Trump silent on Carlson’s Fuentes interview amid blowback

Trump is the only senior Republican who hasn’t directly weighed in on a growing fracture among prominent conservatives over antisemitism that’s tearing apart their movement.

Since Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts defended Tucker Carlson’s friendly interview with white supremacist Nick Fuentes, the conservative think tank has faced staff turmoil and multiple resignations, including by a former American Enterprise Institute chief.

Both Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson criticized Fuentes on Tuesday, with Johnson decrying his rhetoric as “blatantly antisemitic, racist, and anti-American — anti-Christian, for that matter.”

Fuentes predicted that his followers would prevail against the “same hysterical and out-of-touch ‘basket of deplorables’ condemnation from the Republican establishment” that originally greeted Trump (with whom Fuentes dined at Mar-a-Lago in 2022).

The White House didn’t return a request for comment on the intraparty blowback that Heritage and Carlson are experiencing.