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Vance Refuses to Draw Line Over Bigotry12/22 06:04
Vice President JD Vance said Sunday the conservative movement should be open
to everyone as long as they "love America," declining to condemn a streak of
antisemitism that has divided the Republican Party and roiled the opening days
of Turning Point USA's annual convention.
PHOENIX (AP) -- Vice President JD Vance said Sunday the conservative
movement should be open to everyone as long as they "love America," declining
to condemn a streak of antisemitism that has divided the Republican Party and
roiled the opening days of Turning Point USA's annual convention.
After a long weekend of debates about whether the movement should exclude
figures such as bigoted podcaster Nick Fuentes, Vance came down firmly against
"purity tests."
"I didn't bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to de-platform,"
Vance said during the convention's closing speech.
Turning Point leader Erika Kirk, who took the helm after the assassination
of her husband, Charlie Kirk, has endorsed Vance as a potential successor to
President Donald Trump, a helpful nod from an influential group with an army of
volunteers.
But the tension on display at the four-day gathering foreshadowed the
treacherous political waters that Vance, or anyone else who seeks the next
Republican presidential nomination, will need to navigate in the coming years.
Top voices in the "Make America Great Again" movement are jockeying for
influence as Republicans begin considering a future without Trump, and there is
no clear path to holding his coalition together.
Defining a post-Trump GOP
The Republican Party's identity has been intertwined with Trump for a
decade, but he's constitutionally ineligible to run for reelection despite his
musings about serving a third term. Tucker Carlson said people are wondering,
"who gets the machinery when the president exits the scene?"
So far, it looks like settling that question will come with a lot of
fighting among conservatives. The Turning Point conference featured arguments
about antisemitism, Israel and environmental regulations, not to mention
rivalries between leading commentators.
Ben Shapiro, co-founder of the conservative media outlet Daily Wire, used
his speech on the conference's opening night to denounce "charlatans who claim
to speak in the name of principle but actually traffic in conspiracism and
dishonesty."
"These people are frauds and they are grifters and they do not deserve your
time," Shapiro said. He specifically called out Carlson for hosting Fuentes for
a friendly interview on his podcast.
Carlson brushed off the criticism when he took the stage barely an hour
later, and he said the idea of a Republican "civil war" was "totally fake."
"There are people who are mad at JD Vance, and they're stirring up a lot of
this in order to make sure he doesn't get the nomination," he said. Carlson
described Vance as "the one person" who subscribes to the "core idea of the
Trump coalition," which Carlson said was "America first."
Turning Point spokesperson Andrew Kolvet framed the discord as a healthy
debate about the future of the movement, an uncomfortable but necessary process
of finding consensus.
"We're not hive-minded commies," he wrote on social media. "Let it play out."
If you love America, you're welcome in the movement, Vance says
Vance acknowledged the controversies that dominated the Turning Point
conference, but he did not define any boundaries for the conservative movement
besides patriotism.
"We don't care if you're white or black, rich or poor, young or old, rural
or urban, controversial or a little bit boring, or somewhere in between," he
said.
Vance didn't name anyone, but his comments came in the midst of an
increasingly contentious debate over whether the right should give a platform
to commentators espousing antisemitic views, particularly Fuentes, whose
followers see themselves as working to preserve America's white, Christian
identity. Fuentes has a growing audience, as does top-rated podcaster Candace
Owens, who routinely shares antisemitic conspiracy theories.
"We have far more important work to do than canceling each other," he said.
Vance ticked off what he said were the accomplishments of the administration
as it approaches the one-year mark, noting its efforts at the border and on the
economy. He emphasized efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion policies,
drawing applause by saying they had been relegated to the "dustbin of history."
"In the United States of America, you don't have to apologize for being
white anymore," he said.
Vance also said the U.S. "always will be a Christian nation," adding that
"Christianity is America's creed, the shared moral language from the Revolution
to the Civil War and beyond."
Those comments resonated with Isaiah White-Diller, an 18 year-old from Yuma,
Arizona, who said he would support Vance if he runs for president.
"I have my right to be Christian here, I have my right to say whatever I
want," White-Diller said.
Turning Point backs Vance
Vance hasn't disclosed his future plans, but Erika Kirk said Thursday that
Turning Point wanted Vance "elected for 48 in the most resounding way
possible." The next president will be the 48th in U.S. history.
Turning Point is a major force on the right, with a nationwide volunteer
network that can be especially helpful in early primary states, when candidates
rely on grassroots energy to build momentum. In a surprise appearance, rapper
Nicki Minaj spoke effusively about Trump and Vance.
Vance was close with Charlie Kirk, and they supported each other over the
years. After Kirk's assassination on a college campus in Utah, the vice
president flew out on Air Force Two to collect Kirk's remains and bring them
home to Arizona. The vice president helped uniformed service members carry the
casket to the plane.
Emily Meck, 18, from Pine City, New York, said she appreciated Vance making
space for a wide variety of views.
"We are free-thinkers, we're going to have these disagreements, we're going
to have our own thoughts," Meck said.
Trump has spoken highly of both Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as
potential successors, even suggesting they could form a future Republican
ticket. Rubio has said he would support Vance.
Asked in August whether Vance was the "heir apparent," Trump said "most
likely."
"It's too early, obviously, to talk about it, but certainly he's doing a
great job, and he would be probably favorite at this point," he said.
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