We admire comedians who punctuate their political opinions with wit, creativity, and humor. When truly great stand-ups take the stage for an hour-long set — whether they’re on the right, left, or outer space — they almost always leave us with a joke or two that really makes us think: Somehow, they articulated powerful political truths in wildly novel ways.
This means, of course, that during the other 55 minutes of their routine, they weren’t articulating powerful political truths. They were just telling jokes.
That’s because a comedian’s primary responsibility is to be funny if he can make audiences laugh while saying something poignant, wonderful. But if a well-timed fart joke gets a bigger belly laugh, the job of the comedian is to follow what’s funny.
The late, great George Carlin was about as far to the left as a stand-up can get. (In one of his books, he literally wrote, “Property is theft. Nobody owns anything.”) But Carlin also told jokes that defended white guys using the N-word, mocked environmentalists as superficial elitists, and talked about how easy (and fun!) it is to annoy feminists.
Y’know why?
‘Cause it was funny!
Similarly, political podcasters such as Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Nick Fuentes, and Megyn Kelly often say things that conservatives love. If you watch ‘em long enough, you’ll find moments when you’re nodding in agreement, grinning ear-to-ear.
But you’ll also find moments where you shake your head in anger and disappointment. (Some, ahem, more than others.)
That’s because it’s no longer Carlson or Owens’ job to articulate conservative principles. That’s not how they make money anymore.
At one time, it was; now it’s not.
Instead, their primary responsibility is getting clicks, views, and impressions.
For pro-MAGA politicians, it’s created a messy PR minefield. On one hand, the top podcasters reach millions of conservative Americans every single day. Appearing (for free!) on a top-rated podcast is exponentially more cost-effective than bankrolling an ad campaign.
Say what you want about Carlson (and Lord knows I have), but his platform is enormous. Just one guest spot can transform a fringe player into a nationally known superstar.
Case in point: Nick Fuentes.
But it’s still a messy minefield, because you want to reach their audience without tainting your personal brand with their baggage and bigotry. Using their platform to publicize your message is great; that’s the job of an aspiring politician, and you’d be foolish to forsake a cost-effective PR tool.
The danger, however, is when your proximity to a controversial podcaster imperils your own reputation: We’re judged, after all, by the company we keep.
And this brings us to Vice President JD Vance, the man who’s trying to thread the needle between all the different MAGA factions, maintaining friendships with all sides — Ben Shapiro, Carlson, Steve Bannon, and more. In his Turning Point USA keynote address, Vance explicitly rejected efforts to marginalize anyone.
As NPR reported:
After a long weekend of debates about whether the movement should exclude figures such as bigoted podcaster Nick Fuentes, Vance came down firmly against “purity tests.”
“I didn’t bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to de-platform,” Vance said during the convention’s closing speech.
From Vance’s perspective, as the 2028 presumptive frontrunner, he has the most to lose if MAGA splinters. He needs an intact alliance to win.
Wasting ammo on MAGA-aligned influencers is antithetical to his long-term goals.
But on the other hand, if he’s branded as an antisemite, conspiracy wierdo, or a white supremacist, he’ll lose in a landslide. As we’ve discussed before, the math doesn’t work:
Donald Trump won 55% of the white vote in 2024, plus record-setting numbers of minorities.
Those were the ingredients of his landslide victory in the Electoral College.
But if we lose all minority support by becoming a party of white nationalists, even if our 2028 nominee gains an incredible 75% of the white vote… he’d still lose by 12 points.
Furthermore, Vance has a very obvious reason to avoid elevating the Fuentes-aligned Groypers more than absolutely necessary: His wife is a brown-skinned Indian Hindu, and their children are mixed race. If you’re a white Christian nationalist, that’s a nonstarter: Vance is a “race traitor.”
Thus, he’s unelectable.
By their very nature, politicians are ambitious, ego-driven creatures. Every politician worth his salt has a necktie in the back of his closet that he’s planning to wear to his presidential inauguration. I’m assuming that Vance is no exception, because you’re not going to reach the second-highest office in the land at the tender age of 40 without being ambitious.
He seeks the keys to the political kingdom — yet temptations abound.
Vance needs a PR strategy that coalesces the MAGA movement, retains influencer support, and separates his brand from Carlson, Fuentes, Owens, and more. Without a PR game plan, the mainstream media will spend the next three years tearing our movement apart, fanning the flames, and magnifying our faultlines.
And alas, they’ll have plenty of help: Our so-called “conservative” podcasters will gleefully play ball with the mainstream media, because it’ll be great for business.
More than anyone else, Carlson understands that controversy, drama, and feuds lead to clicks, views, and money.
(Which is why he seldom discusses topics that conservatives mostly agree on and focuses instead on pushing the envelope as far as he can: That’s how he fattens his wallet.)
Here’s what Vance should do:
First, he should hug the Trump administration’s policy on Israel, building a firewall between the Vance brand and the Fuentes-Carlson-Owens brand.
But that doesn’t mean he should echo Ben Shapiro and call them “frauds” and “grifters.”
If 2028 calls for a Sister Souljah moment on the right, Vance should do what Bill Clinton did in 1992, and wait until he’s pocketed his party’s nomination to deliver it. 2025 isn’t the right time, because it would do more harm than good.
And besides, sometimes the garbage takes itself out: 2028 is still a long way off. That’s an eternity in politics.
No need to get your hands dirty just yet.
Podcasters like Carlson, Fuentes, Kelly, and Owens get lots of attention, but the math is the math: The Republican Party is still an overwhelmingly pro-Israel party.
As we discussed yesterday:
TPUSA attendees are the heart of our movement — the tip of the GOP spear — representing our boots-on-the-ground activists, supporters, and MAGA foot soldiers.
And 86.7% of them say Israel is an American ally — with 1 out of 3 saying it’s America’s greatest ally. That’s a landslide victory!
Only about one in 10 are anti-Israel.
Which means, if this were REALLY a “MAGA civil war,” the anti-Israel side would be outnumbered by roughly 10 to one.
That’s no civil war! It’d be like a nail declaring war on a hammer!
The mainstream media keeps calling it a MAGA civil war, but it’s actually a media war: It’s a battle between influencers, not disharmony amongst our base.
Vance should join the 86.7% while positioning his policy not as “Israel First,” but as part and parcel of “America First.” It’s in America’s best interest to have the Israelis diminish the threat of radical Islam, so our sons and daughters don’t have to.
We’re not pro-Israel because we seek “forever wars”; we’re pro-Israel because we want to avoid them!
And he should do it while offering an off-ramp to Carlson-Fuentes-Kelly-Owens’ audience, agreeing with them that American foreign aid must be overhauled and reconfigured to ensure that we get our money’s worth. With so many of our citizens struggling, it’s frustrating when billions of taxpayers’ dollars flee the country, assisting foreigners.
Second, he needs to have a strategy for utilizing platforms like Carlson’s without being tainted with Carlson’s baggage. And here, we already have a pitch-perfect PR playbook to steal from.
And I’m not talking about me: I’m talking about two GOP governors who were elected in the 1990s, Christie Todd Whitman of New Jersey and George Pataki of New York.
They both won statewide elections in bright blue states with the endorsement of the top shock-jock of his day, Howard Stern.
The parallels are uncanny: Like Carlson today, Stern was a lightning rod for controversy. He said and did things that could kill a politician’s brand. (And how!)
But some of Stern’s positions were on the right side of the ledger: He hated high taxes. He supported the death penalty and wanted to get tough on crime. He was pro-police. He was infuriated by foreigners who moved to America and refused to learn English.
And many in his audience were potential GOP voters.
Whitman called into Stern’s show in 1993, humored the host, and assisted in a low-level radio stunt: She promised Stern that, if elected, she’d name a rest stop off the highway after him.
In turn, Stern endorsed the Republican over the Democrat and urged his listeners to vote in droves.
On Election Day, Whitman captured 49.33% of the vote; her Democratic rival, Jim Florio, got 48.29%. In all probability, without Stern’s endorsement, Whitman would’ve lost.
Then, in 1994, Stern endorsed Republican state senator George Pataki over three-term incumbent governor Mario Cuomo. All it required was Pataki humoring Stern, calling into his show, and endorsing one of Stern’s ideas: Mandating nighttime road construction on New York City and Long Island highways, so commuters (like Stern) wouldn’t get stuck in traffic during rush hour.
Pataki scored an upset victory over the heavily favored Cuomo. In the 31 years that followed, the 1994 election was the closest in New York gubernatorial history.
Like Whitman, without Stern’s endorsement, Pataki probably would’ve lost.
Vance should steal a page from Whitman and Pataki’s playbook: Don’t pull a Ben Shapiro and declare war on the influencers. Instead, win their support, activate their audience, and ALWAYS keep their brands separate from your own.
Cherry-pick an issue they value — without selling your soul — and move on.
And avoid the temptation to do anything else.
One Last Thing: The PJ Media YUUUGE Christmas/New Year sale is here — offering readers a whopping 74% discount(!) with the code MERRY74. Click here ASAP to take advantage while it lasts… because it won’t last long!
As a PJ Media VIP member, you’ll receive exclusive access to our behind-the-paywall content, commenting privileges, and an ad-free experience. VIP Gold gets you the same level of “insider access” across our entire family of sites (PJ Media, Townhall, RedState, Twitchy, Hot Air, and Bearing Arms). That means: More stories, more videos, more content, more fun, more conservatism, more EVERYTHING!
And if you’re already a VIP member and want to share the gift of PJ Media with a friend or loved one, use the MERRY74 code and click here.
Happy Holidays!
