Tucker Carlson had a specific thing he wanted to say in his controversial interview with Nick Fuentes and he accomplished it.
In an interview with Megyn Kelly on Thursday’s episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show,” Carlson defended his choice to have white supremacist Fuentes on his show. After weeks of privately fighting, there was something he had to say to the extremist.
“I wanted to say something very specific to Nick Fuentes … and I said it, which is, I think it’s totally legitimate to criticize any foreign country, from Belgium to Congo to Israel, because they’re foreign countries,” the “Tucker Carlson Show” host said. “And I’ll never give up that right. In fact, it’s an obligation, I would say, and to be reasonable about it … but what’s in America’s interest totally legitimate. It is totally illegitimate and very specifically, unchristian to attack people for their DNA, like I hate this group … We all have to hear that, and because that is the basis of Western civilization.”
He went on to say the backlash shocked him. It did not take long for many on the Republican side of the aisle to condemn Carlson platforming someone like Fuentes. The former Fox News host said he knew it would ruffle feathers but he did not expect so many tuning in on the conversation.
“I decided to do it, and I thought it would be controversial,” Carlson added. “I didn’t think it would become what it’s become. I’m not going to offer any defense other than … It’s kind of interesting … I’ve interviewed anybody. I’m doing this for 34 years, so I’ve interviewed everybody, most of them, bad people, to be honest, right? I interviewed Liberian militia leaders during the Liberian Civil War, all cannibals, every single one of them had tasted human flesh.”
Everyone from the Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro to Bari Weiss’ The Free Press to the editorial board of Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal eviscerated Carlson for platforming a far-right figure who’s made his hatred of Jews a facet of his appeal.
Mark Goldfeder, CEO and director of the nonprofit National Jewish Advocacy Center, resigned from the National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, a project that falls under the Heritage Foundation after the conservative think tank’s leadership chose “to defend and even celebrate Tucker Carlson’s decision.” In his resignation later posted to X, Goldfeder said that while the Heritage has done “valuable work … I cannot serve under someone who thinks Nazis are worth debating.”
That also led to Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts, who initially defended Carlson’s choice to interview Fuentes, to apologize. He informed his staff this week that he “made a mistake.”
“You can say you’re not going to participate in canceling someone … while also being clear you’re not endorsing everything they’ve said, you’re not endorsing softball interviews, you’re not endorsing putting people on shows, and I should’ve made that clear,” Roberts said.
You can watch the full “The Megyn Kelly” show segment in the video above.
