Everyone from the neocons to the NatCons is waiting for Vice President JD Vance to weigh in on the intraparty civil war that broke out last week. Tucker Carlson‘s cozy sit-down with Hitler fanboy Nick Fuentes, in which Fuentes ranted about “organized Jewry,” praised Stalin, and called for Jews to “get the f*** out of America,” and Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts’s weird, unprompted blessing of the union exploded the conservative movement’s fault lines. And Vance, the GOP’s presumed heir, has been strangely quiet.
Roberts’s bizarre video and promise that Carlson would “always” remain a friend of Heritage forced a time for choosing — and also for leading. The shocking embrace of Fuentes by the New Right’s power center stiffened the Old Guard’s spine. The lines are drawn in bold colors now. There’s no avoiding this fight.
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Vance, with friends on both sides — at the very least, people on both sides claim to be friends with him — appears content to walk the tightrope for now. At a Turning Point USA event last week, the vice president chose not to correct or condemn two questions with blatantly antisemitic premises asked by students, instead pivoting to the safer ground of feting President Donald Trump.
His answers played well in an arena of rowdy college students. But to many conservatives, Vance appeared evasive, even cowardly. The vice president, who is too bright not to have understood the implications of being asked whether Israel “controls” U.S. presidents, could have challenged the young questioners to reconsider the motives behind their questions. Rarely do such obvious teaching moments present themselves. But Vance placated the racist and anti-Jewish faction of the New Right without implicating himself too directly in their filthy worldview. This appears to be his strategy going forward.
Some have charitably described this tactic as part of an “outreach effort” to alienated young men. You can’t win over those you don’t engage with, the theory goes. But failing to correct bigoted assumptions on a nationally televised event legitimizes those assumptions. And the failure to speak obvious truths delegitimizes leaders, especially ones with an eye on the Oval Office.
Placating antisemites risks alienating everyone, including the antisemites. It’s cowardly and politically dumb.
Vance’s reticence to lead opens the door for 2028 rivals to swipe the mantle of leadership from his hands. The Republican presidential primary, having begun ahead of schedule by this intraparty conflict, was supposed to be a coronation. But the Heritage-establishment fracas has opened the door to a real fight.
Conservative commentator Mark Levin declared that the 2028 GOP presidential primary “will be decisive,” with many others in the establishment camp appearing to dig in against Vance. Trump’s ability to win over both camps explains his decadelong grip over the GOP. Vance doesn’t appear to possess that ability.
He’s a master of the pivot, of redirecting every point toward bashing the legacy media and exalting Trump. It’s served him well since getting the vice presidential nod in the summer of 2024. But it won’t be a magic bullet in this fight.
This makes the 2028 GOP primary more open than previously thought.
Should Secretary of State Marco Rubio, thought to be the only Republican with the national stature to give Vance a real fight, deliver a clear rebuke of the New Right’s embrace of Hitler fanboys before Vance, he could consolidate valuable support.
Roberts’s decision to walk back his poorly conceived video and apologize at a Hillsdale College event Monday evening signaled which side is winning this particular battle. Traditional conservatives are energized for seemingly the first time in years. Leading on this fight could earn lasting loyalty. Govs. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) have surely taken note of the leadership vacuum at this crucial time for the conservative movement.
The 2028 Republican primary might be interesting, after all.