The president of one of the nation’s most influential conservative policy organizations released a statement defending his ties to conservative media firebrands Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes. Kevin Roberts of The Heritage Foundation made his statement days after Carlson hosted neo-Nazi influencer Fuentes on his podcast. Both hate-mongers command audiences of tens of millions and maintain ties to many senior political officials.
The pair promoted anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and threats during their more than two-hour conversation. Fuentes accused conservative political commentators and “Zionist Jews” Ben Shapiro, Dave Rubin and Dennis Prager of “controlling the media.” He also said Jews cannot be assimilated into the countries they live in, despite abundant evidence to the contrary. Fuentes founded the white-nationalist Groyper movement that praises Hitler and white Christian nationalism. He has also made overt racist and sexist remarks.
In his podcast interview, Carlson described Christian Zionists as heretics for supporting Israel. He claimed that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and former President George W. Bush have been “seized by a brain virus.”
The Heritage Foundation, a 52-year-old leading conservative U.S. think tank, has historically shaped Republican policy platforms and gained significantly greater influence in the current administration. Its president criticized the “venomous coalition attacking our close friend” Carlson for “sowing division.” Roberts insisted that Heritage should “focus on our political adversaries on the left, not attacking our friends on the right.” He added that while he “abhors” some of Fuentes’ views, he would not “cancel him.” Following condemnations of his comments, Roberts denounced Fuentes on X, but did not comment on Carlson.
Several key members of Heritage’s Project Esther conservative “national strategy to counter antisemitism” resigned.
Republican pushback: Drawing the line
Republican leaders and conservative Jewish voices responded quickly. Some spoke at the annual Republican Jewish Coalition convention, although not everyone specifically named Carlson and Fuentes in their condemnations.
Cruz said that “we are seeing more and more anti-Jewish hate rising on the right. In the last six months, I have seen more antisemitism on the right than I have in my entire life. This is a poison. And I believe we are facing an existential crisis in our party and in our country.”
Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) unequivocally condemned Carlson and Heritage, insisting that “we must call evil by its name: Tucker Carlson is the most dangerous antisemite in America. He has chosen to take on the mantle of leader of a modern-day Hitler Youth to broadcast those who celebrate the Nazis, call for the extermination of Israel, defend Hamas and even criticize President [Donald] Trump for stopping Iran’s nuclear ambitions. I am canceling an event with Heritage and will be calling on all of my Republican colleagues to do the same.”
Fine also condemned two of his Republican House colleagues: “I have the distinct displeasure of serving with two overt antisemites: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.). It makes my stomach crawl that I have to sit in the same room with them. So, now we have to choose. Will we ignore these embarrassments to our party?”
The difference between free speech and promoting hate
The chair of Heritage’s National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, Mark Goldfeder, resigned, citing moral clarity: “The Jewish people have too often suffered when fighting hatred became a partisan sport. I have spent much of my legal career defending free expression, including speech I personally abhor. But defending this right is not the same as endorsing the platform of those who use it to dehumanize others. Free speech protects the right to speak and not to compel anyone to provide a megaphone for a Nazi. Choosing not to share a platform with bigotry is not censorship, it is conscience.”
Princeton legal scholar Robert P. George, a member of the Heritage Board of Trustees, said: “I am committed to free speech for everybody, including bigots, but defending their rights does not mean allying with them and welcoming them into our movement. They openly preach white supremacy and the hatred of Jews. They no longer feel the need even to try to hide their bigotry.”
Anti-Jewish hate and bigotry have also continued to increase on the far left. Radical groups that claim to fight oppression increasingly single out Jews and Israel for exclusion. Deborah Lipstadt, the former U.S. special envoy for monitoring and combating antisemitism, stated that “unlike most other prejudices, antisemitism is ubiquitous, coming from all ends of the political spectrum. It can emanate from anyone and anywhere: those on the right, those on the left, those in the middle and from Christians, Muslims, atheists, and, of course, Jews.”
The ‘woke right’: Revisionism and resentment
The Heritage controversy also exposed a deeper trend reshaping parts of the conservative movement—a “woke right”—that claims to defend Western civilization while eroding the moral foundations that built it. In online spaces and podcasts, a growing cohort of self-styled “new right” influencers has begun revising history to portray fascist figures, including Adolf Hitler and Soviet Union dictator Joseph Stalin, as misunderstood defenders of tradition.
Fuentes told Carlson he is an “admiring fan” of Stalin. His man-made famines killed more than 3 million in Ukraine, imprisoned millions in forced labor camps (Gulags) and forcibly deported ethnic groups to remote regions. Carlson also hosted Nazi apologist Darryl Cooper, who falsely claimed that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill provoked war with the Nazis and that the Holocaust was not planned in advance.
Speaking at the Republican Jewish Convention, conservative black influencer Officer Brandon Tatum said: “You have a guy on your show that was a big fan of Stalin. You can have him on the show, but you better push back. There’s no way you can say that you’re a Christian. There’s no way you can say you believe in God and you support a person like Joseph Stalin, who did not believe in God, who killed so many people.”
Defending civilization, America and Israel
Cruz defended the U.S.-Israel alliance: “I am very proud to be a Christian Zionist. I choose to stand with Israel, and I choose to stand with America. The enemies of Israel hate America. Because those who hate Jews hate Christians.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) echoed his comments, saying that “everybody who wants to destroy the Jewish state wants to kill us, too. Common values and common enemies.” And Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.): “I say as a conservative and a Christian: There is no place for anti-Jewish hate and tropes.”
The Anti-Defamation League recently presented its democracy defender award to David Holt, mayor of Oklahoma City. The Native American commented that “bigotry toward Jewish people is one of the symptoms of decaying civilizations throughout human history.”
Points to consider:
1. Moral leaders must reject hate and excuses for extremism.
Political and moral integrity are measured by consistency, not convenience. Across the political spectrum, some leaders condemn hate in opponents while ignoring it within their own movements, signaling that moral standards are negotiable. Excusing anti-Jewish, racist or violent rhetoric for partisan gain corrodes public trust and normalizes extremism. Real leadership demands calling out bigotry wherever it arises and holding all sides to the same ethical standards. America’s democracy depends on leaders who defend what is right, not what is politically useful.
2. Words matter, but actions matter more.
Condemnations are meaningful only when matched by conviction. Too many leaders issue statements against hate while continuing to meet with and support those who promote it. Moral clarity requires more than press releases; it demands accountability and consequences. Upholding democratic values means setting standards, not slogans. Real integrity is proven through choices: who we platform, who we partner with and when we decide that friendship cannot excuse hate.
3. Defending Jewish safety strengthens everyone.
History shows that societies that fail to protect Jews eventually fail themselves. Anti-Jewish hate weakens the moral order that upholds every community, weakening integrity, freedom and national unity. Standing up for Jewish safety is not favoritism; it is the measure of whether a society still believes in its own principles. Defending Jews means defending human dignity, civic equality and the shared promise that every person deserves to live without fear.
4. Free speech does not justify platforming hate.
Defending free expression is the bedrock of democracy; so is knowing where to draw the moral line. Freedom of speech protects the right to speak, but it does not permit leaders and organizations to amplify those who glorify hate or violence. Leaders who conflate conscience with censorship miss the point. Choosing not to lend a platform to bigotry is not suppression. It is responsibility.
5. The “woke right” betrays Western values.
A growing conservative faction called the “woke right” and “America only” claims to defend Western civilization while undermining the moral truths that built it. Their revisionist attacks on World War II hero Winston Churchill, admiration for dictators like Stalin and promotion of Holocaust denial desecrate Western values. Their calls to abandon Israel weaken Christian-Jewish relations. Real strength means defending truth, not distorting history to excuse hate.
6. Faith and freedom share common foundations.
The moral code that shapes Western democracy is rooted in the shared values of Jewish and Christian traditions: compassion, responsibility and respect for human life. These principles built the free societies that extremists now want to divide. Defending them is a religious and civic duty. The alliance between Jews, Christians and other allied faiths is grounded in mutual duty: to preserve truth, reject hate and uphold the moral order that sustains liberty for all.
