Paul Gosar to share stage with members of party founded by Nazis: report

Rep. Paul Gosar (R) this week will share a stage with members of a European political party founded by former Nazis, The Forward reports.

The far-right congressman is scheduled to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference’s annual Hungary gathering, where he’ll be joined by the nation’s authoritarian leader Victor Orbán, who himself has trafficked in antisemitic tropes and glorified Nazi collaborators.

The conference, which starts Thursday, was organized by U.S. and European allies of the American Conservative Union, a group with GOP ties.

Others expected to attend include Freedom Party of Austria Chairman Herbert Kickl, whose party was founded by former Nazis in 1956, and Jack Posobiec, an alt-right conspiracy theorist who has promoted white nationalist and antisemitic views.

Several former Trump administration officials are also expected to attend.

The Forward’s Jacob Kornbluh writes that Orbán, the Hungarian leader, at a CPAC conference in Dallas last year “invoked the Holocaust and assailed Jewish billionaire George Soros in an unleashed attack on progressive Democrats and the mainstream media. Gosar has also lambasted Soros, floating the false theory that the Holocaust survivor funded the neo-Nazis who organized a deadly 2017 rally in Charlottesville.”

Gosar’s presence at the event underscores the extent to which American conservatives has cozied up to Europe’s far-right.

CPAC spokesperson Caroline Wren lauded Gosar for attending the event and described Orbán as “an incredible leader,” according to the report.

“Every member of Congress should come to Hungary and learn how to emulate Orbán’s governing style,” she said.

Gosar has denounced Nazis and attended a pro-Israel event on Capitol Hill, but he’s also promoted content from an antisemitic website and attended events led by Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, according to the report.

Gosar has deep ties to white nationalists, CNN reports.

He was censured by the House after sharing a photoshopped anime video depicting the killing of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D) in 2021.

According to CNN, “Gosar’s ties to extremists go back further than the violent social media posts he was censured for. He has long associations with White nationalists, a pro-Nazi blogger and far-right fringe players that have received little examination compared to his colleagues, according to an extensive CNN KFile review of Gosar’s events and social media posts over the years.”