Image of Fuentes and Carlson across from eachother

Molly Butler / Media Matters

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Tucker Carlson is facing backlash for interviewing white nationalist Nick Fuentes

Breitbart’s Joel Pollak described Fuentes’ belief system as “the foundation of Nazism”

Written by Jack Wheatley

Published

Conservative influencers and show hosts are blasting former Fox News host Tucker Carlson for his October 27 interview with white nationalist streamer and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.

Following the episode’s release, right-wing pundits and podcasters called the collaboration “sick” and “simply despicable,” with some labeling his movement as “anti-Semitic, hateful freaks,” and characterizing the event as disrespectful to the legacy of Charlie Kirk. After Kevin Roberts, the leader of the conservative Heritage Foundation, released a video criticizing the “venomous coalition” who have attacked Carlson for hosting Fuentes, his video also received broad condemnation from members of right-wing media.

Alternatively, some right-wing media figures and influencers celebrated the interview, calling it a “must watch.” 

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  • Carlson yet again mainstreamed extremism by interviewing Fuentes for two-plus hours, adding another appearance to Fuentes’ right-leaning podcast tour

    • On October 27, Carlson interviewed Fuentes on his online show, where they spent two-plus hours discussing Fuentes’ beginnings and finding common ground over their shared disdain on topics including right-wing Jews, Christian Zionists, and liberal women. The two had been feuding ahead of the interview. [Twitter/X, 10/27/25; Media Matters, 10/28/25; Salon, 8/4/25]
    • Between June and October, Fuentes appeared on at least nine right-leaning podcasts and streaming shows — including some that don’t identify themselves as focused on news and politics — whose episodes earned over 7.2 million views on various social media platforms. On his tour of shows including PBD Podcast, Stay Free with Russell Brand, the Nelk Boys’ Kick stream, and System Update with Glenn Greenwald, Fuentes has made comments such as “race is real” — an echo of his past commentary pushing “the idea that race is a biological reality” — and “Jewish people are an extraordinarily privileged group in America.” [Media Matters, 10/2/25]
    • Fuentes is a white nationalist livestreamer who has peddled Holocaust denial, racism, misogyny, and election denial. On his show, America First, which he streams on Rumble, Fuentes has crafted his persona around his disdain for Jewish people, telling his audience, “I’m just like Hitler.” He has also argued that “Blacks need to be imprisoned for the most part.” [The New York Times, 9/9/25; Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed 10/30/25; Media Matters, 3/31/25]
    • Carlson has a history of helping draw far-right conspiracy theories and white nationalist ideology into mainstream right-wing politics, most notably helping mainstream the white nationalist great replacement theory. After leaving Fox, he pushed even more radical rhetoric, promoting Hitler apologia and explicit antisemitism. [Media Matters, 10/28/25, 10/28/18, 9/4/24, 11/21/23]
    • Following Charlie Kirk’s killing, Carlson has been receiving criticism from right-wing figures for remarks he made during Turning Point USA-affiliated events, and Fuentes has claimed that before his death Kirk “started to agree with me.” At least one critic said Carlson’s eulogy of Kirk “spread antisemitic blood libels,” and right-wing commentator Megan McCain said of comments Carlson made at another TPUSA event, “Every single thing about this is the polar opposite of how Charlie Kirk debated people who disagreed with him.” On October 29, Fuentes remarked on his show, “I would bet you a lot of money that if Charlie Kirk lived a little bit longer, he would have brought me to Turning Point as well,” claiming, “Two days before Charlie Kirk died, he started to agree with me.” [The Hill, 9/22/25; MSNBC, 9/25/25; Entertainment Weekly, 10/25/25; Rumble, America First, 10/29/25]
    • On October 30, Kevin Roberts, president of the right-wing Heritage Foundation, released a video in support of Carlson amid the criticism he’s received for his interview with Fuentes. Roberts called those who have spoken out against Carlson a “venomous coalition” and stated that Carlson remains a “close friend” to Heritage and “always will be.” He added: “I disagree with and even abhor things that Nick Fuentes says, but canceling him is not the answer either.” Following criticism for his comments, Roberts appeared on The Dana Show the next day and posted again, saying that he and the Heritage Foundation “denounce and stand against his [Fuentes’] vicious antisemitic ideology, his Holocaust denial, and his relentless conspiracy theories that echo the darkest chapters of history,” and emphasizing that “the best way to fight antisemitic ideas was to challenge them head on.” During the appearance, host Dana Loesch asked if Carlson had pushed back enough during the interview and in response, Roberts questioned if Carlson “in hindsight wishes that” he pushed back more but claimed that “there were parts of that interview ... that Tucker pushed back on.” According to Roberts, “Even if you or I would choose to push back on every single one of those things, which is what I would do if I had someone like that on my show, which I would not, that it doesn’t mean therefore that we ought to cancel not just Fuentes, but Tucker Carlson as well. We actually ought to be engaged in that conversation.” [Twitter/X, 10/30/25, 10/31/25; The First, The Dana Show, 10/31/25]

  • Right-wing media figures attacked Carlson for interviewing Fuentes, calling it “sick” and “simply despicable”

    • Breitbart’s Joel Pollak described Fuentes’ belief system as “the foundation of Nazism.” He wrote, “@TuckerCarlson asks Fuentes to state what he believes. He describes his political worldview as opposition to ‘organized Jewry in America.’ Carlson nods along and accepts the premise that Jews put their own and Israel’s interests ahead of America. This is the foundation of Nazism.” [Twitter/X, 10/29/25]
    • Rebeccah Heinrichs of the right-wing think tank the Hudson Institute posted that Carlson’s decision to interview Fuentes was “not smart” and “disgusting.” She wrote: “I watched the interview; it wasn’t interesting or provocative. It’s not smart and it’s disgusting to elevate this person or behave as if his views are worthy of consideration. They are not.” [Twitter/X, 10/27/25]
    • Salem radio host Eric Metaxas said the interview was “sick” and “despicable.” He wrote: “That Tucker platformed Nick Fuentes is BEYOND belief... Sick.” In a separate post he continued, “How could Tucker interview one of the most genuinely hateful racists and Jew-haters in the world, Nick Fuentes? Honestly, I am shocked by that. Despicable.” [Twitter/X, 10/28/25, 10/28/25]
    • Washington Examiner contributor Brad Polumbo posted: “Nick Fuentes won. He is mainstream now. The years-long effort, which I participated in, to gatekeep the anti-Semitic, hateful freaks out of the Republican Party and conservative movement failed.” He added: “You can object to this, and leave the Republican Party, as I have. But to pretend that strict standards of decency or integrity still exist in the modern conservative movement is to delude yourself.” [Twitter/X, 10/28/25]
    • Right-wing author and “prophetic” speaker Joel Richardson posted: “Tucker is all chummy with a well-known gay little Nazi-sympathizer, but he despises those who believe that Jews have a right to exist.” He added: “Welcome to the prophesied end-time apostasy that the biblical prophets have been proclaiming from ancient times.” [JoelsTrumpet.com, accessed 10/30/25; Twitter/X, 10/28/25; Media Matters, 2/17/11]
    • Seth Dillon of The Babylon Bee highlighted Carlson’s interview, adding with a quote from Fuentes: “‘Hitler was really fucking cool.’ — Nick Fuentes.” [Twitter/X, 10/27/25]
    • Bonchie, a writer for the right-wing site Red State, posted: “I, for one, am shocked that Tucker held yet another episode obsessing over Israel, this time interviewing a dude who thinks Hitler is ‘cool’ and denies the Holocaust. But he’s just asking questions, folks.” [Twitter/X, 10/28/25]
    • Right-wing radio host Dana Loesch criticized the interview as “not very hard-hitting.” She wrote: “Imagine having on your program a guy who proclaims his love for Stalin -- a hardcore atheist who promoted godlessness as state policy -- and not pushing back on the declaration. Not very hard-hitting. At the VERY least, WTH?” [Twitter/X, 10/28/25]

  • Right-wing figures said the interview was disrespectful to or discordant with Charlie Kirk’s legacy, accusing Carlson of “spitting on Charlie’s grave”

    • Right-wing author Dinesh D’Souza posted purported screenshots of a text exchange with Charlie Kirk in which Kirk called Fuentes “vermin” and warned against platforming him to a large audience. D’Souza wrote: “I’m posting two text exchanges with Charlie Kirk where he calls Nick Fuentes ‘vermin’ and insists even my debating him and defeating his arguments nevertheless amplifies him. One can only imagine what Charlie would say about Tucker’s butt-licking interview with Fuentes.” D’Souza’s screenshots appear to show Kirk describing D’Souza’s debate with Fuentes “a massive mistake,” and stating, “You have no idea the damage you did by talking to him and complimenting him.” [Twitter/X, 10/28/25, 10/28/25]
    • D’Souza also claimed that Carlson “has done what Charlie feared most: platform Fuentes and give him a friendly, uncritical hearing.” He added, “I challenged Fuentes; Tucker shamelessly promotes him.” [Twitter/X, 10/28/25]
    • Right-wing host Dave Rubin wrote that “Tucker is spitting on Charlie’s grave.” He added: “(Insert awkward obviously fake maniacal laughter.)” [Twitter/X, 10/29/25]
    • Seth Dillon also posted: “Tucker wouldn't be censoring anyone by declining to have them on his show, just as TPUSA wouldn't be censoring Tucker if they stopped inviting him to events. Such platforms are not the public square — none of us are entitled to them.” He added: “So it's not a matter of censorship, but responsibility and discernment. Who you talk to — and how you talk to them — matters.” [Twitter/X, 10/28/25]
    • Newsweek’s Josh Hammer posted: “The great Charlie Kirk is rolling in his grave right now. Simply despicable.” [Twitter/X, 10/27/25]
    • Hammer also posted: “Charlie Kirk despised Nick Fuentes with a fiery passion and anyone claiming anything to the contrary simply has no clue what he is talking about.” [Twitter/X, 10/28/25]
    • Right-wing influencer Brandon Tatum posted: “Tucker is literally calling Charlie a Heretic whom he despised who also had a mind virus... Charlie Kirk was a Christian Zionist. This is disgusting. Not to mention he is saying this while interviewing Nick Fuentes a clear Trump hater and antisemite.” In another post, Tatum wrote: “Mind you, Nick Fuentes openly shamed Charlie and called him a fake Christian. Since 2017, Nick has been after Charlie and TPUSA, sending his followers to shout down charlie and anyone at his campus events. Yet Tucker interviews him with glee, not chastising him like Ted Cruz.” [Twitter/X, 10/28/25, 10/28/25]
    • Will Chamberlain of the Article III Project posted: “It’s been a little more than a month after he spoke at Charlie’s funeral, and here he is talking with one of America’s most prominent and noxious antisemites about how much he despises Christian Zionists.” He went on, “Tucker should be ashamed, this is a total betrayal.” [Twitter/X, 10/28/25]
    • In a reply to his own post, Chamberlain added: “If this is how Tucker felt he should have turned down the invite to speak at Charlie’s funeral. Totally dishonorable, totally contemptible.” [Twitter/X, 10/28/25]

  • Right-wing media figures called out Kevin Roberts for his statement, calling it “nauseating” and a “hostage video”

    • Commentary Editor John Podhoretz wrote to Roberts: “My mother was a Heritage board member for 40 years. You have befouled her, you rancid wretch of an amoeba.” [Twitter/X, 10/30/25]
    • Conservative New York Times columnist David French claimed that “the fringe is now the mainstream” and accused The Heritage Foundation of “bending the knee.” He posted: “The Heritage Foundation is afraid of Tucker Carlson and his audience. The fringe is now the mainstream, and one of the most powerful institutions in the American right is bending the knee.” [Twitter/X, 10/30/25]
    • Newsweek opinion editor Batya Ungar-Sargon called Robert’s statement “nauseating, repulsive stuff.” She wrote: “This whole video is based on the assumption that ‘the interests of American citizens’ doesn't include Blacks and Jews who oppose the normalization of racism and the inclusion of Nick Fuentes in the conservative movement. Nauseating, repulsive stuff from @KevinRobertsTX.” [Twitter/X, 10/30/25]
    • In response to Roberts’ video, right-wing radio host Erick Erickson posted that “The problem is we all saw Tucker grill @tedcruz. We know he is capable of asking tough questions.” He added: “He chose to bring on a antisemite denier of the Holocaust, having previously brought on a Hitler apologist, and asked softball questions. There’s a problem.” [Twitter/X, 10/30/25]
    • Jon Levin of the Washington Free Beacon responded to Roberts and posted: “Actually letting your movement be overtaken by complete retards is *not* a conservative value!” [Twitter/X, 10/30/25]
    • Eric Metaxas wrote: “This is a hostage video. I love @KevinRobertsTX and cannot imagine why he made it.” He added: “Tucker should be ASHAMED of platforming a truly evil figure like Nick Fuentes. ASHAMED. And he should be told that by anyone who cares about him. #Repentance.” [Twitter/X, 10/31/25]
    • Also responding to Roberts, Infowars’ Harrison Smith wrote: “You can just ignore pressure campaigns.” [Twitter/X, 10/31/25]
    • Joel Berry of The Babylon Bee wrote: “Vocally disagreeing with the deranged, depraved worldview of Fuentes is not ‘cancellation,’” and “Refusing to publicly refute the deranged, depraved worldview isn’t ‘courage.’” He added: “Standing up to the rising Jew-hatred on the Right isn’t ‘loyalty to a foreign country.’ I look forward to seeing the Heritage Foundation put its vast intellectual resources behind refuting Leftists like Fuentes, assuming they do, in fact, disagree with them.” [Twitter/X, 10/30/25]

  • Some other right-wing and far-right media figures and influencers celebrated the interview, calling it a “must watch”

    • Lilly Gaddis, a “trad wife” influencer who has agreed with being called an “unashamed racist,” posted: “They’re in shambles lol." She added, “The cope and seethe is legendary.” [YouTube, 5/7/25; The Daily Beast, 6/11/24; Twitter/X, 10/28/25]
    • Grace Chong of Steve Bannon’s War Room said the interview is “a must watch,” adding, “Wow!” [Twitter/X, 10/27/25]
    • Irish streamer Keith Woods, who reportedly described himself as a “raging anti-semite” in a now-deleted 2019 social media post, wrote: “Always disagreed with calling Tucker a gatekeeper because even if he isn't radical on everything himself, he never stops anyone to his right from making their case.” He added: “Still never really thought I'd see him have Nick on though. Good for him. Can't wait to see the meltdown.” [Forbes, 9/4/23; Twitter/X, 10/27/25]
    • Right-wing YouTuber Behizy posted: “Great conversation between @NickJFuentes and @TuckerCarlson.” He added: “Men can be vicious to each other and still sit down and talk. Some of you women could be childhood best friends and stop speaking to each other because one of you forgot the other's birthday.” [Twitter/X, 10/24/25, 10/27/25]
    • Eric Aarvoll — co-founder of Return to the Land, which has a white-only community in Arkansas — posted: “All of us should be glad Nick was on Tucker's show.” He added, “Do everything you can for every pro-White cause you can.” [Media Matters, 8/19/25; Twitter/X, 10/28/25]
    • Reacting to a quote from the interview of Carlson saying he dislikes Christian Zionists “more than anybody,” right-wing influencers the Hodgetwins said: “Tucker is right 💯.” [Twitter/X, 10/27/25]
    • The Hodgetwins also posted: “The Israel first people are mad as hell about Tucker and Fuentes 🤣.” [Twitter/X, 10/28/25]