_WHAT’S HAPPENING_
Pressure is mounting on the Right for Vice President JD Vance to denounce white supremacist Nick Fuentes and his “Groyper” movement.
Vance, widely viewed as the heir to Donald Trump’s MAGA coalition, sits at the crossroads of two uneasy Republican factions: the traditional establishment and a younger “New Right” that’s more online, less concerned with observing traditional standards and taboos, and far less aligned with the Republican establishment on foreign and economic policy.
_THE FACTS_
Conservative activist Chris Rufo argued that Charlie Kirk had been the main force holding the Right together. In his absence, he says, Vice President JD Vance must step in to keep the MAGA coalition from splintering.
New York Times columnist Ross Douthat noted that with Trump’s approval ratings falling into the low 40s and swing voters drifting away, the Fuentes–Groyper problem is becoming harder to ignore, with Vance now having the opportunity to condemn them.
Writer Rod Dreher, a friend of Vance’s, warned that 30–40 percent of young Republicans in Washington are fans of Fuentes. Some because they are openly antisemitic, and some because they’re drawn to Fuentes’ humor.
One Gen Z conservative frustrated with the rise of the Gropyers put it simply to Dreher: they “want to burn it all down.”
Oren Cass, a leading economist aligned with Trump and Vance’s tariff agenda, stated that there’s zero upside in cozying up to the “Groyper” right.
Former Inter-Service Intelligence leaders warn that major conservative institutions are being quietly taken over by a fringe post-liberal faction aligned with Nick Fuentes, Tucker Carlson, and figures like Curtis Yarvin, pushing anti-American, anti-democratic ideas.
Conservative think-tank The Heritage Foundation recently became embroiled in the conflict between the new and traditional Right, initially defending Tucker Carlson's interview with Nick Fuentes but backing off after coming under fire.
Fuentes previously called JD Vance a "fat gay race traitor” who is “married to a jeet" — which is a slur for people of Indian descent.
Vance has condemned Fuentes before, but has stayed quiet since the Tucker interview, Fuentes’ rise in the media, and the Heritage Foundation fallout.
_INSIGHTS_
Infighting on the Right is nothing new. Before Trump, the Tea Party and the GOP establishment clashed; once Trump rose, Tea Party Republicans became all but extinct. Now, the tension is between the New Right and the Old Guard.
If JD Vance wants to keep the MAGA coalition intact, he would have to take the reins — set the boundaries, call out what’s off-limits, and lay out a forward-looking vision that appeals to both wings.
But if the vice president won’t directly reject the Fuentes movement’s antisemitism for fear of online backlash, he risks alienating the far larger bloc of mainstream conservatives, losing the coalition he’s supposed to unite.
