Sen. Ted Cruz has accused fellow Republicans of being ‘frightened’ to confront Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes, following the fallout from Fuentes’ appearance on Carlson’s podcast. Cruz criticized the GOP for not speaking out against Fuentes’ antisemitic remarks, despite many within the party condemning the rhetoric. The controversy has sparked internal conflict at the Heritage Foundation and overshadowed recent Republican events.
Cruz, a self-described ‘Christian Zionist,’ was among the earliest and most forceful critics of Carlson and Fuentes’ podcast episode. At the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) last week, he said he has ‘seen more antisemitism on the right’ in the past six months ‘than I have in my entire life.’ He argued that by remaining silent on Fuentes’ rhetoric, many Republicans are complicit in spreading antisemitic messages. ‘If you sit there with someone who says Adolf Hitler was very, very cool, and that their mission is to combat and defeat global Jewry, and you say nothing, then you are [a] coward and you are complicit in that evil,’ Cruz said.
At the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention in Washington, Cruz emphasized that while individuals have a right to express their views, they also have an obligation to condemn harmful rhetoric. ‘Every one of us has an obligation to stand up and say it is wrong,’ he said. The controversy has also drawn attention to broader tensions within the conservative movement regarding the handling of antisemitism and far-right ideology. Carlson, the conservative pundit, responded to Cruz’s criticism by stating, ‘Poor Ted,’ indicating his own stance on the matter.
Cruz clarified that his complaint was not that Carlson platformed Fuentes, but that he didn’t push back on any of his antisemitic or bigoted claims. Among other things, Fuentes on the podcast claimed the ‘big challenge’ to unifying America was ‘organized Jewry.’ ‘The last I checked, Tucker actually knows how to cross-examine,’ Cruz said, suggesting that Carlson has the ability to challenge such viewpoints but has not done so.