Heritage Foundation in turmoil after official defends antisemitic interview

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00:00We will always defend our friends against the slander of bad actors who serve someone else's

00:05agenda. That includes Tucker Carlson, who remains, and as I have said before, always will be a close

00:11friend of the Heritage Foundation. The venomous coalition attacking him are sowing division.

00:16Their attempt to cancel him will fail. Leadership at the Heritage Foundation,

00:20a conservative think tank behind Project 2025, is reportedly in turmoil in the wake of those

00:26comments by its president, Kevin Roberts. His remarks were in defense of Tucker Carlson,

00:34who invited Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist content creator who often espouses anti-Semitic

00:40views, on his podcast recently. Fuentes praised Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in the interview

00:46and used this anti-Semitic term when discussing support among conservatives in America for Israel

00:52and achieving a more open dialogue on the U.S. ally among Republicans. I would say, though, that

00:58the main challenge to that, a big challenge to that, is organized Jewry in America.

01:04Multiple Heritage employees and other conservatives argue Roberts' defense of Carlson relied on

01:10anti-Semitic stereotypes and conspiracy theories. Roberts is now attempting damage control following

01:16his remarks. In a video of a meeting Wednesday obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, he apologizes

01:22for his remarks while appearing to be willing to step down and claiming he really doesn't know

01:27who Fuentes is. Number one, the term venomous coalition. A terrible choice of words, especially

01:35for our Jewish colleagues and friends who understand that given history to be a trope used against

01:43them. And I very sincerely, very, very sincerely apologize to you in particular and to all of

01:51you for using that. Some staffers called for him to resign in the meeting. I stand here today with no

01:58ability to say I have confidence in your leadership for this institution moving forward. I also know

02:04that that sentiment is shared by others in this room. But following the leaked video, Roberts appeared

02:09to have a change of heart, writing on X, I'm staying in. I'm all in. Roberts released a reported

02:16statement following the meeting, pledging no staffer who spoke up at the meeting would be disciplined.

02:21The Beacon reports, Heritage's chief operating officer threatened that any employee caught leaking

02:26footage of the Q&A portion of the gathering would be fired. Other staffers downplayed the contentious

02:32meeting to the Washington Post, saying it was just our usual spirit of candor, while acknowledging

02:38it was a difficult yet necessary dialogue. For more on this story, download the Straight Arrow News app

02:43or go to san.com.