The Republican Party thought their dreams had come true when Kanye West embraced right-wing politics. Finally, they had a bona fide celebrity with millions of fans around the world wearing a MAGA cap. With his influence, money, connections, and cultural cache they can ride the Kanye West train right to the top and appeal to a whole new demographic of young voters.
Let’s just say it hasn’t worked out that way. West has spent the last few months demolishing any goodwill the public has towards him, but yesterday he essentially dropped an atom bomb on his career in a jaw-dropping appearance on the Alex Jones Show where he said (among many other bizarre things) “I love Nazis,” “I like Hitler,” and “We gotta stop dissing the Nazis all the time.” Even Jones looked shocked, which is saying something.
Now Republicans are in full backpedal mode, perhaps best exemplified by the party deleting a tweet by the Republican-controlled House of Representative Committee simply reading “Kanye. Elon. Trump.”:
Democrats on the panel have moved quickly to needle Republicans over the matter, with their House Judiciary account pressing them to make a statement on the matter:
The Republican Jewish Coalition has put out a statement, with Norm Coleman and Matt Brooks saying:
“We vehemently condemn those comments and call on all political leaders to reject these messengers of hate and relegate them to the dustbin of history where they belong.
Given his praise of Hitler, it can’t be overstated that Kanye West is a vile, repellent bigot who has targeted the Jewish community with threats and Nazi-style defamation. Conservatives who have mistakenly indulged Kanye West must make it clear that he is a pariah. Enough is enough.”
Where we go from here is anyone’s guess. Kanye is now going to be politically radioactive forever, the Trump presidential campaign is likely sorely regretting his recent meeting at Mar-a-Lago, and this is too much “free speech” even for Elon Musk, who has once again booted him off Twitter.
There’s a lot to say about all this, but we think it’s best summarized by the old adage “if you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.”
According to the Anti-Defamation League, antisemitic incidents reached an “all-time high” in 2021, and 2022 is on a similar track. This includes assault, harassment, and vandalism. For more information on the dangers of antisemitic rhetoric and what you can do to stop it, see the American Jewish Committee’s Call to Action Against Antisemitism in America.
