The Attacks On Heritage And Kevin Roberts Are Really About Foreign Policy And J.D. Vance

Let’s get something straight about the civil war breaking out on the right: it’s not primarily about Tucker Carlson “platforming” or “normalizing” Nick Fuentes, or about Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts’ decision to defend Carlson, or even about the rise of antisemitism on the right.

The primary target here isn’t Carlson or Roberts, but Vice President J.D. Vance. And the people targeting him are Never Trump foreign policy interventionists who hope to destroy the MAGA movement and take back control of the Republican Party after Trump is gone.

Genuine concern about Carlson interviewing Fuentes, and about the kind of antisemitism that Fuentes and his followers espouse, is being hijacked to wage a proxy war on Vance because of his America First noninterventionist foreign policy views. The idea is to smear Vance as a dangerous antisemite and someone who can’t be trusted in the White House.

There is of course room for good-faith disagreement on the right about whether Carlson should have interviewed Fuentes, or the timing and wisdom of Roberts’ statement. There’s also room for vigorous discussion about how best to persuade young people like Fuentes to abandon their most odious, antisemitic views. Those are important debates, and conservatives of good will should by all means have them. Concern about antisemitism on the right is legitimate and warranted.