Ben Shapiro shut down California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell on Wednesday after the senator unsuccessfully tried to weaponize Shapiro’s personal religious beliefs.
During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the controversial Global Alliance for Responsible Media, Swalwell chose to question Shapiro about a topic unrelated to the hearing: Project 2025, a plan for America’s future created by the Heritage Foundation.
“Yes, I am a devout Jew. That’s right. You’ve seen through me.”
Ironically, after Swalwell acknowledged that he supported many of the project’s proposals — reducing government bureaucracy, improving government efficiency and eliminating government waste — the California Democrat tried to ask Shapiro about immigration — and after Shapiro answered those questions beautifully, Swalwell moved on to talk about abortion and same-sex marriage.
But the hearing took a strange turn.
Shapiro appeared at the hearing representing the Daily Wire, which had been unfairly attacked by GARM, but Swalwell instead chose to question Shapiro about his religious beliefs.
“Do you support that part? The ban on same-sex marriage?” Swalwell asked, referring to Project 2025.
“I support traditional marriage between a man and a woman, and I have no problem with people having voluntary sexual relationships that they choose,” Shapiro replied. “That’s a separate issue from whether the government should have an advantage over those private relationships.”
But that answer wasn’t enough for Swalwell, who responded by probing Shapiro’s religious beliefs more precisely.
“But you believe same-sex marriage is a sin?” the Democrat continued.
“So, I’m confused. You’re asking me, as a devout Jew, what I think about the Bible?” Shapiro responded.
“Just asking: Is homosexuality a sin?” Swalwell asked again.
“From a Jewish religious perspective, sexual orientation is not a sin, but the act is a sin, and this is a view shared by most major religions that I know of,” Shapiro noted.
For the next minute, Swalwell asked Shapiro two questions on different topics, but then, oddly, he returned to the issue of same-sex marriage, claiming to have found “evidence” of Shapiro’s previous anti-gay comments. Swalwell read one such statement aloud:
“Yes, I’m a devout Jew, that’s true. You saw right through me,” Shapiro retorted. “I agree, too. Yes, that’s true.”
The response drew laughter from the crowd in the hearing room.
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