Two more Heritage Foundation board members resigned on Tuesday in the wake of the fallout from Heritage President Kevin Roberts’s defense of Tucker Carlson.
Carlson’s October interview with Nick Fuentes stirred controversy in conservative circles, and the organization revolted when Roberts condemned the “venomous coalition” attacking Carlson.
Trustees Shane McCullar and Abby Spencer Moffat become the second and third board members to leave the foundation, citing concerns over antisemitism and the foundation’s direction. Former board member Steven P. George left in November.
“No institution that hesitates to condemn antisemitism and hatred—or that gives a platform to those who spread them—can credibly claim to uphold the vision that once made the Heritage Foundation the world’s most respected conservative think tank,” McCullar said in a statement. “And, I cannot, in good conscience, remain on a board that is unwilling to confront the lapses in judgment that have harmed its credibility, its culture, and the conservative movement it once helped shape.”
Moffat said the organization has drifted from its principles.
“Heritage’s handling of recent challenges reveals a drift from the principles that once defined its leadership. When an institution hesitates to confront harmful ideas and allows lapses in judgment to stand, it forfeits the moral authority on which its influence depends,” she said in a statement.
“I step away in the hope that Heritage will regain the steadiness, discernment, and sense of purpose that once anchored its essential role in American civic life,” she added.
Several scholars, including former Trump adviser Stephen Moore and at least six members of the antisemitism task force, also left the organization in the weeks following Roberts’s defense of Carlson.
Some view Fuentes as an ardent antisemite. He has criticized “organized Jewry” and said during his Carlson interview that Jews are a “stateless people” who are “unassimilable.”
In a recent interview with Piers Morgan, Fuentes refused to denounce his past adoration of Hitler or his past statements about how he believes women should not be able to vote.
Fuentes also expressed surprise that Carlson did not press him on antisemitism.
“He was very nice to me and very cordial, and he didn’t call me an antisemite, and he didn’t even press me on it at all, and I thought he would, and I almost wanted him to,” Fuentes told Morgan.
A Heritage spokesman previously told the Washington Examiner that there was no “exodus” at the foundation, and that the board still backs Roberts.
HERITAGE BOARD MEMBER ROBERT GEORGE JOINS EXODUS LEAVING FOUNDATION OVER FUENTES DEFENSE
“Under the leadership of Dr. Roberts, Heritage remains resolute in building an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society flourish. We are strong, growing, and more determined than ever to fight for our republic,” the spokesman said.
However, the two board members’ departure signals that the fallout from the controversy is still happening at the foundation.
