Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., told Newsmax on Monday that Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts "missed it" in defending Tucker Carlson's interview with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. Santorum said that Roberts failed to recognize the real issue: giving an unchallenged platform to antisemitic views.
On "Rob Schmitt Tonight," Santorum, Newsmax's senior political analyst, said Roberts' point about resisting "cancel culture" was valid but misplaced.
"Kevin, in my mind, just sort of missed it a little bit," Santorum said. "Because I don't think, at least most of the people out there that I'm talking to, are not talking about canceling Nick Fuentes.
"And that wasn't really the issue. The issue was Tucker Carlson platforming and lifting [Fuentes] up."
Roberts defended Carlson last week, saying the right should resist calls to "cancel" anyone. Santorum said the argument overlooked the moral responsibility of influential media figures.
"We shouldn't be platforming them and lifting them up," he said. "Particularly if you're going to lift them up and do what Tucker did, which is a pretty softball interview for almost two hours."
Santorum also pushed back on Carlson's comments dismissing "Christian Zionists."
He said most Christians support Israel because "we believe the Jews should have a homeland to protect themselves from another Holocaust."
"Most Christians who support Israel don't support it for that [dispensationalist] reason," Santorum said, referring to the belief that biblical Israel retains a divine covenant extending through the modern era. "They support it because we believe the Jews should have a homeland to protect itself from another Holocaust.
"We think that Israel is an ally in the region against radical Islam, which populates that area. There's lots of reasons to support Israel other than some, you know, part of Christianity that's called dispensationalism."
Fuentes has publicly mocked the Holocaust, once comparing it to a "Sesame Street" skit.
Carlson's decision to interview him drew condemnation from Jewish groups and conservatives alike.
"The reality is," Santorum said, "attacking Christians who support Israel is not the same as challenging theological differences — it's something far more dangerous."
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