Trump defends Tucker Carlson as Nick Fuentes interview divides MAGA world

• More broadly, it underscores MAGA's divided approach toward tolerating racism, sexism and antisemitism on the far right.

Driving the news: Trump on Sunday finally waded into the Republican warfare after weeks of critics blasting Carlson for hosting the Holocaust denier on his podcast.

• The president didn't address Fuentes' comments but said "you can't tell him [Carlson] who to interview." He said he found Carlson "to be good," adding he "said good things about me."
• Trump continued, "if he wants to interview Nick Fuentes, I don't know much about him, but if he wants to do it, get the word out. Let him, you know, people have to decide."
• Fuentes responded on X, "Thank you Mr. President!" with a video of the president's remarks.
• When asked if the president condemned Fuentes' racist and antisemitic rhetoric, the White House pointed Axios to the president's remarks. Trump said he didn't "know much about him" but did not criticize Fuentes Sunday.

Flashback: Fuentes and rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 2022. The president has been adamant that Ye brought Fuentes, whom he said he knew nothing about.

• He reiterated that Sunday when a reporter mentioned the dinner, saying, "I didn't know he was coming."
• Trump added, "Kanye asked if he could have dinner, and he brought Nick. I didn't know Nick at the time, and he did."

Between the lines: Carlson's friendly interview with Fuentes, in which the far-right activist spoke of "organized Jewry in America," has already become fodder for Cruz's potential 2028 bid, Axios' Alex Isenstadt reported.

• The Texas senator is leaning into his feud with Carlson — and into the ideological tensions that are dividing the president's movement — for a possible presidential run.
• Cruz recently called Carlson a "coward" and "complicit in evil" for his conduct in the Fuentes interview.
• Ben Shapiro, another major MAGA media voice, also lambasted Carlson over the interview, calling him an "intellectual coward" and a "dishonest interlocutor."

Yes, but: Trump is not alone within the Republican party in his defense of Carlson.

• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), with whom the president has recently severed ties, said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that she does "admire" Carlson for "interviewing many people."

• And Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts stood by Carlson, "a close friend of the Heritage Foundation," who he said in a video was being attacked by "a venomous coalition." He added, "I disagree with and even abhor things that Nick Fuentes says, but canceling him is not the answer, either."
• Facing backlash, Roberts later sought to clarify his statement, condemning Fuentes' "vicious antisemitic ideology, his Holocaust denial, and his relentless conspiracy theories that echo the darkest chapters of history."

Friction point: Roberts' video defending Carlson led to fractures within the Heritage Foundation.

• On Monday, legal scholar Robert P. George announced his resignation from the Foundation's board, saying he could not stay unless Roberts retracted the video.
• "Although Kevin publicly apologized for some of what he said in the video, he could not offer a full retraction of its content," he wrote in a post shared to Facebook. "So, we reached an impasse."
• A Heritage Foundation spokesperson told Axios in a statement that it is "thankful for Professor George and his service." They added that under Roberts' leadership, "Heritage remains resolute in building an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society flourish."

Go deeper: MAGA's war within: Right-wing purity tests

Editor's note: This story has been updated with the White House's response, a Heritage Foundation statement and additional developments.