Vice President JD Vance delivered a speech behind closed doors at the annual Republican Jewish Coalition leadership summit on Monday in an attempt to win over pro-Israel Republicans who are hesitant to support him for a possible 2028 presidential campaign.
Vance addressed rising antisemitism to a room full of Republican Jews while deflecting criticism from his affiliation with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who has been described as antisemitic for inviting Holocaust deniers on his show. This was most apparent in Carlson’s wide-ranging interview with Nick Fuentes last year.
Rather than direct his ire at Carlson, Vance focused more of his criticism on Fuentes, who he said “really does hate Jews.”
“One area where I really do draw the line is on people who engage in what I call this blood guilt attitude, and I recognize a lot of people in this room may disagree with things that Tucker Carlson or Megyn Kelly or Joe Rogan have said,” he said.
“I do not think that Joe Rogan and Nick Fuentes are the same, just substantively,” he added. “But as a political matter, I think that we have got to be willing to go everywhere and bring our message anywhere, to any person.”
Vance faced some backlash after appearing on Joe Rogan’s podcast for the second time in July, accusing some government officials in Israel of trying to manipulate American public opinion to prolong the U.S. war with Iran as long as possible. He also defended himself against antisemitism allegations.
During the RJC event, Vance touched on the spread of antisemitism within the Republican Party, particularly among younger Americans who may be skeptical about Israel’s ties to the United States.
“There is a growing suspicion among, I would call it, under-40s of the U.S.-Israel relationship,” he said. “I think my view is, what we have to do is articulate why this is in the best interest of the United States of America, and actually get out there and talk about the ways in which it is in the best interest of the United States of America.”
Meanwhile, Vance declined to denounce Carlson for his anti-Israel views. The two maintain a close alliance, even though President Donald Trump has turned on the right-wing commentator over the Iran war.
The vice president’s remarks were well received for the most part, according to reports of the leaked audio of the speech. However, when conservative radio host Sid Rosenberg mentioned Vance’s association with Carlson earlier in the day, the audience booed. Rosenberg then told the crowd to “give Vance a chance.”
Reflecting on Vance’s speech, RJC board member and former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer applauded the 42-year-old Republican for making his case before Jewish Republicans.
“Today is not primary day,” Fleischer told reporters. “But I think today was progress day for JD Vance with the Jewish community.”
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The event took place at the Venetian Resort, a luxury hotel and casino complex developed by late Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson on the Las Vegas Strip. Vance traveled to Nevada after visiting Michigan for a midterm elections campaign event earlier Monday.
Vance is the presumptive successor to Trump and the current front-runner in the 2028 election. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is the second-strongest contender, while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and other candidates remain far behind in polling. Without specifying whether he intends to run in the next two years, Cruz recently said he would “want to be president” instead of Vance.