The Intellectual and Moral Decline of the American Right

The Atlantic ^ | November 22, 2025, 6 AM ET | Peter Wehner

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The conservative backlash against Nick Fuentes has yet to challenge the president who had him over for dinner.

Last month, Tucker Carlson, the host of one of the country’s most popular podcasts, interviewed Nick Fuentes, a white-nationalist influencer, for more than two hours. The two men got along famously, and it was little wonder why. Carlson has become a fierce and obsessive critic of Israel; he has interviewed a Holocaust revisionist and said that “Christian Zionists” have “been seized by this brain virus.”

Not everyone on the right was pleased. So in the aftermath of the Carlson-Fuentes conversation, Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, put out a video defending Carlson, a “close friend” of the institution, against the “venomous coalition attacking him.” Heritage’s proper role, according to Roberts, is to “focus on our political adversaries on the left, not attacking our friends on the right.” Roberts said he may disagree with, and even abhor, some of what Fuentes has said, but he made clear that “canceling him is not the answer, either.” What Roberts didn’t anticipate is the backlash he received, from both within and outside Heritage.

“An old political poison is growing on the new right, led by podcasters and internet opportunists who are preoccupied with the Jews,” the conservative editorial board of The Wall Street Journal wrote. “It is spreading wider and faster than we thought, and it has even found an apologist in Kevin Roberts, president of the venerable Heritage Foundation.”

Roberts, clearly unprepared for the outrage, backtracked, first blaming his staff for what happened but eventually admitting, “I made a mistake and I let you down and I let down this institution. And I am sorry for that. Period. Full stop.” Roberts,...

[E. Pluribus Unum]

“An old political poison is growing on the new right, led by podcasters and internet opportunists who are preoccupied with the Jews,” the conservative editorial board of The Wall Street Journal wrote.

Not to be confused with the podcasters and internet opportunists who are preoccupied with "Orange Man Bad."

[Bikkuri]

Considering that The Altlantic HAS no morals...

[cgbg]

The publications—left and right—have failed to understand the Streisand Effect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect

If they keep this up in a few years everybody’s dog and cat will be tuning into Fuentes to find out what he is going to say next.

[jacknhoo]

“The conservative backlash against Nick Fuentes has yet to challenge the president who had him over for dinner.”

_________

Because Fuentes wasn’t invited. Another freak who was invited brought him as a guest.

[maddog55]

Nick Fuentes is a POS period.

[x]

Whatever makes you think that? Left-wing periodicals understand that very well. So do some of the right-wing periodicals.

[cgbg]

You really think the left and right wing publications want to make Fuentes a household word?

The problem with attacking him is that folks will listen to his side of the story and not just the negative evaluations others give to it....

Risky play.

[cowboyusa]

🤣🤣🤣. The Right: Has a couple of dumb podcasts morons. The left: A whole history of ranting, raving insane nutcase who chase jews off of College Campuses.

[x]

Left-wing publications want to discredit the right. Some right-wing publications want to discredit their rivals. They’re gambling on the idea that more people will be revolted by Fuentes than will follow him. They may be right.

[cgbg]

Perhaps.

Fuente’s primary audience is males who are less than thirty five years old.

The risk Republicans face is that young men are the worker bees in political campaigns.

While the young men may be outnumbered they can cause a lot of havoc.

[A_Former_Democrat]

Or Globalize the Intifada

[Fiji Hill]

Is Fuentes, who admires Stalin and hates Trump, part of the American Right? Seems he’s become the new David Duke, a straw man for the Left.

[boycott]

The owner of the Atlantic, Laurene Powell Jobs, with Ghislaine Maxwell.

[cherry]

Streisand looks horrible..all that botox....

[pissant]

Exactly right.

[pissant]

BTW, Peter Wehner is as stupid as they come. Wrong 100% of the time.

[cgbg]

Good to see the finger wagger of the Atlantic having a good time.

Lol.

[Dr. Sivana]

“An old political poison is growing on the new right, led by podcasters and internet opportunists who are preoccupied with the Jews,”

The way to deal with it is not just saying "That's beyond the pale, and it is beneath my dignity to respond. So shut up." That just gives juice to the original argument.

Whether it is distasteful or not, the argument must be rebutted with a better argument.

[jimwatx]

“An old political poison is growing on the new right, led by podcasters and internet opportunists who are preoccupied with the Jews”
***************************

Nick Fuentes is Gen Z’s Pat Buchanan except more extreme. And many times more popular. It’s driving people nuts because he’s basically un-cancelable at this point and they don’t know what to do about him. If he gets much bigger he better watch his back.

[cgbg]

The problem with debating Fuentes is that the kid is brilliant and an excellent debater.

That is why name calling and smears have been the weapons of choice against him.