Are we in a ‘Canary in a Coal Mine’ Moment

For more than a week there has been an explosion of commentary about the “platforming” of antisemitism by right wing commentator Tucker Carlson following his hosting of avowed Nazi Nick Fuentes. In this interview, Carlson not only didn’t challenge Fuentes’ anti-Jewish conspiracy tropes but provided a sympathetic sounding board. This was immediately followed by the unequivocal support for Carlson from Heritage Foundation head Kevin Roberts. His sad attempt at walking this back notwithstanding, Roberts is the head of an important policy thinktank supporting and influencing the Trump Administration, and the MAGA movement more generally.

One result of this has been outrage from Jewish conservative leaders as well as pro-Israel “Christian Zionists” within MAGA, as well as the traditional conservative movement. Less response has come from the liberal left which has been busy platforming their own antisemite populist leader, Zohran Mamdani, the newly elected mayor of New York City. But while criticism of Carlson and Roberts is coming fast and furious there is also an increasing number of MAGA figures who are doubling down in defense of Carlson. And there are a number of key figures who, while not providing overt support, are nonetheless providing excuses.

Before continuing, I do want to note that this is in no way meant to ignore the danger of the pervasive anti-Judaism coming from the left. It is a clear and present danger that will only grow with Mamdani’s election victory in New York City, and the increasing success of the radical Democratic Socialists in taking over the Democrat Party. It is truly frightening to think about what it will mean for Jews, Israel, and the United States if these currents gain power at the national level. We need to continue attacking this problem vigorously and constantly.

But for now, it is equally urgent, and in some ways more so, to address the problem that exists within MAGA, because they are in power. And while many are waking up and speaking against the upsurge of anti-Judaism within MAGA, most are largely missing the point.

What we are seeing is much more than a “flare up” of the always present, lurking just below the surface, antisemitism where “the Jews” are to blame for all sorts of ills. Instead, what we are seeing is truly a “canary in the coal mine” moment. Meaning that the rampaging antisemitism of both the left and the right is not just a problem for Jews.

Rather, it is an indication of a growing, deeper rot in the United States that reflects not just anti-Judaism, but an illiberal anti-Americanism that endangers the very foundations of liberty and equality upon which the United States was built. That view not only is committed to imposing its view of morality upon all its citizens, whether in the form of Christian nationalism or socialism, but also, a strict form of “America First”, which some have termed “America Alone”, that removes the US from acting a force for good in the world.

Concretely this means withholding all support from nations like Israel and Ukraine, both under threat from authoritarian forces. While the policies of Trump have been deemed “America First,” the Administration is fully aware that, for the US to flourish, it requires at least stability and mutually beneficial relations with key nations. It is that, along with a feeling of kinship with Israel, that has driven the Administration to act so forcefully in the Middle East. This is in stark contrast to the “America Alone” approach of Tucker Carlson and others, including those in key power centers like the Heritage Foundation and National Conservative movement.

In other words, what this explosion of antisemitism represents is a potential tipping point of the deep and growing rot we are seeing within MAGA, the Democratic Socialist movement, and in society as a whole.

So far, policy impact has been minimal but it is critical to recognize this as a canary in a coal mine moment because, as I explain below, it is gathering steam. Without an all-out, multi-pronged offensive to stamp it out, I fear for the safety of Jews and Israel, and ultimately for us all. What are the implications of the United States turning against Israel? The one thing that the populist left, now led by Mayor-elect Mamdani, and the populist wing of MAGA agree on is their hatred of Jews and Israel. This must serve as a wakeup call to us all.

Some Supporting Evidence

If you need more to convince you, let us look at some facts. Tucker Carlson is far from the only anti- Jew, anti-Israel figure in MAGA. Something that has been largely missed in all of this is the speech that Yoram Hazony gave as he opened the 2025 National Conservatism conference this past September. National Conservatism, even more than the Heritage Foundation, represents the intellectual and activist “guts” of the MAGA movement.

By their own leadership’s admission, they have placed hundreds of staffers in the Trump Administration, including in senior leadership roles. Vice President J.D. Vance is a longtime supporter of the movement, as are key Trump Administration leaders such as Russell Vought of the Office of Management and Budget, Stephen Miller, key White House advisor on immigration, homeland security and other issues, and others including in the Department of War.

In his speech, Hazony, who created the platform for the movement and is one of their intellectual leaders, acknowledged that he misjudged the threat of antisemitism in the movement, stating “I didn’t think it would happen on the right, and I was mistaken.” He went on to plead for the movement to avoid antisemitism and stated his willingness to mediate “honorable conversation” about Jewish–Christian relations and disagreements over Israel. Unfortunately, offering to “mediate” on this issue misses the plot as to how deep the problem goes.

Note the following: Tucker Carlson’s audience. His YouTube channel has nearly 5 million viewers and the Tucker Carlson network has 1.5 million viewers, with over 200,000 paid subscribers, according to the best available information. Nick Fuentes, the avowed Nazi, whose appearance on Carlson’s podcast kicked off this frenzy has over 750,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter) and has 500,000 followers on his ‘America First’ site on Rumble. Critically his audience skews young, white, and male.

Given that, it should not be surprising when Politico exposed a series of vile antisemitic, pro-Nazi and racist chat messages between a group of “Young Republican” leaders. Given that, it should also not be a shock to learn about the following exchange that took place during Vice President Vance’s recent appearance at the University of Mississippi-hosted conference of the Turning Point organization founded by the recently murdered Charlie Kirk.

Out of less than 10 questions asked of the Vice President, 3 questioned the Administration’s commitment to Israel. One questioner asked the Vice President if the President’s engagement of Miriam Adelson was a conflict of interest given her avowed support of Israel.

One of the questions directed to Vance was this one:

“I’m a Christian man, and I’m just confused why there’s this notion that we might owe Israel something or that they are our greatest ally or that we have to support this multi-hundred-billion dollar foreign aid package to Israel to cover this – to quote Charlie Kirk – ethnic cleansing in Gaza. I’m just confused why this idea has come around, considering that not only does their religion not agree with ours, but openly supports the prosecution of ours.”

The crowd of nearly 10,000, gave the student a big applause.

Vice President Vance’s response was, unfortunate, to say the least. In essence, he largely evaded what was a super-charged question by essentially stating that the Trump Administration acts in US interests first and supports Israel only when it is in the US interest to do so. In addition to locating those interests in political terms, Vance also located it in more religious terms stating:

“Jews do not believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Obviously, Christians do. There are some significant theological disagreements. But if there are shared areas of interest, we ought to be willing to do that, too.” One such area of mutual interest that he cited was the protection of Christian holy sites.

What was most upsetting is what the Vice President chose not to say. When he had an opening to rebut the questioner’s antisemitic trope that Jews have bought US support and are using their money to manipulate the powers that be, he did not do so. When he had the opportunity to rebut the vile smear that Jews support “the prosecution” of Christians, he was silent.

This mirrors the Vice Presidents earlier refusal to strongly criticize reports of antisemitic, pro-Hitler and racist chat among a dozen or so young Republican leaders. House Speaker Mike Johnson openly denounced them for this, while Vance dismissed it as kids being kids. And to come full circle, it was the Vice President who chose to invite Tucker Carlson to give a presentation at Charlie Kirk’s memorial.

This is not just about the theatrics playing out on social media but a “hinge” moment. One frightening statistic should be enough to tell the story. A March 2025 Pew Research Center poll found that 50% of young Republicans look unfavorably on Israel. The fact that key MAGA power players and centers like the Heritage Foundation are providing support for Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes and others will only increase the trend.

We can no longer afford to see these examples as outliers. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has it right when he says that the rise of “antisemitism is an existential crisis in our Party.”

We are clearly at a canary in the coal mine moment, which is the front end of a deeper rot that exists in these parts of society. There are many more examples of rampant anti-Judaism taking root in the US. But when prominent political figures so blatantly endorse these types of actions, it opens the floodgates for those who have been keeping their beliefs bottled up.

And what is truly problematic is the fact that key leaders like the Vice President, in their desire to maintain MAGA as a “big tent” are, at best, papering over the problems. The “big tent” approach that MAGA leaders are taking is extremely dangerous. The fact that numerous conservative leaders like Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Senator Ted Cruz and others are strongly condemning all of this is important.

And it is important that close allies of the Administration are taking action, as evidenced by the exodus of principled leaders from the Heritage Foundation. In act numerous opinion writers, including from the conservative side, are beginning to say that this, combined with the Democratic sweep in the off-year elections will lead to the fracturing of the MAGA movement. Perhaps that is the case.

But if history tells us anything, we cannot depend on that occurring. We need to act and to catalyze and empower our allies to act. This is a time when we need President Trump, who has done so much for Israel and the Jewish people in fighting antisemitism, to take the lead in clamping down on this rot in MAGA before it is too late. Even if it alienates some of his base, I believe he has the kind of support that can weather that and come out stronger for it. We need to urge him to act and stand behind him when he does.