Ben Shapiro's old thoughts on Trump resurface after endorsing him

Ben Shapiro recently announced that he is co-hosting a fundraiser for Donald Trump and that he will be voting for Trump in November.

But old comments have resurfaced showing Shapiro's longtime criticisms of Trump.

In a clip from his Daily Wire show The Ben Shapiro Show, the 40-year-old said he would '"walk on broken glass" to vote for Trump and adds that "Donald Trump must be the next president of the United States."

Whilst explaining his reasonings for supporting Trump, Shapiro acknowledges that Trump is not his first choice GOP candidate and recognises Trump "is a deeply flawed human, I've been open in my criticisms of Trump on both character and policy, and I'm not going to stop criticising Donald Trump when I disagree with him."

But what were some of Shapiro's previous criticisms of Trump?

Shapiro was previously a staunch Ron DeSantis supporter, until the Florida Governor dropped out of the race in January. During his support for DeSantis he attacked former Fox News host Tucker Carlson for giving Trump a "softball" interview in August.

“He asked Donald Trump to rip on Mike Pence by suggesting that Donald Trump had always been very nice to Mike Pence. This question is so bizarre. I, like, I don’t even know what to say about this," the conservative commentator said.

Previously, Shapiro has also called on Republicans to abandon Trump in order to have a chance at winning the general election against Biden.

“There is a reason Democrats are eager to keep Trump at the center of the conversation: half of independents say Trump is a major factor in their vote, and they’re breaking 4-1 for the Democrats,” Shapiro wrote on Twitter/X. “Republicans shouldn’t play that game. If they do, they’re cruising for a bruising.”

But the most damning criticism of Trump from Shapiro is from all the way back in 2016, where he wrote a column titled, "I Will Never Vote For Donald Trump. Here’s Why.”

In the blog , Shapiro writes: "I stand against the establishment that sowed the seeds of Trumpism. I stand against the Republican Party that insists that victory matters more than principle, because victory without principle isn’t just meaningless, it’s counterproductive to my belief system."

In the present moment, Shapiro's argument for supporting Trump rests on the fact that he is not Biden. But in the 2016 blog, Shapiro argues he would not vote for Trump just keep Hillary Clinton out of office.

"No matter how bad Trump is, the argument goes, conservatives have a duty to back the anti-Hillary", Shapiro writes.

"Why in the world would conservatives live with President Hillary Clinton on their consciences?

"Because first, it’s not on our consciences. It’s on the consciences of the people who went along with this nomination. We did not select Trump. We will not vote for him."

He ends the blog with #NeverTrump.

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