>> Conservative whiz kid Ben Shapiro was recently
on the BBC, and he was getting interviewed by a conservative host on the BBC. I think that's an important bit of information
to give you context into how disastrously this went for Ben Shapiro, who is also conservative. Now without further ado, let's take a look
at how this interview went down. >> Some of the ideas that are popular in your
side of politics would seem to take us back to the Dark Ages, Georgia, new abortion laws,
which you are much in favor of, that a woman who miscarries could get 30 years. A Georgian woman who travels to another state
for an abortion procedure could get ten years. These are extreme, hard policies. >> Well, okay, a couple of things. One, I'm not sure. Frankly, I don't know whether you're, are
you an objective journalist or are you an opinion journalist? >> I'm a journalist that asks questions. >> Okay, so you're a supposedly objective
journalist calling policies with which you disagree barbaric -. >> No, I don't-
>> And suggesting only one side of the political aisle has ideas. >> So I just wanna point out that-
>> No, I know that you- >> I wish you would at least be honest in
your own biases. Are you a member of the-
>> Mr Shapiro, I know that broadcasting in America is not so polarized that in one program,
you only have the left and another one you just have the right. My job is to question those who have strong
views and put an alternative to them. If you were an anti-. >> I'm well aware-
>> If you were an anti-abortion person, I would be putting pro-abortion questions to
you, but you are- >> Really? Would you call the pro choice position. >> So why don't you just answer my question? >> Sir, sir, I'm happy to answer your question. >> There you go then. >> Please answer this one. Would you suggest that a late term abortion
is brutal? >> I'm not taking a view on the situation,
I'm asking you the questions. >> A brutal policy to allow late-term abortions. >> Sir, you just suggested the pro-life position
is inherently brutal and terrible, so I'm asking you as an objective journalist, would
you ask the same question to a pro-choice advocate by calling their action brutal? >> What I'm asking you is, why is it that
a bill banning abortions after a woman has been pregnant for six weeks is not a return
to the dark ages? What's your answer? >> My answer is something called science. Human life exists at conception. It ought to be protected. >> Okay, it almost looks like he's got triggered
there. >> He totally did. >> Yeah. >> Throughtout the interview, you'e gonna
see more video of that in juat a minute. >> Yeah, at the end, it's fun, he walks out,
okay? So-
>> No, he doesn't, woah, woah, woah. He doesn't, he's like, it's over, it's over,
please cut. That's the best part of the whole thing is
that he can't walk out. He just sorta stands there and waiting for
them to, and guys, have you ever heard a wedgie speak? >> Cuz Ben Shapiro sounds like if a wedgie
were anthropomorphized and came to life, that's Ben Shapiro, and also someone whose empathy
balls haven't dropped yet. Just sort of like the high, yeah, that's Ben
Shapiro. >> Okay, so he says, I'm happy to answer your
questions, but doesn't seem happy to be answering his questions. In fact, so much so that he walks out at the
end. But on the issue of abortion, it is certainly
returning to old times, and a lot of people do believe that it is dark ages. But to me the most relevant part of this first
part is Shapiro crying about how you have to give an unfair advantage to my position,
by calling it even. No he doesn't. He's asking you questions, and your job in
that context is to answer them. And so if you don't frame things in a way
that is pleasing to conservatives they will definitely cry. That's their number one go to trick here. >> So I read an op ed in the Washington Examiner,
which is a right wing outlet. And the title of the op ed was in defense
of this interview, right? And the point of view was, look, the interview
style from some of the hosts from BBC is very different from what you would expect from
American news anchors, because their whole point is to stay calm and kind of get under
your skin. And it appears that's exactly what happened. And what he was asking was, I think, okay
to ask because, again, you're having someone, like your job as a journalist or as a news
host isn't to just ask simple questions and play patty cakes with the person you're having
the interview with. It's to ask the hard questions. And so if you juxtapose the way he interviewed
Ben Shapiro to the way that he's interviewed others from the left, you would see very similar
treatment, which is why this host, what was his name again? >> Andrew Neil. >> Yeah, Andrew Neil, he's not coming from
a liberal perspective. In fact, if you look at his personal politics,
he's not liberal at all. He's just coming at it from the contrarian
perspective, which I think makes the interview way more interesting. >> Yeah, he's the publisher of a conservative
outlet. So he's definitely conservative. >> Rupert Murdoch, the god king of republican
and far right wing political media in the world. He owns a news corporation, worked with the
parent company of Fox for a while. He personally made Andrew Neil the editor
for one of his top newspapers in the 90s. At that same time when he was an editor by
the way, he started smearing, or at the time he ws an editor, he allowed these smears saying
that HIV didn't cause AIDS, to be printed in his magazine. >> Wow. >> He was one of the Tories, the Conservatives
in England who, when Tony Blair and George W Bush were getting ready for the war in Iraq,
he said that yeah, the lead-up to the war in Iraq was very well executed. It was well done, it was masterful. Andrew Neil. >> That's the guy that Ben Shapiro just called
a liberal because he asked him a tough question. Which is unacceptable. Then it demands that you ask him softball
questions, which the American media complies with, and then calls them all sorts of positive
words. The New York Times can't stop raving about
Ben Shapiro. My God, it's a right winger who talks in complete
sentences. >> The cool kids' philosopher is what they'll
say. >> Yeah, philosopher, please. >> So we're just getting started. We have more video from this interview, let's
take a look. >> So my question to you, you purport to be
an objective journalist. BBC purports to be an objective down-the-middle
network. It obviously is not, and never has been, and
you as a journalist are proceeding to call one side of the political aisle ignorant,
barbaric, and sending us back to the dark ages. Why don't you just say that you're on the
left? Is this so hard for you? Why can't you just be honest? >> Mr Shapiro-
>> It's a serious question. >> Mr Shapiro, if you only knew how ridiculous
that statement is, you wouldn't have said it. So let's move on. Would you vote-
>> I think it's pretty evident from your own questions exactly what you are, sir. >> Would you vote for Mr. Thrump? >> It's so good. >> Brilliant. >> I literally love in that that he tries
to say, I'm just repeating to you exactly what you said, sir. Obviously, you're a leftist. I just told you, I just explained. This guy was in the tank for Tony Blair. He's considered to be a Thatcherite in the
right wing, plus he's currently on the board of the Spectator, which is considered to be
one of Britain's right leaning publications. >> If you only knew how me and Mrs Thatcher
got at it when she was in power. >> Yeah. >> If you only know how I am a shrine to Mrs
Thatcher. He won't have said that, sorry, I don't really
know what accent I'm going there. >> Yeah, I think you were Scottish, I don't
know for sure what he is. >> I think he's a little Scottish in there. >> No, he's got a little bit of that Midlands. >> Yeah, I hear it too. >> Look, it's funny because Ben Shapiro is
always painted as this genius of debate, and it happens over and over again, because in
America it's easy to pull the wool over people's eyes by claiming, look at this person, he
speaks quickly. He speaks with conviction, so he knows what
he's talking about, he destroyed in that debate. But if you ever listen to the substance of
what he's saying, he either doesn't make sense or he says things that just are demonstrably
untrue. Like arguing that money and politics doesn't
corrupt politicians. That is absurd. That was one of the claims that he made during
his debate with Jake. But one thing that I think a master debate
Someone who's really good at debating- >> They frown upon that, Anna. >> Yeah. >> At least not until marriage. >> You know exactly who you're about to talk
to, right? So you need to obsessively study the person
you're gonna debate, obsessively study the person that you're about to have an interview
with. Because you want to know where they're coming
from and if he had known, if he had taken a second to figure out who this host is and
what his politics are, then he wouldn't have made that stupid claim that this guy is somehow
a leftist. >> Well, the thing about this interview that
I love is that you can see when he's being introduced he's like, Ben Shapiro has five
million followers, whatever, he's listing all the stats and Shapiro's guy is all like
wedgie face you know like- >> They love me and he's getting all excited,
right? And then when he starts to ask him, like hey,
do you support this really retrograde abortion bill, like tell me about that. He's like, he gets really upset that suddenly
what he thought was gonna be a fawning book review, like just tell me about your thoughts
on the Western civilization like suddenly turns into a little bit of pushback. He freaks out and he's like, crap. I didn't actually do any research about this
guy who's interviewing me. I'm totally unprepared which actually was
very revealing that in fact, your god is really quite stupid and unprepared. I saw him debate you Jake at Politicon and
I think in other instances, he did an okay job cuz he had prepared. But off the cuff he actually doesn't have
anything prepared. He's just there to dunk on libs and-
>> There's a little bit of a Sarah Palinesque quality to it because Sarah Palin, when she
was going to debate Joe Biden, knew that she couldn't answer the question. So she prepared ahead of time talking points
on issues. >> Yeah. >> And Ben does that, so if you're gonna ask
about healthcare or you're gonna ask about different issues, he goes to standard attack
talking points. >> Yes. >> And now again, as an opponent, they don't
have to make sense. Isn't it true that when my politicians take
millions of dollars, that they never do favors for the people that they took the millions
of dollars from? No, that's not remotely true. That's a preposterous statement, right? >> Yeah. >> But he's prepared it. He doesn't have a plan B and so he gets exposed
here. But I actually think this is way more damning
of the American media than it is of Ben Shapiro. >> Yeah, 100%. >> So when he cries the first time, that usually
works. That's a bullying tactic and he's like, I
don't get it. When I do this to the New York Times, they
write fawning pieces about me. >> I thought this was gonna be like a Dave
Rubin interview. I thought we were just gonna talk about ideas,
what happened? Yeah, like when he says, Dave Rubin asked
him, I mean, you'd bake me a cake, right, even though I'm gay? And he's like, no, I wouldn't. Dave goes, yes, sir, absolutely sir, right? And that's what he's used to. So when they have actual journalists in the
UK, he was like, I did not see this coming. >> Yes, so we have more, let's take a look
at the next video. Haven't you all just really coarsened public
discourse in America and exacerbated its divisions? >> It's kinda odd to be hearing about me coarsening
public discourse, when you call policies you disagree with brutal and bringing us back
to the Dark Ages, sir. >> I don't really return to but the point
was to put a position for you to reply to it. And I thought we had covered that. >> But I think that's-
>> But I'll put some of the points too because, on your videos-
>> Your characterization of issues is part of the problem in the coarsening of public- >> Well, maybe it's also part of your problem
too because we have from you YouTube videos. Ben Shapiro destroys the abortion argument. Ben Shapiro destroys transgenderism and abortion. Is that not a kind of coarse public discourse? >> Well, are those videos labelled by me? >> I have no idea- >> Why are you picking me out? I have a question. Why are you picking out random YouTube videos
put out by people who are not me and then distributing the titles to me? >> Well, let's go ahead and look at those
random YouTube videos for a second, because we have screenshots from Ben Shapiro's YouTube
channel. And also screenshots from the Daily Wire YouTube
channel, Daily Wire's what Ben Shapiro founded. So let's go to graphic 30. Would you look at that, Ben Shapiro destroys
Piers Morgan on gun control. >> Ben Shapiro destroys transgenderism and
pro-abortion arguments. Ben Shapiro destroys Karl Marx in 60 seconds. Again, these are all from Ben Shapiro's. >> Smacks down, crushes-
>> Yeah. >> And by the way, that's also a tactic. You don't have to win the debate. If afterwards, you just keep saying destroys
over and over and over again and you get either paid people or your trolls and bots to go
and say it. So did he actually destroy Karl Marx? My guess is no. >> Okay, and so-
>> I don't know. >> But that's a tactic that they use online. And by the way, if you're wondering why Andrew
Neil's asking about the tone, etc, is because the point of Shapiro's new book is that the
country's become too angry. So that's why Neil is pressing on that point,
saying aren't you contributing to that? And, then he angrily responds no, it's your
fault, you're the one who's angry, irony. >> Right, I love that we're getting on this
topic Cenk about Ben Shapiro's debate styles and his tactics because that's not often in
the forefront when we're talking about Shapiro, so. So I went to Berkeley back when he tried to
turn my school into his playground for a free speech in order to raise his speaking fees
essentially. And it's very clear what his tactics are. One thing he did in that interview several
times, he reframed Neil's words, so that Ben Shapiro could better turn into an argument. So you'll notice if you watch the full thing
and believe me, I did because I'm a maniac. Andrew Neil never says that his beliefs are
barbaric or ignorant. But Shapiro, the only thing that saved him
when he was a kid and getting swirlies constantly, the only thing that made him feel like an
alpha, was speech and debate. >> And so anytime he's on defense mode he
will turn into a speech and debate situation where he goes, did you really say this, are
you saying this? But it looks ridiculous cuz dude, you're being
interviewed for your book. This is a press tour, like someone just let
this happen. It's totally fine, but no, Shapiro's already
in this mode where he's losing and so he's on the defense but so good to watch. >> Let's take a look at the next video. >> Dumb, bad things that I've said. >> I simply want to point out some of the
things you've said that seem to me to help to stoke that anger. For example you said-
>> Sure. >> Israelis like to build, Arabs like to bomb
crap and live in open sewage. >> Well, as I say in an article entitled,
here's a list of all the giant bad dumb things I've ever said. >> That list-
>> Was that dumb? >> Well, yes, that's a dumb tweet. Not only but it is also important to mention
that the next few tweets clarify that that tweet is specifically referring to the Hamas
leadership, which, by the way, BBC I've seen is relatively reticent to condemn. >> No, actually it wasn't. What you went on to do and say, you are correct
about the scenario among Arabs, it's not all Arabs that want to live in open sewage and
blow things up, it's just Palestinians, you went on to say. >> No, it says the ones who take sides against
Israel in the Israel-Palestinian conflict- >> And then you said the Palestinian-Arab
population is rotten to the core. You went on to say, not Hamas, the Palestinian-Arab
population. >> I say that by poll numbers, they elected
Hamas, they elected Hamas. They educate their children in school that
Israel should be obliterated, sir. >> I guess-
>> If you wanna read, honestly, this is a giant waste of time in the sense that the
entire interview is designed for you to shout slogans or old things that I've said at me. I don't see how this forwards the debate. You talk about undermining the public discourse. It seems to me that simply going through and
finding lone things that sound bad out of context and then hitting people with them
is a way for you to make a quick buck on BBC off the fact that I'm popular and no one has
ever heard of you. >> There are not many bucks to be made on
the BBC unlike American broadcasting Mr. Shapiro. >> I love that response, okay, and the idea
of Ben Shapiro accusing someone else of doing things to make a quick buck is hilarious. And Dan, I would like you to Please refer
to graphic 29, which is the Ben Shapiro tweet in question. Can you read that to us? >> Yes, so Ben Shapiro's saying that, no,
I didn't say that about Palestinians, you're mis my quote. Well, graphic 29 says, apologies. You are correct regarding the slur about Arabs,
he was apologizing about the Arabs live in sewage tweet. Not all Arabs live in open sewage and blowing
things up, just Pals, Palestinians, and their allies. So, no, not all Arabs, I'm not being prejudiced
towards all arabs, I'm just being prejudiced towards all Palestinians. We're just totally fine and totally okay. >> You're just saying that again because I'm
popular and like no one's ever heard of you like the BBC or whatever. >> He literally said that in the middle of
the interview. >> I've heard of the ABCs, what about the
BBCs, that's gross. >> I'm popular and no one has ever heard of
you. >> Can I say one sentence just for posterity,
Ben Shapiro got cut by the BBC. >> Okay, so look, actually, I'd seen the open
sewage line, I couldn't believe he said that. But I don't know why I couldn't believe it,
he's said lot of terrible things, but I had not seen the other things that Andrew Neil
quoted so I went back and looked it up. It's true, he wrote, Ben Shapiro did, the
policy in Arab population is rotten to the core. And he said the problem runs deeper than a
few figureheads. So he was talking about their leaders. He's talking about all Palestinian Arabs. He went on to say, they were responsible for
that governments long standing evil, as the Germans were for the Nazis. Now, if I had said or anybody had said, Netanyahu
brazenly kills civilians during the wars that they have, and the entire international community
agrees with that, and those are war crimes. So since Israel voted for Netanyahu, I guess
they are just as responsible for murdering civilians. And are like the Nazis, I'm pretty sure Ben
Shapiro's head would explode. And would say, how dare you. How dare you insult Jews or anyone in Israel. But Palestinians live in open sewerage, are
rotten to their corner, and are evil like Nazis. But bigotry against Palestinans apparently
is acceptable in Ben Shapiro's world, so much so that if you challenge him on it, he's like
no, no, no, you're quoting me correctly. And it's just not fair. I tell the New York Times to not quote me
correctly and they listen cuz the right wing dominates the American media. We need to tell them to shut up and do is
we tell them, and they listen to us. Why won't the BBC listen to us and bow their
heads and stop correctly quoting them. >> And I also think that, generally, you're
talking about, just to me, is one of the things that truly bothers me about Shapiro, is that
he uses his Judaism as this cudgel. But it's such a specific type of Zionist Judaism
that has no room, that completely conflates the state of Israel with Judaism, which it
should not be conflated with, and conflates Judaism with White Jews. He's never apparently heard of Arab Jews or
definitely not a Jew of color, no one's ever heard of that. That doesn't fit within his very white supremisist
and super white nationalist perspective of not just Israel but the United States. But no, he's a Jew, therefore he can't be
racist. He's a Jew, therfore he can't be bigoted against
anyone. >> Although, ironically though, he will turn
on other Jews and say terrible things about them. He said that if you voted for Obama, you are
not a real Jew, that you are a jew in name only. So I guess somebody made him Jew king and
he gets to say, you know what percentage of Jewish Americans voted for Barrack Obama? 70%. But apparently, 70% of Jews in America are
not real Jews cuz they don't agree with the far right wing ideology of Ben Shapiro. >> Exactly. >> I'm pretty sure you don't get to say that,
okay? And it is deeply offensive. >> Now finally, the grand finale to this entire
interview, let's watch the last video. >> The point I'm trying to make is that your
words are hardly designed to produce the consensus and understanding that the book seems to want
to produce. That's my point, that you write about Judeo-Christian
culture and so on. But so much of what you said in the past would
seem to turn its back on Judeo-Christian culture. >> You're lecturing in me Judeo-Christian
culture after you call the pro-life position barbaric? Really? >> I just asked you a question. >> And I asked you a question, you failed
to answer a single one of mine. Frankly, I find this whole thing a waste of
time. If you want to read the book and critique
the book, why don't you read and critique the book. If you wanna critique me, you can think whatever
you want of me. Frankly, I don't care. I don't frankly give a damn what you think
of me since I've never heard of you. >> And I've never heard of you until I briefed
myself of this, but that's not the issue. >> Then why the hell are you interviewing
me, sir? >> It's an interesting book, but my point
is your book claims >> Well, it would be nice if you would quote
it from time to time. >> Actually, I've done so several times and
I'm about to do so again, if you would let me just finish the question. Honestly, sir. >> It's turning it's back on Judeo-Christian
values. >> What are the values it's turning its back
on? >> I'm not inclined to continue an interview
with a person that's badly motivated as you, as an interviewer. So I think we're done here. I appreciate your time. >> Alright, well, thank you for your time
and for showing that anger is not part of American political discourse. Now, Mr. Shapiro will say goodbye. >> So good. So Ben Shapiro did tweet about this interview
twice, actually. In one of the tweets, he said, just pre-taped
an interview with BBC's Andrew Neal. As I'm not familiar with him or his work,
I misinterpreted his antagonism as political leftism, he termed the pro life position in
America barbaric, and that was apparently inaccurate. For that, I apologize. And he also, later, tweeted that Andrew Neil
destroys Ben Shapiro. So that's what it feels like, with a little
winky face. And then he said, broke my own rule, and wasn't
properly prepared. I've addressed every single issue he raised
before. See below. Still, it's Neil, one, Shapiro, zero. So that's a good tweet to end it there. It's a little self
>> No, no, no, no, I just know Ben Shapiro too well. Part of his strategy, and he said this in
his book How to Debate Leftists and Destroy Them, is to concede when it doesn't matter
to you. So that false concession is going to appeal
to people who go, okay, he got his clock clean, but you know what? He's owning up to it, that's good. But the point is there. That's meant to distract you from that entire
clinic that just got hosted right there. Because in that entire video, it showed how
he lies, how he smears, how he mischaracterizes people's arguments personally. That comment-
>> And how he can't have an actual conversation with anyone who he doesn't deem to be a leftist,
right? >> Yeah. >> Then it really is just about random ideology
to him, cuz this is clearly someone who is a conservative who's asking him just honest,
regular questions. He never used the word barbaric, by the way. And he still isn't prepared for that. So really, he only exists in this figment
of, I don't know, libertarian, like right-wing extremist's imagination and in his own Youtube
channel. That's it. >> And the last thing, he says that I'm not
gonna be, quote, someone as badly motivated as you. That's the argument people make on college
campuses when we say, no, we don't want someone who purposefully mislabels people as transgender. Saying it's a mental illness when the diagnostic
and statistical manual says literally the exact opposite. I don't want someone who's perfectly willing
to smear on my college campus and won't own up to it, someone who knows what they're doing. I don't want that. It's the fact that the BBC was able to see
through that, BBC was a very neoliberal organization by the way. But the fact that that conservative was able
to see through what college people have been trying to say forever, but Barry Weiss of
The New York Times still doesn't understand, just shows that Ben Shapiro is a class A grifter
and really doesn't understand what he's talking about.
