At Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest, Vice President JD Vance closed the conference by warning conservatives against canceling each other and declaring that every American belongs in the America First movement. Media outlets quickly framed his remarks as a rebuke of cancel culture on the Right, a call for unity, and a rejection of internal purity tests.

In which 48 tells the “denounce and condemn” crowd they can shove it. Perfectly done. https://t.co/EzclqSy78R

— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) December 22, 2025

Megyn Kelly has turned into a recurring letdown, forever hitching her wagon to the loudest story of the week instead of saying something that actually moves the conversation forward.

Turning Criticism Into a Moral Offense

The Vice President’s framing didn’t come out of nowhere.

Ben Shapiro sharply criticized several conservative figures in the days leading up to the speech, accusing them of grifting, recklessness, and moral failure. He used blunt, personal language that made people uncomfortable. He did not call for censorship, deplatforming, or exile, and no one demanded bans, called for silencing, or asked for anyone to be erased.

It’s embarrassing how many people, including JD Vance himself, are clearly demonstrating that they don’t understand what’s actually going on or what Ben Shapiro meant when he spoke.

This has nothing to do with “canceling” anyone. It’s also pathetic how they keep invoking… pic.twitter.com/Wfj2b6dYq6

— η (@AntSpeaks) December 22, 2025

Even so, commentators quickly rebranded that criticism as cancellation. They labeled judgment as groupthink and treated standards as betrayal.

The Cancellation Claim That Was Never True

Before the gaslighting continues, let’s be clear about what actually happened. No one called for censorship or demanded deplatforming. What triggered the backlash was criticism. Public, uncomfortable criticism. Instead of addressing it, many media figures and movement leaders chose to relabel it as something sinister to shut down the argument.

This distortion is why I’m writing about it today. I absolutely LOVE JD Vance, which makes this a little awkward, but the way conservative media has handled this mess has had me side-eyeing things for a while now.

Vance proclaimed that “every American is invited” to the America First movement, adding that “we have far more important work to do than canceling each other.” While the VP didn’t call anyone out by name, he offered a direct repudiation of Ben Shapiro’s speech Thursday calling Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson, right-wing podcaster Candace Owens, Steve Bannon and others “frauds and grifters.” – Daily Caller

Ben Shapiro, the first speaker after Charlie Kirk’s wife Erika, called right-wing pundits Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Steve Bannon “frauds and grifters.” In his speech, Carlson shot back, calling Shapiro “pompous.”

“Calls to de-platform at a Charlie Kirk event?” Carlson said. “That’s hilarious.”

Vance said he will fight alongside all conservatives. – The Daily Signal

“President Trump did not build the greatest coalition in politics by running his supporters through endless, self-defeating purity tests,” Vance said, as some of the earlier speakers name-dropped each other amid divisions over Israel, Ukraine aid and other controversial issues on the right. – Fox News

The Sleight of Hand

Vance addressed the infighting directly. He urged conservatives not to be discouraged by internal disagreements and framed the divide as a choice between freethinkers who sometimes disagree and ideological drones taking orders from George Soros. It was a clean line, and it landed because conservatives rightly reject enforced obedience and centralized control.

But this is where the rhetoric slips.

Demanding standards is not the same as demanding obedience. Accountability is not mind control. Criticism is not authoritarianism. Calling those things groupthink is not a serious argument. It is a dodge.

Standards Are Not Oppression

Conservatives do not believe in groupthink, but we do believe in truth. We do not demand ideological uniformity, but we do draw lines. Or at least we used to. There was a time when certain behavior disqualified someone from being elevated as a leader, even if that person remained free to speak. That was not oppression. That was discernment.

The media coverage surrounding this speech consistently blurred that distinction. By framing Vance’s remarks as a response to “cancel culture,” outlets quietly accepted a false premise. They treated criticism and cancellation as interchangeable. They implied something extreme had happened when it had not. That is not neutral reporting. It is narrative laundering.

Why Framing Has Consequences

Vance bears some responsibility for that framing as well. He chose to use the language of cancellation, even though what preceded his speech was criticism, not an effort to silence anyone. Once that language entered the conversation, the distinction disappeared, and accountability was recast as persecution.

“Everyone is invited” sounds generous until the obvious question gets asked. Invited to what? Speaking freely is one thing. Leadership is another. Representation is another. Movements are not defined by who they tolerate in theory. They are defined by who they elevate in practice.

And lately, all these ex-journalists-turned-podcasters are throwing their weight around, representing the movement. One can’t pretend that people don’t get influenced by these mouthpieces.

The Consequences of No Boundaries

So let’s stop pretending this is abstract. If everyone is invited, does that include Nick Fuentes. Not tolerated online or allowed to exist, but elevated, amplified, and treated as a legitimate voice for conservatism. Because if the answer is yes, then stop hiding behind unity rhetoric and admit this movement is willing to launder antisemitism as long as it comes wrapped in populist language.

This is not hypothetical.

Tucker Carlson was recently named Antisemite of the Year by the watchdog group StopAntisemitism. You can argue with the label or dispute the framing, but you cannot pretend it appeared out of thin air. It reflects repeated patterns, not a single stray comment.

Is Carlson still welcome as a mouthpiece for conservatism? Will he still be amplified? Does JD want to defended Tucker for his shiny new award for being the Antisemite of the Year?  If so, then lectures about standards ring hollow. Admit what is happening. The line is not being defended. It is being erased.

This Is Not a Debate About Disagreement

This is where the constant talk about freethinkers becomes dishonest. What people are objecting to is not disagreement. It is degradation. Antisemitism should be disqualifying. Racial grievance politics should not be treated as just another flavor of populism. Grifing your own side should not earn applause or protection.

Calling those expectations purity tests is a lie. They are table stakes.

The truth is uglier. A conservative media economy now profits from chaos. It thrives on outrage without accountability and rewards people who light fires and then demand immunity in the name of unity. When anyone threatens that business model by insisting that standards matter, the response is immediate and predictable; stop canceling, you mustn’t judge and quit dividing.

That is not leadership. It is abdication.

Criticism is not censorship. Accountability is not cancellation. Drawing boundaries is not groupthink. A movement that confuses unity with indulgence does not stay strong for long, no matter how loudly it insists otherwise.

Feature Image: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons