Popular right-wing media personality Ben Shapiro has fallen under intense fire this week after comments he made on his podcast “The Ben Shapiro Show” regarding cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits. 

Shapiro, 40, has defended his stance on the issue for months but doubled down hard this week, stating on his show that the fact the United States has not raised the retirement age is “insane” and that “no one in the United States should be retiring at 65 years old.” 

Shapiro did not hold back his disdain for receiving Social Security and Medicare at the age of 65, adding, “Retirement itself is a stupid idea unless you have some sort of health problem.”

"No one in the United States should be retiring at 65."

Ben Shapiro think that retirement is a "stupid idea" and points to Biden running for president again with the intention of working until he's 86.

Should the retirement age be pushed back or done away with entirely? pic.twitter.com/Z6iAbw7F4C

— TENET Media (@watchTENETnow) March 13, 2024

Shapiro, a co-founder of the Daily Wire, has a net worth of over $50 million. Since the beginning of his career, he has been involved in multiple altercations with other popular right-wing personalities, losing traction and viewership due to years of slamming former President Donald Trump, but still managing to assemble one of the most popular conservative outlets online by walking the line with many Trump supporters. 

Whether one agrees with Shapiro’s economic argument or not, it’s very clear that this is not a winning issue for conservatives in an election year, and Trump has made it clear he does not intend on raising the retirement age.

And supporters of the former president are making it clear that the popular host does not speak for the MAGA movement and, in fact, that he’s often been opposed to some of the more popular goals of the Trump presidency, taking the “libertarian” lens on immigration and displacement and parting ways with other conservatives when it comes to onshoring efforts to bring manufacturing back to the United States. 

Ben Shapiro does not speak for Trump or the MAGA movement!

President Trump has made it crystal clear that he will not cut social security or Medicare!

All Biden does is LIE! pic.twitter.com/TWVKuvZH3p

— Alex Bruesewitz 🇺🇸 (@alexbruesewitz) March 13, 2024

Shapiro has had an ongoing, contentious relationship with Donald Trump’s brand of conservatism — the kind that actually wins elections — beginning with his support of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) over the then-presidential hopeful and an embarrassing failed attempt at boosting an obscure David Frump to the Republican nomination as a protest vote. He even went so far as to not vote for Trump in the 2016 presidential election against Hillary Clinton due to his “principles” and attempted to passively shame his listeners to do the same. 

In 2022, he made a direct electoral argument against Trump, asserting, “The more Republicans talk about Trump, the worse they do electorally,” claiming that Republicans “are the losing team” for putting their faith in the former president. 

'Get Back To Work, You Lazy Bums!' Shouts Ben Shapiro At Retirement Home https://t.co/Adj9xQSQCO pic.twitter.com/HHJ7zp3IVD

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) March 13, 2024

“This means that when Trump is attacked, Republicans immediately return to making him the centerpiece of the conversation, and this harms them electorally — as every poll is now showing,” Shapiro told his audience. 

Ben Shapiro wants you working until you’re dead:

"No one in the United States should be retiring at 65 years old. Frankly, I think retirement itself is a stupid idea unless you have some sort of health problem." pic.twitter.com/3oJ9rAGzFs

— HOT SPOT (@HotSpotHotSpot) March 12, 2024

After his March 13 podcast, Shapiro was under fire from both the left and the right, with left-wing media portraying Shapiro, a multi-millionaire, as someone who doesn’t actually benefit from Social Security or Medicare. 

Conservatives were sure to make their differences with Shapiro clear, exiling him further from the base of former President Trump, with many social media personalities expressing that while he finally did endorse Trump, his values do not align with Trump’s movement. 

Ben Shapiro should work concrete for a few years and see if he still thinks retirement is stupid. https://t.co/2h4stEx1XM

— Liger (@EdbieLigerSmith) March 12, 2024