Why are so many Republican leaders silent when Nick Fuentes spews his poison?

County Republican groups scrambled on Monday to distance themselves from an event that will be headlined by one of the nation’s most gleeful and obnoxious bigots.

Arizona College Republicans United invited white nationalist Nick Fuentes to deliver the keynote address at its second annual national convention later this month in Prescott.

A flyer from the far right group advertising the July 30 conference claims it is co-sponsored by the Maricopa, Pima and Yavapai County Republican Party.

However, two of the three groups — the Maricopa County Republican Committee and the Pima County Republican Party — rushed to stand upwind of the event on Monday, saying they want nothing to do with Fuentes. The Yavapai County GOP also reportedly backed away from the event.

Maricopa, Pima parties are backing away

“The (Maricopa County Republican Committee) never authorized, sponsored, or promoted the upcoming July 30 College Republicans United convention,” the Maricopa County Republican Committee tweeted. “Any placement of ‘MCRC’ or ‘Maricopa GOP’ etc on anything associated with the CRU event is unauthorized. Thank you.”

Pima County Republicans called it a “set up”, saying that they never were told they’d be sharing a stage with Fuentes when asked to participate in the conference.

“This particular activity and behavior where you are sabotaged and set up is completely indescribable to me,” Anastasia Tsatsakis, the party’s 2nd vice chair, told Arizona Mirror. “We do not participate in any antisemitic anything. This is horrible and, had we known, we would’ve never committed.”

Fuentes’ appearance wasn't confirmed until Friday, but I’m not sure why anyone would be shocked that he was tapped for the keynote address.

College Republicans United has always been a fringe group, what with its commitment to Christian nationalism and its “opposition to immigration and multiculturalism.”

Richer, Rep. Kolodin denounce the event

A pair of Republican elected officials, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer and state Rep. Alexander Kolodin, raised their eyebrows at the invite to Fuentes, as did the Republican Jewish Coalition.

“Anti-Semitism should have no home in the Republican Party (or anywhere ideally),” Richer tweeted.Richer is, of course, absolutely right.

Another view: GOP empties full clown car at Fuentes event

And yet I don’t recall anybody in the GOP hierarchy calling out Rep. Paul Gosar and state Sen. Wendy Rogers when they were cozying up to Fuentes.

Gosar in 2021 became the first sitting member of Congress to speak at Fuentes’ America First Political Action Conference. He evidently liked the group so much that he spoke to them again in 2022, as did state Sen. Wendy Rogers, who praised the young white nationalists as “patriots”.

Nick Fuentes has plenty of vile beliefs

Fuentes is one of the most odious creatures of our time, a Nazi-loving, Holocaust denying, insurrection supporting white nationalist who says Black people are inherently violent because “they struggle with the impulse control”.

He suggested that a man to beat up his wife for “getting out of line” — a “vicious and forceful backhanded slap with your knuckles right across her face,” he advised — and recently said he hopes to someday have a child bride.

Last year, he rushed to the defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin, noting that people were comparing him to Adolph Hitler, “as if that isn’t a good thing.”

Earlier this year, he called Hitler “a pedophile … also really f---ing cool.”He has said he wants “a total Aryan victory” and that Jewish people should “get the f--- out of America.”

He readily admits his goal is to grow his brand of white nationalism and antisemitism, moving it into the American mainstream as if it is something normal, as if it is something acceptable.

Yet Arizona GOP leaders remain silent

Even the Conservative Political Action Conference kicked him out of their conference earlier this year.

“His hateful racist rhetoric and actions are not consistent with the mission of CPAC,” Matt Schlapp said in a statement posted on Instagram.

It’s not surprising, then, that the county Republican groups in Arizona are now backing away from supporting an event in which Fuentes is the keynote speaker.

The question is where is the Arizona Republican Party?

Other than Richer, Kolodin and the Republican Jewish Coalition, where are the rest of Arizona’s Republican leaders, who stand by silently as Fuentes prepares to preach his poison to the next generation of Arizona’s GOP leaders?

Fuentes certainly has a right to vomit up his vile views.

Just as others have the right to condemn them.

And yet the silence …

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LaurieRoberts.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Nick Fuentes spews poison, yet most Arizona GOP leaders remain silent