The conservative movement is fighting an ideological civil war over its very foundation and, crucially, where Jewish conservatives fit in, if at all. At the center of this debate are figures such as Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and Nick Fuentes and their collective embrace of anti-American, anti-Western, anti-Christian, anti-Jewish, and anti-reality propaganda.
Some hacks declare that we must unite as a movement to defeat their vision of the Left, and those who refuse to unite with, or even dare criticize, figures such as Carlson are to blame for any and all losses and setbacks suffered by the entire conservative movement.
When leaders such as Vice President JD Vance were asked their opinion on the laundering of, for example, antisemitic bile on the online Right through Carlson, the response was one of hesitation, whataboutism, and vague concerns about not risking (profitable) friendships.
Enter President Donald Trump, who, thank goodness, is the one to remind us just how easy it is to say the obviously right thing.
During an interview with the New York Times, White House correspondent Tyler Pager raised the subject of the “debate within the conservative movement right now where some leading conservative figures have espoused antisemitic views.”
“Where do you fall?” Pager asked. “Do you think there’s room within the Republican coalition, the Make America Great movement, for people with antisemitic views?”
Trump’s answer was the epitome of the clarity that escapes the slippery tongues of Vance and his ilk: “No, I don’t.”
See? It’s really not that hard!
Trump added that he doesn’t “think we need them,” we “don’t like them,” and he “certainly” condemns such views, after which Pager repeated the media schtick of asking the same question of condemnation over and over, as if Trump’s “no” was really a Vance-esque “maybe.”
For Trump to offer such a clear and uncompromising position on antisemitism and the attempted normalization of Jew-hatred in his conservative movement is as refreshing as it is gratifying.
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Let’s not forget: The sudden confusion over whether or not Jew-hatred is a welcome feature of a supposedly united conservative movement has been promulgated by political-influencer types who claim to operate as mouthpieces of MAGA. So, when the head of MAGA, the man with the sole power to define what his movement does and does not believe, wholeheartedly rejects antisemitism, perhaps those whose livelihoods are woven into the fabric of the movement Trump built ought to take note.
Of course, this might all change if Vance is our nominee in 2028 and claims the mantle of MAGA. But until then, Donald Trump is MAGA, and it would behoove professional conservative tweeters to pay attention to his opinions on “the Jews.”
Ian Haworth is a syndicated columnist. Follow him on X (@ighaworth) or Substack.
