Trump’s Nick Fuentes Problem is Getting Worse
PDS Published 11/06/2025
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The MAGA civil war just keeps heating up, with more and more names jumping into the battle.
And in case you somehow missed this, go back and watch Monday’s and Tuesday’s shows, but for a quick recap, Tucker Carlson interviewed the anti-Semitic white nationalist Nick Fuentes on his show last week.
And that sparked an uproar because Tucker’s platform is huge, the interview was friendly, and Fuentes talked at length about what he called “organized Jewry.”
So a whole bunch of conservatives, most prominently Ben Shapiro, Mark Levin and Ted Cruz, condemned Tucker and Fuentes.
But a bunch of other right-wingers came to their defense, or at the very least Tucker’s defense, arguing he merely exercised his free speech and shouldn’t be “cancelled.”
Well now, the latest high-profile pundit to make that argument is Brett Cooper, the former Daily Wire host who was once dubbed the female Ben Shapiro before she left and started her own show. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 09:12 - 09:17, 09:20 - 09:25; Clip, 00:27 - 00:31; Clip, 14:05 - 14:11, 14:18 - 14:21] Caption: “They’re doing all of this, they’re freaking out, because of how powerful and impactful Tucker is. … Tucker right now is the number one podcaster in the world. He is neck and neck with Joe Rogan. … As they ignore the obvious shift in ideology and attitudes of their base. … Because you’re so angry that the conservative base’s attitudes are rapidly changing, that Nick Fuentes is getting national attention. … And unfortunately for you guys, yes, the attitudes are changing.”
And over the course of her show, she took shots directly at several people, including Mark Levin …
[Clip, 02:08 - 02:18] Caption: “Hitler admirers, Stalin admirers, Jew Haters, American haters, Churchill haters, — you’re damn right were gonna cancel them and deplatform them.”
… Republican Senator Lindsey Graham …
[Clip, 11:02 - 11:10] Caption: “But if you ever run for office as a Republican and you embrace this weird shit, we’re gonna beat your brains out.”
… and Republican Representative Randy Fine …
[Clip, 12:41 - 12:44, 12:46 - 12:51] Caption: “Tucker Carlson is the most dangerous anti-Semite in America. … He has chosen to take on the mantle of lead er of a modern-day Hitler Youth.”
With Cooper going after all of them for pretty much the same reason: hypocrisy. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 11:44 - 11:47, 11:49 - 11:59; Clip, 13:23 - 13:26] Caption: “This is just so incredibly hypocritical. … Haven’t we all collectively sat on our shows, sat on X, and talked about how dangerous it is and how irresponsible it was for leftists to just call anybody they hate a Nazi? … It is the same kind of inflammatory rhetoric that killed Charlie Kirk.”
And she provoked a lot of reactions for one particular comment she made about Randy Fine, who’s Jewish.
[Clip, 15:38 - 15:48] Caption: “I mean he obviously — I’m sorry to say — but he obviously cares more about Israel than he does principles like free speech, so buddy, my advice to you, Randy Fine, is just move to Israel at this point.”
With that seeming to many to echo something Fuentes said to Carlson last week.
[Clip, 18:20 - 18:29] Caption: “If you’re China first, you should live in China. If you’re Mexico first, you should live in Mexico. If you’re Israel first, maybe you should go live in Israel.”
And apparently, Fuentes himself took her comments the same way, because he posted on X:
“DailyWire alum Brett Cooper says Randy Fine should move to Israel because he cares more about Israel than Free Speech. We are never going back to the way things used to be. Enough is enough. America first.” [Post]
But then, we heard a much different take on the drama from Daily Wire host Matt Walsh, who blamed the GOP’s embarrassing defeat in Tuesday’s elections on exactly this kind of infighting. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 01:17 - 01:26; Clip, 22:28 - 22:32, 22:45 - 22:47, 22:53 - 23:06, 24:04 - 24:09; Clip, 27:15 - 27:20] Caption: “We’ve watched the right-wing commentariat rip each other to shreds over offensive group chats and podcast guests and so on. … Right now a lot of people are kind of drawing lines on the right. … But here’s the line that we really need. … Conservatives who have actually shown an ability to win and move the needle culturally and politically on one side, versus conservatives who have never contributed meaningfully to any victory at all. … And after last night’s elections it’s clear that we should just not listen to those people ever again. … In my view, the right must unite against the people who want us dead.”
With Fuentes responding to that: “Your fence sitting has grown tiresome.” [Post]
And then ranting in other posts about “lunatic Israel-First Jews” and “ethno-narcissistic bullies.” [Posts 1 2 3]
But despite calls from Walsh and a few others for unity, that doesn’t seem to be happening, at least not at the Heritage Foundation.
Right, because one of the biggest things that catalyzed this civil war was a video statement that its president, Kevin Roberts, put out last week.
[Clip, 01:16 - 01:29] Caption: “We will always defend truth, we will always defend America, and we will always defend our friends against the slander of bad actors who serve someone else’s agenda. That includes Tucker Carlson.”
So naturally, it shocked a lot of people to see the head of mainstream American conservativism’s most prestigious think tank throwing its support behind someone as fringe as Tucker Carlson.
Now on Monday night, Roberts partly apologized during a speech at Hillsdale College.
[Clip, 00:00 - 00:05, 00:59 - 01:06, 01:17 - 01:31, 01:37 - 01:53] Caption: “A few days ago, I posted a video truly with the best of intentions. … But I have to tell you, to the students, that this old history professor made a mistake. … And my mistake was not saying we aren’t going to participate in cancel culture. We’re not. My mistake was letting that, which we will never backtrack from, override the central motivation that I had in doing that. … There’s one of those ideas that really worries me. It’s an idea that has become caché not just on the left, but on the far fringes of the right. And that’s anti-Semitism.”
With him apologizing again personally to his own staff yesterday, reportedly saying, “I made a mistake and I let you down and I let down this institution. Period. Full Stop.” [Quote and Image]
Then adding he was willing to resign but saying he felt a “moral obligation” to clean up the mess he created himself. [Quote same link and same image]
But apparently none of that’s been enough to prevent this rift from tearing the organization apart.
With The Washington Post reporting that at least five members of its antisemitism task force have now resigned in protest, and distinguished fellow Chris DeMuth [da-mooth] left. [Quote, find “least five”]
As well as another fellow, Amy Swearer, telling Roberts to his face that his handling of the controversy was “a master class in cowardice that ran cover for the most unhinged dregs of the far right.” [Quote same link]
But others at Heritage felt differently, with one person at the meeting reportedly asking what would happen to those who agreed with Roberts and Carlson, and another comparing staffers who spoke with reporters to “Judas.” [Quote same link]
Even Roberts’s own speechwriter, Evan Myers, reportedly suggested that Heritage’s attempts to address accusations of antisemitism would eventually mean he would be required to attend a Shabbat dinner, which he said would conflict with his faith. [Same quote]
To which another executive shot back, “I’m deeply sorry that you could not see that as a generous offer but rather a personal attack on you.” [Quote same link]
So clearly emotions are running high, and we’ll have to see if confidence in Roberts’s leadership holds or crumbles.
But amidst all the bickering this week, we also got to hear from Carlson himself, because he went on Dave Smith’s show and explained that he initially had reservations about bringing Fuentes on. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 06:09 - 06:16, 06:20 - 06:23, 06:38 - 07:13] Caption: “For one, Nick had attacked my family, my father, my wife, one of my children, by name. … For another, as I’ve said a million times, I thought he was a fed. … I did suspect that. I don’t know if that’s true or not, and I raised that with him. But basically in the end I decided, Nick Fuentes can’t be cancelled. They’ve been trying since he was a freshman in college. It doesn’t work. In fact, he’s gotten bigger. He is enormously talented. Anyone who denies that is lying. And he has a semi-coherent, not fully coherent, but a semi-coherent position, and I would like to hear what it is, because that’s kind of my job and I’m also interested because he’s the most influential voice for men under thirty in the United States.”
But as critics, such as Ben Shapiro, The National Review and The Wall Street Journal have countered, Tucker’s defense that he’s just an innocent journalist doing his job and hearing people out doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.
With them arguing that he barely challenged Fuentes at all, never brought up his most noxious comments, and let him say things like …
[Clip, 55:08 - 55:10] Caption: “We do on some level need to be pro-white.”
… without any objection whatsoever.
Plus it’s clear that Tucker’s more than willing to grill the absolute fuck out of a guest when he wants to, since he did exactly that to Ted Cruz.
[Clip, 00:22 - 00:30]
So from that, you have The National Review concluding:
“Why would Carlson choose to take an oppositional tack to a senator who has been fighting for conservatism for decades, but not to a podcaster who praises Stalin? The obvious answer is that Fuentes is an avowed Jew-hater while Cruz is a staunch supporter of Israel.” [Quote]
And apparently Tucker agrees with at least one part of that: this isn’t about free speech or cancel culture. It’s about Israel and the future of the GOP. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 04:18 - 04:23, 04:40 - 04:55] Caption: “This is a fight over what happens after Donald Trump. What does the Republican Party look like? … What happens after Trump goes? And that’s what this is about. That’s why they’re vesting the energy in this. That’s what the rage is about, because they don’t want to lose control of foreign policy. I just can’t say that enough. It’s about foreign policy. They don’t care about domestic policy because they don’t care about the United States.”
But for critics on the other side, this civil war’s at least as much about anti-Semitism as it is about Israel, with Jamie Kirchick opining in The Washington Post:
This episode “has forced an overdue reckoning on the American right. For far too long, the problem of antisemitism has been allowed to fester there because too many conservatives have been reluctant to speak out against its chief propagator. Finally, the battle lines are being drawn.” [Quote]
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And then, in a break from political news, let’s switch gears entirely to talk about this crazy She-in sex doll controversy.
Because France announced that it is moving to suspend the retail platform, and this is just one of multiple She-in controversies in the country right now.
The suspension is specifically because regulators found that the company was selling incredibly child-like sex dolls.
And honestly, it is probably even worse than you assume, right, according to multiple outlets, this is the doll in question, it straight up looks like a little girl holding a teddy bear.
With The Telegraph reporting that it was described as a “sex doll…with erotic body” and “realistic” genitalia.[]
So the outrage was massive, with France’s consumer affairs and fraud control agency saying that the products “leave little doubt as to the child pornography nature of the content.”[]
And the nation’s finance minister also adding:
“If this behavior is repeated, we will be within our rights to request that Shein’s platform be banned from the French market.”
For its part, She-in said the listing came from a third party seller and they are reviewing how they were able to circumvent the screening process. []
The company also removed the listing and banned the sale of sex dolls, with its executive chairman saying:
"The fight against child exploitation is non-negotiable for Shein. These were marketplace listings from third-party sellers - but I take this personally."
"We are tracing the source and will take swift, decisive action against those responsible."
But not long after this, there were more French reports saying the She-in was selling weapons like machetes and brass knuckles on its site. []
So yesterday, France decided to launch proceedings to suspend the website.
It is unclear exactly how the suspension will work or when it will be in full effect, because according to Reuters, Shein’s website was still available in France Thursday, it just had no third-party products. []
But business ministers did visit Paris’s major airport and blocked 200,000 parcels to be examined by a consumer watchdog.
And as for how long this crackdown lasts, well, officials say it will be:[]
“As long as necessary for the platform to demonstrate to the authorities that all of its content is finally in compliance with our laws and regulations.”
But France is not just stopping at its own country, and this morning we saw reports that the country is urging the EU to step in, too.
With a letter urging the European Commission to:
“promptly conduct investigations to shed full light on the malfunctions that led to the marketing of illegal products on this platform.”[]
And like I said, there is more backlash She-in is facing in France.
Because also yesterday, the brand opened up its first in-person store in Paris.
And unsurprisingly, a lot of people who live in the fashion capitol of the world are not super stoked about the biggest fast fashion retailer planting its flag there.
Right, the She-in shop is inside of the famous BVH department store, and there were protestors outside of it taking a stand against She-in’s new presence there.
Some of these protestors took issue with the sex dolls that were for sale, with one demonstrator telling Reuters that:[]
"We are here with our little signs as a reminder that behind these sexual dolls there are potentially predators and pedophile criminals.”
But even before this controversy arose, there were almost certainly going to be protesters at this opening.
Right, She-in has long faced criticism for its negative impact on the environment, as well as allegations of inhumane labor practices. []
And a petition opposing the store got over 120,000 signatures.
Some brands even opted to pull their products from the BVH department store in protest of its choice to sell Shein’s products, with one co-founder telling the Wall Street Journal:[]
“Shein for me is even worse than not being paid. It’s a shame on Paris. It’s a disgrace. You cannot be a sustainable brand and be in the same space as these people.”
Though, right now, France did not say whether or not this suspension decision would impact the brick and mortar store.[]
And while there were tons of outraged protestors, there were also tons of shoppers lined up outside.
So I would love to know your thoughts on any of this here.
Kickstart your passion project with a free trial today: Squarespace & enter offer code “Phil” to get 10% off your first purchase!
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Armed agents dragged a woman out of the Chicago daycare facility where she worked and arrested her in front of children.
With a video of the arrest seeming to show them slam her face against the glass doors before pinning her against a parked car as they tried to handcuff her (BROLL: 0:06-0:18).
You also had witnesses telling the Chicago Tribune that the woman could be heard saying “I have papers” in Spanish before she was forced against the car. []
With one parent claiming that everyone was “crying, terrified, huddled together” following the incident – which she described as “the abduction” – and adding:
“To do it in a place where children are, with complete disregard for what children see, there’s no low these people won’t stoop to.” []
Also, according to the Tribune, school officials confirmed the woman had authorization to work in the daycare and had undergone a background check
And they also said the agents failed to present a warrant before entering the private facility. []
But with all that, you’ve had DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin offering an alternative version of events – writing on X:
“ICE law enforcement did not target a daycare. Officers attempted to conduct a targeted traffic stop of this female illegal alien from Colombia” — going on to say:
“Officers attempted to pull over this vehicle, which was registered to a female illegal alien, with sirens and emergency lights, but the male driver refused to pull the vehicle over.”
“Law enforcement pursued the vehicle before the assailant sped into a shopping plaza where he and the female passenger fled the vehicle. They ran into a daycare and attempted to barricade themselves inside the daycare – recklessly endangering the children inside” – but then adding:
“The illegal alien female was arrested inside a vestibule, not in the school.”
On the flip side, though, you quickly had local and state lawmakers organizing a press conference to condemn the incident and the administration’s response.
With Congresswoman Delia Ramirez accusing them of lying – and saying her office is working with the school to release video footage that she said would prove agents were in the school:
“I'm reading what Assistant Secretary Trisha McCallen wrote, right? And let me just be very clear. They lie. They lie over and over and over.
“I'm going to tell you as someone that actually physically saw the footage inside the daycare center. They went inside the daycare center, questioned and took someone to her locker room to prove she had papers. We saw them run in and out. And you saw some of that footage already at WGN. They are lying here.” (47:50-47:58, 48:05-48:23)
You also had Congressman Mike Quigley, who represents the district where the daycare is located, noting that the woman arrested had a work permit.
And that’s something DHS didn’t dispute – arguing instead that "Work authorization does NOT confer any type of legal status to be in the U.S” — and adding:
"The illegal alien's work authorization was approved by the Biden administration, which exploited this loophole to help facilitate the invasion of our country." []
But while we wait to see what happens with that case, it’s of course just one incident of many.
And in fact, literally within an hour of that woman being arrested? A hearing was underway nearby regarding the alleged use of excessive force by federal law enforcement in Chicago.
With this being part of a lawsuit filed by several media organizations and protesters who accused agents of a “pattern of extreme brutality” and a “concerted, ongoing effort to silence the press and civilians.”
Right, and already as part of this case, you’ve had U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis issuing a temporary order banning agents from using certain riot-control techniques – including tear gas and pepper balls – against peaceful protesters and journalists.
Then, after agents appeared to repeatedly violate her order, she added a requirement for body cameras.
And finally, she ordered Senior Border Patrol official Greg Bovino to brief her each evening on the federal immigration crackdown in Chicago.
And although an appeals court blocked the order, Bovino certainly hasn’t escaped scrutiny.
Right, at this hearing yesterday, you had attorneys playing a clip of him throwing tear gas canisters at protesters and claiming he had lied about being hit in the head with a rock beforehand (BROLL: 0:08-0:12).
And they also played a clip of him grabbing and tackling a man to the ground during one protest. []
But while acknowledging in a prerecorded deposition that he made “physical contact” with the man – he denied that he applied force. []
He also said he had “not seen [the agency’s] men or women deploy force against protesters.” []
And, of course, the government? It’s argued that any use of force has been justified by claiming protesters have been violent and have even threatened to kill law enforcement officers – with a DOJ lawyer saying:
“Such conduct must be rejected…To what extent does the freedom of speech protect individuals in obstructing and/or threatening conduct — throwing rocks, bottles, fireworks, surrounding and pinning down law enforcement officials?” []
Although, with that, many witnesses claim agents’ actions have been unprovoked.
And just today, you had Judge Ellis going over in painstaking detail a bunch of times violated her order and saying she’ll issue an even more sweeping injunction against the use of force by immigration agents.
But also, that’s not the only judge’s order we need to talk about connected to all this.
Right , because many of these violations? They took place in response to protests around an ICE facility in the suburb of Broadview.
Where people have not only been protesting Trump’s immigration crackdown in general but the conditions at this facility specifically.
Right, because even though it’s only designed for stays of roughly 12 hours, some people have been held there for days on end – and there are no beds and no working showers []
And so this week, you had a judge listening for hours as former detainees described what they called “inhumane” conditions at the facility.
Testifying that besides being denied access to lawyers they had no soap or toothbrushes and were forced to sleep on uncomfortable chairs or a concrete floor. []
They also claimed that the toilets were overflowing and in plain sight, said there was garbage everywhere, and flagged other issues with the availability of food, medical care and drinking water.
Of course, McLaughlin, the DHS spokesperson? She denied the allegations – saying in a statement:
“Despite hoaxes spread by criminal illegal aliens, the complicit media, and now an activist judge, the ICE Broadview Facility does NOT have subprime conditions.”
And with that, among other things, she claimed detainees were provided with three meals a day. []
But notably, not even the government’s own lawyer seemed to back that up, saying she had been told detainees were offered one hot meal a day – and detainees mostly disputed her claims anyways. []
And in the end, you had the judge describing the alleged conditions as “unnecessarily cruel” and saying he found the witnesses “highly credible” – adding:
“The evidence has been pretty strong that this facility is no longer just a temporary holding facility. It has really become a prison.”
And with that, he issued a temporary order requiring authorities to improve conditions at the facility.
For example, he ordered that holding rooms at the facility be cleaned twice a day;
that detainees be allowed to shower at least every other day;
and that they have three full meals daily as well as drinking water on request. []
He further required officials to provide detainees with clean bedding and enough space to sleep – as well as personal hygiene products and prescribed medications. []
And on top of that, his order barred immigration agents from misrepresenting documents provided to detainees to sign – which attorneys claimed had been done to get detainees to unknowingly relinquish their rights or agree to deportation:
With one of those attorneys explaining that now, quote:
“They cannot slip in a form written in a language somebody doesn’t understand and then all of a sudden the person gets whisked out of the country.”
“That coercion has got to stop.”
But with all that, these cases still have a long way to go, and there are reports of stuff like this all over the country.
So we’ll have to see where this all ultimately ends up.
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Starting tomorrow, airlines in the US are going to start slashing flights -- first by 4% but that's gonna hit 10% by Monday.
The longest government shutdown continues to be a nightmare for millions and the number just continues to grow.
This is particularly true for travelers starting on Friday because that’s when airlines across the US are going to start cutting flights by 4% and progressively increase that to 10% by Monday.
(the only exception are international flights, which won’t be affected).
The announcement was made yesterday afternoon by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who added that the delays would affect 40 airports across the US.
That was followed up by Federal Aviation Administration Administrator (say that 10 times fast) Bryan Beford, who said: [read]
“As we slice the data more granularly, we are seeing pressures build in a way that we don’t feel if we allow it to go unchecked will allow us to continue to tell the public that we operate the safest airline system in the world.”
Initially it was unclear which exact airports were getting hit, but we now know that the list includes a who’s-who of every major US airport.
Major carriers are starting to warn passengers that these cancellations are coming all across Twitter and said that those affected would be reached out to.
Unfortunately with the ongoing shutdown, these cancellations and reduced flights are probably needed.
That’s because airport personnel like the 13,000 Air Traffic Controllers and 50,000 TSA agents are overwhelmed not just with missed paychecks but also massive increases in their workloads.[]
Major airlines tried to make things a little easier for ATCs by offering free meals following their first paycheck getting missed.
But the way many ATCs are making things easier on themselves is by just not working -- especially because many need to use the time to make money elsewhere to deal with things like “mortgages” and “food.”[]
Right, by law they’re required to still work through a government shutdown without any pay and aren’t allowed to go on strike… so they’re just taking all their sick days and PTO instead.
This is happening at a pretty large scale, with 30 of the largest airports seeing 20-40% of their ATCs call out.
And keep in mind, even before all this the US was already struggling with a massive shortage of ATCs.
(and with this news now there’s a real fear that when the holidays roll around it’ll be just a hellscape at airports like LAX).
Either way, the fact that many of their colleagues are understandably calling out instead of working for free is leading to a massive workload for the controllers still on site.
All of which has a cascading effect, with airports already seeing significant delays due to not having enough ATCs to handle everything.
Airlines estimate that so far the government shutdown has affected 3.2 million travelers, and the cancellations are just going to make that number skyrocket.
You got to feel kinda bad for the Air Traffic Controllers.
It was already considered one of the most stressful jobs in the US where one mistake can possibly kill a lot of people.
And now things are even worse with no real end in sight.
So while these cancellations will hopefully reduce airport delays, they aren’t meant to make things smoother for travellers but instead less stressful for controllers.[]
So if you plan to travel for the holidays, expect it to be crazy out there and I hope your flight isn’t cancelled.
