The Ben Shapiro Show - Ep. 2398: "No Kings" Rallies… Paid For By A King (March 30, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ben Shapiro unpacks the nationwide "No Kings" rallies protesting President Trump's administration, questioning the authenticity and funding behind these demonstrations. He sharply criticizes the motives of both protestors and the celebrities/politicians supporting them, and follows the money trail to highlight foreign and elite interests. Ben then transitions to the broader implications for the U.S., touching on Middle East foreign policy—particularly actions regarding Iran and U.S. alliances—and thoroughly analyzes a controversy in Jerusalem’s Old City affecting Christian religious observances during Holy Week. The episode closes with a Q&A segment on U.S. Senate filibuster politics.

Table of Contents

1. Background on "No Kings" Rallies & Critique
2. Celebrity and Political Participation & Media Reactions
3. Follow the Money: Funding and Foreign Influence
4. Middle East Update: Iran, Russia, and U.S. Policy
5. Jerusalem Old City Controversy: Church Access during Missile Attacks
6. Listener Q&A: The Filibuster Debate

1. Background on "No Kings" Rallies & Critique

[04:25 – 24:10]

• Overview:
  Ben Shapiro begins by noting the "No Kings" rallies, reporting claims of up to 8 million participants, especially significant turnouts in cities like New York. Ben casts doubt on organizers' attendance numbers and challenges the protestors' claims that they oppose tyranny or centralized government.
  • “Are you ready to hear the hard-hitting truth in comprehensive, conservative, principled fashion?” [03:01]
• Ben’s Argument:
  • Asserts that claims of ‘anti-tyranny’ are insincere, as many protestors had no issue with perceived executive overreach by Presidents Obama or Biden.
  • Points out perceived hypocrisy: protestors were absent on executive actions/Biden’s vaccine mandates/student loan forgiveness.
  • Suggests current anger is simply about hatred for President Trump, not principle:
    "They just do not like the president. They don't have any principled stand here. ... In the end they're just mad at, quote-unquote, the system and President Trump." [13:01]
  • Mocks protest tactics—throwing concrete at federal buildings, defacing property, protest signs and attire (Handmaid’s Tale references, Epstein-pun shirts).
• On Protest Diversity & White Allyship:
  • Recounts a Daily Wire interview with a protestor claiming Black women are “being murdered in medical professions,” which Ben dismisses as “not true.” [18:40]
  • Satirizes statements from white protestors about needing to "show up" for marginalized groups on a Saturday.

2. Celebrity and Political Participation & Media Reactions

[24:11 – 34:50]

• Celebrities:
  • Ben lampoons celebrities’ involvement—Robert De Niro's anti-Trump statements:
    “Every morning when I get up I reach for my phone... I start every morning depressed about the latest outrage from our would-be king.” —Robert De Niro [26:15]
  • Jamie Lee Curtis claims to not care about political parties as long as people “believe in the Constitution”—Ben responds skeptically.
• Politicians:
  • Senator Raphael Warnock: accuses Trump of representing an “old order that is destined to die” (Ben asks, “What is that order?”) [31:30]
  • Gov. Tim Walz: “We've been radicalized. Radicalized by compassion, radicalized by decency…” Ben mocks this as job-interview double-speak.
  • Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson: calls to “end the assaults against immigrants,” while Ben references recent violence in his city.
• International Responses:
  • Iranian leaders and other adversaries openly celebrate the unrest: “Right now, people throughout all US States are chanting slogans against him [Trump]...” — Ayatollah Khamenei (posthumous social post) [36:40] “Welcome to the party we started 47 years ago. No Kings. This is the people of Iran and we approve this message.” — Mohammad Khaliba, Iran’s parliament [37:08]
  • Ben criticizes Ilhan Omar for accusing Trump of “bombing schoolgirls”—calls it “astonishing stuff from the sitting congressperson in Minnesota.” [38:25]

3. Follow the Money: Funding and Foreign Influence

[39:00 – 50:15]

• Main Thesis:
  • Ben details a Fox News report tracing funding for the rallies to a “web of 500 groups with $3B in annual revenues,” including direct support from Neville Roy Singham, a tech tycoon “living in Shanghai and an avowed communist.”
  • Connection to activist Jodie Evans (Code Pink):
    “You literally have a communist living in China who is funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into various protest groups.” [41:15]
  • Wedding in Jamaica in 2017 dubbed “a mysterious summit” where alliances among leftist activists were cemented.
• Singham’s Public Statements:
  • Ben highlights Singham’s 2025 speech about “undoing the ideological damage” of the WWII narrative to promote a multipolar world order anchored by China and Russia: “If we want to ... have a new world's order that is based on multilateralism that President Xi...proposed, we have to undo the ideological damage that has been done by the narrative of World War II.” —Neville Roy Singham [47:44]
  • Ben: “You might be hearing this message over and over from the entire grievance party from the left and from the horseshoe right ... multipolar world order with China and Russia as leading forces, and we need to rewrite the history of World War II in order to achieve this new world order. Man, I wonder where I've heard something like that before. That's so weird.” [48:15]
• President Trump’s Response:
  • Trump: “They remind me… actually a little bit of Iran. They're deranged.” [49:10]
  • Ben: “The No Kings protestors are certainly...The leadership are absolutely deranged, for sure, but deranged not in the sense that they're just crazy, but politically deranged.”

4. Middle East Update: Iran, Russia, and U.S. Policy

[50:16 – 01:06:44]

• Iran Policy & Military Actions:
  • U.S. (under Trump) threatens severe strikes if Iran doesn’t negotiate/open the Strait of Hormuz: “If for any reason a deal is not shortly reached... we will conclude our lovely stay in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their electric generating plants, oil wells and Kharg island, and possibly all desalinization plants…” —President Trump [54:10]
  • Ben notes Iran’s leadership hopes Trump is bluffing, while Secretary of State Rubio says “Every problem in the Middle East tracks back to Iran.”
  • Recent Iranian attacks (airbase, strikes injuring American troops) discussed as Iranian attempts to pressure U.S. Gulf allies.
  • Ben emphasizes Russia’s role:
    • Russia is providing satellite and drone tech to Iran and hopes to maintain influence via Iranian alliances.
      “Russia has stepped up its support for Iran, its closest partner in the Middle east, providing satellite imagery and drone technology...” [01:02:52]
  • Trump on ongoing operations:
    “Now we're just going after targets and again they have no anti aircraft. … And we have another 3,554 targets left and that'll be done pretty quickly.” —President Trump [01:05:05]
• Abraham Accords:
  • Trump presses Saudis to join Abraham Accords, stressing shared regional threats and opportunities. “We got to get into the Abraham Accords. He is right about that.” [01:06:17]
  • Ben opines the future of the region “has never looked brighter.”

5. Jerusalem Old City Controversy: Church Access during Missile Attacks

[01:06:45 – 01:37:45]

• Incident Overview:
  • Recent controversy erupted after Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and others were briefly prevented by Israeli police from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Palm Sunday Mass due to strict safety restrictions tied to active Iranian missile threats.
  • Ben explains the unique geography of the Old City and the real risks posed by missile strikes—shows photo of missile remnants close to the site [01:08:17].
• Regulatory Context:
  • Home front rules: no gatherings >50 people; in places without a bomb shelter, no gatherings at all.
  • “The Old City is basically shut down. ... Because if you go to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and it is hit by a missile, you can't even get an emergency vehicle in there.” [01:09:15]
• International Outrage:
  • Catholic authorities issue statements denouncing the incident; world leaders (Emmanuel Macron, Mark Carney) condemn Israel.
  • Ben refutes claims of targeted discrimination: “It is totally meritless to suggest that the State of Israel is purposefully targeting Christian sites and leaders. It is merit free.” [01:29:15]
  • Ben: “Let us make something absolutely clear, because it's true: Israel protects the rights of religious minorities in Israel, which is why the indigenous Christian population of Israel has increased over the decades. That is not true of any surrounding country.” [01:30:25]
• Resolution:
  • Following meetings, Israeli authorities and church leaders agree on a framework for Holy Week events; restrictions to remain, services to be livestreamed. “The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land hereby confirm the matters... have been addressed and resolved in coordination with the relevant authorities.” — Church statement [01:36:48]
  • Ben’s Summary: “...Totally legitimate to be upset about a bad local police decision, but ... ill advised and stupid ... to suggest that this was a purposeful, state driven attempt to discriminate against Catholics.”

6. Listener Q&A: The Filibuster Debate

[01:37:46 – 01:43:25]

• Question: Should Republicans nuke the filibuster preemptively, fearing Democrats will do it later? [01:37:52]
• VP J.D. Vance’s View (clip): “...The Democrats... will break the filibuster, pack the Supreme Court, and destroy this country. We have to do it now to save the country.” [01:39:15]
• Ben’s Take:
  • Acknowledges the logic, but says unless Republicans can push for a constitutional amendment to enshrine the filibuster, support among Senate Republicans likely insufficient to eliminate it now. “If you've lost so much trust that you can't count on the other side to maintain the filibuster, you really should push for a constitutional amendment; that should be the next move rather than just destroying the filibuster wholesale.” [01:41:40]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across the nation for a Day of no Kings rallies ... in opposition to President Trump, who organizers say is running the country more like a king than a president.” [05:22]
• On protests: “They're not even turning out because they're upset with corruption. You'll remember Joe Biden pardoning his entire family on the way out.” [16:25]
• On activists: “This grassroots movement starts looking a lot less grassroots and a lot more like a sophisticated and coordinated operation.” [03:50]
• On foreign influence: “You literally have a communist living in China who is funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into various protest groups.” [41:15]
• On U.S. policy: "Every problem in the Middle east tracks back to Iran." — Sec. of State Rubio [01:04:08]
• On Jerusalem controversy: “It is...illegitimate...and malicious in many cases to suggest that this was a purposeful, state driven attempt to discriminate against Catholics.” [01:35:45]

Conclusion

Ben Shapiro’s episode forcefully challenges both the motives and authenticity of the “No Kings” protest movement, tracing its organization and funding to elite and foreign actors. He uses recent international and Middle Eastern developments to frame the protests as not just misguided but potentially manipulated in the broader struggle for geopolitical influence. The Jerusalem church controversy is examined factually, with Ben defending Israeli policy and underscoring religious freedom in Israel compared to the region. He closes with measured filibuster reform advice for conservatives.

This summary provides a comprehensive picture for listeners, with markers and direct quotes to facilitate further exploration of discussed topics.