House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) ripped Tucker Carlson‘s interview with Nick Fuentes on Tuesday morning as a “big mistake,” breaking with President Donald Trump’s take on the matter.
Carlson’s decision to interview Feuntes, a 27-year-old streamer who regularly criticizes people on the basis of race, religion, and ethnicity, sent shockwaves through the conservative coalition this fall, as the fallout divided party leaders. Trump has backed Carlson during the controversy, telling White House reporters, “you can’t tell him who to interview.”
Johnson spoke against Carlson’s decision to platform Feuntes in an interview with the Hill.
“I spoke briefly with Tucker about that, and I think it’s a responsibility. He has a lot of listeners, and I think giving Nick Fuentes that platform is a big mistake,” Johnson said.
Johnson, a staunchly pro-Israel conservative, said he wasn’t very familiar with Fuentes prior to the interview, but after listening to a compilation of the streamer’s opinions, he referred to the clips as “vile, terrible stuff.”
“It’s not just antisemitic, it’s openly racist, it’s violent — things you can’t even repeat on the House floor,” Johnson said. “We should not be giving a platform to amplify those views. And I think that’s important for us to say.”
Johnson acknowledged that he and Carlson also have “different views on Israel,” and that they have talked about their differences before. Carlson has publicly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the United States’s involvement in Israeli conflicts.
Johnson said he didn’t think Carlson agreed with his take that the Fuentes interview was a “big mistake.”
“I’m only responsible for my own behavior, not everybody else,” he said. “I’m not the one that gives out the invitations to the conferences. But I will say that I think it’s a dangerous trend to give a platform to people who are just openly and unrepentantly antisemitic and engaging in all this hateful, racist stuff.
The Carlson-Fuentes interview has caused a splinter in the Right, as pro-Israel conservatives such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) have split entirely with Carlson over the move.
Meanwhile, Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts has received significant backlash for saying that although he “abhors” Fuentes’s views, he should not be canceled.
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In the wake of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination, conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza shared a text conversation with Fuentes after D’Souza gave Fuentes a larger platform by debating him.
Kirk shared a similar sentiment to Johnson, suggesting it was a big mistake to amplify Fuentes’s views.