The Right Kind of Antisemite
Meet the Very Fine Person who unites a cozy little corner of Trumpworld.
OMG the Secret pod today went on forevah. Sarah and I did the full exegesis on American Cthulhu and then went deep into what her strategy is going to be if (a) we save democracy and then (b) get her onto Survivor.
It’s a super-sized show and it’s right here.
1. Antisemites
I do not fully understand Republican voters and antisemitism. Consider:
(A) One of the reasons frequently given for why people voted for Donald Trump in 2024 was that there were antisemitic incidents on college campuses. And so, voting for Trump was a way of opposing those bad people. Yet the people doing the campus antisemitism weren’t opposed to Donald Trump. They were attacking Joe Biden.
The reason they were anti-Biden is that they believed he was too supportive of Jews and/or Israel. If a voter wanted to rebuke these people, wouldn’t the logical response have been to vote for Biden? 🤷♂️
But also:
(B) Donald Trump was the only presidential candidate of the last ten years to be privately friendly with real-deal neo-Nazi types. And now NPR reports that he’s branching out from private friendships to professional associations: He’s pulled a bunch of antisemites into his administration.
I know what you’re thinking: It can’t be that bad, can it?
Have a taste:
Paul Ingrassia, currently serving as the White House liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, has ties to multiple figures widely known for promoting antisemitism. . . .
In 2023, Ingrassia repeatedly praised the controversial “manosphere” influencer Andrew Tate and worked on his legal team. . . .
Ingrassia was also seen at a June 2024 rally in Detroit led by Nick Fuentes, a Holocaust denier and white nationalist.
As Fuentes began his speech, his supporters chanted, “Down with Israel!”
The link between Ingrassia and the two other Trump administration figures is a fellow named Timothy Hale-Cusanelli. And here’s where we have to dig in.
But before we do, buckle up your chinstraps—because your faith in humanity is about to get a forking beat-down.