MAGA's antisemitism divide

• President Trump has prioritized cracking down on antisemitism and criticism of Israel on college campuses, including by revoking federal funding and arresting pro-Palestinian activists.
• But many of the podcasts Trump appeared on during the campaign are simultaneously platforming far-right provocateurs who are openly hostile toward Israel and use racist tropes about Jewish influence.

Driving the news: Conspiracy theories about Israel, Jeffrey Epstein and Jewish elites dominated four MAGA-friendly podcasts last week that had previously hosted Trump. All came out within the same 48-hour period.

• Candace Owens, a pro-Trump lightning rod who left The Daily Wire last year over her embrace of antisemitic rhetoric, was a guest on "This Past Weekend with Theo Von."
• Andrew Tate, the misogynist influencer accused of sex trafficking and rape in Romania, appeared on the Nelk Boys' "Full Send" podcast and Patrick Bet David's "PBD Podcast." He also attended UFC 313 in Las Vegas, where he was welcomed by UFC president and Trump ally Dana White.
• Ian Carroll, an independent researcher who has suggested Israel was involved in 9/11, spent nearly three hours on the biggest platform of all — "The Joe Rogan Experience."

Together, the conversations were broadcast to tens of millions of listeners on Spotify, YouTube and other platforms.

The big picture: Both sides of the MAGA divide agree that last week marked an inflection point in the mainstreaming of antisemitism on the so-called New Right.

• "For the first time in my lifetime, a lot of successful Jewish friends called me worried this week — names we all know — asking what is going to happen as these libels re-enter the mainstream, and are shared by millions," Palantir co-founder and Trump ally Joe Lonsdale wrote on X.
• "We live now in a world where the red pill has gone mainstream," white nationalist Nick Fuentes gleefully declared on his show, rattling off a list of other personalities — including rapper Ye — who are now openly antisemitic.

Between the lines: Alternative media and "manosphere" influencers helped fuel Trump's election by bringing millions of politically disengaged Americans — especially young men — off the sidelines.

• For many young Americans, their political awakening is coinciding with the stunning normalization of antisemitic hate across platforms they consume.
• "For the first time that we've seen, there's a higher propensity for young people to express intense antisemitism versus the older generation," Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told Axios.
• "We're in a moment which doesn't have precedent," he warned, urging Trump and other "responsible" leaders to call out the "radicals who are in orbit of this movement."

What they're saying: "There is no greater friend to the Jewish community than President Trump, who is leading the charge to combat anti-Semitism at home and abroad," White House spokesman Harrison Fields told Axios in a statement, pointing to Trump's pro-Israel policies in his first term.

• "In just his first month in office, President Trump signed an Executive Order combatting anti-Semitism, negotiated a cease fire in Gaza, and successfully returned American and Israeli hostages to their families."

The intrigue: MAGA's growing divide over antisemitism has parallels to the movement's internecine feud over H1-B visas that exploded on X in December.

• Elements of the base that support Christian white nationalism clashed with Trump's Silicon Valley boosters, including Elon Musk, over hiring highly skilled foreign workers from countries like India.
• In both cases, the Trump administration quietly has sought to keep extremists at arm's length and away from policymaking. But the pressure from MAGA's grassroots is undeniable.

The bottom line: Some conservatives, especially the staunch Israel supporters who make up the foundation of the Republican Party, are fighting to prevent extremists from hijacking the president's base.

• "The embrace by so many prominent voices of demented, conspiratorial, anti-Jewish voices is one of the saddest, most alarming events in my lifetime," The Daily Wire co-founder Jeremy Boreing, a leader in conservative media, wrote on X.
• "Do not let the times cost you your soul," he warned.