The feud between Ben Shapiro and Nick Fuentes enters mainstream GOP politics
Even the Heritage Foundation has become entangled in this highly online conflict between prominent right-wing figures. After Tucker Carlson gave a platform to a virulently antisemitic livestreamer, the longstanding feud exploded beyond social media.
The clash between white supremacist streamer Nick Fuentes and Jewish conservative podcaster Ben Shapiro has been ongoing for years. They represent opposing poles within the MAGA movement and have publicly denounced each other multiple times.
Tucker Carlson’s role in the escalation
Last week, this internal feud reached a new level when Carlson, a former Fox News host turned podcaster, gave Fuentes an hourlong interview. The discussion focused on U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza — but its real impact was granting Fuentes a sense of mainstream legitimacy within right-wing media.
Fuentes, an unrepentant antisemite who once claimed that “Hitler was really fucking cool,” gained unprecedented exposure through Carlson’s show.
Although Carlson has often criticized Israel and occasionally leaned into antisemitic tropes, his previous conspiracy theories — such as claims that Ukraine was developing bioweapons, COVID-19 was biologically engineered to spare Ashkenazi Jews, or that male infertility could be treated with infrared light — failed to gain traction in Republican politics. This time, however, his endorsement of an openly antisemitic figure marks a turning point.
Institutional implications
What used to be an obscure internet quarrel among extremist influencers has now begun to seep into mainstream conservative circles. With think tanks like the Heritage Foundation inadvertently pulled into the controversy, the boundaries between traditional conservatism and radical online movements continue to blur.
Author’s summary: Carlson’s interview with Fuentes has transformed a fringe internet feud into a public controversy that now touches major conservative institutions.