LAS VEGAS — As Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) was laying into Tucker Carlson during a speech to fellow Jewish Republicans on Saturday, a group of students stood in front of the stage holding signs that read “TUCKER IS NOT MAGA.”
With the crowd cheering him on at the annual Republican Jewish Coalition summit, Fine called Carlson “the most dangerous antisemite in America” and accused him of leading a “modern-day Hitler Youth.”
Fine is seen as a provocateur on Capitol Hill, often using incendiary rhetoric on a range of topics, including Gaza. But Fine was channeling the sentiments of an overwhelming majority of Hill Republicans after the Heritage Foundation stood by Carlson following his friendly interview with white nationalist and antisemite Nick Fuentes.
Top Republicans blame Carlson and his grip on the MAGA movement for what they see as rising antisemitism and declining support for Israel within their party, particularly among the younger generation.
In a fiery speech, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said the GOP is facing an “existential crisis” over right-wing antisemitism. But too many Republicans, Cruz added, won’t confront these forces by name because they’re “terrified of upsetting people with really big megaphones.”
The latest Carlson drama is pitting GOP lawmakers against MAGA influencers and is threatening to reopen old wounds for Republicans, particularly the long-running struggle over the party’s foreign policy direction.
The fight on the right. House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain acknowledged in an interview that Carlson has a “big following” but asserted he doesn’t speak for Republicans.
Yet Carlson is in many ways the embodiment of the MAGA movement and has a ton of influence in the party. And Carlson counts Vice President JD Vance as a key ally. These factors help explain why some Republicans here declined to condemn Carlson and Heritage by name.
“What I will just say is that antisemitism has no place in the Republican Party,” North Carolina GOP Senate candidate Michael Whatley said in an interview when asked if he agrees with Fine that Carlson should be purged from the MAGA movement.
Carlson had a prime speaking slot at the GOP convention last year. Whatley, who chaired the RNC at the time, wouldn’t say whether he regrets allowing Carlson to speak.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) told us that Republicans shouldn’t “promote people who want to destroy our relationship with Israel.”
“We can’t give those [antisemitic] views credibility by engaging in some way that this is a reasonable discourse,” Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) said in an interview.
McCormick and Cruz are tanking President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Kuwait, Amer Ghalib, who has a history of antisemitic and anti-Israel statements.
Common themes. Right-wing antisemitism was a major focus of the RJC gathering. Nearly every headliner referenced the need to root out antisemitism in the GOP.
Yet most of the speakers, regardless of whether they denounced Carlson by name, downplayed the issue by arguing it’s a much bigger problem on the left. They pointed to the likely election of Zohran Mamdani — a Muslim and democratic socialist — as mayor of New York City.
Some Republicans also dodged on whether Trump or Vance should speak up. They said Trump has been the most pro-Israel president in U.S. history and that it’s no secret where he stands. Trump didn’t mention the controversy during his video message to RJC members.
The politics. For many Republicans, confronting these views isn’t just a moral imperative, but also a political one. The GOP made inroads with Jewish voters in 2024 as support for Israel among Democrats declined. Many Republicans believe failing to call out antisemitism and anti-Israel views in their party would jeopardize that progress.
The saga has also brought the 2028 presidential election into focus as Republicans begin to consider who should succeed Trump as the party’s standard-bearer. This is especially true for Vance given his alignment with Carlson.
Case in point: Secretary of State Marco Rubio got several shoutouts from various RJC speakers, and some explicitly said Rubio should be the next president.
