James Fishback, a fierce critic of Israel and a far-right politician, offered scathing remarks about the Jewish state and likened abortion to the Holocaust during a Tuesday evening address hosted by the University of Mississippi’s Turning Point USA chapter.
Fishback, a former GOP gubernatorial candidate in Florida, recalled that earlier this summer the Combat Antisemitism Movement flagged as antisemitic one of his X/Twitter posts describing abortion as a holocaust.
“Abortion is a holocaust, and by every single historical metric available, it was worse than the other one,” Fishback said, claiming that “61 million children have been killed in the womb since Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided in 1973.”
He also had harsh words for the state of Israel. “It is time for President Trump to call [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu and cut him off. We must decouple from Israel to save America,” he added.
The 31-year-old investor is a newcomer to politics, entering the scene last November when he announced his candidacy in Florida’s Republican primary for governor. Fishback’s prospects in the race were seen as a long shot from the get-go, as he had no experience and was up against Byron Donalds, a congressman who had secured the backing of President Donald Trump.
'If you're really bad they'll call you an antisemite'
Throughout his campaign, Fishback espoused much of the language that has become popular among far-right activists, including antisemitic terms like “goyslop,” a slur used by neo-Nazis to blame Jews for low-quality, ultra-processed foods.
Ultimately, Fishback suffered a massive loss, placing a distant third with just 10.5% of voter support. He trailed far behind the winner, Donalds, and Jay Collins, who earned 47.8% and 25.2%, respectively.
But while Fishback lost the gubernatorial primary in a landslide, political analysts have highlighted his success in winning over far-right Gen-Zers, providing a window into the possible future of the MAGA movement if not the entire Republican Party.
A Quantus Insights poll in early August, prior to the primary, indicated that Fishback commanded 26% of voters ages 18 to 29 and 38% of voters ages 30 to 44, according to the Algemeiner. Donalds and Collins each held just 21% in the younger bracket and 28% and 14%, respectively, in the older one.
Many Republican Jews had been hoping that Fishback’s loss would end his influence, but his continued popularity among far-right youth shows he hasn’t disappeared from the scene. In addition to Tuesday’s invitation, Fishback has upcoming speeches at Mississippi State University, Auburn University, the University of South Alabama, and the University of Alabama in the coming days.
During his campaign, he repeatedly embraced the perspectives of ultra-conservative political commentators and personalities like Nick Fuentes and Tucker Carlson, while championing anti-immigration policies and conspiracy theories about the “great replacement of American workers.”
As for Israel, he repeatedly targeted the country and its supporters, declaring that “it is not antisemitic to criticize Israel.” He warned in a campaign video that calling Netanyahu a war criminal or accusing Israel of committing genocide could get the accuser “convicted of antisemitism.”
Born and raised in Florida to an immigrant mother from Colombia and a landscaper-turned-bus driver father, Fishback attended Georgetown University but dropped out after two years.
Fishback doesn’t seem daunted by his failed campaign, embracing continued opportunities to appear in public and court young voters who align with his views. At his Monday event, he not only delivered an hour-long speech, but he also stayed and continued to livestream for an equal amount of time to answer questions and take photographs with every single student who approached him.
Fishback and Turning Point USA
This particular event was a Pick Up the Mic forum arranged by members of the University of Mississippi chapter of Turning Point USA, the organization founded by the late Charlie Kirk.
Kirk had established Turning Point USA as a way of connecting to young voters, particularly college men, whom he viewed as previously overlooked by the right. During his many years overseeing Turning Point, Kirk repeatedly clashed with Fuentes, the white nationalist and Hitler admirer whom Fishback has often defended.
But after Kirk’s assassination last year, Turning Point has emerged as a central arena for shifting debate within the Republican Party surrounding Israel. At times, those arguing to cut off US support have employed antisemitic tropes.
Although Fishback’s social media links his college tour stops to Turning Point USA, they do not appear on the group’s national website. Instead, these forums appear to be organized by the local campus chapters of the organization.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reached out to Turning Point for clarification about this affiliation, but did not receive a response.
Turning Point’s nationally recognized “America: Love It or Leave It Tour,” which is happening across the country over the next few weeks, features speakers like Erika Kirk, the organization’s new leader and widow of Charlie Kirk, as well as Donald Trump Jr., Glenn Beck, Tulsi Gabbard and Ben Shapiro, the Jewish conservative political commentator who founded The Daily Wire.
Shapiro previously described Fishback as “a serial liar and fraud” but did not respond to a request from JTA for comment.
Turning Point events have become a hub for “America First” ideology and, since Kirk’s death, have featured several audience questions on Israel that went viral. Notably, Vice President JD Vance declared that Israel does not “control this president” in response to a question about the country’s influence on Trump.
Back at Monday’s University of Mississippi forum, Fishback slammed immigration policies on both sides of the aisle — Republicans for too few mass deportations and Democrats for an influx of foreign workers — Fishback declared, “It’s time to stand up and tell both parties that no, American jobs are for Americans only.”
He noted, however, that making such demands could result in a person being labeled a racist or misogynist, and that “if you’re really bad they’ll call you an antisemite.” Stressing that he condemns “all forms of religious hatred,” he maintained that “the most virulent” type is the hostility “against Christians in this country.”
Fishback blamed Israel and the inability of the US to “tell them no” for drawing the country into the war with Iran. That war, he argued, has pushed gas prices higher.
“Two hundred and fifty years ago, our founding fathers declared their independence from a foreign power,” Fishback said. “In 2026, our leaders must declare their independence from a foreign power called Israel.”