Vance says antisemitism isn't 'exploding' on the right

Vice President JD Vance, reflecting Thursday on his first year in office, said that he disagrees with fellow Republicans who have warned of a rise in antisemitism in their party.“Judging anybody based on their skin color or immutable characteristics, I think, is fundamentally anti-American and anti-Christian,” Vance said in an interview with NBC News.

Vice President JD Vance, reflecting Thursday on his first year in office, said that he disagrees with fellow Republicans who have warned of a rise in antisemitism in their party.

“Judging anybody based on their skin color or immutable characteristics, I think, is fundamentally anti-American and anti-Christian,” Vance said in an interview with NBC News. “I do think it’s important to call this stuff out when I see it. I also, when I talk to young conservatives, I don’t see some simmering antisemitism that’s exploding.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has positioned himself as a potential Vance rival in the 2028 presidential race, raising his profile in part by condemning what he sees as an escalation of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiment. Cruz has singled out young conservatives who pressed Vance with questions about Israel at a recent political event, while also criticizing Tucker Carlson, a Vance ally who hosted a Holocaust denier on his podcast.

“Do I think that the Republican Party is substantially more antisemitic than it was 10 or 15 years ago? Absolutely not,” Vance said. “In any bunch of apples, you have bad people. But my attitude on this is we should be firm in saying antisemitism and racism is wrong. ... I think it’s kind of slanderous to say that the Republican Party, the conservative movement, is extremely antisemitic.”

Vance offered the comments — his first on the subject since Cruz began raising it — during an interview inside his West Wing office, wading into an issue that has roiled his party in recent weeks amid a broader focus on antisemitism by the Trump administration.