Podcaster and former Trump strategist Steve Bannon indirectly signaled his support for Tucker Carlson and those who defended him after his friendly interview with white nationalist streamer Nick Fuentes created a massive rift within conservative media.

On Wednesday, Bannon invited former Heritage Foundation operative Ryan Neuhaus to appear on his influential War Room podcast, ostensibly to discuss the cost of living crisis facing young people in the United States. Left unsaid was Neuhaus’ central role defending Carlson’s October 27 interview with Fuentes, which was a predictable attempt by the former Fox News prime-time star to sanitize and amplify Fuentes’ antisemitic beliefs.

Still, Bannon’s signal to the more plugged-in, online segment of his audience was clear, even if shrouded in plausible deniability: Neuhaus, and by extension Carlson and Fuentes, are welcome inside of the MAGA tent

The November 12 War Room segment was not the first time Bannon has weighed in on the split. On October 31, Bannon responded to conservative backlash directed at Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, who had released a statement — which Roberts later said had been written by his then-chief of staff Neuhaus — reiterating Roberts’ longstanding friendship with Carlson and criticizing the “venomous coalition” of “bad actors who serve someone else’s agenda” now seeking to “cancel” him over the Fuentes interview.

While some conservative commentators saw Roberts’ remarks as embracing antisemitism, Bannon saw things differently.

“For Tucker having Nick Fuentes on, they wanted to crush Tucker,” Bannon said. “I think Tucker's solid as a rock.”

“There was a meltdown because Tucker had Nick Fuentes on for an interview,” he added. “I just don't get it.”

Roberts’ video has thrown Heritage into a state of panic and disarray. In an apparent attempt to mitigate the damage, Roberts distanced himself from his own words, claiming they’d been written by Neuhaus but hadn’t been circulated or vetted beyond that. By November 4, Neuhaus was out at Heritage.

Over the course of the controversy, Neuhaus has repeatedly defended himself and Carlson’s interview on X (formerly Twitter).

In what appears to be Neuhaus’ first post about the topic, on October 28 he wrote in support of the interview by arguing, “We need to reach young men.”

On October 30, Neuhaus reposted Roberts’ video — which clarified that Heritage was not “distancing” itself from Carlson — commenting: “God bless @KevinRobertsTX. We are so fortunate to have him serve as a leader representing the interests of the American people.”

Citation

From Ryan Neuhaus' account on X/TwitterOn November 10, Neuhaus wrote: “Masks are coming off every day now and the gatekeeping strategy of Buckley is dying fast,” seemingly referencing the myth — still held as gospel among many on the right — that National Review founder William F. Buckley worked to purge antisemites from the conservative movement. “This is not only a clarifying exercise for those paying close attention, but enables a legitimate and unified future within the MAGA coalition,” he continued.

Following Neuhaus’ appearance on Wednesday, the official War Room X account posted a clip of the interview.

“Love the @Bannons_WarRoom posse,” Neuhaus responded. “It was a privilege to be on air today.”

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