Vance, Banks come out swinging against reporter attacking Tucker Carlson's son

Buckley Carlson, son of Tucker Carlson, works in Vice President JD Vance's office as deputy press secretary. There appears to be a campaign underway to have him removed over the perceived sin of having Tucker Carlson as a blood relation.

Amid mounting pressure on the young man to disavow his father or at least denounce some of his father's remarks, Vance and other conservatives have made abundantly clear that they will not throw Buckley Carlson to the wolves.

'You don’t assign your hate for his Dad to him, and you don’t ask sons to disavow their fathers or mothers.'

Vance stressed in a multipart defense of his staffer on Sunday, "I have an extraordinary tolerance for disagreements and criticisms from the various people in our coalition. But I am a very loyal person, and I have zero tolerance for scumbags attacking my staff."

"And yes, *everyone* who I've seen attack Buckley with lies is a scumbag," added Vance.

While Laura Loomer and others have concern-mongered in recent months over the presence of a Carlson in the vice president's office, Vance was responding to comments by Jennifer Sloan Rachmuth.

Rachmuth, a Republican operative and journalist who was arrested last year on a cyberstalking charge that was quickly dismissed, stated in a viral Saturday post on X that "racism and antisemitism is a Carlson family trait."

"Is Tucker's son Buckley, who serves as JD Vance's top aide also a vile bigot?" Rachmuth asked, after claiming that Tucker Carlson's brother idolized Nick Fuentes. "America deserves to know how deep the Carlson's family ethnic and religious hatred runs."

RELATED: Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, and the war for the conservative soul

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Rachmuth, who previously suggested that Vance's ties to the Carlson family are "indefensible," hinted on Monday that this pressure campaign might have less to do with Vance's staffer and more to do with the front-runner for the 2028 Republican nomination.

After accusing Tucker Carlson of being "America's most prolific antisemite," Rachmuth noted, "The vice president is close friends with Tucker and yet, he hasn’t weighed in on his targeting against Christians and Jews."

Rachmuth noted further that "when senior aides like Carlson contribute to national policy discussions, clarity regarding his stance on equality and minority protections will maintain public trust in Vance’s policymaking."

Rachmuth, Tucker Carlson, and the vice president's office did not respond to Blaze News' request for comment.

Vance did not mince words when responding to Rachmuth, writing, "Sloan Rachmuth is a 'journalist' who has decided to obsessively attack a staffer in his 20s because she doesn't like the views of his father. Every time I see a public attack on Buckley it's a complete lie. And yes, I notice ever [sic] person with an agenda who unfairly attacks a good guy who does a great job for me."

"Sloan describes herself as a defender of 'Judeo-Christian Values.' Is it a 'Judeo-Christian value' to lie about someone you don't know?" continued Vance. "Not in any church I ever spent time in!"

Republican Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana similarly defended Buckley Carlson, noting that the young man had worked for him for years and was "one of the smartest, most trustworthy and loyal staffers I’ve ever had."

"These personal attacks are disgusting and don’t serve your cause well," added Banks.

Some critics of Rachmuth's attack characterized it as a spillover of venom intended for Tucker Carlson.

Normalcy advocate Robby Starbuck, for instance, noted, "Attacking Buckley is really messed up. Even if you don’t like Tucker, you don’t assign your hate for his Dad to him and you don’t ask sons to disavow their fathers or mothers. Come on."

"They can't bring down Tucker so they're going after his son," wrote conservative commentator Megyn Kelly.

Christina Pushaw, an aide to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), noted, "If us political staffers are accountable for everything our uncles might post online, we're all in trouble," adding in a separate post that it's a "good thing blood-lines don't predetermine our views, and good thing we live in America where we reject the concept of blood-guilt."

Tucker Carlson has been the target of intense criticism in recent weeks over his interview with Nick Fuentes, a rightist provocateur who routinely attacks both Vance and Israel.

When asked about Tucker Carlson on Sunday, President Donald Trump said, "You can't tell him who to interview and if he wants to interview Nick Fuentes — I don't know much about him — but if he wants to do it, get the word out. ... People have to decide. Ultimately, people have to decide."

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