a day from the time she was a small child in order to compete at that level. AOC has never done anything remotely like that. She was selected by the Justice Democrats to run in a primary where she won something like 17,000 votes. And then she was immediately elevated into stardom because she is a decent looking person who is young and Latina. That is the entire story of aoc. And now, of course, Bernie is touting her because she's basically his meat puppet. Second of all, Riley Gaines's entire complaint is not that she finished fifth. Her complaint is that she was competing against a man, like an actual biological man in Leah Thomas. And the fact that AOC is perfectly willing to make fun of that. It's because she is rather a trash. I mean, what happened to female solidarity? What happened? What happened? So you're fine with men beating women in swimming so long as the women being beaten disagree with you politically? That's. That's AOC's take. So Riley quite properly called her out on Fox News last night, and then AOC responded by attacking her again on Twitter, saying that she doesn't have to debate Riley Gaines because Riley suggested, hey, you know, you want to talk about this? We can, we can debate about all of this. We can do that. And, and then. Right. And then AOC was like, no, I will. You know, you're a loser. I'm not going to debate. That's the person Democrats are choosing going forward because progressivism and youth and energy and fresh facedness and ethnic diversity and all the rest of this sort of stupidity. Meanwhile, Gavin Newsom left out there in the cold by himself as a white lizard person incapable of generating enough enthusiasm or heat. Here was. Here was Gavin Newsom.

[Mike Johnson]

You can lose this country.

[Ben Shapiro]

No bull. It's not the rule of law anymore. It's the rule of dawn. Right?

[Mike Johnson]

He doesn't give a.

[Professor Hankins]

About the law.

[Mike Johnson]

I mean, he's already taken. Congress doesn't exist. They're completely supine.

[Ben Shapiro]

They're on their back again. He's just anybody who believes that Newsom is going to be the nominee I have significant doubts. I have very, very significant doubts. Democrats are having to come up with new strategies for freaking out their base. So they are trotting out the idea that Donald Trump is going to run for a third term. Now, let me be clear. The only person on the right who is talking about this is Steve Bannon. Steve Bannon is a grifter. Steve Bannon has always been a grifter. It is what he does. Steve Bannon is an attention. He is the entire Amsterdam red light district of attention. Steve Bannon. He will say anything in order to maintain street cred with President Trump.

[Professor Hankins]

Trump.

[Ben Shapiro]

And in order to maintain himself at the center of American politics, despite the fact that he was kicked out the door by the president last term and named Sloppy Steve as a result. And so Steve Bannon out there retailing the bizarre and stupid idea that Donald Trump is going to run for a third term, presumably so that Bannon can, I don't know, have an iron in the fire in 2028 himself, perhaps. It's really dumb. The media, of course, are grabbing that and paying attention to it as though it's a real strategy in order to try and alarm Democratic voters. And so this is the new shtick is Democrats claiming that Trump isn't going to leave the White House. Yes, he will. Yes, he will. He served two terms. He's happy with having served two terms. There is no constitutional provision that allows for a third term for President Trump. This is really stupid, but I guess Democrats got to do something to jazz up their base.

[Fake Rabbis Supporting Mamdani]

Nobody's going to succeed him. He's going to succeed himself.

[Professor Hankins]

Let's.

[Fake Rabbis Supporting Mamdani]

Let's just be real. He's not building that ballroom because he's planning on leaving. He's not going anywhere, and nobody's going to get him out of there. And by the way, the Supreme Court says you can't run again. He will just ignore the courts. And I'm happy to see Marco Rubio without Steve Wyckoff as our Secretary of State. So I'm happy to see that he's appeared and popped up somewhere. But he's not going to be the nominee. JG Vance is not going to be the nominee because Donald Trump is not going anywhere.

[Ben Shapiro]

That's Julia Roginski. No, that's just wrong. Meanwhile, Whoopi Goldberg doing the same thing. This is slop for the masses. Whether you're doing it on the right or on the left, Donald Trump ain't gonna be president in 2029. This is silly. So, just so we're clear, you have nothing to say about any of this. Just understand that, okay, Republicans have pretty much given him free rein up till now. Are they gonna let this happen? Are y' all gonna let it happen? Just asking. Oh yeah, we will unite to stop a third term that is. That can't possibly happen legally. Just to clarify that Steve Bannon and all the rest of left wing crew claiming Trump's going to run in 2028, that they're grifters, I decided that I was going to ask Comet my sponsors a new web browser by perplexity about this very question. Are there any plausible legal strategies by which a two term president could run for a third term under the Constitution? No, there are no plausible legal strategies by which a two term president could run for a third term under the current U.S. constitution. The 22nd Amendment explicitly states that no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and constitutional scholars widely agree the prohibition is clear and comprehensive. The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, restricts any individual from being elected President more than twice. Suggestions such as running as VP and ascending to the presidency after resignation are barred by the 12th Amendment, which states that no person ineligible for the presidency may serve as vice president. Some academic discussions have considered rare technical scenarios related to succession and eligibility. None are viewed as feasible. Any attempt would almost certainly be challenged and blocked legally. In other words, the people who are telling you this kind of stuff, you shouldn't listen to them because they're lying to you for clicks or for power or for whatever, and they're making you actively stupider. This is your campaign. Good luck to all of you. Now. Meanwhile, the only thing that theoretically could, as I've said many times, actually push AOC or the Democrats back into office would be economic downturn. That does not seem to be in the offing, at least in the immediate future, according to the Wall Street Journal. From trade deals and foreign elections to merger announcements to corporate earnings, investors are finding plenty of reasons to be happy. Stocks hit fresh records on Monday, marking a significant pickup in momentum after a bumpy stretch in which tariff fears and worries about loan losses at regional banks weighed on major indices. The optimism is not limited to US Markets. Benchmarks in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan notched new records on Monday, while the Shanghai Composite closed at its highest level in more than 10 years. Argentine stocks rocketed 22% higher, powered by a decisive win for President Javier Milei in the country's midterm elections. Jed Ellerbrook, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management, said there's a lot of stuff in the good column and not a lot in the bad column. Stocks were lifted by hopes for improving trade relations between the United States and China. Worries ease Stock indices have recovered since concerns just a few weeks ago over trade imbalances. Ella Brooks said investors have had no choice but to get comfortable with President Trump's negotiating style and his preference for doing trade deals publicly. And there's been a strong start to earnings season. There are some economic data releases, like the October jobs report that have been delayed due to the government shutdown, but they're better than expected profits at major companies. So again, the economy looks to be chugging along in the in the very near future, the Federal Reserve is going to lower those interest rates again, which will create more liquidity in the economy. Meanwhile, companies are in fact reporting larger profits because of technology, because of robots, because of AI. Amazon has announced job cuts of 14,000 workers on Tuesday. That's a first move in layoffs that are expected to affect as many as 30,000 corporate jobs, according to people familiar. What the matter? The thousands of corporate pink slips going out on Tuesday, according to the Journal, cut across the organization, hitting human resources, cloud computing, advertising and a number of other business units. And again, the goal here, presumably is for Amazon to repurpose some of those people. So apparently Amazon offers the most employees 90 days to look for a new role internally. And it won't be a surprise actually to see the economy continued to go up while unemployment numbers also go up thanks to transitions in the job market, thanks to AI and technology. And that's sort of natural when you have tech transitions. People in some of the old industries are going to lose their jobs and then they will find new industries. That does not mean that AI kills the market. It doesn't mean that AI kills the entire jobs market. It does mean that there are going to be some bumpy points here along the road, okay? Meanwhile, on the foreign front, Javier Milei's big win. That shocking win spells a new future for Argentina. According to the Wall Street Journal, for decades, the poor suburbs that ring Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, powered the leftist parenties movement. On Sunday, they made a historic shift against Peronism that propelled President Xavier Mile to a surprise victory in midterm congressional elections. The Argentine poor, whom Eva Peron lionized as the country's heart and soul, largely stayed home in a stinging rebuke to the Peronist movement that has dominated politics here for 80 years. At the same time, middle class voters mobilized to rescue Milei and his free market revolt Milei gave voters a choice. Stick with his brand of self described shock therapy for Argentina zills or face the familiar economic ruin seen under the parents in the past. And good for Argentine voters. Truly an amazing, amazing result for Javier milei. He won 41% to 32% for the opposition, an unexpectedly strong mandate overhauling an ailing economy with the financial firepower of the Trump administration. So again, that was a strong move by the Trump administration to basically say to the Argentine voting population, listen, folks, you want money and liquidity in your country, you're going to need a solid economic plan going forward. That does not happen if Milei is not the man in charge. That isn't leveraging Argentina. That is just reality. Good for Javier Milei, good for the world. Meanwhile, according to the Wall Street Journal, even while the president is trying to negotiate a trade deal with China, China is trying to up the ante on pressuring the United States over Taiwan. That is because China is in fact a geopolitical enemy of the United States, not merely an opponent. According to the Wall Street Journal, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said over the weekend that Americans shouldn't worry that the administration is going to get favorable treatment or trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan. No one is contemplating that. But Xi's big ask has been that the United States formally oppose independence for Taiwan. Right now, there's a policy of what we call strategic ambiguity where the United States does not actually say what it thinks on the issue of Taiwan. Acknowledging China's position that Taiwan is part of China would mean that if China were to invade Taiwan, it would be very difficult to make the case that that invasion should be resisted. The United States, according to the Wall Street Journal editorial board, does not need to clarify its policy on whether it would defend Taiwan in a crisis, but a concession 2G on independence would be self defeating for Trump's goals. Trump wants the island to spend more on defense, but endorsing Xi's view would undermine morale and tell the Taiwanese that attempting to defend itself is futile, which is exactly what Beijing wants. The Taiwan Relations act of 1979 says, quote, any effort to undermine to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means, including by boycotts or embargoes, would be of grave concern to the United States. Right now, the Chinese are trying to intimidate the Taiwan Straits, not Taiwan directly. It'll be interesting to see what happens going forward. I believe the president will, in fact, stand up against Chinese predations here. Already joining us on the line to discuss what is I think the major issue in American life right now, we are seeing history wiped away. We are seeing an American populace that doesn't know its own traditions. And that is how you end up with a Zoran Mamdani in office or an AOC as a presidential front runner. Joining us online to discuss all this is the author of a brand new book called the Golden Thread. It's a phenomenal book. Professor Hankins, thanks so much for taking the time. Really appreciate it.

[Professor Hankins]

Oh, it's a great pleasure to join you, Ben. I'm an original member of the Daily Wire. I just wanted you to know that I was a founding member.

[Ben Shapiro]

Yeah, well, I mean, that. That says a lot, considering there. There are not a lot of, I would, I would assume, faculty members at Harvard University who are founding members of the Daily Wires. That is deeply appreciated. So let's talk about your book, A Golden A History of the Western Tradition that you joined with Ellen Guelzo in writing. It is a phenomenal piece of work. I mean, first of all, it's just beautiful. The thing is large, it's filled with imagery, just gorgeous imagery. It's in full color. It's wonderful. But why don't we begin with what drove it? Because there has been a loss of history, not just on the left, but also on the right. A willingness to sort of wipe away history, pretend that it doesn't exist, or at least ignore it, pretend that it doesn't matter. What drove you to write A Golden Thread?

[Professor Hankins]

Well, basically my motivation was that we're losing our civilization. We're declining into the state of techno barbarism. And in this state of cultural Alzheimer's that we're in, we've got a series of very serious civilizational problems, starting with the fact that, that we can't talk to each other anymore. We don't have any common historical vocabulary to do that. You know, I teach what are supposed to be the best students in the country. And I constantly meet up with the fact that they don't know things that one would have taken for granted at a high school education two generations ago. So they don't know what the Reformation is, they don't know what the Renaissance is. They don't know anything about Greece or Rome. I mean, some of them know some things, but the idea that they don't have a connected sense of what the west is because they teach global history in high school and they just teach a piece of this, piece of that, go into the next 10 years, teach a bigger this and that, they never get a connected sense or narrative about the west they don't know. You can't refer to anything. You can't refer to the Bible or to Shakespeare, to Michelangelo or to what democracy is. They have all different ideas about what democracy is. It's not grounded in any sort of historical sense of historical democracies in ancient Greece or republics in ancient Rome. So you're basically teaching students who are mature but have infant minds, they don't know anything. And so you can't do anything advanced if you're constantly filling people in on basic facts and of history and they have to assimilate. You know what the Renaissance is in, in the 10 seconds that you have to explain it and then you have to use that concept. It just doesn't, doesn't work. And this is with the best students in the country. I mean theoretically the best students in the country.

[Ben Shapiro]

You know, Professor Hankins, I think that the project is summed up in the title of the book A Golden Thread. Because in order for people to have a holistic view of Western history, you do have to understand, number one, that actually there is a thread that runs throughout Western history. And number two, that actually the west is good. Because if you believe the west is bad, then you have to throw out all the good parts and focus in only on the bad parts. Or treat history as non contingent, as sort of bizarrely fragmentary, sort of a mosaic of things that happen. And if you also think that the west is bad, then you have to basically discard the idea of history as a whole. And so re establishing the idea of that there is in fact a through line through history. And sure, that through line isn't always a direct line. It's more of a thread than it is a direct line between point A and point B. But, but following that thread is really, really important. When did we, do you think, start to lose that thread? When is it that we decided that the thread no longer existed so that we end up with a brand of student who really doesn't understand any of this?

[Professor Hankins]

Well, we stopped teaching Western civilization two generations ago, basically late 80s, early 90s. And the educational establishment got together and said, well, we don't need to teach live anymore. We want to teach global history. We don't want to reinforce militarism. This is the Vietnam generation. So they think of Western civilization as a, as a fiction of the 20th century created to increase military enthusiasm, which is completely wrong. It's totally ignorant. But what happens when you don't teach any history? Bad actors step in and activists step in and they poison people's minds. So our students, many of them anyway, not all of them, but many of them, believe that the west is simply bad. And many teachers think the west is so bad you shouldn't teach it because you'll infect people's minds with racism and white supremacy and colonialism and. And sexism, and you name it. I mean, it's become the whipping boy of the left, the Western tradition. So you have to teach it or other people will start teaching it for you. And students now get most of their information from social media, and that's the worst place to get. You need something between your ears if you want to stop all the garbage that's being poured in. And the other thing I would mention is that we are, unfortunately, in a clash of civilizations. So I assure you, I've been to China many times. The Chinese know about their civilization. The Muslims know about their civilization. We are unilaterally disarming because our students know nothing about Western civilization. And how are you supposed to love and defend something that you know nothing about?

[Ben Shapiro]

Well, the book is really fabulous. A Golden Thread, A History of the Western Tradition. The first volume came out August 26th. The next volume is shortly to come out. I believe it is really magnificent. Honestly, everybody should have a copy of it in the same way that everybody used to have a copy of the Durant books on civilization, and then people read, you know, small segments of them. The truth is that what's great about this book, the golden thread, is that you can pick up the book and you can open it up, you can read a couple of pages, you can put it back down, and you can get an overall sense of the. The glory that is the Western tradition. Professor Hankins, really appreciate the time. Congrats on the book. It is a masterwork. Everybody should go get a copy.

[Professor Hankins]

Thank you very much for having me on. I really appreciate it.

[Ben Shapiro]

Alrighty, folks. The show continues for our members. Right now we have some breaking news out of CBS News. Kind of fascinating stuff. Remember, in order to watch, you have to be a member. If you're not a member, become a member. Use code Shapiro at checkout for two months free on all annual plans. Click that link in the description and join us. It.