By Newsmax Wires | Monday, 10 November 2025 06:18 PM EST
Former Rep. Pete King has called for Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts to step down immediately, criticizing the organization’s failure to condemn antisemitic remarks by Tucker Carlson.
“I definitely think he should resign,” King, a former Republican lawmaker from New York, told Newsmax. “There is no room in the political arena for supporting or enabling any views that are pro-Hitler or antisemitic.”
In a recent Facebook post, King urged Republicans to “denounce and sever all connections with Nick Fuentes and Tucker Carlson,” labeling Fuentes as “a virulent racist and antisemite who admires Adolf Hitler” and Carlson as “an antisemite who argues that Winston Churchill, not Adolf Hitler, was responsible for World War II.”
“These views are disgraceful, immoral and ignorant,” King wrote. “There is no place in the Republican Party or President [Donald] Trump’s MAGA movement for these abhorrent views or anyone who espouses or enables them.”
The controversy erupted after Roberts defended Carlson, describing him as a “close personal friend” despite the broadcaster’s history of antisemitic rhetoric. Carlson has claimed Jews “killed Jesus,” accused Israel of controlling U.S. policy, and amplified conspiracy theories blaming Jews for 9/11.
King argued that Roberts’ inaction disqualifies him from leading the conservative think tank. “The America First movement was once discredited for tolerating Nazi sympathizers,” he said. “We cannot let that happen again.”
Roberts later called his defense of Carlson a “mistake” but refused to denounce him, sparking an internal revolt at Heritage. Employees demanded accountability during a tense town hall, with staff accusing Roberts of “running cover for the most unhinged dregs of the far right.” A longtime scholar, Robert Rector, confronted Roberts directly, asking, “He adores Hitler and says he was a fin’ cool guy. Do we want him in the conservative movement?”
Former Minnesota GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann, who resigned from Heritage’s Antisemitism Task Force, called Roberts’ actions “indefensible,” warning that the foundation’s leadership had failed to address consistent antisemitic voices on the political right.
The crisis has led to severe fallout, with senior fellows and nearly a dozen Jewish and Christian leaders leaving Heritage. Morton Klein of the Zionist Organization of America reported donors cutting ties, predicting millions in lost support.
With staff in revolt, donors fleeing, and conservative leaders demanding accountability, the once-respected institution faces a legitimacy crisis. Bachmann warned, “Unless the board acts swiftly, there may be nothing to save.”
