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The conservative movement is in the middle of a thunderstorm this week after Tucker Carlson gave a platform to Nick Fuentes, a known Holocaust denier and extremist whose rhetoric crossed the line into blatant antisemitism. The two-hour interview reopened old wounds and forced a reckoning about who we welcome into our movement’s conversation and why. Conservatives who love free speech must still reject poison when it appears on our own side, and that’s exactly what this moment demands.
What made the situation worse was the Heritage Foundation’s public defense of Carlson, a stance taken by its president Kevin Roberts that many saw as tone-deaf at best and enabling at worst. Roberts’ comments about resisting “cancel culture” struck the wrong note when Fuentes’ comments heaped contempt on Jewish Americans and on the memory of the Holocaust. Defending the principle of debate is one thing; defending the platforming of antisemitic conspiracy theories is another, and many conservatives rightly drew that distinction.
The backlash was bipartisan within the GOP: senior Republicans like Senator Mitch McConnell and others condemned any accommodation of antisemites, and prominent Jewish conservatives publicly rebuked Heritage’s stance. This was not some left-wing hit job — it was Republicans and Jewish leaders insisting on moral clarity from a leading conservative institution. Those leaders understand that our movement cannot afford to be seen as soft on Jew-hatred without sacrificing credibility with voters and allies alike.
Republican Jewish voices have been front and center in this debate, reminding fellow conservatives that fighting for free speech does not mean tolerating hate. The Republican Jewish Coalition and other Jewish leaders have forced a sober conversation about boundaries and consequences, and their role in defending Israel and Jewish Americans is indispensable right now. Conservative media appearances by RJC spokesmen and leaders have underscored that Republicans can be both defenders of liberty and fierce opponents of antisemitism — the two are not mutually exclusive.
Let’s be frank: Heritage’s leadership miscalculated the moment. There is a long and honorable conservative tradition of robust debate, but giving a megaphone to people who traffic in Holocaust denial and ethnic conspiracy theories does real damage to our cause and hands Democrats an easy cudgel. Leaders who touted free-speech principles should have also drawn a hard line at overt Jew-hatred; failing to do so has already cost the organization credibility and prompted resignations from people who won’t be associated with such moral slipperiness.
This controversy played out in the final days of October and the opening days of November 2025, and Republicans who care about principled conservatism must use it as an inflection point. Stand tall for free expression, yes — but also stand firmer against antisemitism and those who would mainstream it. If the GOP wants to remain the party of American values, national security, and a dependable ally to Israel, we must police our own ranks, demand accountability from our institutions, and reject the extremists who would hijack our movement for hateful ends.
