Trump proved how easy it is to condemn antisemitism
Perhaps those whose livelihoods are woven into the fabric of the movement Trump built ought to take note?
This column was first published by The Washington Examiner.
Last year, what started as bubbling concern exploded into an all-out ideological civil war over the foundation of the conservative movement and—crucailly—where Jewish conservatives fit in, if at all.
At the center of this so-called debate was the relevance of figures like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Nick Fuentes, Darryl Cooper, and others, and specifically their collective embrace of anti-American, anti-Western, anti-Christian, anti-Jewish, and anti-reality propaganda, sometimes even under the not-so-subtle banner of Nazism.
Then came the strawman-addled counter-backlash in which parasitic hacks declared 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 like Tucker Carlson—whose entire platform is rooted in anti-unity—are to blame for any and all losses and setbacks suffered by the entire conservative movement.
When figures like JD Vance were asked their opinion on the laundering of—for example—antisemitic bile on the all-too-online Right through Tucker Carlson, the response was one of hesitation, whataboutism, and vague concerns about not risking (profitable) friendships.
Enter Donald Trump who, thank goodness, is the one to remind us just how easy it is to just say the obviously right thing.
During an interview with The New York Times, Tyler Pager raised the subject of the “debate within the conservative movement right now where some leading conservative figures have espoused antisemitic views,” including Tucker Carlson. “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 JD 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,” and that we “don’t like them,” and that he “certainly” condemns such views, after which Pager repeated the media schtick of asking the same question of condemnation over…and 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.
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 voicepieces 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 JD Vance is our nominee in 2028 and claims the mantle of MAGA, but until then, Donald Trump is MAGA, and it would behoove professional pseudo-conservative tweeters to pay attention to his opinions on the Jews.