Absolutely. But Vance needs to avoid the fray delicately as Rufo points out, and he should never have been placed in such a fraught position by someone as influential as Carlson, in particular. It should be the responsibility of the rest of the MAGA/MAHA coalition to sideline Crazy Carlson so that Vance can deal with the rest of his very full plate of responsibilities and get elected in ‘28. Many people are successfully standing up to sideline Carlson given his very questionable motives in purposely dividing the coalition. Some others, however, are failing the character test (looking at you Megyn Kelly) and throwing fuel on the fire.
That's ridiculous. How many people are going to be lost after trump if yall are sidelining people for, honestly, typical 2016 stuff. We need a vision which properly encompasses everyone or this falls apart after Trump. Vance needs to stress-test some positions that encompass the whole movement.
I had barely heard of Charlie Kirk before he was killed. Somehow it feels though he is getting too much credit in this piece. Tucker Carlson has gone off the rails, as has Candace Owens. It looks like a desperation ploy to attract an audience that is losing interest in both of them.
Most older than around 30ish (?) didn't know too much about Charlie. They maybe heard of him, maybe saw a short video or two and that's all. And they definitely didn't know or see the huge impact TPUSA was making. There are videos but their biggest impact and work was on the streets and campuses. I think Mr. Rufo is correct. Charlie was critical and pivotal to the younger tech savvy and tiktok generation. He was also pivotal in the colleges against wokeism. His talks about Trump and leadership were crucial in bringing cohesion and understanding to an entire generation (and a half) that doesn't watch or read the news.
I'm 62, right there with you. But I don't think the "majority" of us are online like you and I are. And without that they won't know much. I could maybe up the 30ish except generally I think people 50+ just aren't glued to their Internet like the under-50, plus the 50-up still watch or read the news. I guess I should look up some stats!
His memorial filled one & a half football stadiums and was watched by millions around the world. I attended the now infamous TPUSA event in Bezerkeley & it was packed inside and had hundreds of ANTIFA-type protesters outside. Charlie was a rock star.
Good point, Susan. He was a key figure, but he had not won recognition as the clearly top punditry-leader on the right. That's a retrospective judgment, though it matters that it's now one held by many millions.
Regarding Vance: "he has refused to take the bait from figures like Fuentes, who have tried to provoke him." He needs to absolutely repudiate Fuentes for what he is -- a loud-mouth racist anti-semetic nazi apologist creep intent on one thing -- attention-- much like Candace Owen has become. It does not have to be a situation of an ongoing battle that only increases Fuentes, but be clear on him as a person and on the ignorance of his ideas and then ignore him. Slap him down he must. That is objective advice because I actually prefer DeSantis for 2028 -- every bit as personally accomplished with a record of actually being in charge.
Fuentes has made his plan clear, to make sure MAGA dies with Trump. I don't know if he can accomplish anything, but I don't think ignoring him is the answer.
It is like you didn't even read the article. Rufo pointed out how repudiation of the John Birchers cost Nixon an election. Trying to get JD Vance to repudiate Fuentes is a Democrats ploy to harm Vance. Or maybe a Never Trumper/ DeSantis supporter's ploy, too.
That said, Ron DeSantis has been GREAT for Florida. We mustn't allow Vance's success to diminish what DeSantis has achieved. Love them both!
Thank you for this, I hope JD reads it. I used to love Candace but I stopped following her over a year ago, I don't know what happened to her...but she really went way out there. Wayyyy out there. It's sad because she used to be such a brilliant young woman.
MTG... I just never thought she'd be where she is today. I used to admire her spunk and tenacity. And frankly, I can only think she got some very, very bad advice from somewhere. She didn't need to go ballistic on the Epstein stuff (very obvious now that Trump has signed the release bill). I think she must've absolutely gone off the deep end ranting to Trump or he never would've put out the letter he posted. One which I still wish he had not posted. If indeed he told her not to run for Senate or Gov then I can easily see her taking huge offense and behaving, well, exactly like she's behaving. She's always had that kind of temperament, but I did think she was more loyal.
The good thing, and bad thing, about the "right" is we now hold many former left and former deep-middle people. There's a balancing act needed BUT the "good" people must never, NEVER move or lean closer to the "bad" side. By standing firm on that we may lose the more "outer bounds" people but maintain a strong nucleus. JD Vance has the ability to smooth those bumps. He has the ability to fully explain reasoning (which is what all the "outer bounds" people really want and need) if he will take that bull by the horns we will be ok.
I believe if Trump and Bondi had not handled the Epstein issue so very very poorly a month or so ago (and gosh did they do a lousy job there!) we wouldn't be where we are today. However, we would've still fractured eventually over something else, such as Israel.
Keep putting the word out Mr. Rufo. Clear and concise is needed in the fog and that's what you always offer.
Yeah, Candace... don't know what happened to her... Maybe it's all about the money and notoriety for her... people's motives in all of this can, at times, be very hard to discern...
The non-interventionist v. neo-con framework, focusing on Israel, you set up is not quite right. The “non-interventionists” don’t have much to say about CCP or Qatari influence in America or our defense commitments to Taiwan, Qatar or Saudi Arabia, the latter two of which house American troops defending those countries. We are treaty-bound to defend Turkey and now have a new defense commitment to Qatar, which are the premier funders of the Muslim Brotherhood and proliferators of its ideology, not to mention patrons of designated terrorist group Hamas. Yet, they’re solely obsessed with Israel. Western Civilization is not their concern.
Tucker et al are hiding behind isolationism but their double-standards belie the truth. They attack Israel for the Gaza war but speak out against actual atrocities in Syria, Yemen or Sudan for the same reason. It’s only about the Jews for them.
Their identitarian ideology, white and Christian, is as woke as the Left’s. They cloak their Jew-hate in non-interventionism but their double-standards show the truth. If we don’t explicitly distance ourselves from them, these radicals will take down the GOP the same way the woke left took down the Democrats
Jewish identitarians have too much control over US foreign policy. Their identitarian ideology and the anti-Christian and anti-white hate they cloak in their double-standards show the truth. They are obsessed with Israel and the rest of us are forced to be as well in order to try to stop their obsession from controlling our country.
You do realise that our ally Qatar was attacked recently and we did not defend it. It was attacked by Israel. The American’s First people just want to fix America and let the crazies fight each other.
I'd be careful comparing Vance to Nixon. Nixon was a hero of sorts at first but then he wasn't. Carlson has lost his marbles and has taken Candace Owens with him.
Nixon's so-called Watergate "crimes" are nothing as compared to Hillary/Obama's Russiagate Hoax... From the perspective of a half century, Nixon's removal from office looks like a Deep State coup to me... Just sayin'...
Strongly disagree, he's fueling the flames under Fuentes and Carlson.
Why do you think Megyn Kelly is going full steam ahead in protecting Candace and that group..... She see's JDV is siding with Tucker, her access to power in 2028.
Christopher, big fan of yours. thank you for your service to America. Regarding the Israel and Jewish growing brushfire, it seems to be the Staunch Jews are the Chosen People crowd want to ignore the evil Jews among them. Bad Jews love to hide behind Christian Zionists. Christian Zionists love to provide said protection. But as a Christian America First Libertarian I find the CZ's are very wrong in attacking people like Tucker and Candace. When you deep dive the comments under the attack posts or the support posts, I would say the Christian Zionists like Hucklebee and Hagee and Jew Supremacists like Levin and Shapiro are losing support, bigly and making it much worse for the Good Jews and Good Israel which is Biblical Israel as opposed to the Current State of Israel which currently harbors pedophiles and has committed deathly violence against children. Then we have the so called "Super" Christian Speaker Mike Judas Johnson who just stated that National Security is at stake and therefore signaling that all Epstein Evidence will not be released to protect what amounts to State Sanction and Sponsored Pedo Honey Pot Operations conducted most probably by Mossad and the CIA and others. The Evil Elite will not be brought to justice, the Deep State Blob will not be dismantled and MAGA will be denied. The only way to Win in 2026 and 2028 is for enough American Christians to Rise Up and Vote Right, Vote Republican in the Primaries and Generals. Christians Unified and Activated to Support a highly flawed Republican Party is the thread. Now JD Vance answer to the question of his Hinduist or now we know Agnostic Wife is a crucial element in his run for President. I do think it is as simple as that. The psychology of the spouse affect on the spouse in charge of the country is real in the publics eyes. JD Vance is the Frontrunner, but I think Charlie Kirk's assassination was a pre-cog killing of a future President of the United States. Charlie became eligible for the Presidency weeks before the 2028 Election. Charlie was not only a Right Unifier, but he was an American Christian Unifier that could bring Democrat Christians and Non-Political Christians in from the cold embrace of Hell. At this point JD does not have that. Currently I think Pete Hegseth is a dark horse True Christian candidate that could take the crown left in the wake of Charlie's death. imho FYI: There is zero wrong with Christian Nationalism. Israel and the big Jewish donors should embrace that.
I've never seen anybody talk in these terms about any other group, ever. You're just as sick as Candace and Tucker and it's obvious to normal mentally balanced people.
Good summary. Vance is ok. I would rather have Rubio or DeSantis. Vance is preachy. Stop telling everyone to get married and have kids. I am married and have kids but people will make their own decisions. That is very personal. Rubio could campaign in Spanish.
I notice you brought up the issue of interracial marriage. It is OK for people to talk about the problems that come up with interracial or cross religious marriages. I am not saying that interracial or cross religious marriages are wrong or should be illegal. But our culture has been pushing them and this may be harmful to the marriage partners and the resulting children if entered into without a good understanding of the conflicts that can come up. Young people in love may not understand. Older and wiser adults should be encouraged to discuss and explain the issues with the young instead of being stigmatized for even pointing this out.
Your passive aggressive smears of Tucker, Candace, and Nick- are quite telling. You don't have 1/10th of their influence - because you are completely in denial of the reality of Zionist Israel - and the power player Jews in the U.S.
Those three tell the truth - as best they can - being slandered, censored, and attacked - and, We, the People- RESONATE.
Charlie Kirk was about to tell the truth about Israel - or let it play out on his platform - and they shot him thru the neck for it ( his own security team, upon orders from Netanyahu). The fact that you pretend this ISN'T true - shows how delusional, ivory tower you are. You're such an effete fraud and poseur, it's laughable.
What are the odds that Fuentes might be a speaker at the RNC convention in 2028? Tucker? Should either be? What will Vance determine? How does all of this affect voter turnout ( turnoff)? Lots of threading needles indeed
I watched every second of his memorial from the first Christian artist to the very end.... 7+ hours? Something like that. His wife is a force to be reckoned with and admire her tremendously ...but the job needs a male. I hope one as worthy, dedicated and knowledgeable as Charlie comes along soon.
Excellent insight as usual. I believe Vance has the ability to unify us. Let's hope it works or we lose the country!
Absolutely. But Vance needs to avoid the fray delicately as Rufo points out, and he should never have been placed in such a fraught position by someone as influential as Carlson, in particular. It should be the responsibility of the rest of the MAGA/MAHA coalition to sideline Crazy Carlson so that Vance can deal with the rest of his very full plate of responsibilities and get elected in ‘28. Many people are successfully standing up to sideline Carlson given his very questionable motives in purposely dividing the coalition. Some others, however, are failing the character test (looking at you Megyn Kelly) and throwing fuel on the fire.
That's ridiculous. How many people are going to be lost after trump if yall are sidelining people for, honestly, typical 2016 stuff. We need a vision which properly encompasses everyone or this falls apart after Trump. Vance needs to stress-test some positions that encompass the whole movement.
I had barely heard of Charlie Kirk before he was killed. Somehow it feels though he is getting too much credit in this piece. Tucker Carlson has gone off the rails, as has Candace Owens. It looks like a desperation ploy to attract an audience that is losing interest in both of them.
Most older than around 30ish (?) didn't know too much about Charlie. They maybe heard of him, maybe saw a short video or two and that's all. And they definitely didn't know or see the huge impact TPUSA was making. There are videos but their biggest impact and work was on the streets and campuses. I think Mr. Rufo is correct. Charlie was critical and pivotal to the younger tech savvy and tiktok generation. He was also pivotal in the colleges against wokeism. His talks about Trump and leadership were crucial in bringing cohesion and understanding to an entire generation (and a half) that doesn't watch or read the news.
@Sheila- I'm 65 and was a huge Charlie supporter. I miss him terribly.
I'm 62, right there with you. But I don't think the "majority" of us are online like you and I are. And without that they won't know much. I could maybe up the 30ish except generally I think people 50+ just aren't glued to their Internet like the under-50, plus the 50-up still watch or read the news. I guess I should look up some stats!
I'm 79 and a Kirk fan!
@Sheila- stats would be interesting
His memorial filled one & a half football stadiums and was watched by millions around the world. I attended the now infamous TPUSA event in Bezerkeley & it was packed inside and had hundreds of ANTIFA-type protesters outside. Charlie was a rock star.
Good point, Susan. He was a key figure, but he had not won recognition as the clearly top punditry-leader on the right. That's a retrospective judgment, though it matters that it's now one held by many millions.
Regarding Vance: "he has refused to take the bait from figures like Fuentes, who have tried to provoke him." He needs to absolutely repudiate Fuentes for what he is -- a loud-mouth racist anti-semetic nazi apologist creep intent on one thing -- attention-- much like Candace Owen has become. It does not have to be a situation of an ongoing battle that only increases Fuentes, but be clear on him as a person and on the ignorance of his ideas and then ignore him. Slap him down he must. That is objective advice because I actually prefer DeSantis for 2028 -- every bit as personally accomplished with a record of actually being in charge.
Ignore Fuentas. Keep on the Eye on the Prize. the Prize is MAGA Beyond Trump.
Fuentes has made his plan clear, to make sure MAGA dies with Trump. I don't know if he can accomplish anything, but I don't think ignoring him is the answer.
It is like you didn't even read the article. Rufo pointed out how repudiation of the John Birchers cost Nixon an election. Trying to get JD Vance to repudiate Fuentes is a Democrats ploy to harm Vance. Or maybe a Never Trumper/ DeSantis supporter's ploy, too.
That said, Ron DeSantis has been GREAT for Florida. We mustn't allow Vance's success to diminish what DeSantis has achieved. Love them both!
Thank you for this, I hope JD reads it. I used to love Candace but I stopped following her over a year ago, I don't know what happened to her...but she really went way out there. Wayyyy out there. It's sad because she used to be such a brilliant young woman.
MTG... I just never thought she'd be where she is today. I used to admire her spunk and tenacity. And frankly, I can only think she got some very, very bad advice from somewhere. She didn't need to go ballistic on the Epstein stuff (very obvious now that Trump has signed the release bill). I think she must've absolutely gone off the deep end ranting to Trump or he never would've put out the letter he posted. One which I still wish he had not posted. If indeed he told her not to run for Senate or Gov then I can easily see her taking huge offense and behaving, well, exactly like she's behaving. She's always had that kind of temperament, but I did think she was more loyal.
The good thing, and bad thing, about the "right" is we now hold many former left and former deep-middle people. There's a balancing act needed BUT the "good" people must never, NEVER move or lean closer to the "bad" side. By standing firm on that we may lose the more "outer bounds" people but maintain a strong nucleus. JD Vance has the ability to smooth those bumps. He has the ability to fully explain reasoning (which is what all the "outer bounds" people really want and need) if he will take that bull by the horns we will be ok.
I believe if Trump and Bondi had not handled the Epstein issue so very very poorly a month or so ago (and gosh did they do a lousy job there!) we wouldn't be where we are today. However, we would've still fractured eventually over something else, such as Israel.
Keep putting the word out Mr. Rufo. Clear and concise is needed in the fog and that's what you always offer.
Yeah, Candace... don't know what happened to her... Maybe it's all about the money and notoriety for her... people's motives in all of this can, at times, be very hard to discern...
The non-interventionist v. neo-con framework, focusing on Israel, you set up is not quite right. The “non-interventionists” don’t have much to say about CCP or Qatari influence in America or our defense commitments to Taiwan, Qatar or Saudi Arabia, the latter two of which house American troops defending those countries. We are treaty-bound to defend Turkey and now have a new defense commitment to Qatar, which are the premier funders of the Muslim Brotherhood and proliferators of its ideology, not to mention patrons of designated terrorist group Hamas. Yet, they’re solely obsessed with Israel. Western Civilization is not their concern.
Tucker et al are hiding behind isolationism but their double-standards belie the truth. They attack Israel for the Gaza war but speak out against actual atrocities in Syria, Yemen or Sudan for the same reason. It’s only about the Jews for them.
Their identitarian ideology, white and Christian, is as woke as the Left’s. They cloak their Jew-hate in non-interventionism but their double-standards show the truth. If we don’t explicitly distance ourselves from them, these radicals will take down the GOP the same way the woke left took down the Democrats
Jewish identitarians have too much control over US foreign policy. Their identitarian ideology and the anti-Christian and anti-white hate they cloak in their double-standards show the truth. They are obsessed with Israel and the rest of us are forced to be as well in order to try to stop their obsession from controlling our country.
Seems like the Jew-haters are the ones obsessed with Israel. Tucker & Candace can’t stop talking about it. Nobody’s making them talk about it nonstop
What anti-Christian and anti-white hate are you talking about? Specific examples only.
You do realise that our ally Qatar was attacked recently and we did not defend it. It was attacked by Israel. The American’s First people just want to fix America and let the crazies fight each other.
I'd be careful comparing Vance to Nixon. Nixon was a hero of sorts at first but then he wasn't. Carlson has lost his marbles and has taken Candace Owens with him.
And I miss Charlie every day...
Nixon's so-called Watergate "crimes" are nothing as compared to Hillary/Obama's Russiagate Hoax... From the perspective of a half century, Nixon's removal from office looks like a Deep State coup to me... Just sayin'...
@Pacificus- I couldn't agree more.
"Vance has wisely sidestepped these conflicts"
Strongly disagree, he's fueling the flames under Fuentes and Carlson.
Why do you think Megyn Kelly is going full steam ahead in protecting Candace and that group..... She see's JDV is siding with Tucker, her access to power in 2028.
Christopher, big fan of yours. thank you for your service to America. Regarding the Israel and Jewish growing brushfire, it seems to be the Staunch Jews are the Chosen People crowd want to ignore the evil Jews among them. Bad Jews love to hide behind Christian Zionists. Christian Zionists love to provide said protection. But as a Christian America First Libertarian I find the CZ's are very wrong in attacking people like Tucker and Candace. When you deep dive the comments under the attack posts or the support posts, I would say the Christian Zionists like Hucklebee and Hagee and Jew Supremacists like Levin and Shapiro are losing support, bigly and making it much worse for the Good Jews and Good Israel which is Biblical Israel as opposed to the Current State of Israel which currently harbors pedophiles and has committed deathly violence against children. Then we have the so called "Super" Christian Speaker Mike Judas Johnson who just stated that National Security is at stake and therefore signaling that all Epstein Evidence will not be released to protect what amounts to State Sanction and Sponsored Pedo Honey Pot Operations conducted most probably by Mossad and the CIA and others. The Evil Elite will not be brought to justice, the Deep State Blob will not be dismantled and MAGA will be denied. The only way to Win in 2026 and 2028 is for enough American Christians to Rise Up and Vote Right, Vote Republican in the Primaries and Generals. Christians Unified and Activated to Support a highly flawed Republican Party is the thread. Now JD Vance answer to the question of his Hinduist or now we know Agnostic Wife is a crucial element in his run for President. I do think it is as simple as that. The psychology of the spouse affect on the spouse in charge of the country is real in the publics eyes. JD Vance is the Frontrunner, but I think Charlie Kirk's assassination was a pre-cog killing of a future President of the United States. Charlie became eligible for the Presidency weeks before the 2028 Election. Charlie was not only a Right Unifier, but he was an American Christian Unifier that could bring Democrat Christians and Non-Political Christians in from the cold embrace of Hell. At this point JD does not have that. Currently I think Pete Hegseth is a dark horse True Christian candidate that could take the crown left in the wake of Charlie's death. imho FYI: There is zero wrong with Christian Nationalism. Israel and the big Jewish donors should embrace that.
I've never seen anybody talk in these terms about any other group, ever. You're just as sick as Candace and Tucker and it's obvious to normal mentally balanced people.
Seek an immediate lobotomy please.
So you advise him to do more of the same!!
No matter whether we agree with the supermajority, that's the position to take.
The skill comes in diffusing the 50/50 issues, and shoveling those to states's rights questions seems pretty effective.
Good summary. Vance is ok. I would rather have Rubio or DeSantis. Vance is preachy. Stop telling everyone to get married and have kids. I am married and have kids but people will make their own decisions. That is very personal. Rubio could campaign in Spanish.
It's crucial for whites to marry whites and have kids...civilization depends on it, literally!
I notice you brought up the issue of interracial marriage. It is OK for people to talk about the problems that come up with interracial or cross religious marriages. I am not saying that interracial or cross religious marriages are wrong or should be illegal. But our culture has been pushing them and this may be harmful to the marriage partners and the resulting children if entered into without a good understanding of the conflicts that can come up. Young people in love may not understand. Older and wiser adults should be encouraged to discuss and explain the issues with the young instead of being stigmatized for even pointing this out.
It's crucial for whites to marry whites and have kids...civilization depends on it, literally!
Your passive aggressive smears of Tucker, Candace, and Nick- are quite telling. You don't have 1/10th of their influence - because you are completely in denial of the reality of Zionist Israel - and the power player Jews in the U.S.
Those three tell the truth - as best they can - being slandered, censored, and attacked - and, We, the People- RESONATE.
Charlie Kirk was about to tell the truth about Israel - or let it play out on his platform - and they shot him thru the neck for it ( his own security team, upon orders from Netanyahu). The fact that you pretend this ISN'T true - shows how delusional, ivory tower you are. You're such an effete fraud and poseur, it's laughable.
Comments by Vance indicate that he has thrown in with Carlson. His big tent needs some limits, fast.
What are the odds that Fuentes might be a speaker at the RNC convention in 2028? Tucker? Should either be? What will Vance determine? How does all of this affect voter turnout ( turnoff)? Lots of threading needles indeed
No. Fuentes and Carlson should not be given speaking time at the RNC convention.
No argument here but I dont expect to have any input
I watched every second of his memorial from the first Christian artist to the very end.... 7+ hours? Something like that. His wife is a force to be reckoned with and admire her tremendously ...but the job needs a male. I hope one as worthy, dedicated and knowledgeable as Charlie comes along soon.
Your voice is desperately needed. Thank you!!!