Tucker Carlson’s Oct. 28 interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes ignited a sharp backlash from Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz even as the Heritage Foundation’s president, Kevin Roberts, publicly refused to “cancel” Carlson. The dust-up has reopened rifts on the right over antisemitism, free speech and the party’s stance on Israel.
On his show this week, Tucker Carlson hosted Nick Fuentes, a 27-year-old livestreamer known for antisemitic rhetoric and Holocaust denial. During the more than two-hour exchange, Fuentes described Jews as “unassimilable,” spoke of “organized Jewry,” and tied his critiques of Israel to conspiratorial claims about Jewish influence. Carlson, for his part, derided Christian Zionism as a “brain virus,” though he also said blaming “the Jews” is contrary to his Christian faith. Coverage and excerpts of the episode circulated widely online. (christianpost.com)
The interview drew immediate condemnation from top Republicans. In a post on X on Friday, former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote: “Last I checked, ‘conservatives should feel no obligation’ to carry water for antisemites and apologists for America-hating autocrats,” pointedly adding that the movement’s “intellectual backbone” is measured by “the values it defends.” (politico.com)
Speaking Thursday night at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s leadership summit in Las Vegas, Sen. Ted Cruz castigated the episode: “If you sit there with someone who says Adolf Hitler was very very cool and that their mission is to combat and defeat ‘global Jewry,’ and you say nothing, then you are a coward, and you are complicit in that evil.” (thedailybeast.com)
The Heritage Foundation publicly backed Carlson amid calls to distance the think tank from him. In a video posted Thursday, Heritage President Kevin Roberts said the group “didn’t become the intellectual backbone of the conservative movement by canceling our own people or policing the consciences of Christians,” calling Carlson “a close friend.” Roberts added that while he “disagrees with or even abhors” things Fuentes says, “canceling him is not the answer.” (houstonchronicle.com)
Other figures on the right piled on. Dinesh D’Souza shared screenshots of texts he said were from the late Charlie Kirk—founder of Turning Point USA, who was assassinated Sept. 10—calling Fuentes “vermin” and arguing that debating him had been “a massive mistake.” (Hindustan Times and Salon reported on D’Souza’s posts.) Separately, Laura Loomer, a Jewish conservative activist, also criticized Carlson and Fuentes amid an ongoing feud with Fuentes. (htsyndication.com)
Fuentes’ trajectory on the right predates this week’s interview. He attended the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville; helped lead the “Groyper” campaigns targeting Turning Point USA events in 2019; joined Stop the Steal efforts after the 2020 election and was later subpoenaed by the House Jan. 6 committee (he has said he did not enter the Capitol); and cultivated ties with GOP figures including Reps. Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who faced criticism after appearing at events associated with him. In 2022, Fuentes dined with Donald Trump and Ye (formerly Kanye West) at Mar-a-Lago; Trump later said he was unfamiliar with Fuentes. (time.com)
In recent months, Fuentes has boasted of growing sway among young conservatives and claimed “groypers” are influencing Turning Point USA—assertions that have alarmed some conservatives. And after Carlson’s interview, groyper-style questions surfaced at a J.D. Vance event, reflecting the movement’s on-campus tactics. (Media Matters and Tablet reported on these developments.) (mediamatters.org)
The controversy arrives amid a broader reckoning over antisemitism on the right. McConnell’s public rebuke of Heritage follows weeks of intraparty disputes over Israel and Jewish Americans. News outlets covering Carlson’s episode emphasized Fuentes’ open antisemitism and Carlson’s remarks about Christian Zionists, underscoring divisions over whether platforming such voices constitutes debate—or mainstreaming extremism. (washingtonpost.com)
Note: Kirk’s death in September was widely covered by major outlets and marked by an official presidential proclamation; references to his past criticism of Fuentes are therefore reported here as coming from posts shared after his death. (apnews.com)