The ‘Groyperfication’ of the G.O.P.
About this episode
Political writer John Ganz returns to discuss the Republican Party's internal battle over antisemitism, sparked by Tucker Carlson's friendly interview with neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes. Ganz describes Fuentes as America's most popular neo-Nazi figure — a Chicago-suburbs product who built 'America First' on explicit antisemitism — and the 'groypers' as a larger, meme-driven online subculture of young male trolls. They argue the interview united the 'gutter' and 'respectable' strains of antisemitism: Carlson, a would-be MAGA leader who helped install Vance as VP, platformed Fuentes while the Heritage Foundation defended him, revealing a generational split. They trace this to Pat Buchanan's 1992 campaign — the founding text of MAGA — and debate how much the internet (porn communities, incel culture, algorithmic incentives) fuels antisemitism. Ganz closes optimistically: young people care most about the cost of living, Trump has cratered among them, and Fuentes is not the center of Gen Z culture.