Four years ago, in an article touting Donald Trump as "the best Republican candidate for president out there," Ben Shapiro, a former Breitbart editor, identified the real estate mogul as a "breakout star" and predicted that Trump supporters would sweep the billionaire to the top of the Republican ticket.

Here are excerpts from "The Magic of Donald Trump" in Townhall:

If Republicans were to construct an ideal candidate, he would have to be rich beyond belief… would have significant name recognition with the general public…[and] would have stage presence, an intimidation factor, and a willingness to play dirty.

The moment he declares in earnest and gets on the campaign stump, his numbers will rise dramatically.

Is Donald Trump the best Republican candidate for president out there? It would be tough to argue otherwise. He's got all the makings of a breakout star; he's got bravado and the cash to back it up. If he really runs, he won't have any trouble finding supporters.

After Shapiro's 2011 vision materialized, with Donald Trump energizing millions of old and new voters to turn out for Republican primaries in 2016, the popular blogger decided to join the anti-Trump campaign.  In a recent video, Shapiro trashes Trump with one-liners, repeating oft-recited talking points.

Because voters are always looking for conservative media personalities who are not self-aggrandizing and  have core values outside self-promotion, and for people of substance who don't move where the money moves, Shapiro's  vitriolic response to Trump in 2016 appears odd, to say the least.

It's also hard to believe that Shapiro, a Harvard Law graduate, hadn't looked into Trump's past contributions to Democrats (as well as Republicans), say, or his "failed" business endeavors before he wrote such a glowing testimony of the billionaire in the Townhall piece.  There was no mention of Trump's flaws back then.  Instead, he called Trump a "no-nonsense businessman."

Contradictions aside, Shapiro should be acknowledged for his on-the-money prediction of the rise of the silent majority movement with Trump as its leader.