Mediaite columnist John Ziegler spoke with Milo Yiannopoulos for his latest podcast, where the two had a rousing, extended discussion about conservative speech in America.

Throughout the conversation, Ziegler questioned Yiannapoulos about his motivations for supporting Trump, all while asking if he enjoys the controversy that shrouds him as a provocateur. Ziegler made this argument while saying that many pro-Trump conservative media figures are “frauds” riding the wave of the “Trump phenomenon” for money and ratings.

Yiannapoulos countered that traditional Republicans are driven by cynicism more than Trump voters since the political establishment doesn’t invest their money or attention towards the issues people care about. Yiannopoulos also blasted various media industries for stigmatizing right-wing views, and he also complained about how “entertainers” like himself get scrutinized a lot more than people on the political left.

As the interview continued, Yiannopoulos praised Trump multiple times for leading the charge against rampant political correctness across the country. Yiannopoulos spoke about how college liberals and social justice warriors are facing pushback as a result of this phenomenon, though he and Ziegler had different ideas about who would win the culture war in the end.

As the two discussed how political correctness affects university environments and broader society, Ziegler asked Yiannopoulos whether he was “thrilled” that his UC Berkeley event was cancelled back in February. If you recall, Yiannopoulos had to abandon his appearance at the school when protests against him descended into riots and chaos.

Yiannopoulos’ response to Ziegler’s question: “why wouldn’t I be thrilled?”

“They proved my point for me, of course I’d be thrilled,” Yiannopoulos said. “My point was that it was impossible to speak unfettered and without hindrance or harassment at a college as a conservative in America in 2017…”

Ziegler questioned whether that was a victory for Yiannopoulos since his speech was cancelled in the end, though Yiannopoulos pointed to the “colossal” effect the incident had on discussions of free speech. Ziegler wondered whether the dustup did more to elevate Yiannopoulos than free speech, and he pointed out how Ann Coulter’s speech at UC Berkeley was also cancelled in the months since then.

“Look at the coverage it got, which it never would have without me,” Yiannopoulos said. He proceed to talk about how UC Berkeley caved to public pressure by agreeing to Yiannopoulos’ requests for an upcoming “free speech week” event he’ll be hosting there.

Listen above, via Free Speech Broadcasting.

[Image via screengrab]

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