Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts apologized to staffers for his controversial video defending Tucker Carlson, and he faced brutal criticism from the think tank’s scholars for the way he handled the matter in a leaked all-staff meeting on Wednesday.
“I made a mistake, and I let you down, and I let this institution down. Period. Full stop,” Roberts said at the beginning of the all-staff meeting. Washington Free Beacon Video of the meeting published.
The meeting was followed by another direct-to-camera meetingstatement For Roberts’ part, he said he would challenge Carlson: “Everyone has a responsibility to speak out against anti-Semitism, no matter who the messenger is. Heritage and I will do that, even when it means challenging my friend Tucker Carlson.”
Wednesday’s statement is the latest effort to address the turmoil that follows Roberts’ vigorous defense of Carlson following his interview with anti-Semitic commentator Nick Fuentes last week, saying Heritage will not bow to a “toxic coalition” trying to “cancel” Carlson over the interview with Fuentes.
That video sparked outrage among Republican politicians, Heritage’s allies in the conservative movement and the organization’s staff — many of whom expressed their deep concerns at Wednesday’s meeting.
Explaining how the video came to be, Roberts said there were “vectors” coming at Heritage in the wake of Carlson’s interview with Fuentes, asking the think tank — which has hosted Carlson and sponsored his podcast — to distance itself from the former Fox News commentator.
Roberts said, “I didn’t know much about this Fuentes guy. Still don’t – which highlights the mistake.”
Roberts said, “The process was rushed. There were very few people involved. Our former chief of staff had the pen. I’m the one who recorded the video. The case sat on my desk in my office.” “So, whatever accountability comes from this, I get it and I deserve it.”
In the wake of the outcry over the video, Roberts reassigned his chief of staff, who later resigned.
He said that “poisonous alliance” was “a terrible choice of words, especially for our Jewish allies and friends.”
Roberts said he had spoken to members of the think tank’s board of trustees in “informal conversations – not in emergency board meetings,” in reference to rumors that an emergency meeting had been called over the weekend. And he said Yoram Hazony, the Israeli philosopher and author of the book The Virtue of Nationalism, had flown to Washington, D.C., to help deal with the crisis.
He made brutal comments and questions for more than an hour and a half, exposing a civil war within the institution, with some staff members saying they had no confidence in his leadership in the wake of the video, while others argued he should remain.
They included Robert Rector, one of the longest-serving senior research fellows at the Heritage Foundation, who said Carlson’s show was “like stepping into a mental asylum.”
Senior legal partner Amy Swearer told Roberts that he had “shown an astonishing lack of both courage and judgment,” adding: “I don’t know how I can stand here with a straight face and tell you that I have confidence in your leadership.”
Senior research fellow Rachel Gressler expressed concern about the organization’s policy positions, saying, “Decisions are increasingly being made in closed-door meetings among an elite few… often completely ignoring policy experts themselves and legacy positions held for decades.”
The video defending Carlson was “the last straw”, with Gratzler telling Roberts, “I do not believe you are the right person to lead the Heritage Foundation.”
On the other hand, senior partner Mike Gonzalez called on Roberts not to resign – saying it would be “disastrous for those of us who want to fight Mamdani,” a reference to the Democratic Socialist mayor-elect of New York City.
Roberts later saidfeedback In a post on X, Gonzalez said he would not resign. “I took your advice, went back to my office, and thought about it. I’m staying. I’m all in. I’m here for you. I’m here for the team. Let’s win!”
The meeting was not entirely a disgrace to Roberts. An unidentified young female staffer spoke in support of Roberts and his original statement – outlining the generational divide on Israel on the right.
“I would like to point out that some of the most vocal people against Tucker Carlson are calling him anti-Semitic as he has begun to hold more anti-interventionist views. A handful of younger colleagues and I had no problem with the points you raised in the original video,” the young staffer said.
Several staff members condemned the leaks of Heritage messages and group chats that surfaced last week, with leaders warning that those caught leaking would be fired and Gonzalez saying that those who do so “know in your heart that you are a Judas.”
In response to the leak, the Heritage Foundation provided a statement from the organization’s chief advancement officer, Andy Olivastro, “At today’s scheduled monthly staff town hall, our Heritage team joined the discussion with its usual spirit of candor. We are grateful to have a team that can handle productive and challenging discourse.”
Olivastro said, “Our work at Heritage is difficult but necessary and requires open conversations, as we had today. Don’t let anyone mislead you, this leak is about the swamp and establishment trying to remove Heritage, Kevin Roberts, and the broader America First movement from the battlefield. Our commitment to fight for the American people is unwavering. We will never give up.”
