Heritage Foundation hemorrhages donors and staff in a single week—exposing a party at war with itself over free speech.
Inside the nation’s premier conservative think tank, senior fellows and donors are pulling their support. They’re furious that President Kevin Roberts defended Tucker Carlson’s decision to give airtime to Nick Fuentes, a known white nationalist and Holocaust denier.
Roberts refused to bow to cancel culture. He denounced Fuentes’ antisemitism in no uncertain terms—but declared that silencing ideas only deepens division. “We will always defend our friends against the slander of bad actors who serve someone else’s agenda,” he said. End of story.
Fuentes used Carlson’s platform to praise Stalin and smear “organized Jewry.” Carlson countered by labeling pro-Israel Christians as heretics with a “brain virus.” Conservative staffers privately called Roberts’ defense “embarrassing” and “disgusting.” They demanded he choose between free speech and moral clarity. Roberts chose both.
Evangelical and Jewish backers fled. Major gifts evaporated. Internal messaging apps lit up with colleagues accusing each other of being on “the wrong side of history.” Heritage’s chief of staff quietly moved to a remote portfolio. His resignation followed.
At the same time, leading GOP voices sounded an alarm. Senator Ted Cruz told the Republican Jewish Coalition summit: “We face an existential crisis. If you stay silent, you’re complicit in evil.” Fellow conservatives warned that antisemitism is spreading unchecked among fringe voices who now claim a seat at our table.
Roberts’ second statement dropped all pretense. He called Fuentes’ ideology “vicious,” rejected Holocaust denial outright, and reaffirmed Heritage’s commitment to combating bigotry. But he stood firm: canceling our own shrinks the tent and fuels extremism.
Heritage’s board publicly backs Roberts. A planned town hall this week remains on the calendar. Roberts canceled several external events, citing “relentless gossip” that misrepresents our mission. He’ll appear at Hillsdale College and meet staffers across the country to reiterate one message: we reject antisemitism, we defend free speech, and we refuse to bow to ideological bullies.
Conservatives must choose. We can’t banish voices we loathe and claim moral victory. True strength comes from confronting dangerous ideas head-on, not hiding from them. Cancel culture is the real threat to our movement.
Now is the time to unite. Defend heritage. Champion free speech. Call out hate. And never apologize for refusing to cancel.
