‘One of the biggest tax increases on American consumers’: Ben Shapiro says something right for once as he roasts Trump’s tariffs

Of all the people who have been critical of Donald Trump in the past few days, I would never have expected right wing grifter, Ben Shapiro, to add his voice to the crowd of detractors.

Yet here we are, in what has to be the wildest timeline. In a clip from The Ben Shapiro Show he explains exactly why Trump’s tariff plans are going to be bad for everyone. This is something people outside of MAGA have been saying for a long time, but unfortunately, people like Shapiro kept quiet for far too long and now look where we are. 

What did Ben Shapiro say?

In the clip, Shapiro, who voted for Trump last year, calls the tariffs “one of the biggest tax increases on American consumers in the history of America.” This is something economists have been warning us about. Adam Kinzinger has also been saying this non-stop. Shapiro went on to say that “trade wars are in fact not good and not easy to win.”

He also pointed out the fact that trade deficits, which the Trump administration used to calculate the tariffs, have nothing to do with the health of an economy.

Better late than never

While it may seem too little too late, the silver lining here is that Trump supporters aren’t quite as brainwashed as we thought, not all of them at least. Perhaps Shapiro’s words will get through to a few who actually pay attention to what he says and it’ll turn the tide even further against the president and his nonsensical policies.

Ben’s tirade against Trump indicates some fractures within MAGA, and suggests Donald is losing favor with his own voters fast. This isn’t the only place it’s happening, earlier this week we also saw some Republicans take a stand and vote against the tariffs on Canada. So there are some more “sensible” voices in the Republican party, people who aren’t as dogmatic as someone like Marjorie Taylor Greene, and they’re speaking up. 

That’s not to say Shapiro is one of those sensible voices of course — he’s said some awful things in the past, just because he’s saying something agreeable here doesn’t change that fact. But still, there’s hope.

Responses to Ben Shapiro’s argument

With Shapiro joining the ever-growing crowd of people criticizing Trump it’s starting to look like the walls are closing in for the president. Many celebrated Ben’s call out, but others felt a bit iffy about agreeing with someone like him.

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— AJ Punk (@OilyFella18) April 4, 2025

Donald Trump’s new foreign trade policy is almost universally hated and it’s a kick in the teeth for everyone in the country, whether they voted for him or not. When a right wing grifter like Ben Shapiro can’t even find a way to defend it you know it’s bad.