DeSantis ally claims Pelosi is Jewish, blames Trump for condemning white supremacy in private messages.

Pedro Gonzalez’s Extensive Anti-Semitic ⁢Remarks

Pedro Gonzalez, the​ magazine ‌editor⁤ and⁤ online influencer who has amassed a ​following on the far right over⁣ the past several years, made more extensive anti-Semitic remarks than previously reported.

The politics editor ​ of the‌ paleoconservative ​ Chronicles magazine who⁤ gained prominence through appearances on Tucker ⁣Carlson’s Fox News program, Gonzalez‌ argued​ in online messages obtained by the Washington Free Beacon that ‌former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) “can’t‌ be criticized” publicly because she is ‍a Jew—Pelosi is a Roman Catholic—and that Jewish scholar Yoram Hazony is an⁣ unfit‍ spokesman for American nationalism​ because he was born in Israel.

Gonzalez told the Free Beacon on ‌Sunday that he now believes the comments “were wrong” and ‍”don’t reflect who‍ I am.”

In the messages, Gonzalez expressed frustration that ​he couldn’t vocalize publicly ‌his opposition to letting “an ‌Israeli scholar like Hazony define the rules of American nationalism.”

The‌ comments, relayed in online messages ‍to a friend in 2019 and 2020, are of a piece with ⁤messages that Gonzalez​ wrote on a pro-Trump group chat in the same years and that were‍ the subject ​last ⁣month of​ a Breitbart exposé.

In those messages,​ Gonzalez, ⁤who has made ‌a name for himself as a vocal supporter of⁢ Florida governor and 2024 Republican⁢ presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis, wrote that “not every Jew is problematic,⁣ but the sad fact is that ⁢most are,” and that the ⁤”only tactical considertation [sic] of Jews is screening them for⁢ movements.”

The DeSantis campaign declined to comment on whether ⁣it had or has any relationship, ⁢formal ​or informal, with Gonzalez, ⁤though sources close to ⁤the campaign said the campaign has no current relationship with Gonzalez. ​Gonzalez said he has⁣ no official connection to the DeSantis campaign.

Never Back Down, the super⁣ PAC supporting DeSantis, denounced Gonzalez and said ‌it had no affiliation with him.

Other DeSantis ⁣allies, however, ⁤have stood behind Gonzalez. Weeks after the publication of the Breitbart exposé, the Florida Standard, a news outlet described by Politico as part of DeSantis’s attempt to ‌forge ⁢his own ⁢press corps in the Sunshine ⁣State and a publication ‍”at the center of DeSantis’s norms-smashing media strategy,” published an⁤ op-ed by Gonzalez arguing that Trump is ⁤a likely loser in a⁢ general election.

The editor of the Standard, Will Witt, did⁣ not respond to a request ⁣for comment.

The latest messages from Gonzalez come to light just days after the DeSantis‌ campaign parted ways with a campaign ⁢aide, Nate Hochman, for including a Nazi⁣ “Sonnenrad” symbol in a video that ‍he secretly distributed to ⁤a pro-DeSantis‍ Twitter account.

In an interview with the Free⁤ Beacon, Gonzalez attributed the remarks to his descent into what he⁤ described as an “online ‌Trump world” that⁢ embraced “absurd rhetorical extremism.”

“What starts off as joking can very quickly become‌ unironically internalized ⁢as an actual belief,” he said, adding that “I said those things,‍ and I take responsibility for them, ‌and I‍ apologize for them, and, ultimately, it’s on‌ me.”

Gonzalez⁢ said he has had a change of heart since becoming a father: “You develop ⁣a kind ⁢of revulsion for the​ immaturity that defines these ⁢extremely ‌online movements, the ​kind of performative bigotry that is ‍a feature of it.”

“I⁤ completely do not ​believe any of that stuff,” he added. “I’m ‌ashamed of​ those​ comments,⁣ I’m embarrassed by them.”

In the messages published last month by Breitbart, Gonzalez also railed against ⁣ Daily Wire editor in chief⁣ Ben Shapiro, to whom he objected because Shapiro is “a Jewish Jew who likes Jewish stuff and Israel” and because Jews like Shapiro “instinctively fear‍ living⁤ under Christian, especially European, rule”—a point, he noted,‍ that ⁣cannot be discussed “in the open.”

Prior to the publication of the Breitbart piece, Gonzalez reached out to⁢ Shapiro and‍ apologized for ⁤his remarks, according ⁢to a source familiar with the situation. He ⁣told‌ the​ Free Beacon he has also‍ apologized to Hazony.

Gonzalez and his supporters said the Breitbart piece was​ an attempt ‌to‍ cancel him, with one describing ​it ‍as a “leftist⁣ cancel ‌culture hit piece.”

The influencer also suggested the piece ‌was driven ‍by his vocal support⁢ for DeSantis and Breitbart‘s enduring loyalty to Trump. “Crossing Trump’s ‌political machine puts ​you in ⁣a state of nature—a state of war without ⁣rules of ⁢engagement‌ or codes of conduct,” he said on‍ Twitter. “My views and attitude ⁤have rapidly and dramatically changed in a short period of time, but I have always been very stubborn, and I generally do not respond well to anyone trying to silence me.”

Gonzalez battled accusations of anti-Semitism‌ before his private messages were published. Early ⁣last year, the author and columnist⁢ Douglas Murray accused Gonzalez of unmasking himself, “boringly ‌and yet⁢ still wretchedly, as an anti-Semite” after Gonzalez mocked the appearance of ​the liberal Jewish economist David Rothschild: “That Rothschild physiognomy is pure nightmare fuel.” At the time, Gonzalez ⁣and his allies anti-semitism-smear/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>strenuously denied the​ allegation, arguing that he “frequently lobs​ such jibes at political opponents of all ethnic backgrounds.”

Gonzalez ⁢told⁤ the Free Beacon ⁣ that he​ does⁢ not consider the remark anti-Semitic but rather “one of⁤ those weird, online-right insults.”

In another message obtained by the Free Beacon, Gonzalez⁢ in 2019 appeared ‌to take issue with then-president Trump’s response to a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, which was carried‍ out by a white supremacist. Addressing the country ‌in the wake of the massacre, Trump called on Americans ⁣to “condemn⁢ racism, bigotry, and ‍white supremacy.”

“He didn’t actually cuck after Charlotesville,⁤ or not nearly as bad,” Gonzalez⁤ wrote to⁢ his friend, responding ⁤to a‌ news report ​in which the president’s‍ remarks ‌were quoted. “Fuck this president.”