‘This Is A Proxy On ’28’: Steve Bannon Weighs In On Conservative Movement’s Future At AmericaFest Amid Ideological Rift

Steve Bannon described the infighting at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest as a battle for the conservative movement’s future.

“This is a proxy on ’28,” Bannon declared Friday. The former Trump White House adviser unloaded on Ben Shapiro during his speech, calling the Daily Wire co-founder “a cancer” that “metastasizes.” Bannon accused Shapiro of being a “hardcore never-Trumper” who prioritizes Israel over American interests.

“He’s consistently been against Trump,” Bannon said. He claimed Shapiro and others push “this concept of greater Israel and Israel first” rather than an America First agenda. (RELATED: ‘That Is Retarded’: Ben Shapiro Goes After Fellow AmericaFest Speakers, Candace Owens)

Bannon said the clash is not about free speech. “This is about power politics,” he remarked. “And what Charlie Kirk believed in to the core of his being: that America makes decisions for America.”

He framed the fight as a clash between factions. “The Israel First crowd is Ben Shapiro, Tel Aviv Mark Levin, and many others that want to put that ahead of America’s interests,” Bannon said.

Bannon said Kirk shared his view on foreign entanglements. “Charlie absolutely believed what I believe: the Middle East is a sideshow and Israel’s a sideshow to a sideshow.”

Bannon tied the movement’s success to its Christian roots. “What was Charlie Kirk’s lesson? That we were a Christian nation that got off the rails,” he said. “We have to re-Christianize this country.”

The clash exposed a growing rift among MAGA media figures over Israel policy and the direction of conservatism heading into the next presidential election.

STEVE BANNON:  Ben Shapiro is like a cancer, and that cancer spreads. It’s a cancer and it metastasizes. He tried to take over Breitbart and I ran him out of there. He tried to take over David Horowitz, who was his mentor.

Mark my word. He will make a move on Turning Point… pic.twitter.com/qyvbPYr9p8

— Bannon’s WarRoom (@Bannons_WarRoom) December 20, 2025

Shapiro sparked the fight Thursday when he called Tucker Carlson’s interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes “an act of moral imbecility.” He also accused Megyn Kelly and others of “cowardice” for failing to condemn Candace Owens’ conspiracy theories about the assassination of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk.

Carlson dismissed Shapiro’s criticism, comparing his lecture to watching “your dog start doing your taxes.”

Kelly fired back Friday, saying Shapiro “had the nerve to call me a friend right before he called me a despicable coward.”

TPUSA defended its decision to allow the public clashes. Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” told Axios the organization does not script its speakers.

“Debate and open dialogue, not censorship, are part of Charlie’s legacy,” Kolvet added.

The conference drew over 30,000 attendees. Vice President JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and Donald Trump Jr. headlined Sunday’s closing session.