The far-left slogan “Genocide Joe” reverberated across a rather unusual venue a few weeks ago, finding an encouraging audience at a rural Pennsylvania Trump rally. In response to the raucous chant, the former president proclaimed: “They’re not wrong!”.
The implication that Biden is abetting a genocidal Israeli campaign marks a rather bizarre transformation in Trump’s sentiment. By and large, he has fervently backed Israel in its war in Gaza following Hamas’ 7 October attacks. However, the former President’s rhetoric is increasingly trending towards the paradoxical, as he simultaneously has hinted support for a ceasefire while decrying Biden for betraying Israel.
This contradictory tone is anything but unintentional, and indicates a shift towards the opaque. Trump, ever the populist, is aiming to maintain his hold over the American right as it fractures over Israel.
The American right’s divide over Israel has been overshadowed by the campus-induced chaos of the American left. Nonetheless, it also finds itself divided in a fierce inner conflict: should America be isolationist or the world’s policeman? Specifically, should it support Israel or not? Leading this schism are two of the most influential right-wingers, Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens.
Carlson, who attracted international ire for his reckless Putin interview, has blamed Israel for persecuting Christians and called for an end of military aid to the nation on that basis. Carlson hosts the largest audience of any conservative figure, and has even been floated by Don Jr. as a potential VP pick. Thus, his Israeli-sceptic framing has significantly shaped the right’s discourse on the conflict, and has undoubtedly swayed many away from Israel’s side.
Candace Owens, an anti-woke internet sensation, has taken Carlon’s Christian-centric approach a step further. In several tirades on X (Twitter), she has propagated antisemitic conspiracies that allege plots against Christians and lambasted Israel’s war as genocidal. This rhetoric led to her sacking from the Daily Wire after a major public spat with its founder and outspoken Israel advocate Ben Shapiro.
Their intense dispute typifies the emerging divide in the American right. On one side, stand neoconservatives who staunchly defend Israel, while the other proclaims itself as isolationist, Christian, and focused on “America first”.
The populist variant, emboldened by Carlson and Owens, often deviates into outright antisemitism. Right-wing e-celebrities such as former UFC fighter Jake Shields, Jackson Hinkle (famous for his unique branch of MAGA-communism), and Nick Fuentes have spread vicious antisemitic posts on Elon Musk’s X. At times, even propagating holocaust denial to their combined audience of millions.
Trump, treading a seemingly untenable line between Israel support and rejection, is desperate to keep the American right united. Whether he is able to do so with his ambiguous approach in the face of growing antisemitism and counter-outrage remains to be seen.
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