Vice President JD Vance exploded at “scumbags” attacking Tucker Carlson’s son, Buckley—a top aide in his office—as the MAGA civil war over Carlson’s interview with a white nationalist rages on.
Vance fired off a string of fuming X posts aimed at right-wing commentator Sloan Rachmuth on Sunday, after she declared racism and antisemitism “a Carlson family trait” and questioned whether Buckley is a “vile bigot.”
“I have zero tolerance for scumbags attacking my staff,” the 41-year-old vice president wrote on X. “And yes, *everyone* who I’ve seen attack Buckley with lies is a scumbag.”
Buckley has served as Vance’s deputy press secretary since January.
Tucker’s lengthy October podcast interview with self-proclaimed antisemite and white nationalist Nick Fuentes has plunged MAGA into turmoil.
On Saturday, Rachmuth claimed in an X post that Tucker’s brother “idolizes” Fuentes and asked, “Is Tucker’s son Buckley, who serves as JD Vance’s top aide also a vile bigot?”
Alongside photos of Buckley and Vance, the self-proclaimed “investigative journalist” added, “America deserves to know how deep the Carlson’s family ethnic and religious hatred runs.”
Vance responded Sunday afternoon, writing, “Sloan Rachmuth is a ‘journalist’ who has decided to obsessively attack a staffer in his 20s because she doesn’t like the views of his father. Every time I see a public attack on Buckley it’s a complete lie. And yes, I notice ever person with an agenda who unfairly attacks a good guy who does a great job for me.”
He then took aim at Rachmuth’s X bio, which states, “Defending Judeo-Christian Values.”
“Is it a ‘Judeo-Christian value’ to lie about someone you don’t know? Not in any church I ever spent time in!” the self-described “baby Catholic” wrote.
Vance also appeared to acknowledge the wider MAGA world blowup triggered by Tucker’s interview with Fuentes, saying, “I have an extraordinary tolerance for disagreements and criticisms from the various people in our coalition.”
Vance, who shrugged off racist messages sent in a chat among Young Republicans after they were leaked last month, has not directly addressed Tucker’s interview with one of the far right’s most toxic figures.
But the ex-Fox News pundit has faced furious backlash from right-wing figures such as GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, Ben Shapiro, and Megyn Kelly for platforming Fuentes.
The 27-year-old has said “Hitler is awesome,” called the Holocaust “like baking cookies in the oven,” and said racist Jim Crow laws were “better for us.”
When Kevin Roberts, the president of the think tank behind Project 2025, defended Tucker, calling him a “close friend,” staffers revolted, prompting him to issue an apology.
