Read on Twitter
"Moderate" Conservatives like Ben Shapiro will be voting for Donald Trump in November. Despite his authoritarian beliefs and actions, I'll do a case study here to explain the dilemma someone like Ben Shapiro faces this coming election. THREAD:
Ben Shapiro marketed himself as a Moderate indirectly by making it known and proud that he criticizes Trump on the bad stuff, and praises him on the good stuff. This attracted his online following to consist of large swaths of moderates and non-moderates (Trump supporters)...
He has since made these two groups the primary component of his revenue stream, thus keeping him trapped in that cycle of appearing to be a Moderate to his fan base. Unfortunately this has caused him a problem he can't seem to shake...
To his Moderate base, he can't support Trump too much or go off the deep end like Charlie Kirk and just defend Trump on everything. To his Trump supporter base, he has to remain reserved in his criticism, and only criticize Trump on very inconsequential actions...
You'll notice Ben will criticize Trump on tariffs, but will never go on a rant about Trump's comments to delay the election. He'll never put "unconstitutional" or "unamerican" in the same sentence as Trump for actions he's put those words together in against Democrat politicians.
The reason why he is doing these things is so he can vote for Trump in November and still maintain his revenue stream and his standing within the Republican Party.
If he calls Trump an Authoritarian, he cannot justify a vote for Trump, and if he doesn't vote for Trump, he sees a significant decline in Trump supporter revenue streams, and less invitations to speak at Republican events for a hefty pricetag...
If he goes full Maga, he loses a lot of that appeal from Moderates that want a stable Republican, calm Party to take over after Trump. Thus he loses money, and Ben definitely does not want to be seen as a Maga minion. He feels it diminishes his value as a Conservative voice.
But when every time you hold a speech, you see a sea of white boys wearing Maga Hats, it's an extraordinary motivator to keep your self in the middle, holding the bonds between these two groups.
So, after November 3rd, people will inevitably ask Ben who he voted for. Now he can choose the "I'm not saying" approach to both avoid the wrath of the Trump supporters if he votes for Biden, or the Establishment if he votes for Trump..in Los Angeles.
But his best option is to say he voted for Trump, but did so out of necessity, not that he supports Trump.
Which brings me to his strategy for the next 2 months: Make Biden the Devil.
Which brings me to his strategy for the next 2 months: Make Biden the Devil.
If he can successfully cast Biden or Harris as authoritarian communists to the whole of the Republican Party, then he can keep his standing as a moderate and safely vote for Trump and proudly say it. This is the only option that keeps his cash flow and Conservative standing.
Expect significantly more tweets like this. You'd be surprised what 2 months of Republican propaganda can do to their base. Ben Shapiro will try to cast Biden as a radical-left extremist to justify his vote for Trump, and many Republicans will follow. https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1293549092417593347?s=20
