Nick Fuentes, a far-right activist, holds a rally at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing on Nov. 11, 2020. Nicole Hester/Ann Arbor News/AP
As mentioned by CNN
Nick Fuentes, a well-known white nationalist and Holocaust denier, provoked an internal split within the Republican Party and among leading conservative institutions in the United States, including the Heritage Foundation.
Polarization among the right intensified after former Fox News host Tucker Carlson invited Fuentes onto his podcast, where the meeting took place in a largely friendly manner. Some conservatives, including Dinesh D’Souza and Ben Shapiro, sharply condemned Carlson for expanding the influence of a fringe figure who expresses sympathy for Adolf Hitler and regularly uses racist and antisemitic imagery.
Moreover, the criticism drew attention to their statements about Israel and to the mockery of Christians who support Israel.
The president of the Heritage Foundation, Kevin Roberts, defended Carlson, noting that Carlson’s criticism and Fuentes’s isolation undermine the fight against censorship and the so-called “cancel culture”.
“Christians can criticize the state of Israel without being antisemitic”
In internal messages and surveys among Heritage Foundation staff, concerns about leadership and donor influence are growing, widening the rift within the organization and attitudes toward its future.
“This is a total disaster, he has lost control of the organization”
Consequences for the conservative environment
The escalation of discussions highlighted internal conflicts among supporters of conservative doctrines, examining questions of accountability for public statements and the role of leadership organizations in shaping public opinion. The divide between those who call for caution in supporting public figures and those who see free expression of views continues to worry donors and party members.
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