Support for Israel among U.S. conservatives is starting to crack. Here's why

toggle caption SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty

Red-state America has been a big fan of Israel, according to Jackson Lahmeyer, an evangelical pastor in Oklahoma and founder of Pastors for Trump.

"Evangelical Christians in America for the most part, not always but generally speaking, have usually been very strong supporters of the nation of Israel and the Jewish people," Lahmeyer said in an interview with NPR.

That support is deeply rooted in their evangelical faith, he said. But recently, Lahmeyer has noticed the conversation around Israel is changing quite a bit — particularly online.

Sponsor Message

"Some very influential leaders, all of whom I like — Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Marjorie Taylor Greene — have taken a very controversial stance in regards to the nation of Israel," he said.

Last week, Carlson hosted a prominent white nationalist named Nick Fuentes on his show. Although Carlson disagreed with Fuentes on his most antisemitic statements, such as American Jews are more faithful to Israel than they are to the United States, he did broadly align with Fuentes on his views about the country itself.

toggle caption Jacquelyn Martin/AP

"I've always thought it's great to criticize and question our relationship with Israel because it's insan