Explaining why MAGA is divided: Who’s who in the battle between Tucker Carlson, Heritage Foundation and Nick Fuentes
The cracks in the MAGA movement are beginning to show as various high profile figures make their real feelings heard.
The conservative movement that once rallied easily around screams of “Make America Great Again” is now showing deep cracks, and the latest rift comes from an unexpected place: a podcast conversation between Tucker Carlson and far-right provocateur Nick Fuentes.
What started as another of Carlson’s headline-grabbing interviews has turned into a public test for the Heritage Foundation and a broader reckoning over rampant antisemitism and open extremism within the MAGA world.
During the episode, Fuentes, a MAGA loyalist widely known for being a public Holocaust denier, was given space by Tucker to share his views with minimal pushback. He made comments about “organised Jewry” and lauded figures from history responsible for atrocities. Carlson, rather than challenging those remarks, took aim at “Christian Zionists,” describing them as infected by a “brain bug.”
The Nick Fuentes Interview
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) October 27, 2025
(0:00) The Origins of Nick Fuentes
(17:10) The Daily Wire’s Efforts to Destroy Fuentes
(35:02) Why Fuentes Decided to Challenge the Conservative Establishment
(46:25) Why Did Fuentes Attack Joe Kent?
(57:31) Identity Politics
(1:01:55) Why Did Fuentes… pic.twitter.com/slCKkjqKv5
The outdated, troglodytic exchange drew swift condemnation from Jewish groups, Republican figures, and conservative commentators who saw it as an alarming sign of tolerance for hate speech inside the movement.
The Heritage Foundation quickly became part of the fallout when its president, Kevin Roberts, publicly stood by Carlson. In a video statement, Roberts called Carlson a “close friend” of the think tank and rejected demands to denounce him.
He tried to walk a fine line, saying he personally disagreed with Fuentes’s ideology while defending Carlson’s right to engage in controversial conversations; as you may expect, sitting in no man’s land satisfied absolutely no one.
There has been speculation that @Heritage is distancing itself from @TuckerCarlson over the past 24 hours.
— Kevin Roberts (@KevinRobertsTX) October 30, 2025
I want to put that to rest right now—here are my thoughts: pic.twitter.com/F8bcxBIqKI
Inside Heritage, the defence sparked outrage, with some even calling it a watershed moment for the right. Several staffers went public with their discontent, accusing leadership of normalising extremist views.
One researcher even said they were prepared to lose their job over the issue. Others questioned how a leading conservative institution could risk its credibility by defending someone who had platformed a Holocaust denier.
Since @KevinRobertsTX Chief of Staff,@RyanMNeuhaus sees fit to passive-aggressively ask for my and my colleagues' resignation, I'll just point out most of us have been at Heritage a lot longer than he has. But if losing my job at Heritage is the consequence of posting "NAZIS… pic.twitter.com/nZgXG5vPJH
— PrestonBrashers (@PrestonBrashers) October 31, 2025
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This latest controversy surrounding the incoherence of the MAGA movement captures the tension within today’s right, highlighting once again the deep divides between those interested in keeping morals within politics and those who seek to make everyone forget them.
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