The Most Dangerous Antisemite in America

Tucker Carlson

I pretty much agree with Representative Randy Fine. Tucker Carlson is the most dangerous antisemite in America. Perhaps even more dangerous than the presumptive New York mayor, Zohran Mamdani, although probably not by much. Both of these men could not be further apart politically, and yet they have one thing in common: they do not care much for Jews.

The dangers of Mamdani are fairly obvious. He inspires virulent hatred of Israel and thereby, by association, hatred of the Jewish people. Most Americans believe that if you are Jewish, you support Israel. - even though there is plenty of evidence lately that many Jews no longer do. They have been led to believe that Israel has been committing genocide against the Palestinian people through its tactics in Gaza.

They blame Israel’s leadership for that, and thereby Israel itself, seeing what was once a socially conscientious nation as having slid down the rabbit hole of the extremist right. Although this is patently untrue, it would be nearly impossible to convince these Jews otherwise.

Be that as it may, Mamdani’s views about Israel are clear. He has openly stated more than once that he does not believe Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state. He has spent most of his adult life making that view well known. It is a view shared by Hamas, which Mamdani has refused to condemn. The only difference between Hamas and Mamdani is that Hamas actually tried to act on that belief on October 7, 2023. But short of that, Mamdani has supported and even attended many Palestinian protests that called for the destruction of Israel and restoring the land to its ‘rightful’ owners - the Palestinian people.

Not that he can implement his views as mayor of New York. But he can - and will - set a tone that encourages increased protests against the Jewish state, which will no doubt lead to increased violence against the Jewish people of New York. The victims will most likely be those of us who are most visibly Jewish, living in large Jewish neighborhoods. That is where the danger of a Mamdani administration lies: the anti-Jewish violence he will surely inspire, even if unintentionally.

That said, I do believe he will be vigilant to assure that such violence doesn’t happen. And that if it does, he will act quickly to stop it. He surely does not want to be accused of looking the other way when Jews are hurt. Nonetheless, that danger exists, and he will have to be vigilant if he wants to avoid validating accusations of antisemitism.

So, as dangerous as Mamdani is, at least he is clear about his views. And most Jewish clergy across all denominations know it.

Carlson, however, is a far more dangerous enemy. First, because he has built up a following of millions of people based on his conservative politics. He is an icon of the right and a leader of public opinion in conservative circles. He is charismatic and articulate. Until recently was not seen as any kind of antisemite. After he was fired from Fox, he started his own podcast, which now boasts over a million devoted followers. No longer constrained by Fox’s standards, his antisemitism has become increasingly exposed.

Carlson is very clever about it. Denying he’s an antisemite but is openly hostile to Israel. Couching his hostility in terms of his Christian faith. Thankfully, some Christian clergy have called him out for that. But couching it in his Christian faith is exactly how white supremacists frame their antisemitism.

Some of what Carlson says about Israel mirrors what far-right white supremacists and other fringe right-wing antisemites have been saying for many decades. For example - that Israel has infiltrated the U.S. government and now runs the show. Some of his rhetoric even mimics what the anti-Israel left says. As far apart as these two camps are politically, antisemitism is the one thing they have in common.

Carlson’s followers have followed him down that same rabbit hole. Where they once supported Israel, Carlson has disabused them of that support.

I do not believe that most mainstream conservative Republicans agree with him. However, the fact that over a million people do is nothing to sneeze at. Add to that Carlson’s relationship with the president’s son, the vice president, and the recent defense he received from Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts—for hosting avowed antisemite Nick Fuentes on his podcast - and that makes for an unprecedented and dangerous influence on political discours in this country.

Roberts has since made clear that he rejects Fuentes’ antisemitism in totality and reaffirmed his organization’s determination to fight it. But I suspect Roberts still has a warm spot for his old conservative colleague even if he disagrees with him.

So yes. We are getting it from both sides: from the left and from the right. But the right is more dangerous, because I believe that conservative values are more mainstream.

This could turn back the clock to a time when Jews were persecuted simply for being Jews and marginalized as second class citizens by a dominant Christian culture.

I don’t think we are anywhere near that now. We still have many friends in high places who defend us and consider us equal citizens. But the Carlsons of the world are trying to change that, and they have made some inroads.

This is why we must do our utmost to discredit Carlson and show him to be every bit the antisemite he truly is. Thankfully, there are people in Congress—like Senators John Fetterman and Ted Cruz, Representative Elise Stefanik, and many others who are doing just that. And we owe them all a big thank you

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