Given how much of a show it has made about alleged unrest at the Heritage Foundation over its leader’s defense of Tucker Carlson over his interview of the anti-Semitic Nick Fuentes, Newsmax didn’t really do much with it in its coverage of a Republican Jewish Coalition conference. The closest it got was in a Nov. 1 article by James Morley III, which began:
As the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) meets in Las Vegas this week, conservatives are grappling with a troubling rise in antisemitism among mainstream political pundits on the right.
The Wall Street Journal noted in an opinion essay that Republicans in general and Vice President JD Vance specifically must confront the alarming popularity of anti-Israel rhetoric from popular commentators such as Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes and even some members of Congress.
The rest of Morley’s article, however, was an interview of Repubican Rep. Mike Lawler, who engaged in typical right-wing defenses of Israel. He did, however, conclude:
“I will never bend in my support for Israel and for the Jewish people. And regardless of where antisemitism rears its head, whether it’s on the far left with AOC, Zohran Mamdani and the like, or on the right with people like [Georgia Rep.] Marjorie Taylor Greene,” Lawler added.
Note that Lawler dismissed Ocasio-Cortez and Mamdani as “far-left,” while Greene is described only as “on the right.”
An anonymously written Nov. 2 article featuring Republican Rep. Randy Fine waited until farther down to feature him complaining about right-wing anti-Semitism:
Turning to growing antisemitism in politics and media, Fine said he denounced conservative commentator Tucker Carlson as “the most dangerous antisemite in America” during remarks to the Republican Jewish Coalition after Carlson’s recent interview with Nick Fuentes.
He also declared that his office will “no longer have anything to do with the Heritage Foundation” after its president, Kevin Roberts, refused to condemn Carlson.
“There was a time when the left only had a couple of antisemites in it,” Fine said. “They were always dumb, but they weren’t antisemitic.”
[…]“People like Tucker, who used to be great champions of Jews and the American-Israeli relationship, having this about-face — I think he’s paid, and I think that’s a big part of it,” he said.
Jim Mishler used a Nov. 3 article to bury the issue and deflect blame to Democrats:
Sam Markstein, national political director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, told Newsmax on Monday the Republican Party has some issues dealing with antisemitism, but the party is not “fractured” over it.
“The overwhelming majority of Republicans are in the Trump Reagan wing of the party, which totally rejects antisemitism and bigotry of any kind,” Markstein told “National Report.”
Markstein said nearly all Republicans are “unafraid to call out the antisemitism on the far-right fringe.”
He said that can’t be said for Democrats in America.
Mishler waited until the seventh paragraph to write of the Carlson-Fuentes controversy.
Another anonymously written Nov. 3 article began with several paragraphs of Ted Cruz ranting that anti-Semitism has “consumed the Democrat Party [sic],” waiting until later in the article to disclose Cruz’s disdain for right-wing anti-Semitism:
Cruz also warned that antisemitism is spreading on the right, fueled by online extremism and foreign propaganda.
“In the last six months, I’ve seen more antisemitism on the right than I have in my entire life,” he said. “This is a poison.”
Cruz urged Republicans to draw clear moral lines and defend America’s alliance with Israel. “The enemies of Israel hate America,” he said. “Those who hate Jews hate Christians.”
[…]Without naming the individuals, Cruz said bluntly, “In the last year, we’ve seen three prominent people on the right publicly muse that maybe Hitler’s not all that bad.”
“No — he is the embodiment of evil,” Cruz added. “If you’re confused about that, you’re an imbecile.”
It was not discussed why Cruz refused to name names, and the anonymous writer didn’t see fit to add those names.
In yet another anonymously written Nov. 3 article, “Former police officer and conservative commentator” Brandon Tatum similarly criticized right-wing anti-Semitism, again without naming names:
While figures such as President Donald Trump and Tatum have vocally reaffirmed support for Israel, others on the populist right — including some aligned with Tucker Carlson’s commentary or certain voices linked to the Heritage Foundation’s “restrained foreign policy” wing — have drawn criticism for echoing or tolerating antisemitic tropes and anti-Israel sentiment.
Tatum made clear he wanted no part of it.
“I will never capitulate,” he thundered. “I don’t care how many followers you got or how much money you make. When you platform somebody who dogs out Jewish people and praises Stalin, I will never support you.”
Without naming names, Tatum referenced the ongoing controversy over conservative influencers who have flirted with anti-Israel rhetoric, mocked Jewish donors, or questioned America’s alliance with Israel.
It’s a bit odd that Newsmax would go so hard against the Heritage Foundation while not taking that hardline stance in its RJC conference articles.