U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks to the White House Religious Liberty Commission at the Museum of the Bible, in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 8, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Although libertarians and never-Trump conservatives often attack President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement as extreme, white nationalist Nick Fuentes is criticizing MAGA and the second Trump administration for being too moderate.
Fuentes accused then-Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) of betraying the white race by marrying an Indian-American woman, Usha Vance. A far-right Catholic, Fuentes has also called for a modern-day version of the Spanish Inquisition. Fuentes, whose followers call themselves Groypers, founded the America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC) as a white nationalist alternative to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
But in an article published on Sept. 9, The New York Times'Robert Draper observes that even though Fuentes makes Trump administration officials uncomfortable, they are afraid to openly criticize him.
"The footprint of the oratorically proficient late-night streaming show host has not dwindled in the least with his tens, if not hundreds of thousands, of alienated young male conservatives followers known as Groypers — a nickname derived from an alt-right meme," Draper explains. "If anything, his anti-Israel, anti-immigrant, anti-transgender and anti-civil-rights views seem to have gained new currency during the second Trump administration. There is now growing alarm among leading conservatives about Mr. Fuentes, who routinely tests the cultlike devotion of his young male fans by savaging their patriarchal figure, President Trump, for not being right-wing enough."
Draper adds, "In the process, he has emerged as one of the loudest voices on the right to turn on the president."
The Times reporter quotes Fuentes as saying of Trump, "When I was a teenager, I thought he was a Caesar-like figure who was going to save western civilization. Now, I view him as incompetent, corrupt and compromised."
In one of his social media posts, Fuentes wrote, "Trump 2.0 has been a disappointment in literally every way, but nobody wants to admit it."
According to Draper, however, the Trump administration isn't pushing back.
"Asked to comment on Mr. Fuentes' remarks," Draper reports, "White House officials declined. Current and former members of the Trump administration as well as outside advisers would not be quoted for the record about Mr. Fuentes out of fear, they said, of inviting online attacks from him and his zealous followers. Three of them mentioned the sudden ubiquity of Fuentes-related clips circulating in their social media feeds."
Draper adds, "Certain metrics attest to Mr. Fuentes' surge. Since his X account was reinstated by Elon Musk 16 months ago, the number of his followers appears to have grown from roughly 140,000 to more than 750,000. His 'America First' streaming show viewership on Rumble has quintupled to around 500,000."
Matt Dallek, a historian at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., warns that Fuentes is becoming more "prominent" — not less.
Dallek told the Times, "Fuentes represents the cutting edge of a right-wing racism that has surged over the past decade during the rise of Trump. And it's clear that he's becoming more prominent because these bigger influencers are now fighting with him."
The Bulwark's Will Sommer, commenting on Sommer's reporting in a post on X, formerly Twitter, noted, "NYT profile of Nick Fuentes as a growing threat to Trumpism includes this telling detail — Trump officials refused to criticize Fuentes because they feared attacks from his groyper army."
Read Robert Draper's full New York Times article at this link (subscription required).