Shapiro Hits Carlson Over Algebra Remarks After Guest Calls Subject ‘Fake Math’

NASHVILLE (VINnews) – Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro criticized Tucker Carlson this week after Carlson hosted a South Dakota artist who dismissed algebra as “fake math” and used language critics described as antisemitic.

The exchange came from an episode of “The Tucker Carlson Show,” released Sept. 7, featuring Jess Elofson, a welder, potter and ceramicist who lives on a farm in South Dakota. The pair discussed art, craftsmanship and education before turning to mathematics.

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Carlson asked why algebra “puts letters into numbers.” Elofson said the practice exists to confuse people. He said he never used algebra while calculating the size and structural integrity of a wood-fired kiln and claimed he had never met anyone who used the subject in real life. He called algebra fake math for people “in the matrix” and referred to those who take it seriously as “good little goy slaves.” Carlson praised the remark and said building a kiln demonstrated real math.

Shapiro answered in a video and on X. He mocked the suggestion that algebra is a form of Jewish trickery and that elite schools such as Harvard Law are closed to people who struggle with numbers. He listed his own record: he skipped grades, scored 176 on the LSAT, graduated from UCLA with a 3.85 GPA and summa cum laude honors at age 20, published a book by that age, and later graduated from Harvard Law School.

“Apparently, according to Tucker and his guest, algebra is now some form of bizarre Joo magic — and also Harvard Law is rigged against the innumerate,” Shapiro wrote. In a separate post he added that he was “not enough of a genius to question why we use them funny-lookin’ letters in them there fancy algebra equations.”

The clip revived a long-running feud. Carlson has previously questioned whether Shapiro’s academic path reflected merit. Shapiro has accused Carlson of platforming conspiracy theories and antisemitic tropes. Jewish and conservative outlets said the “goy slaves” line was the latest example of Carlson declining to challenge guests who traffic in anti-Jewish language.

Algebra, whose name comes from the Arabic al-jabr, uses letters as placeholders for unknown quantities. Engineers, architects, economists and software developers rely on it daily. Elofson’s kiln calculations of arches and load-bearing structure themselves depend on algebraic relationships, even if the letters never appear on a chalkboard at a farm workbench.

The episode has circulated widely among conservative and Jewish audiences. Shapiro framed the segment as part of a broader pattern: hostility to expertise dressed up as populism, with familiar antisemitic framing attached.