Heritage boss apologizes for defending Carlson in brutal all-staff meeting that was leaked
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts apologized to staff for a controversial video in which he defended Tucker Carlson, and faced harsh criticism from the think tank’s scientists over how he handled the matter, at a leaked all-staff meeting on Wednesday.
“I made a mistake, I let you down, and I let this organization down. Period. Stop,” Roberts said as he opened the all-staff meeting. The Washington Free Beacon published a video of the meeting.
The meeting was followed by another live-on-camera statement from Roberts, in which he said he would challenge Carlson: “Everyone has a responsibility to speak out against the scourge of anti-Semitism, regardless of the messenger. Heritage and I will do that, even when my friend Tucker Carlson needs a challenge.”
Wednesday’s statements are the latest attempt to settle the turmoil that has followed Roberts’ forceful defense of Carlson after he interviewed anti-Semitic commentator Nick Fuentes last week, asserting that Heritage would not bow to the “toxic coalition” trying to “cancel” Carlson during the interview with Fuentes.
The video sparked outrage from Republican politicians, Heritage’s allies in the conservative movement, and from staff within the organization — many of whom expressed deep concerns at Wednesday’s meeting.
Explaining how the video came to be, Roberts said there were “vectors” coming to Heritage in the wake of Carlson’s interview with Fuentes, calling on the think tank — which hosted Carlson and sponsored his podcast — to distance itself from the former Fox News commentator.
“I didn’t know much about this Fuentes guy,” Roberts said. “And I still don’t know him — which proves the mistake.”
“The operation was rushed,” Roberts said. “Very few people were involved. Our former chief of staff had the pen. I was the one who recorded the video. The responsibility lies with my office.” “So, whatever responsibility comes from this, I get it and I deserve it.”
Roberts reassigned his chief of staff in the wake of the uproar over the video, who later resigned.
He said the “toxic alliance” was “a terrible choice of words, especially for our Jewish colleagues and friends.”
Roberts said he spoke to members of the think tank’s board of trustees in “informal conversations — not emergency board meetings,” referring to rumors of an emergency meeting being called over the weekend. He said Yoram Hazony, an Israeli philosopher and author of The Virtue of Nationalism, had flown to Washington, D.C., to help with the crisis.
He fielded brutal comments and questions over more than an hour and a half that revealed a civil war within the organization, with some employees saying they did not trust his leadership in the wake of the video, while others said he should remain in his position.
Among them is Robert Rector, one of the Heritage Foundation’s longest-serving senior research fellows, who said Carlson’s presentation was “like entering an insane asylum.”
Amy Swearer, a senior legal colleague, told Roberts that he had shown an “astonishing lack of courage and judgment,” adding: “I don’t know how I can stand here with a straight face and tell you that I trust your leadership.”
Rachel Greisler, a senior research fellow, expressed concerns about the organisation’s policy positions, “which are increasingly being decided in closed meetings between an elite few…often in complete disregard for the policy experts themselves and for decades of legacy positions.”
Greisler said the video defending Carlson was “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” telling Roberts, “I don’t think you’re the right person to lead the Heritage Foundation.”
On the other hand, his senior colleague Mike Gonzalez asked Roberts not to resign, saying that would be “disastrous for those of us who want to fight Mamdani,” referring to the democratic socialist mayor of New York City.
Roberts later said in response to Gonzalez in a post on X that he would not resign. “I took your advice, went back to my office, and thought about it. I’ll stay. I’m here for you. I’m here for the team. Let’s go win!”
The meeting wasn’t a complete demolition of Roberts. A younger female staffer, who was not identified, spoke in support of Roberts and his original statement — highlighting the generational divide in Israel on the right.
“I would point out that some of the most vocal people against Tucker Carlson have been calling him anti-Semitic since he started holding more anti-interventionist views. I had no problem with a group of young colleagues with the points I made in the original video,” the young employee said.
Several employees denounced last week’s leaks of Heritage messages and group chats, with leaders warning that those leaked would be fired, and those who “know in their hearts that you are Judas,” Gonzalez said.
In response to the leak, the Heritage Foundation provided a statement from the organization’s chief development officer, Andy Olvastro, “At today’s scheduled monthly staff meeting, our Heritage team engaged in the discussion with their usual spirit of candor. We are grateful to a team that can handle the productive and challenging discourse.”
“Our work at Heritage is difficult — but essential — and requires an open dialogue like the one we had today,” Olvastro said. “Lest anyone is misled, this leak is about the swamp and the establishment trying to push Heritage, Kevin Roberts, and the broader America First movement, from the battlefield. Our commitment to fighting for the American people is unwavering. We will never give up.”
