Some Republicans have raised alarm bells at the growing number of young conservatives who have been influenced by far-right online personalities that espouse negative opinions of Jewish people, women, people of color and more.
Streamers and podcasters who have been accused of sharing such views, such as Nick Fuentes, Myron Gaines and others, have grown in popularity over the last few years – appealing to a younger bloc of conservatives disgruntled with traditional politics.
“We don’t think Hitler is, like, the worst person ever,” Alec Beaton, a 23-year-old former Trump campaign staffer, told the Washington Post at a national young conservatives conference. Beaton added that he praises Adolf Hitler to “mess with people.”
Fuentes, a 27-year-old white nationalist with a Rumble platform of more than 600k, said during a recent stream that women “just lie and they’re whores. Not all of them… but it is a serious problem.”
Gaines, a 36-year-old streamer, podcaster and author of a book titled Why Women Deserve Less, wrote on X in October, “Yeah we like Hitler. No one gives a f*** what you woke jews think anymore.”
While the sentiments from the influential political commentators likely do not represent the beliefs of all, or even most, young conservatives, their platforms are growing.
At the Symposium on Antisemitism, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz said, “I have seen more antisemitism in the last 18 months on the right than at any point in my lifetime.”
“It is gaining real purchase, especially with young people,” Cruz said, expressing concern that antisemitism was growing among young conservatives, especially on college campuses.
It’s easy to see Fuentes’ growing influence in the comment section of his Rumble videos, which consistently gain 200k views. Some of his followers, known as “groypers,” share their own racist or sexist views.
“Women and Jews need to Shut the F*** Up.”
“The brownification of America is disgusting and tragic.”
“Jews aren’t that smart, they’re just incredibly coordinated.”
Laura Loomer, a right-wing influencer and self-described “Islamaphobe,” has also pointed out antisemitism among the Republican Party.
“The GOP has a Nazi problem,” Loomer wrote in November. “And the more we pretend like we don’t, the worse it’s going to get.”
Loomer’s comments arose after Politico published an exposé of bigoted messages exchanged between young Republican leaders, in which they praised Hitler, used racist slurs, joked about sending people to gas chambers like in the Holocaust, made positive remarks about rape and more.
Republican lawmakers, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, condemned the messages.
Loomer has also accused former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson – an influential voice on the right – of spreading antisemitism, and even inciting violent antisemitic attacks. Carlson has denied the allegation, calling it “slander.”
“I am … strongly opposed to anti-Semitism, precisely as much as I am to the anti-Arab hate you promote or the anti-white bias embedded in the US government and our largest institutions. It’s all immoral and indefensible. I believe in the inherent rights of the individual because I believe in God.” Carlson wrote on X this month.
Cruz also accused Carlson of antisemitism, saying: “It is being spread by loud voices, the most consequential of whom is Tucker Carlson.”
In November, Carlson was accused of platforming Fuentes by giving him an interview. Carlson was heavily scrutinized for not pushing back on Fuentes’ antisemitic comments. The former Fox News host later told critics to “Buzz off.”
When President Donald Trump was asked about Carlson’s interview, he defended Carlson and denied knowing much about Fuentes – despite once dining with the 27-year-old at Mar-a-Lago in 2022.
Fuentes was present as a guest of rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, who has himself made a series of antisemitic statements.
When reached for comment, White House Spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement: “President Trump is focused on making America great again for all Americans, and he has zero tolerance for anti-Semitism.”
“However, Democrats in Congress are being taken over by anti-Semitic and anti-American radicals like Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib,” Ingle said.
According to the Washington Post, Beaton and his colleagues boasted about their growing influence at the national young conservatives conference.
“Half the people there were, like, us,” Beaton claimed.
The Independent has asked Beaton for comment.
