The Heritage Foundation’s National Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism recently faced the resignation of two members after President Kevin Roberts defended interviews with Tucker Carlson and white supremacist Nick Fuentes.
Ian Speer and Mark Goldfeder both stepped down, citing this controversy as a reason for their departures.
“I cannot in good conscience support Heritage or continue the task force under its current auspices,” Speer mentioned in a post on X. He pointed to Roberts’ statement made at Hillsdale College as a key triggering factor for his resignation.
Roberts told the audience that “sometimes we make mistakes with good intentions.”
Speer criticized his remarks as “a strategic non-apology that reinforces loyalty to Tucker Carlson” while appearing to entertain Groypers and their interests. He expressed frustration, saying, “It’s about a blind loyalty and a thirst for power beyond principle, which contradicts the core of American conservatism. The stakes for our country and our Jewish friends are just too high to walk this path.”
Goldfeder chose not to elaborate on his concerns in a separate X post over the weekend. He stated that the Heritage leadership’s choice to defend Carlson’s hiring of Fuentes—a figure known for overt racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism—made his continued participation untenable. “Labeling dissenters as un-American in a video filled with anti-Semitic undertones isn’t protecting free speech; it’s a moral failure,” Goldfeder wrote in his resignation letter.
He pointed out that “defending hateful rhetoric doesn’t equate to supporting the platforming of those who dehumanize others.”
Speer and Goldfeder aren’t the only ones to exit the Heritage Foundation following the backlash over Roberts’ comments. Ryan Neuhaus, previously the chief of staff to Roberts, also left the organization, though for distinct reasons.
Neuhaus lauded Roberts for several social media posts that defended Carlson’s interview and accused critics of attempting to create “division” with “virtue signaling.” He encouraged anyone who disagreed with his stance to resign.
