Conservative filmmaker and author Dinesh D'Souza told Newsmax on Monday that Tucker Carlson's interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes went far beyond a journalistic exercise — and signaled something deeply troubling within the political right.
Appearing on "Finnerty," D'Souza said Carlson's approach to Fuentes, who has praised dictators, denied the Holocaust, and called for dismantling democracy, was less an interview than an attempt to "shepherd him into the mainstream."
"I have no objection to Tucker interviewing Fuentes," D'Souza said. "I debated Fuentes myself just a few weeks ago. But the tone of that debate could not be more different, because what Tucker was doing was basically playing a kind of avuncular role, almost like, 'I am shepherding Nick Fuentes into the mainstream.'"
D'Souza said Carlson failed to challenge Fuentes' most outrageous claims — including the extremist's self-described admiration for Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.
"At one point, Nick says he's a fan of Joseph Stalin," D'Souza said. "And you might think Tucker would say, ‘If there's one thing conservatives can agree on, it's that Stalin was a monster who killed more people than Hitler.'
"Tucker says none of that."
D'Souza warned that Carlson's posture legitimizes views that "would destroy the Republican Party and the MAGA movement if adopted."
Carlson's interview with Fuentes reached national attention after Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts released a video defending Carlson, claiming he was protecting him from being "canceled."
D'Souza, however, said conservatives should not confuse "canceling" someone with holding them accountable.
"It's quite possible to say to someone like Tucker — he has a huge platform, no one's canceling him — but we can still ask, What are the views he's actually advocating?" he said.
He cited Carlson's recent defenses of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and his comparisons between Israel and nations that persecute Christians, calling those analogies "preposterous."
"Whatever Tucker is, he's not reflecting our point of view," D'Souza said. "He's up to something else, and what he's up to doesn't appear to be any good."
D'Souza also noted Carlson's growing influence within conservative circles, pointing to his close ties to Turning Point USA, where he is slated to headline its conference next month.
"It gives Tucker an elevated podium," D'Souza said. "But conservatives have to ask — is this really who we want representing what we stand for?"
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