Ben Shapiro warns Democrats have 'strong incentive' to crater the economy and blame Trump

Democrats could be gearing up to undermine the economy and leave President Donald Trump to shoulder the blame, Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro warned this week, raising concerns about the party's agenda following its 2026 midterm victories.

"I think that the Democrats right now have a strong incentive to basically crater the American economy over the course of the next two years and blame President Trump for it," Shapiro told Sean Hannity on the "Hang Out with Sean Hannity" podcast.

Shapiro predicted that Democrats would introduce "affordability bills" that "aren't actually about affordability" and seek to "destroy" the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, as part of what he characterized as a broader effort to undermine Trump's presidency.

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"[The AI industry] is responsible for the vast majority of economic growth in the country right now," Shapiro said.

The warning comes after Democrats' midterm victories, which Shapiro suggested could embolden the party to pursue a more aggressive legislative agenda.

"And they'll do it in the name of populism," he said.

During Thursday's podcast episode, Shapiro also discussed his evolving views on Trump, the rise of antisemitism, the personal security threats he says have affected his family and his outlook on the 2028 presidential race.

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"The only hope that Republicans have is that Democrats will do what Democrats typically do, which is misread the moment, see this as a mandate for radical change..." Shapiro said, discussing Republicans' prospects following the midterm elections.

"You and I have been in this game for a long time, and we've seen a lot of these cycles," he told Hannity.

"And whenever I hear Republicans go, 'Oh, we'll never win again,' I'm old enough to remember when Barack Obama won re-election and then four years later, Donald Trump was taking his seat in the Oval Office," he added.

Viewers can watch or listen to Sean Hannity's full conversation with Ben Shapiro on the "Hang Out with Sean Hannity" podcast, available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and iHeartRadio.