The ongoing feud between prominent MAGA influencer and white supremacist Nick Fuentes and Jewish conservative podcaster Ben Shapiro, typically confined to the digital sphere, has escalated to new heights. This past week, Fuentes, known for his controversial and antisemitic remarks, was given an unexpected platform when Tucker Carlson, a former Fox News host turned podcaster, featured him in an extensive interview. The discussion centered around the U.S. government’s support for Israel in its conflict with Gaza, further amplifying Fuentes’ contentious views.

Despite Carlson’s significant influence within the Republican Party and his history of controversial statements, this development initially seemed destined to remain an online controversy. Even though Carlson has disseminated other conspiracy theories—ranging from Ukraine’s alleged bioweapon development to bizarre health claims—such topics have not typically gained political traction. While GOP support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fluctuated amid the Gaza conflict, the party continues to officially recognize Israel’s right to exist. This stance might suggest a unified condemnation of extremist views like those of Fuentes, yet complexities persist.

Initially, it appeared that backlash against Carlson’s decision would prevail. Shapiro dedicated an entire episode of his podcast to criticising both Fuentes and Carlson. The Heritage Foundation, a major conservative think tank, began distancing itself by removing Carlson’s name from its platforms. However, this stance shifted when Kevin Roberts, the president of Heritage, publicly defended Carlson, framing the backlash as an attempt by a “venomous coalition” to silence them.

Roberts stated, “While I fundamentally oppose many things Nick Fuentes says, canceling him isn’t the solution.” Roberts, a pivotal figure behind Project 2025—a strategic plan influential in reshaping federal government policies under Trump—thus underscored his support for free speech, despite the controversy.

The situation quickly escalated, igniting a storm of reactions across the American right, with many rallying around Roberts. Influential voices like Steve Bannon and The Hill‘s Emily Brooks reported that the American Accountability Foundation, a recipient of Heritage funding and a part of Project 2025, cautioned Republican staffers against hiring those at Heritage who criticized Roberts.

While online influencers hold considerable sway over their audiences, the MAGA network is uniquely influential within the GOP. Unlike the Democratic Party, which often sidelines progressive influencers, the Republican establishment is increasingly influenced by right-wing internet figures, even when their views diverge from traditional party values. This shift began with Donald Trump, whose populist ideas clashed with the GOP’s market-oriented principles. As Trump mainstreamed fringe right-wing perspectives, these influencers have begun vying for greater political influence, navigating the challenges of a fragmented online landscape.

Ironically, Fuentes’s momentum within the GOP increased after the death of his other pro-Israel nemesis, Charlie Kirk. Though Fuentes frequently trolled and undermined Kirk, bragging that he’d “impregnated” Kirk’s organization Turning Point USA with his white-nationalist “groyper army”, Fuentes had begun seeding the internet with conspiracies about Jewish donors ordering a hit on Kirk when they believed his support of Israel was waning. His claims gained further traction after Kirk’s text messages were leaked, wherein Kirk had been venting about pro-Israel donors who’d been withdrawing their money for inviting Carlson to an event. “Jewish donors play into all the stereotypes,” Kirk had written. “I cannot and will not be bullied like this[,] Leaving me no choice but to leave the pro Israel cause.”

At the moment, it’s unclear whether Roberts himself will survive the wrath of the Heritage Foundation’s donor base, to say nothing of the half of the party that does not tolerate anyone who has called Hitler “really fucking cool.” On Wednesday, during an all-hands meeting reported by the Washington Free Beacon, Roberts offered an apology and his resignation, while blaming his former chief of staff, Ryan Neuhaus, for writing the statement. “I didn’t know much about this Fuentes guy,” said Roberts. “I still don’t.”

Over the weekend, Roberts had suggested that Fuentes’s antisemitism was abhorrent, but that rather than “cancel” them, the proper way to deal with them was to allow Fuentes to speak so that the normies could “guide, challenge, and strengthen the conversation, and be confident as I am that our best ideas at the heart of western civilization will prevail.” On Wednesday, he reiterated his definition of what and what was not acceptable right-wing “cancel culture”: “You can say you’re not going to participate in canceling someone … while also being clear you’re not endorsing everything they’ve said, you’re not endorsing softball interviews, you’re not endorsing putting people on shows, and I should’ve made that clear.”

Having undermined their ability to “cancel” and exile Fuentes, Heritage presumably will one day be forced to engage in a civilized and legitimizing conversation about Fuentes’s views. Fuentes, meanwhile, has begun testing how far he could push the Republican establishment’s Overton window of tolerance. On Monday, he railed against MAGA’s support of Vice President JD Vance, who’s frequently floated as a potential successor to Trump’s movement, during his Rumble show: “they all support a fat race mixer who is married to a Jeet and has a son named Vivek, who was mentored by a Jewish neocon [David Frum] and a gay fag, Peter Thiel, and the guy is in bed with fucking Israel.”