Friend,
The mask is slipping.
The extremism that once lingered on the margins of the Far Right is now being said out loud, broadcast to millions, and echoed from the halls of conservative power. The Heritage Foundation, long a pillar of the right-wing establishment, is now at the center of a MAGA movement identity crisis over the mainstreaming of vicious bigotry and hatred.
After former FOX News host Tucker Carlson aired a friendly, unchallenging interview on his podcast with Nick Fuentes, a Hitler-admiring white nationalist known for his antisemitic, racist, and homophobic views, the backlash was swift and widespread – even from conservatives. But instead of joining those who condemned Carlson’s decision to give Fuentes a platform, Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts rushed to his defense, denouncing Carlson’s critics as “venomous,” calling Carlson “a close friend,” and insisting conservatives should not “cancel” Fuentes.[1]
That decision set off a firestorm. One Heritage researcher says he was told to resign after posting the words “Nazis are bad” on social media. Republican Rep. Randy Fine called Carlson “the most dangerous antisemite in America” and cut ties with the organization. Other members of Heritage’s own task forces resigned in protest.
While Roberts now scrambles to contain the backlash, Fuentes is celebrating. He sees the controversy not as a setback but as validation of his growing influence.
On his program, he gloated that Heritage’s defense of Carlson means his followers – the self-described “groypers” – now have an easier pathway into the conservative establishment they have been seeking to infiltrate. He called Heritage a “safe harbor” for his movement and declared, with chilling pride, that “the outer wall has crumbled.”[2]
In his words, “Our ideas are mainstream. We won the debate. We won the hearts and minds of millions of young men.”
The ideas Fuentes promotes to his followers include support for fascist dictatorship and the execution of people who stand in the way of his twisted vision of a white Christian nationalist state.
This is no longer a fringe cult. It is a dangerous movement trying to embed itself inside positions of power, and it is being given a big boost by one of the right’s most powerful institutions.
And this is exactly what People For’s team at Right Wing Watch has been warning about for years – how the far-right fringe becomes the conservative mainstream when no one is paying attention.
When Donald Trump dined with Fuentes in 2022, journalists turned to Right Wing Watch to explain who he was and why it mattered. When Rachel Maddow called us “a fire alarm system for the whole country,” she was right, and that alarm is blaring louder than ever.
We cannot let the normalization of hate go unanswered. Our researchers are documenting the spread of extremist ideology from online echo chambers to the corridors of power, but we need your support to keep doing it.
Your ongoing support powers the research and rapid response that stop extremist voices from being normalized and hold accountable those who enable them.
If monthly giving isn’t possible right now, you can still make an immediate impact with a one-time gift. >>
The Far Right is celebrating what they see as their “mainstream moment.” Let’s make sure it becomes their undoing instead.
Thank you for being a part of this fight,
People For the American Way
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Sources:
[1] "MAGA Splits Over Heritage Foundation Prez's Defense of Tucker Carlson’s Friendly Nick Fuentes Interview" Right Wing Watch, 11/3/25
[2] "Nick Fuentes Says The Heritage Foundation Is Now A 'Safe Harbor' For Groypers" Right Wing Watch, 11/5/25
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