Tom Cotton Calls Out Antisemitism Among Right-Wing Influencers, Dismisses Their Stature

Washington, D.C. – Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) called out right-wing influencers for peddling anti-Jewish sentiment on Tuesday while speaking at a symposium on antisemitism hosted by National Review and the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Cotton mockingly used air-quotes to dismiss the “influencers” on the “right” and separated them from the conservative movement he is part of. He compared the economic policy of those influencers with progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) and their foreign policy to that of Representative Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), an outspoken opponent of Israel and the Trump administration.

“I do not agree that I share a political movement or a political party with anyone who traffics antisemitism,” Cotton said at the event, which invited lawmakers, activists, scholars and Trump administration officials to gather to confront skyrocketing antisemitism on both the American left and right.

On the right, antisemitism has become commonplace among online influencers and podcasters, including some of the biggest names in American conservatism. Without naming names, Cotton took shots at “kooky” Tucker Carlson by repeatedly uttering the insult President Trump used to dismiss Carlson when he spoke out against the Trump administration’s bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities last year. Trump dismissed Carlson and other right-wing podcasters for opposing the U.S.-Israeli conflict against Iran. In dismissing them, Trump asserted that he defines the scope of the MAGA movement and that MAGA backs his foreign policy.

Similarly, Cotton argued that right-wing influencers lack any power over the Republican Party, as shown by President Trump’s affinity for Israel and the ongoing war against Iran. He cited polls showing overwhelming support among MAGA Republicans for “bombing the hell” out of now-deceased Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran beginning February 28 killed Khamenei and numerous senior Iranian officials, marking the start of the regime change war unfolding in Iran.

Seven American troops have died during the war and the Iranian regime has selected Khamenei’s son to lead the country. Cotton touted the success of the U.S.-Israeli forces in destroying Iran’s “totally neutered” military capabilities and predicted Middle Eastern countries would one day be grateful for the war effort, dubbed Operation Epic Fury.

Before Cotton spoke, his colleague Senator Jim Banks (R., Ind.) similarly called out antisemitism on both the right and the left. Citing National Review founder William F. Buckley, Banks emphasized the need for conservatives to dispel antisemitism from all corners of American life. He also noted the foreign influence operations run by China and Iran, including left-wing activist group CodePink, intent on tearing apart America and peddling antisemitic ideas.

“Our adversaries like China and Iran want to destabilize America, and stoking antisemitism on campuses and through sham organizations are some of their most effective tools to do it,” Banks said.

Left-wing antisemitism exploded following Hamas’s attacks on October 7, 2023, which saw over 1,000 Israeli civilians killed and more than 200 held hostage. Anti-Israel encampments became widespread at college campuses nationwide in 2024 and many of those encampments featured chants calling for “intifada” and “death to America.” Campus leftists at the encampments protested against their universities for having ties to companies doing business in Israel and advocated against the Biden administration’s military support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

Progressive antisemitism led to violence in the nation’s capital last year when suspected gunman Elias Rodriguez shot and killed two Israeli embassy staffers, Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, outside the Capital Jewish Museum. Rodriguez is a socialist who told police he committed the shooting for Gaza.