If you’ve missed my Radars this week, you may have missed the burgeoning conflict in conservative media between two warring factions: traditional, neoconservative and pro-Israel voices, represented by figures like Ben Shapiro and Josh Hammer, versus non-interventionist and anti-Israel factions represented by the likes of Tucker Carlson and Dave Smith.
That conflict has become open war, now that Shapiro and others have called on conservative media figures to disassociate from Carlson after he interviewed Nick Fuentes, self-described white nationalist and racist and the leader of the groyper movement. Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation, may have to resign after defending Carlson and only weakly criticizing Fuentes. Staff of the conservative think tank are in open revolt, and some are demanding his ouster.
Carlson maintains that this isn’t really about antisemitism, racism or the other disturbing and fringe views of Fuentes; it’s about what American foreign policy will look after President Trump is no longer the leader of the Republican Party.
For years, Trump has vowed to deliver an America First foreign policy agenda that extracts the U.S. from burdensome foreign entanglements. That doesn’t mean turning our backs on our allies and refusing to engage with the rest of the world, it simply means prioritizing the domestic needs of the American people and disentangling the country from military interventions overseas that are endless, counterproductive and contrary to interests. I’m with Carlson and Smith on that.
At the same time, it doesn’t do the non-interventionist cause much good to become identified with the likes of Nick Fuentes, who thinks Hitler is cool, women enjoy rape, and Jews are running society. Fuentes is toxic, and will sabotage the America First agenda as assuredly as he is bent on sabotaging the conservative movement.
Fuentes does not support Trump, voted against him in 2024, and has said that he would not back JD Vance for president because Vance is married to an Indian woman. I’m not calling for him to be canceled or deplatformed, mind you — I’m just calling on everyone who supports his views on non-interventionism to perhaps express some caution.
And if you won’t take my word for it, consider that The New York Times is now boosting Fuentes as the successor to Charlie Kirk, the recently assassinated conservative media figure who loathed Fuentes and worked to minimize his influence.
In a recent column, The Times wrote that Fuente is becoming Kirk’s successor. While the column itself is mostly an overview of all the conservative infighting, the image of Fuentes that accompanies the photo actually makes him look cool. It’s in black and white, from a favorable angle, and is reminiscent of perhaps James Dean.
On social media, Ashley Rindsberg pointed out that the same photographer who created this attractive photo of Fuentes is responsible for photos of RFK Jr, Eric Adams and Kash Patel that all make them look weird, aloof, distant, confused and isolated.
But not Fuentes. Why does the Times want him to look cool? Do they want him to be the next Charlie Kirk? Why would that be the case? Hmm. Perhaps there’s a lesson to be drawn there.
Robby Soave is co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising” and a senior editor for Reason Magazine. This column is an edited transcription of his daily commentary.
