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Newsmax host Greg Kelly hailed conservative pundit Ben Shapiro–who is White–as one of the "heroes" of the Black conservative movement. He then defended including Shapiro among Black conservatives in an on-air graphic.
Kelly made the claim during a segment in which the far right news outlet claimed liberals view Black conservatives as "traitors."
To the left of Kelly, an on-air graphic showed images of four men who apparently fit the description of "Black conservatives."
Shown were former Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Sheriff David Clarke—whose name was misspelled Daivd, Tea Party activist Herman Cain-who died of COVID-19 in 2020 after attending a maskless Trump MAGA rally, former Republican presidential candidate and Trump-era Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and conservative White provacateur Ben Shapiro.
Screenshots of the segment attracted negative attention after it was tweeted by Jason Campbell, a senior researcher at Media Matters for America (MMA), and others.
This is an actual screenshot from Newsmax. I did not edit this.pic.twitter.com/zTevhmwMAH— Jason Campbell (@Jason Campbell) 1650456676
Oddly, Kelly defended including Shapiro next to actual Black conservatives.
Kelly claimed Shapiro has done his part to discredit liberals who say there is systemic racism in the United States.
Conservative media is running so low on black Republicans that Newsmax borrowed Ben Shapiro and a dead Herman Cain for this screen shot. Are they so embarrassed by Tim Scott they couldn\u2019t use him? Too sexist to use Candace Owens? https://twitter.com/jasonscampbell/status/1516751349337268227\u00a0\u2026— evie \u10e6 \ud83c\udf3b (@evie \u10e6 \ud83c\udf3b) 1650468454
"Black conservatives are "out there" and they've been "shunned" by liberal voters, according to Kelly, who added:
"And the late Herman Cain and, of course, Ben Shapiro, not Black but one of the heroes of the movement. This really disrupts the narrative and that’s why they are marginalized."
"They shouldn’t be. They should be celebrated and listened to."
Kelly's claim–and the segment–were almost immediately mocked.
In my opinion, the funniest part of Greg Kelly including Ben Shapiro on his list of "Black Conservatives" is his justification of it.\n\n"Of course, Ben Shapiro, not Black but one of the heroes of the movement"\n\nONE OF THE HEROES!https://www.thedailybeast.com/newsmax-host-greg-kelly-includes-ben-shapiro-among-black-conservatives\u00a0\u2026— Justin Baragona (@Justin Baragona) 1650475092
Candace Owens is somewhere crying into her The Moon Landing Was Fake Bible that Shapiro was considered Blacker than her by Newsmax.https://twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1516944912020824065\u00a0\u2026— Isobel Carr (@Isobel Carr) 1650506236
One of them is deceased. https://twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1516944912020824065\u00a0\u2026— Gregory Ealey (@Gregory Ealey) 1650505749
For one, Trump killed Herman Cain with covid. Two, since when tf is Ben Shapiro black?pic.twitter.com/c89wxDvqSS— I Smoked Tucker Carlson's Tanned Testicles (@I Smoked Tucker Carlson's Tanned Testicles) 1650480985
Ben Shapiro went to one testicle tanning session and all of a sudden he's a Black man???https://twitter.com/JasonSCampbell/status/1516751349337268227\u00a0\u2026— Covie (@Covie) 1650479953
I was today years old when I learned that Ben Shapiro was a Black Conservative.https://twitter.com/JasonSCampbell/status/1516751349337268227\u00a0\u2026— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@BrooklynDad_Defiant!) 1650483636
I\u2019ll point four things out, Newsmax is propaganda, Herman Cain is dead, both Ben Carson and David Clarke are disgraces and Ben Shapiro isn\u2019t nor will he ever be black.https://twitter.com/jasonscampbell/status/1516751349337268227\u00a0\u2026— Ricky Davila \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ricky Davila \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1650484171
A. Clarke \u2014 a walking, talking affectation, Fascist AF\nB. Cain \u2014 Deceased (COVID)\nC. Shapiro \u2014 Racist AF White guy, Misogynist, Fascist AF \nD. Carson \u2014 Can't believe he was a neurosurgeonhttps://twitter.com/JasonSCampbell/status/1516751349337268227\u00a0\u2026— Dr. Jack Brown (@Dr. Jack Brown) 1650496745
Well, we knew Conservative extremists were going for their own narrative over there on Newsmax but that's taking things a bit too far, don't we think? The only think Black about Ben Shapiro is his withered heart.https://twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1516944912020824065\u00a0\u2026— @DemsOfRiverside (@@DemsOfRiverside) 1650505595
One of these guys is dead.\nOne actually ran as a Democrat.\nAnd the other isn\u2019t\u2026 black?\n\nConservatives are a hot mess.https://twitter.com/jasonscampbell/status/1516751349337268227\u00a0\u2026— \ud83c\udf3b Kaz Weida \ud83c\udf3b (@\ud83c\udf3b Kaz Weida \ud83c\udf3b) 1650479764
Kelly later added Shapiro, while not Black, has "an important voice and has helped a lot of Black people."
The typo on David Clarke's name was also corrected.
Pretty remarkable that the best that Newsmax could come up with for champions of Black causes in the GOP includes a guy who is literally dead.https://twitter.com/acyn/status/1516923795574984705\u00a0\u2026— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1650498247
While Kelly did not exactly elaborate how Shapiro has helped, he did insist most of the media had taken his words out of context or missed his point.
pic.twitter.com/IZDTZdLLwz— Captain Kerk (@Captain Kerk) 1650483010
Kelly said Shapiro is "not afraid to speak some real truth in uncomfortable situations." He referred to Shapiro's suggestion income and educational disparity between Blacks and Whites in the United States is high—not because of some racial element but because of a "culture problem."
Shapiro added it is why Blacks "are responsible for 50 percent of the murder" in the country, among other unsubstantiated or outright false claims.
Kelly went on to suggest Shapiro was brave to make such a claim in "a mixed race environment," adding conservatives can be "real allies to the Black community" if only liberals would make the space for them.