By Arya Khorshidi

“What can you and I do to a state legislator—besides kill them? We should not do that. I’m not advising that, but I mean, what else can you do, right?”

“These filthy Zionist Jews.”

“This is God’s country. This is Jesus’s country. This is not the domain of atheists or devil worshipers, or perfidious Jews. This is Christ’s country.”

These are just a few soundbites from the notorious self-proclaimed fascist influencer Nick Fuentes.

Fuentes has been a figure on the far-right of U.S politics for quite a while; he took part in the January 6^th Riots, he has live-streamed on Rumble from 2022 onwards, but has remained a relatively unknown, edgy figure that wasn’t really taken seriously.

Until now.

The American right has seen an undeniable shift, one that arguably surpasses the rise of Trumpism in 2016; extremism that we would condemn as completely reprehensible a decade ago has undeniably drifted dangerously close to the mainstream.

It has created a visceral and clear divide within the MAGA base, with most congressmen and women, Trump himself, and various right-wing media hosts believing in tax cuts, deregulation, and a foreign policy of “peace through strength”, while avoiding “forever wars”.

The base that has gained much prominence following the 2024 election has advocated for true populist principles, the very ones Trump rhetorically emphasised he would value, including ensuring affordable housing, prioritising the white working class, and ending all U.S involvement in foreign affairs – an “America Only” belief.

Their proponents, Nick Fuentes, Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and others, have vehemently criticised the Trump administration for any support given to Ukraine and Israel, echoing conspiracy theories of the Jewish lobby holding significant influence within U.S politics, specifically with the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) supposedly having “dirt” on all pro-Israel congresspeople.

Fundamentally, though, they desire an America where all immigration is permanently halted (at least for the foreseeable future), where ICE have full jurisdiction to remove any and all illegal migrants regardless of documentation, and one where church and state are no longer separated; advocating for Christian and white nationalism. There’s a shared distrust of atheists, Jews and Muslims, whom they, ideally, desire to be deported to preserve the “indigenous” race of the U.S (which carries a strong tinge of irony).

These individuals have power. Fuentes has over 1 million followers on X, and gains hundreds of thousands of likes on posts regularly. Contrast this to traditional pro-Trump influencers such as Laura Loomer who are lucky to hit ten thousand.

But if there were any doubts on Fuentes’ unsaid influence, they were put to rest in October 2025.

Fuentes’ viral interview with Tucker Carlson, where he pinned the blame on America’s failings to “organised Jewry”, was met with tens of millions of views.

The Heritage Foundation, the most influential conservative group within the U.S, with massive influence within the White House and upper echelons of the RNC, praised Tucker for his commitment to free speech and stated that interviewing someone like Fuentes should not be condemned.

An effective capitulation by the largest, most traditional Republican-aligned group in the entire country to the ideals of Nick Fuentes and Tucker Carlson, is the perfect indicator to the growing agreement with their views.

Although this led to mass resignations within Heritage, culminating in an official apology by the President of the foundation, the damage was done.

A precedent has been set: far-right voices should not be silenced. In fact, a true commitment to “free speech” should be airing them and providing them a platform, regardless of the depth of their views, regardless of how we would have viewed them only a few years ago.

What is clear is that, like the progressive left, a new faction is gaining influence and authority within the right, once again distorting and polarising American politics.  

These two wings must be acknowledged. The Democratic and Republican establishments sure haven’t.