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<\/a><\/p>\nAuthor, journalist and commentator Ben Shapiro speaks at a Buckley Institute event, How October 7 Broke America’s College Campuses, at Yale University on October 7, 2024. (Arnold Gold\/Connecticut Post via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
For a talk that lasted about an hour, Shapiro, one of the most prominent Jewish voices on the American right, denounced Carlson by name, arguing that the former Fox News host no longer belongs inside the conservative movement and urging the institution hosting him to enforce what he called \u201cideological border control.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cA conservatism that treats Tucker Carlson as a thought leader is no conservatism,\u201d Shapiro said. \u201cIf conservatives do not stand up and draw lines, conservatism and the dream of America itself will cease to exist.\u201d <\/p>\n
The speech was as notable for its venue as for its content. It was hosted by Kevin Roberts, Heritage\u2019s president, who has come under fire in recent months for publicly defending Carlson after Carlson interviewed Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist and Holocaust revisionist. Roberts\u2019 comments triggered resignations and criticism from Jewish leaders and former Heritage affiliates. Two more trustees of the foundation resigned this week over Roberts\u2019 support for Carlson.<\/p>\n
Despite the directness of Shapiro\u2019s message, and his explicit call for Heritage to police the boundaries of the conservative movement, Roberts did not respond to the criticism or address antisemitism on the right during the event.<\/p>\n
In his opening remarks, Roberts praised Shapiro as a \u201cpatriot,\u201d a \u201cman of faith\u201d and a \u201ctrusted counselor,\u201d and described Shapiro\u2019s book as \u201ca truly good book,\u201d without mentioning Carlson, Fuentes or the controversy that has engulfed the organization. When Roberts moderated the discussion that followed, he pivoted to policy topics including immigration, housing affordability and elections, again avoiding any reference to Carlson or antisemitism.<\/p>\n
Roberts also did not acknowledge the resignations or public criticism that followed his defense of Carlson, At the conclusion of the event, he broadly aligned Heritage with Shapiro\u2019s message, telling the audience, \u201cCount on Heritage to fight with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his speech, Shapiro accused Carlson of abandoning free-market principles, rejecting constitutional governance and advancing conspiracy theories that echo antisemitic tropes, particularly around Israel and Jewish influence. He cited Carlson\u2019s repeated criticism of Israel, his suggestion of \u201cnefarious Israeli influence in American government,\u201d and his hostility toward Christian Zionists. <\/p>\n
Shapiro also criticized Carlson for repeatedly platforming figures with extremist or antisemitic records, including Fuentes, whom he described as \u201cAmerica\u2019s foremost Hitler apologist,\u201d as well as Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin and revisionist historian Darryl Cooper. \u201cNone of this comports with traditional American values,\u201d Shapiro said. <\/p>\n
Shapiro framed the moment as a test of the conservative movement\u2019s credibility. \u201cConservatism means something,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd if we refuse to stand for it and defend it, it will disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n