Ben Shapiro (YouTube Screenshot)
Despite generally supporting and even fundraising for Trump in the past, Shapiro also took aim at the president’s controversial cryptocurrency venture, which launched just days before his January inauguration.
President Donald Trump’s desire to accept a $400 million jet from Qatar didn’t sit well for Jewish political commentator Ben Shapiro who called the arrangement “skeezy stuff” and questioned how it aligns with the president’s “America First” policy.
“Taking sacks of goodies from people who support Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Jazeera, all the rest — that’s not America First!” Shapiro declared during his Daily Wire program.
“Like, please define America First in a way that says you should take sacks of cash from the Qatari royals who are behind al-Jazeera. It just isn’t America first in any conceivable way.”
Trump has defended accepting the Boeing 747-8 luxury jet from Qatar’s government, telling reporters on Monday that he “could be a stupid person and say we don’t want a free plane” but that it represents “a great gesture from Qatar.”
The White House’s legal team is reportedly planning to find a loophole in constitutional law in order for Trump to use the aircraft temporarily as Air Force One until Boeing completes new presidential planes, which are years behind schedule.
“So back to the original question: is this good for President Trump? Is it good for his agenda? Is it good for draining the swamp and getting things done? The answer is no, it isn’t. It isn’t. If you want President Trump to succeed, this kind of skeezy stuff needs to stop,” Shapiro remarked.
“I think if we switched the names to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden, we’d all be freaking out on the right,” he continued. “Let’s say if Qatar was giving Joe a $400 million jet for his use at his presidential library after his presidency… we’d all have been pretty upset on the right.”
Despite generally supporting and even fundraising for Trump in the past, Shapiro also took aim at the president’s controversial cryptocurrency venture, which launched just days before his January inauguration.
Dubbed the “$TRUMP meme coin,” it has since soared to a trading value of nearly $13 billion.
“Do you all recall President Trump launching dollar sign Trump crypto just three days before assuming the presidency?” Shapiro asked his audience.
“Trump himself unveiled the Trump crypto on X. On Truth Social, he touted it as a meme coin, implying it had no real value and was merely for kicks. The price soared to a trading value of nearly 13 billion dollars, ranking it as the 19th most valuable cryptocurrency globally.”
Trump’s crypto venture has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers after the coin’s website announced that the top 220 holders would receive invitations to an exclusive dinner with Trump at his golf club.
Democratic senators have called for an ethics investigation into potential “pay-to-play” corruption, while financial analyses show that while insiders have profited handsomely, approximately 764,000 wallets that purchased the coin have lost money on their investment.
According to Shapiro, Trump’s unnecessary theatrics is undermining his policy agenda, pointing to the recent defeat of legislation that would have deregulated the cryptocurrency industry due to concerns about conflicts of interest with Trump’s crypto investments.
“The administration’s policy is too important for this sort of activity,” Shapiro chastised. “President Trump promised to drain the swamp. This is not, in fact, draining the swamp.”
Netanyahu said: 'You will light a torch of civilian heroism on Independence Day.'
The latest finding about the Omani co-pilot is intensifying scrutiny over how he was cleared…
Izz al-Din Bik was one of the founders of Hamas’ Nukhba forces in northern Gaza.
Over Sukkot, IDF forces arrested six terrorists in Nablus and about 50 others across the…
Israel and Oman have no diplomatic relations, which has put the co-pilot's nationality at the…
The passengers were stranded after flydubai suspended flights to Israel following the cockpit attack.