The American right is dealing with an antisemitism crisis. That part is straightforward, as recent group chat leaks have demonstrated in no uncertain terms. But recognizing this simple fact also raises two deep and disturbing questions:
Why have right-wing antisemites been able to build such a large audience? And why have Republicans found it increasingly difficult to maintain guardrails against open antisemitism?
The answer, Zack Beauchamp writes, starts with Donald Trump, who has remade the GOP into a bastion of conspiratorial extremism. And the current crisis, he argues, is a precursor to a right-wing civil war with existential stakes — not just for the party, but for Jewish Americans everywhere.
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—Elias Isquith, senior editor for policy, politics, and ideas
