Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had a conversation with Tucker Carlson about the former Fox News host's interview with antisemitic commentator Nick Fuentes, saying it was a "big mistake."
"I spoke briefly with Tucker about that, and I think it's a responsibility. He has a lot of listeners, and I think giving Nick Fuentes that platform is a big mistake," Johnson told me in an interview on Friday.
And how did Carlson take that advice?
"Well, obviously, I'm not sure if he agreed with me on that," Johnson said. "But we have different views on Israel, and, you know, we've talked about that."
Johnson sat for a one-on-one with me in the Capitol to talk about the rise of antisemitism on the right and the firestorm triggered by the Carlson-Fuentes interview. Carlson was widely criticized for not challenging Fuentes aggressively for his assertions of "organized Jewry in America," among other comments.
I cover the Speaker closely in day-to-day coverage of Congress, but was eager to dive in with him on the biggest debate on the right today: Striking the difficult balance of protecting free speech as a principle while also setting boundaries in the political coalition as worries grow about antisemitism and other prejudice.
Johnson has some useful perspective on this front. He's not only tasked with keeping the House GOP together and trying to keep the Republican majority in the lower chamber, but is a lifelong movement conservative with deeply held convictions and principles.
The Speaker had briefly addressed the Carlson-Fuentes interview a few weeks back, telling National Review in the Capitolthat conservatives should not "amplify" the outrageous things that Fuentes says.
But he had a lot more to say on the topic.
Johnson said that the rise of antisemitism on the right is "a very recent development," and he insisted that antisemitism is "primarily on the left."
Pushing back against antisemitism on college campuses has been a major focus of the Trump administration, and for Republicans in Congress. Johnson gave a speech at Columbia University in 2024 amid raging pro-Palestinian protests that included harassment of Jewish students, during which he called on the university's president to resign.
"I had never heard anything from Nick Fuentes before," Johnson said. "I sort of knew who he was, but I was listening to a compilation of some of the worst things he said. It's vile, terrible stuff. I mean, it's not just antisemitic, it's openly racist, it's violent — things you can't even repeat on the House floor."
"We should not be giving a platform to amplify those views. And I think that's important for us to say," Johnson said.
The debate roiling the right, though, has been less about Fuentes — virtually every Republican and conservative leader seems to condemn him — but about Carlson himself, and whether he should be considered an ally in the movement or appear at conferences like Turning Point USA's AmericaFest.
President Trump last week weighed in last week with a defense of Carlson, saying "you can't tell him who to interview." The president said he doesn't know much about Fuentes, but said Carlson should do the interview if he wanted and "people have to decide."
But on the other side, a wave of conservatives have called for Republicans to disassociate from Carlson.
Asked about that dynamic, Johnson noted his two-decade career as a free speech and religious liberty defense attorney, and his deep commitment to free speech.
"All speech is to be protected, cherished as part of the hallmark of America. So, Tucker and everyone else have their right to free speech, and Nick Fuentes has a right to free speech," Johnson said. "What I'm saying is that we have a responsibility. With that freedom comes responsibility, and our responsibility is not to amplify that, not to give it a platform."
As for determining whether people like Carlson or others who "amplify" those views should be disinvited from conferences or otherwise ostracized, Johnson said: "I'm not in the business of prescribing to others how they should act."
"We have to speak with moral clarity. And when we see anyone calling out Jewish people because of who they are, or are speaking in tones of antisemitism, then I think we've got to denounce that," Johnson said. "That's what I do. I'm only responsible for my own behavior, not everybody else. I'm not the one that gives out the invitations to the conferences. But I will say that I think it's a dangerous trend to give a platform to people who are just openly and unrepentantly antisemitic and engaging in all this hateful racist stuff. It's just not helpful."
Underneath the outrage over Carlson and antisemitism is increasing tension on the right about U.S. support for Israel, with younger generations of Republicans having far less favorable views toward Israel than older generations. And Carlson himself has criticized the Speaker pushing through U.S. aid for Israel.
Johnson said Republicans need to be "very careful" since there are "so many false narratives out there about Israel."
"Israel is certainly in the interest of the United States to have a stable democracy in that region. It's a very important part of America's foreign policy. And anyone that denies that, I think, is just denied reality.
I asked Johnson, when does questioning the U.S.-Israel relationship, criticizing Israel, or criticizing the influence of AIPAC or other pro-Israel influences become antisemitic?
"It's an unanswerable question," Johnson said. "There are going to be debates. People can question anything they want. Those of us who understand the facts of all this and the rationale behind it, I think, have a responsibility to speak into it and not shrink back," Johnson said.
Johnson argued that it's in America's national interest to support Israel, but that "there can be debates about, for example, the amount of funds that we use to support this ally or any other."
The Speaker also said that there are many reasons to support Israel aside from the "the moral and the spiritual, the biblical" arguments.
"A strong, stable, steady Israel is certainly in the interest of the United States, to have a stable democracy in that region," Johnson said. "It's a very important part of America's foreign policy. And anyone that denies that, I think, is just denying reality."
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