US VP Vance says antisemitism ‘is not exploding’ among young US conservatives

U.S. Vice President JD Vance denied claims that antisemitism is skyrocketing among Republicans in his first comments as the issue has received increasing attention these past months.

Speaking to NBC News, Vance said he disagreed with recent warnings by Republicans who identified a rise of antisemitism in the GOP.

“Judging anybody based on their skin color or immutable characteristics, I think, is fundamentally anti-American and anti-Christian,” Vance emphasized, “I do think it’s important to call this stuff out when I see it. I also, when I talk to young conservatives, I don’t see some simmering antisemitism that’s exploding.”

“Do I think that the Republican Party is substantially more antisemitic than it was 10 or 15 years ago? Absolutely not,” Vance said.

“In any bunch of apples, you have bad people. But my attitude on this is we should be firm in saying antisemitism and racism is wrong. ... I think it’s kind of slanderous to say that the Republican Party, the conservative movement, is extremely antisemitic.”

In recent weeks, claims of rising antisemitism in the GOP received increasing attention, particularly after former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson invited avowed antisemite Nick Fuentes on his show and proceeded not to challenge his views during the interview.

A recent survey by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research found that 17% of Republicans hold views it categorized as “anti-Jewish,” noting that such views were much more likely among younger people.

Vance specifically has received some backlash recently for appearing not to come down hard enough on antisemitic comments by young conservatives.

During a Turning Point USA event at Ole Miss, Vance was criticized for not pushing back strongly enough after a young man wearing a MAGA hat asked him about Israel’s alleged “ethnic cleansing” while claiming “their religion doesn’t agree with ours and also openly supports the prosecution of ours.”

He received another round of criticism when he brushed off leaked antisemitic chat messages by GOP activists by saying that “The reality is that kids do stupid things, especially young boys.”

“They tell edgy, offensive jokes. That’s what kids do. And I really don’t want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke – telling a very offensive, stupid joke – is cause to ruin their lives.”

Conversely, senior Republican figures like Sen. Ted Cruz have sounded the alarm over this issue.

One month ago, Cruz said at Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual summit: “In the last six months, I’ve seen more antisemitism on the right than I had in my entire life,” calling it “poison” and an “existential crisis in our party and our country.” He has also repeatedly clashed with Tucker Carlson.

“I have to say, too many people are scared to confront them,” Cruz said.

“How many elected Republicans do you see standing up and calling this out?” Cruz said. “How many do you see willing to take on the voices on the anti-Israel right?