A CNN analyst on Monday described how Vice President JD Vance dropped the ball during his address at the Turning Point USA event this weekend, an event billed as the MAGA "Super Bowl."
Vance was speaking at the right-wing group's AmericaFest and had the opportunity to denounce MAGA influencers who are anti-semitic or racist — and that he missed the mark, said CNN analyst Kate Bedingfield, former White House communications director under the Biden administration.
Vance has signaled a potential 2028 presidential run — possibly with Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a running mate — which Trump has said would have his full support. During the MAGA event this weekend, Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, noted that the conservative group would endorse Vance in the upcoming presidential election.
"Well, it does seem to me like an all eyes on JD Vance situation, and Marco Rubio and Donald Trump, frankly, if the leaders of the MAGA movement are willing to tolerate the platforming of an avowed Hitler apologist in Nick Fuentes, that seems to me like where the pressure should be," Bedingfield said. "I certainly agree with Scott [Jennings] that Ben Shapiro and others who are calling out the anti-semitism, the conspiracy theories of the likes of Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens, frankly, Megyn Kelly as well, you know, I think that is an important and good thing for them to be doing."
"JD Vance, to me, he really failed this moral moment. He failed in this moral moment," Bedingfield added. "He had the opportunity to say, 'I disavow this.' He has said that in the past, by the way. He has said he disavows Nick Fuentes. This was clearly a stage where that was called for, and he did not do it. And that I think he is going to have to continue to answer for."
The MAGA movement has been marked by recurring incidents of antisemitism and racist rhetoric, with critics pointing to antisemitic conspiracy theories, white nationalist rhetoric, and exclusionary messaging circulating online and among some prominent figures. Civil rights organizations and watchdog groups have documented a rise in hate speech and extremist content associated with MAGA rallies and online spaces, including antisemitic tropes about Jewish control of media and finance, as well as racist attacks targeting immigrants, Black American,s and other minority groups.