MAN MALE 3

estb 6 23

see strict fr

SEE MANOSPHERE 4

SEE FASCISM violence proves manhood

see militarization frce see 2nd a ~ gun control, assault weapon

see conserv ent complex

see violence

see misogyny homophobe

see militia defend self defense ~ invasion POC

see rumble

see MMA UFC wrestling martial arts

see Barbie

see strict fr evangelical misogyny defend the patriarchy

see homophobe

jordan peterson godfather?

see trump assassinate tucker

an 11 25

aPlastic surgeons in Washington, D.C. are revealing which elective procedures men choose to appear “more virile” as “Mara-a-Lago face” sweeps Republican insiders in town to support President Donald Trump's agenda, Axios reports.

“Mar-a-Lago face,” which Salon’s Amanda Marcotte describes as “a combination of aggressive plastic surgery, fake tan and make-up spackled on so thick that it would crack — if the fillers hadn't already paralyzed their faces,” is gripping the greater-D.C. area as South Florida’s regional plastic surgery trends creep north.

“It's typical for people to get more work done in places like South Florida, where many MAGA faithfuls have roots,” Axios explains, citing D.C. plastic surgeon Anita Kulkarni.

According to plastic surgeon Navin Singh — who operates out of a clinic in McLean, VA — that regionality could explain why “male politico patients veer more Republican than Democrat,” Axios writes.

Plastic surgeon Troy Pittman, who Axios reports “works with a lot of Trump insiders,” said in contrast with the first Trump term, “[now] we’re seeing people who want to look like they had something done.”

According to Axios, “The ‘Palm Beach crowd’ is all-systems-go, says Pittman.”

The DC surgeon told Axios his male clients are want procedures that will make them look "younger" and "more virile and masculine.”

“On the menu,” Axios reports: “Botox, liposuction and eyelid rejuvenation.”

---

AN 8 25

PsyPost reports a new psychological study has found that people who claim favorable views of President Donald Trump also tend to score higher on measures of callousness, manipulation, and other malevolent traits—and lower on empathy and compassion.

“Our findings suggest a link between malevolent personality and conservative political ideology, which in our study included positive view of Trump, and that persons with malevolent personality dispositions view political figures with malevolent traits favorably,” said study author Craig Neumann, a Regents Professor of Psychology at the University of North Texas. “Further, people who view malevolent political figures favorably also report less empathy for others and enjoy the suffering of others.”

The paper, which was several years in the making, “was designed to address why some people might view favorably a political figure with a history of business failures, bankruptcies, misogynistic statements caught on video, use of charity money for a self-portrait, etc,” said Neuman.

PsyPost said researchers conducted two large surveys with a total of more than 9,000 U.S. participants. The first sample consisted of 1,000 men recruited online, about one-third of whom were racial or ethnic minorities. The second sample included 8,047 men and women who completed personality questionnaires on a public psychology website. Participants in both samples completed a range of validated questionnaires measuring political attitudes, personality traits, and empathy, researchers say.

IFrame Content

In “Sample 1”, researchers measured social dominance orientation (the belief that some groups should dominate others), right-wing authoritarianism (support for conformity, obedience, and traditional norms), and psychopathic traits. In “Sample 2,” researchers say they added measures of broader malevolent traits (psychopathy, Machiavellianism, narcissism) and benevolent traits (humanism, faith in humanity and respect for others).

The findings “consistently showed people who identified as politically conservative—and especially those who rated Trump’s presidency highly—were more likely to score higher on measures of authoritarianism, social dominance, and malevolent personality traits,” reports PsyPost.

In the first sample of men, all three predictors — social dominance, authoritarianism, and psychopathic tendencies — predicted conservative ideology and favorable views of Trump, but only for white participants.

The report also revealed that while both men and women showed similar patterns, the associations were stronger for men

Read the full PsyPost report at this link.

---

AN 7 25

A Guardian investigationhas uncovered a growing network of far-right, men-only fraternal clubs across the United States — known collectively as the Old Glory Club (OGC). Members of this group claim the involvement of “literally hundreds” of individuals, including current and former military personnel, civil servants, lawyers, and influential voices in antisemitic circles.

In a report published Saturday, the Guardian reported that the OGC has established at least 26 chapters in 20 states. It had been operating largely under the radar until now.

The OGC has reportedly hosted various conferences, meetups, and other events. The purpose of these gatherings is to provide a platform for its leading members — such as podcaster Pete Quinones — to promote far-right narratives targeting Jewish people and immigrants, per the report.

The investigation further revealed that some within the group also respond to current political developments and support ideas like “cancellation insurance” to protect members whose extremist beliefs might jeopardize their careers.

IFrame Content

Harry Shukman, a researcher with UK anti-fascist organization Hope Not Hate, recently published a report on the Basketweavers —an OGC-linked group in the UK. He told the Guardian: “Groups such as the OGC are a new breed of extremist organisation which aims first to build an offline social network before taking over society.”

“They seek to lower the bar to participating in the far right, and by doing so have proved attractive to a cohort of mostly male members, some of whom have never before undertaken any form of activism," he added.

During a livestream hosted by the Old Glory Club following the general election in November last year, Quinones used a racial slur commonly employed by white nationalists to describe Black voters, stating: “The North American street ape is hopeless.”

He repeated the slur the following month in reaction to a video featuring a Black teenager, per the report.

Shukman told Guardian: “The Old Glory Club and its affiliates like the Basketweavers may claim to provide community, but the truth is they conceal a much more sinister aim.”

He continued: “We have seen that the leaders of these groups can be vicious and degrading to junior members, especially maladjusted young men. The OGC’s senior figures also have a track record of making deeply racist statements and affiliating with known far-right activists.”

---

an 6 25

A controversial $20 million study examining why young American men are leaving the Democratic Party paints a sobering picture—and confirms growing concerns about liberals’ hold on a critical voting bloc, according to its initial findings.

“Democrats are seen as weak, whereas Republicans are seen as strong,” Ilyse Hogue, co-founder of the Speaking with American Men (SAM) project, told Politico. “Young men also spoke of being invisible to the Democratic coalition, and so you’ve got this weak problem and then you’ve got this, ‘I don’t think they care about me’ problem, and I think the combination is kind of a killer.”

America's young men are stressed, ashamed and confused over what it means to be a man in 2025, Politico reported.

"They vented about conflicting cultural messages of masculinity that put them in a 'no-win situation around the meaning of ‘a man,’ ' according to the SAM project memo."

IFrame Content

Economic concerns are a big driver behind young men feeling stressed. Being unable to buy a home in today's market with high prices and high interest rates, or worried about paying for their children's college, has led to their concerns about "being a man, and living up to their own expectations or the expectations of their family or society," SAM project co-founder and pollster John Della Volpe told Politico.

Focus group participants' responses helped paint the picture.

"An Asian American professional described Democrats as embracing 'the fluid masculinity of being, like, empathetic and sensitive,' while 'Republicans are more like, the traditional masculinity of a provider, strong, and the machismo type.'"

A Latino man told the project that Kamala Harris was focused on, “Oh, I got Beyonce on stage with me. Oh, I got Lady Gaga on stage,” and “it just kind of felt like, what does that have to do with me? I’m trying to move up in life.”

“Trump’s over here like, ‘if we’re able to get a surplus in our budget, then we’re going to have no tax on tips, no tax on overtime. It’s going to take a while to get to that point, but at least he’s saying the things that — oh, this is what I’m going to do."

Although the report did not mention it, Harris unveiled a comprehensive economic package that included financial assistance for first time homebuyers and parents who wanted children. It's unclear if those messages got through.

Another "Latino man from Las Vegas spoke admiringly of Trump and Andrew Tate, a controversial influencer who has been accused of rape and sex trafficking, as 'always loved and hated, but they’re truthful, honest, to what they believe in.'”

But Hogue also said Democrats are just not speaking the same language as America's young men, and until that changes they "can’t win these folks over."

---

file:///C:/Users/patmc/OneDrive/Documents/BOOK/storm_is_coming_climate_change_and_conspiracy_the-groen_kennisnet_590388.pdf

...

2.2 System-justifying function of conspiracy theories

To understand the political ecology of conspiracy theories, I employ system justification

theory. System justification theory posits that our assessments of social systems and institutions

are influenced by epistemic, existential, and social needs (Feygina, Jost, & Goldsmith, 2009).

People are drawn to conspiracy theories when they promise to satisfy these needs (Douglas,

Sutton, & Cichocka, 2017; Douglas et al., 2019). Though intuition, popular belief, proponents,

and some scholars suggest that conspiracy theories challenge power and subvert social systems

(Sapountzis & Condor, 2013), research suggests that conspiracy theories may reinforce the

status quo (Jolley, Douglas, & Sutton, 2017). Conspiracy theories identify a small group of

wrongdoers, a tangible group who are responsible for the ills of society. These wrongdoers are

not representations of social issues; rather, they are perceived as what is wrong with society.

In this sense, conspiracy theories deflect blame for societal problems to small evil groups often

with nearly supernatural power. By attributing problems to malevolent individuals, conspiracy

theories appear to divert people away from questioning the inherent limitations of their society

and toward accepting the status quo (Jolley, Douglas, & Sutton, 2017). This acceptance of the

status quo also aligns with Douglas and Sutton’s (2014) findings that exposure to conspiracy

theories weakens political engagement. After all, what is the point in voting if the outcome is

already decided by reptilian overlords?

The reality of anthropogenic climate change is not only a threat to our safety and well-being

but also to our identities. It challenges the belief systems of those who have benefited the most

from the fossil fuel status quo and see the existing political and economic structures as fair.

Daggett (2018) and Nelson (2019), argue that it is therefore no coincidence that white,

politically conservative men, at all socioeconomic levels, have consistently been found to

endorse climate change denial more than members of any other demographic in the UnitedStates.

Accepting the reality of a changing climate also requires accepting that the political,}:

social, and economic beliefs and norms that govern our world are imperfect and require change.

For those whom this fossil-fueled society most serves, it may be easier to accept conspiracy

theories than to change their political and economic worldview. In this sense, conspiracy

theories, like all discourse, are a means of enacting power upon socio-ecological systems.

These rhetorical devices tug on the political-ecological web of connections, shaping everything

from consumer habits to global climate policy....

---

an 4 25

Arlie Russell Hochschild’s Strangers in their own Land, which explored the motivations and resentments of working-class conservatives in Louisiana, was named one of six books to help understand Donald Trump’s win by the New York Times when he was first elected president, in 2016. (Another was Hillbilly Elegy, by now vice president JD Vance, published just a few months earlier.)

Since then, Californian progressive sociologist Hochschild has been struggling to understand the appeal of Donald Trump: particularly to white, working-class men, once a strong Democratic constituency. No writer has worked harder to grasp the gut-level appeal that saw Trump win two elections – and in the process, convert the Republican Party into his personal fiefdom.

*Review: Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame and the Rise of the Right – Arlie Russell Hochschild (The New Press)

The puzzle is greatest when one contrasts the current billionaire cabinet with the fact much of Trump’s support comes from people who are objectively worse off under his policies – including tariffs. Last week, Oxfam America called them “an attack on the global working class” that will harm working-class families in the United States and “inflame inequality”.

In Strangers in their own Land, Hochschild called this “the Great Paradox”. Stolen Pride returns to many of that book’s questions, but in a different era – and a US that seems more fragmented, and far angrier than it was in 2016.

Hochschild explores the world of Pikeville, Kentucky, a poor, overwhelmingly white, Trump-supporting city in the heart of Appalachia: in the “whitest and second-poorest congressional district in the country, a region that had rapidly shifted from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party”.

The American dream’s broken promise

One of Hochschild’s subjects is James Browning, a recovering drug user whose hands are tattooed and covered in rings. “There you have it” he says, “I have a shame hand and a pride hand.” This sums up the basic argument of Stolen Pride.

“Pride and shame,” she writes, “signal the juncture between the identity we hold out to the world, and how the world responds to our identity.” The men she speaks to desperately need a sense of pride, but too often find their failures are the cause of deep shame. The American Dream, after all, teaches them every individual can make it, inherently implying failure is due to individual weakness.

Many of the men she speaks to have experienced unemployment, domestic breakups, jail, alcoholism and drug abuse. (She even manages to speak to one current jail inmate.) Kentucky has one of the highest rates of opioid addiction in the United States – and despite Trump’s attacks on Mexico and Canada, the doctor-prescribed drugs some were addicted to appear to be domestically manufactured.

So many of the men Hochschild interviewed talk of the balance between shame and pride, I began to wonder if they were prompted. On reflection, I suspect this represents Hochschild’s careful selection from a series of very extensive interviews, conducted over roughly six years.

Her emphasis is almost entirely on the men in Pikeville, though a majority of white women also voted for Trump. I would love to see Hochschild explore this further. That so many women can support a convicted sexual predator in a country obsessed with sexual behaviour is one of the mysteries of contemporary American politics.

By 2021, many Americans – and most Republicans – believed Trump’s claims that he had really won the 2020 election. They saw the rioters at the Capitol on January 6 as heroes defending American democracy. In Trump’s claim the election was stolen, many of those Hochschild interviews saw parallels to what they believed had been stolen from them, by economic and cultural upheavals.

Importantly, many of her respondents saw Trump as a bully — but a bully who stood up for them, against what they perceived as urban liberal elites. When Hillary Clinton spoke of his supporters as “a basket of deplorables”, she reinforced the grievances of people consistently looked down on as “hillbillies” and “rednecks” by people they identified as Democratic elites.

How ‘deep stories’ inform politics

For Hochschild, there are underlying emotional narratives, which she calls “deep stories”, that inform our political positions.

In Strangers in their Own Land, these were identified as a sense of being overtaken by groups, usually educated women and Black people, who benefited from programs of affirmative action. The second Trump administration’s crusade against “DEI” is playing directly to these grievances. In Stolen Pride, this feeling is strengthened by the sense liberal elites are undermining both traditional values and the ability for individuals to succeed.

Eastern Kentucky is coal country, and Clinton’s ill-worded election-trail claim she would “put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business” was a major factor in swinging voters towards Trump. For men who took pride in their work, the collapse of the coal industry produced a sense of shame: strengthened by a strong belief individuals are to blame for their own misfortunes.

Pikeville was also the site of a neo-Nazi march in April 2017, the forerunner of the tragic Unite the Right march in Charlottesville later that year, which resulted in one death and multiple injuries.

Much of the book skilfully explores the preparations for and reactions to the Pikeville march, which seemingly passed without incident. Some 100 white nationalists turned up and were outnumbered by counter protesters, As Hochschild writes, “Very few Pikeville locals were involved on either side”.

Perhaps the most fascinating figure in Hochschild’s book, and evidence of her skill in persuading the most unlikely people to open up in interviews, is Matthew Heimbach, who led the 2017 Pikesville march, identified as a proud Nazi and co-founded the now-defunct neo-Nazi party, Traditionalist Worker Party.

He also co-planned the Charlottesville march, where he railed against “white genocide” and was sued (with other members of the TWP) for his role in it on behalf of Charlottesville victims. He was found guilty on charges of civil conspiracy in 2021.

“Some years later”, he reveals some of his core beliefs are shaken, especially his attitude toward Black Americans, whom he recognises as often sharing the same sense of dispossession that had fuelled his own anger. “I love Russia and I love Putin,” he told Hochschild, “so I looked into moving there.” As Hochschild remarks: “It seemed that Adolf Hitler was to be replaced in his pantheon by Vladimir Putin.”

Transcending the gulf?

Pikesville is also the home of America’s most famous family feud, between the Hatfields and the McCoys. The feud, which lasted many decades from the late 19th century, “began as a dispute over a stolen pig” and “ended as the longest and fiercest clan fight in the nation”. It has been the basis for a dozen movies, virtually all unmemorable. In 2017, a member of the reconciled clans said if they could settle their differences, “there has to be a way for Americans to get back together as one”.

In the last section of the book, Hochschild looks for ways to transcend the apparent gulf that separates blue and red America. Reading the book after Trump’s return to power, this felt sadly inadequate. Yes, as she points out, most voters are more moderate than the politicians on either side. Sadly, this is not sufficient protection against the rise of the authoritarian plutocracy that now seems to have a firm grip on Washington.

Hochschild wrote this book during the Biden administration and the lead-up to the 2024 elections. I assume she finished it before Trump named Vance as his vice president: a man who first came to prominence with his own account of Appalachian pride and shame. Hochschild doesn’t discuss his Hillbilly Elegy, though it is listed in her references.

Hochschild brilliantly captures the pain of men who feel left behind and conveys something of life in rural Kentucky that goes beyond easy stereotypes. I could feel empathy for many of the people she comes across. But I was unpersuaded there is much room for optimism that the appeal of Trump, and those who follow him, will easily be defeated.

Dennis Altman, Vice Chancellor's Fellow and Professorial Fellow, Institute for Human Security and Social Change, La Trobe University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

---

MMA

Charlie Kirk praises Trump's tariff threats against Colombia as “masculine”

01/27/25

===

---

RWW

01/23/2025

Kyle Mantyla

Self-proclaimed "prophet" Manuel Johnson claims that God took him "ahead 12 years in the spirit" to show him that the inauguration of President Donald Trump has opened "a supernatural window for the body of Christ."
Mark Driscoll is excited that the Trump administration will provide a host of new opportunities for "heterosexual alpha males."
Lucas Gage explains why he fills his social media accounts with photos and videos of Adolf Hitler: "Because the Jews have demonized Hitler so much, and use him to maintain their cancel culture, he has ironically become a symbol of freedom of speech."
Steve Deace wants to see former White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator "hung by her bedazzled scarf Nuremberg-style."
Finally, Nick Fuentes says that Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde should have been arrested for humiliating Trump during the National Prayer Service.

---

an 12 24

A new trend taking over TikTok is targeting vulnerable young men. The “looksmaxxing” phenomenon – to maximise one’s looks – is aimed at young men and boys who want to change their appearance to become more attractive and gain social acceptance.

Unhappy with their appearance, teenage boys and young men scrolling the app are directed to chat rooms where they’re instructed to upload photos in exchange for advice.

It begins with “softmaxxing”. This includes basic hygiene such as teeth brushing and whitening, removal of face and body hair, and “mewing” (tongue exercises that supposedly help tone facial muscles).

This progresses to “hardmaxxing”, which is to improve one’s appearance by any means necessary. More extreme measures include:

steroid use
hair transplants and plastic surgery
using pumps for penis stretching
removing ribs for a sculpted waist
“bone-smashing”, which involves using hammers to break bones in the face to look more masculine
“starvemaxxing”, which encourages extreme dieting and eating disorders
“whitemaxxing”, which involves using creams to present as more White
and “edgemaxxing”, which is described as “withholding climaxing in order to boost testosterone to improve appearance”.

Looksmaxxing may appear harmless, encouraging self-care, exercise and healthy eating. But at its core it has ties to violence, suicide and incels (involuntary celibates) – men who blame women for their struggles with establishing romantic or sexual relationships.

A click away from the incel rabbit hole

Looksmaxxing videos on TikTok have amassed many millions of views.

They pull young boys and men into a dark subculture of incels. Incel and extremist content is suggested to users on multiple platforms including TikTok Instagram and Youtube.

Within minutes, TikTok users may be bombarded with videos that promote suicide and gendered hate speech. One 2021 research report found young YouTube users will sometimes be suggested incel-related videos by YouTube’s algorithm within just five hops when starting from a non incel-related video.

‘Hunter’ versus ‘prey’ eyes

Male model Jordan Barrett has become an envied idol for men and boys following the looksmaxxing trend.

Many looksmaxxers believe having his “hunter eyes” with a positive canthal tilt (the canthal is the angle between the inner and outer corner of the eye), along with pursed lips and hollow cheeks, translates to a dominating stare women can’t possibly resist.

On anonymous incel forums, young men are trained to calculate their “sexual market value”. If they’re deemed below average, they’re bullied, accused of being “bitches who are feminine, weak and submissive, too ugly to live” and told to take their own lives.

The Bateman effect

At the apex of the incel beauty tower is the character Patrick Bateman from the 2000 satire-thriller American Psycho. Bateman is known by incels as a superior “sigma” male: a lone wolf and capitalist hustler who attracts money-hungry women.

In fact, he is shallow, manipulative, misogynistic and extremely violent. This sociopathic ideal resonates with many incels. Other characters idolised by incels include Tyler Durden from Fight Club and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker.

Incels who feel they are misunderstood and demoralised by women also look to self-proclaimed powerful male influencers with perceived “social status”, such as Andrew Tate, for solace. Alongside messages about fitness, financial gain and self-improvement, Tate is openly misogynistic and suggests it’s socially acceptable to indulge in violent desires against women.

This false representation of masculinity creates a sense of entitlement in men who believe they are repressed. This can then be used as fuel for gender-based violence, femicide, copycat crimes and mass killings.

Bateman and incel ideology influenced self-proclaimed incel and mass shooter Elliot Rodger. In 2014, Rodger carried out a deadly mass shooting and stabbing spree in Isla Vista, California, killing six people. He blamed women for his celibacy and wanted to seek revenge by killing them.

Many misogynist incels now hail him as a hero. Some men use his initials claiming they want to “go ER” or “be a hERo”, implying they’re ready to commit mass murder.

A 2023 report from the Australia Strategic Policy Centre highlights concerning incel content online. One user says “women should be stripped of their rights because they still have primitive minds that need to be tamed”. Another says “I might start a political movement. ‘BRING BACK RAPE’ […] ‘WANNA STOP BEING INCEL, TIME TO START RAPING’.”

Young people are under pressure

Our preoccupation with having a perfect appearance is an obsessive social disease alienating us from ourselves and others.

Researchers point to a link between trends such as looksmaxxing and the broader cultural pressures young people face. They’re growing up in an increasingly precarious world with war, post-pandemic anxiety, environmental degradation, unaffordable living and unstable employment. This is juxtaposed with neoliberal hyper-individualism, hypersexuality and consumer capitalism.

Where young people feel like they can’t control their environment, they may turn to trends such as looksmaxxing as something they can control.

In recent years, former members of the manosphere have started producing their own counter-forums that challenge the beliefs they once held.

Studies highlight young men and boys are beginning to recognise misogynistic ideology and restrictive performances of masculinity. These studies also argue these forums can offer alternative perspectives, with information that emphasises the importance of healthy socialising, consent and respectful relationships.

In the age of TikTok algorithms, schools and communities must do more to educate on masculinity, what it means to be a “man” and the dangers of incel culture, extremism, gendered hate speech and sexual violence.

Celebrities and influencers also have a role to play. Actors such as Mark Ruffalo and Ryan Gosling have helped foster positive ideas about what it means to be a man. Real, positive change can come from instilling the belief that collectively we can create a more equal and empathetic world.

Jamilla Rosdahl, Senior Lecturer, Australian College of Applied Psychology

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

ymail 11 24

A near-majority of American voters willingly reelected Donald Trump. This harsh reality is a collective moral failure, but it’s also not a choice made in sound mind.

Consider that voters believed Trump’s first presidency was a roaring success and Joe Biden’s only term a Carter-level catastrophe. It’s an upside-down Bizarro World view that ultimately played a key role in dooming Kamala Harris.

[

The global anti-incumbent backlash doomed Kamala Harris

[Noah Berlatsky](https://substack.com/profile/2185926-noah-berlatsky)

Nov 7

[Read full story](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/kamala-harris-anti-incumbent-backlash-2024)](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/kamala-harris-anti-incumbent-backlash-2024)

Trump’s 2024 platform was rooted in an obvious lie — that the nation under Biden’s leadership is a flaming dumpster fire and everyone was much better off when Trump was president. Democrats challenged this false reality with facts, but they ultimately lost the messaging war. Their best efforts were no match for the most powerful weapons in Trump’s propaganda arsenal — a timid press and a right-coded social social media environment.

Greg Sargent reports in the New Republic that the Harris campaign’s own internal polling revealed an alarming trend: “Undecided voters didn’t believe that some of the highest profile things that happened during Trump’s presidency — even if they saw these things negatively — were his fault.”

According to exit polls, Trump decisively won the questions “who do you trust more to handle the economy?” and “who do you trust most to handle a crisis?” Of course, in reality Trump utterly botched the 2020 pandemic response, which researchers concluded resulted in 40 percent more deaths than necessary. And yet swing voters are willing to risk it all again in hopes of cheaper eggs and cruelty against outgroups.

Disinformation on demand

Legacy media shoulders significant blame for their “sanewashing” of Trump’s incoherency and deteriorating mental state. Voters believed Trump could fix a steadily improving economy despite his promotion of inflationary tariffs. The media even presented Trump’s rants as cogent discussions of economic theory.

Sanewashing and the damage done

[Stephen Robinson](https://substack.com/profile/52692688-stephen-robinson)

Sep 10

[Read full story](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-sanewashing-2024-campaign-nyt-cnn)](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-sanewashing-2024-campaign-nyt-cnn)

It’s worth noting, however, that an NBC poll from April revealed that voters who received news primarily from legacy media (newspapers, cable news, etc.) still overwhelmingly supported Biden. Trump owes his victory in great part to low-propensity voters of all races, including young men, and those voters don’t necessarily form their views based on mainstream media reporting. Rather, far too many are stuck in an online social media bubble where they are delivered a steady diet of rightwing propaganda.

The median age of a Fox News viewer is 68, and liberals have joked about the network “brainwashing” their conservative parents. But rightwing social media content has effectively targeted and radicalized younger people, who — unlike the typical Hannity-obsessed grandpa — can vote for the next several decades.

TikTok, which Trump joined in June, has 170 million users in the United States, and according a Pew Research survey, more than half of them said they regularly get their news from the platform. That’s up from just 22 percent in 2020. This is a serious concern because the far right uses TikTok to advance unfounded conspiracy theories and outright lies.

Rightwing content on TikTok goes mostly unchallenged. In the past year, there were twice as many pro-Trump posts as pro-Democratic ones. A recent estimate places 70 percent of TikTok’s users between the ages of 18 to 35. Once a key Democratic constituency, Kamala Harris won voters aged 18 to 44 by just 5 points (51 to 46 percent), a steep decline from Joe Biden’s 14 point margin (56 to 42 percent).

Trump surrogates boosted his youth appeal on the platform with videos of him attending Ultimate Fighting Championship matches and college football tailgates. Meanwhile, over the past year, TikTok users have encountered an onslaught of posts criticizing the Biden/Harris economy. The term “Silent Depression” went viral, as seemingly average, everyday young people complained about increased costs for housing, food, and transportation.

IFrame Content tiktok vid]

@woodsowned 💰Inflation on the rise!📈 Brace yourself, it's a rollercoaster ride!😱 #EconomyCrisis #economy #inflation

Tiktok failed to load.

Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser]

Woods Owned frequently posted video compilations of Americans shouting about inflation. Blair Allison, an avowed Trump supporter, received millions of views for her video that wondered “how people can afford to live right now.” These videos fostered a negative feedback loop, and content creator Kyla Scanlon, who birthed the term “vibecession,” warned last year that people were steadily getting angrier about the economy.

Lower income Americans, particularly young people, do spend more of their income on groceries, rent, and gas. That’s why Republicans were so laser focused on the price of eggs. Unfortunately, there’s a dearth of liberal content countering the negative vibes. Of course, explaining the post-pandemic economic recovery is complex and requires more than a punchy one-minute video can convey. Although people might idly scroll TikTok all day, consuming 60-second quick hit videos like potato chips, they will balk at reading an extensive, well-reported news article. That’s too filling a meal.

[

Trump demands Senate recess so he can install Star Wars cantina

[Liz Dye](https://substack.com/profile/6000720-liz-dye)

Nov 13

[Read full story](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-recess-appointments-demand-gop-senate)](https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-recess-appointments-demand-gop-senate)

According to a University of Oregon study, 40 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of Republicans surveyed said they’d become more conservative from their TikTok usage. Half of the Democrats surveyed said they’d grown more liberal, but a lot of far-left content on TikTok is downright alienating and can sound like MAGA’s idea of a strawman leftist. For instance, one user boasted that she “didn’t care” if liberal economic and social policies “hurt the economy,” thus conceding that those policies are in fact harmful to economic progress.

TikTok’s artificial “vibecession” dominated the discourse, while abortion-related content was actively suppressed even while pregnant women were bleeding out in parking lots. Users of the platform resorted to disguising the word “abortion” as “aborshun” or “ab0rti0n” in order to reach an audience. TikTok has a longstanding policy against promoting abortion services, which it classifies as “unsuitable businesses, products or services.” However, TikTok, YouTube, and Meta have allowed users to spread and monetize anti-abortion misinformation.

Studies have shown an interesting gender gap in where young people receive their news on social media: For most women, it’s TikTok, while most men learn about the world from YouTube, X, and Reddit, all of which have become havens of crude masculinity.

On YouTube, 56 percent of users are between the ages of 18 and 44. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a London-based nonprofit that researches extremism, conducted a four-part research project this year that determined :{YouTube’s algorithm consistently steers users to rightwing and Christian content.}: The algorithm does this even with seemingly apolitical search terms, like “male lifestyle guru,” which YouTube reflexively associates with conservative ideology. Rightwing news content was also more frequently recommended, including anti-vaxxer videos. As far back as 2019, both YouTube and Facebook’s autofill search boxes would return content that promoted anti-vaccine misinformation.

Meta’s social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and Threads suppress political content, and while this has choked off liberal creators, far-right ones still thrive. Matt Walsh and Ben Shapiro have millions of followers on Facebook and there’s significant engagement with their rage bait. They also drive the political debate, often putting Democrats on the defensive. Walsh supercharged the “groomer” smears against LGBTQ Americans, which led to anti-queer legislation in Florida and other red states. There’s a direct line from hate influencer Chaya Raichik’s Libs of TikTok social media posts to Trump’s sudden fixation with trans youth.

Why rightwing content has the edge

When Kamala Harris appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast, host Alexandra Cooper told her listeners, “I do not usually discuss politics or have politicians on the show because I want Call Her Daddy to be a place that everyone feels comfortable tuning in.” Left-leaning podcasters/social media content creators often avoid politics for fear of turning off their right-leaning fans. Joe Rogan and Dave Portnoy at Barstool Sports don’t bother with such apologies when they have rightwing guests because it doesn’t compromise their brand. They are rightwing cultural influencers.

Liberal podcaster Hasan Piker recently commented on the impact rightwing influencers have on young men of all races.

“There is a massive amount of rightwing radicalization that has been occurring, especially in younger male spaces. Everything is completely dominated by rightwing politics,” he said. “If you’re a dude under the age of 30 and you have any hobbies whatsoever, whether it’s playing video games, whether it’s working out, whether it’s listening to a history podcast or whatever, every single facet of that is completely dominated by center right to [the] Trumpian right. Everything they see is rightwing sentiment.”

Rogan and Portnoy might not present as overtly political as Walsh and Shapiro, but their edgy, hyper masculine personas are pure MAGA. Even billionaire CEO Elon Musk likes to present himself as a “disrupter,” an agent of change who boldly confronts the status quo. Anyone who’s seen the more popular indie films of the 1970s would realize how compelling this narrative is to young men.

The subtle way that Rogan and Portnoy infuse politics into their personas presents a contrast with left-leaning social media content. The liberal TikToker or YouTuber who releases videos about home makeovers might endorse Democratic politicians during election season while wearing their “just voted” sticker, but rightwing influencers prime their audience on a daily basis. Young men marinate in a stew of rightwing sentiment and end up resenting the libs.

Trump significantly improved his performance among Latino voters, outright winning Latinos in Michigan and flipping some predominately Latino districts in the northeast. This shocked Democrats considering Trump’s brutal anti-immigrant rhetoric. But Latinos are a disproportionately younger voting cohort and they use social media more regularly than white Americans. It’s reasonable to assume that most of those voters were shielded from Trump’s more grotesque positions or only encountered them through rightwing commentators defending them.

It’s true that Latinos are not a homogenous voting bloc, and a third-generation Latino in a Texas border town might have a harder line on border security than a white liberal in Portland. But it’s definitely convenient for Trump and the GOP that Latino voters ranked the economy and violent crime as their top issues, both of which right-coded social media platforms present as five-alarm fires.

Another area of concern for Democrats is that Trump doubled his share of support among young Black men. As the civil rights movement fades further into the past, Black voters’ cultural and traditional links to the Democratic Party are becoming less secure. Studies have also shown that Black Americans are now less likely to get their news from political and religious leaders than from social media platforms. (Rogan has a sizable Black audience, more so even than The Breakfast Club.)

At first glance, it seems condescending to declare that voters made the wrong choice because they didn’t know any better. However, on every major issue, voters were fundamentally misinformed and insisting otherwise won’t improve Democrats’ chances in future elections. Democratic politicians and liberals need to quickly discover some way to engage in this Orwellian information environment. Otherwise, all the self-flagellation about messaging failures and policy changes won’t amount to much.

Thanks for reading Public Notice.

11 24 putin congrat call man man b/c survive assassination

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trump fail on abortion --> i will be your protector whether they like it or not [i think ref advisors]

---

an 11 24

Generation Z was supposed to be a vanguard of progressive politics – more queer, ethnically diverse and environmentally conscious than previous generations. Spurred on by climate protests, racial equality campaigns and feminist movements, we were sold the vision that Gen Z could usher in a more progressive and equitable future.

So, how is it that Donald Trump was elected to a second term despite this cohort now having reached voting age? And how did he secure a larger share of voters under 30 than any Republican presidential candidate since 2008?

The answer may lie in Gen Z’s “Lost Boys”, as they’ve been dubbed by some in the media. Not unlike Peter Pan’s disciples, these young men are failing to mature and find purpose in today’s rapidly changing social and economic landscape. They feel overlooked and shortchanged by left-wing politics and current economic outcomes.

In Trump, they see an outlet for their grievances – a figure who promises to restore the old order and give them the recognition they believe they deserve.

Many young people see no future

Despite the narrative that Gen Z is more progressive than previous cohorts, recent voting data tell a different story when it comes to young men. While the political leanings of Gen Z women have stayed steadily left of centre, Trump’s popularity among young men surged by 15 percentage points from 2020.

To understand why so many young men are drawn to Trump’s brand of populism, it’s crucial to look at the broader social context in which they are coming of age. The “Lost Boys” in the United States are disproportionately working-class and struggling with unemployment, underemployment, addiction and mental health crises.

The statistics are alarming. With one in five men under 25 unemployed (and many not actively seeking work), they seem hesitant to adapt to a new economy that no longer offers them the opportunities it once did.

Against this backdrop, young men seek out explanations for their struggles in ways that affirm their sense of injustice. These explanations are often found in the “manosphere” – a loose confederacy of social media platforms and influencers flooded with discussions about how “woke” politics, feminism and the rise of progressive values are undermining traditional masculinity.

In these corners of the internet, young men are told their personal setbacks are not the result of a weakening worldwide economy or personal failings, but rather the consequence of a society that has become too “soft”. They hear that the push for gender equality has made traditional masculinity a thing of the past – that men are being ignored, emasculated and left behind.

The “manosphere” is a space where their grievances are validated and where they are encouraged to embrace hypermasculine ideals as a way to regain control.

Searching for validation

Enter Trump.

Flitting between manosphere influencers such as Joe Rogan and, Trump spent hours on podcasts and streams in the lead-up to November 5. The result was so effective that podcasters were specifically shouted out in the following the election. Since Trump entered politics, he has 107 podcast credits to his name, compared with Kamala Harris’ 76.

Notably, Harris’ own interview with Rogan fell through after the podcaster refused to accept her conditions, which included travelling to meet her.

In these online spaces, Trump was humorous and humanised. And for Gen Z men who consume more news through social media than traditional outlets, he was highly accessible. Suddenly, he wasn’t just a presidential candidate, but a certified “bro” willing to openly discuss cocaine on a podcast.

Trump successfully tapped into the frustrations of these “Lost Boys”. His policies – from mass deportations to curbing diversity initiatives – are framed as solutions to the challenges these men believe they face: competition for jobs and opportunities, the erosion of masculine ideals, and the loss of a once-dominant social order.

Yet as Trump waltzes to the Republican National Convention stage with James Brown’s It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World playing in the background, it becomes apparent his appeal was never just about policies; it’s about validation. His slogan of “Make America Great Again” resonates with young men who long for an idealised past in which men’s roles were more clearly defined and opportunities more plentiful.

Trump tells these men their frustrations are valid – and they deserve to take back what they believe has been unfairly taken from them.

Where to from here?

If the future belongs to Gen Z, it’s clear this particular subset of young men is not ready to follow the same path as their progressive peers. For many “Lost Boys”, Trump is more than just a political figure – he is a symbol of empowerment in a world that increasingly leaves them behind.

As the political and cultural landscape continues to evolve, understanding this phenomenon isn’t just a matter of curiosity, but a key to addressing the needs of a generation still trying to find its place in a confusing world.

Until figures on the political left learn to be present in these spaces and address the grievances of “Lost Boys”, we may continue to see them rallying around figures like Trump in their search for meaning.

Kate Scott, PhD Candidate in Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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NO LNX

alternet-logo

Trump spokesman launches unhinged attack on Harris campaign official

Former President Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida on July 26, 2024 (Gage Skidmore)

Alex HendersonNovember 04, 2024

Spokesman Steven Cheung has maintained a snarky, combative tone throughout Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. And he aimed an insult at Patrick Dillon — the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign manager Jennifer O’Malley Dillon — on Saturday, November 2.

Cheung was offended when Patrick Dillon tweeted about an article by The Atlantic's Tim Alberta, which was headlined, "Inside the Ruthless, Restless Final Days of the Trump Campaign."

On X, formerly Twitter, Cheung attacked Patrick Dillon as a "cuck husband" who "has no idea what he's talking about because he's used to not knowing what’s going on behind his back."

READ MORE:Harassing letters threatening biblical hell fire targets Democratic voters in Wisconsin

"Cuck," an insult that is commonly used by MAGA Republicans, comes from an adult film genre. In the "cuck" genre, a "cuck's" fetish is seeing his wife or girlfriend having sex with another man.

The word "cuckservative" has been used by MAGA Republicans to attack traditional conservatives and non-MAGA Republicans they consider weak.

Cheung once described Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a "cuck" for challenging Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.

In response to Cheung's attack on Patrick Dillon, former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann tweeted, "Anybody who whores himself out for psychotrump should be a little more reluctant to call somebody else a 'cuck.'"

READ MORE: 5 ways Trump is planning to thwart election results: report

===

10 24

aha:

PUTIN ACTIVE MEASURES DISINFO FOREVER TO DEGRADE FAITH IN INSTITUTIONS ESP CENTRAL ONE ELECTIONS

// TRUMP BIG LIE if dems cheAT violence is our only option

RELATES TO PSEUDO-POPULISM? THEY are all corrupt so no matter if trump and putin aRE? watters sez all pols have an enemies list eg bannon navarro...

nihilism started in alt rt machosphere? --> MsqG trump final argument?

nikki H tries to save from brotastic fail, on standby

===

Karim Zidan @ Sports Politika](https://www.sportspolitika.news/s/in-the-red-corner): In The Red Corner

A three-part audio series exploring the controversial alliance between Donald Trump and the UFC, and it's profound impact on America's socio-political landscape.

TUCKER 10 24 TPUSA BIZARRE DADDY SPANK BAD GIRL, BIG CHEERS

CALL COACH GAY

===

Right-wing media falsely suggest Donald Trump chartered a plane for Nelson Mandela out of the goodness of his heart

Trump’s airline was already up for sale due to financial troubles, and he charged Mandela $130,000 to use one of his jets

Written by Courtney Hagle

Published 10/18/24 mma

In an October 18 interview with Donald Trump, Fox host George “Tyrus” Murdoch praised the former president for chartering a plane for the late South Africa President Nelson Mandela in the 1990s, adding that it’s “hard” for Trump to “talk about the good things you’ve done.” Some others in conservative media joined in, suggesting that Trump assisted Mandela for the sake of generosity and goodwill.

In reality, as Washington Post columnist Glenn Kessler explained, the plane chartered for Mandela was not Trump’s personal private jet but a Boeing 727 from Trump Shuttle, “an airline that Trump briefly owned before it was essentially seized by the banks because he failed to make payments on his loans.” Kessler noted that Mandela was charged $130,000 to use the plane by Trump Shuttle, which was already in financial trouble and was preparing to be sold.

Speaking to Trump in an OutKick vid] titled “Manhood is under ATTACK!” Tyrus said Mandela “was trying to come to the United States. The United States government wasn’t helping him, no one was helping him. You chartered a 727 plane for the entire trip. … Why is it hard for you to talk about the things you've done?”

Trump responded humbly: “I love doing it. I don't need praise for it.”

“I just like helping people,” he added. “I help a lot of people, and I enjoy doing it, and I never talk about it. … It's not a narrative the press likes to talk about.”

IFrame Content

Some right-wing media joined in, lauding Trump’s generosity after the Trump campaign pushed the clip.

Turning Point USA co-founder and podcaster Charlie Kirk claimed that Trump helped Mandela “when the US Government wouldn’t,” adding, “He doesn’t go around bragging about his good deeds, but there are endless such stories.”

Students for Trump Chair Ryan Fournier wrote: “I had no idea Trump chartered a plane for Nelson Mandela to come to the United States when our own government wouldn't even help him. Trump is a good man.”

===

Charlie Kirk tells men not to listen to “Barack Hussein Obama”: “No real man can or should vote for Kamala Harris. She hates you.”

10/11/24

===

an 9 24

although Vice President Kamala Harris continues to describe herself as the "underdog" in the 2024 presidential race, many national and battleground state polls are showing her with small single-digit leads over GOP nominee Donald Trump.

Harris' leads aren't as large as former Bill Clinton adviser James Carville would like. The veteran Democratic strategist has said that because polls tend to underestimate Trump, he would much rather see her Harris by 8 percent, 9 percent or more.

However, Carville has also said that key swing states in both the Rust Belt and the Sun Belt are very much in play for the vice president.

READ MORE:'[The cult will break': Ex-federal prosecutor says this legal strategy will be Trump's downfall

In an opinion column published by The Guardian on September 4, Sidney Blumenthal — a former senior adviser to both Bill and Hillary Clinton — lays out some reasons why the possibility of Harris winning in November is a "most terrifying prospect" to Trump.

"Harris is an exponentially greater threat to Trump than E Jean Carroll," Blumental argues. "The Carroll defamation judgment didn’t strip him of his manhood, but could be interpreted as an affirmation: the adjudicated rapist as alpha dog. Losing to Harris would be the extinction of his virility. She compounds his existential crisis. If he loses, he will not be able to use presidential powers to be a criminal on the loose. The federal cases against him will proceed, even if the U.S. Supreme Court has eviscerated the Constitution in granting him 'absolute' official immunity for attempting to overthrow the government."

Blumenthal adds, "A defeated Trump will face years of trials, undoubtedly receive guilty verdicts and likely jail time. He will be a depleted convict. His fear of his fate accelerates his impulses to lie, smear and violate all norms to an uncontrollably frantic level."

The former Clintons adviser believes that Trump feels even more threatened by Harris than he did by 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton eight years ago.

"Time and again," Blumental explains, "Trump repeats that Harris is 'not smart' and 'not very smart,' which only reveals his insecurity about facing her in a debate he has variously refused and accepted. His campaign's insistence that his microphone be shut off only underscores his advisers' dread of his unmonitored mouth."

Blumental continues, "After her CNN interview, he accused her both of being 'boring'; that is, he couldn't figure out a point of criticism — and of 'rambling incoherence,' his obvious projection."

*Sidney Blumenthal's full column for the Guardian is available at this link.

===

August 29, 2024 rww

Ivan Raiklin, who has proclaimed himself to be Trump’s “secretary of retribution,” is threatening to have Mark Zuckerberg executed for genocide.

Mark Meckler and Rick Green claim that the Democrats don’t appeal to “real men,” such as themselves, but only to weak, effeminate “men who want to be like women.”

Elijah Schaffer says that “I supported Trump [in 2016] because I was racist.” He claimed that he was just kidding, but he wasn’t, later admitting that he’s “a motherfucking racist asshole.”

Speaking of which, Lilly Gaddis, who got fired for dropping the N-word, now has a show on Gavin McInnes’ platform.

Finally, not to be outdone, Nick Fuentes brags that “I really am like Hans Landa,” the infamous Nazi “Jew Hunter” from Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.”

===

an 8 24 badash bit neglected

As Donald Trump’s Arlington National Cemetery scandal grows deeper and deeper, his campaign co-manager and senior advisor, Chris LaCivita, is lashing out at the Secretary of the Army, Christine Wormuth, after the Dept. of the Army issued a “rare” yet “stark rebuke,” as CNN reported, of the campaign’s efforts to politicize the cemetery where 400,000 service members, many of whom gave their lives for their country, are buried.

Secretary Wormuth is the first woman to become Secretary of the Army. The Trump campaign and Donald Trump himself have been attacking women recently. The cemetery official who filed a report allegedly stating they had been verbally and physically accosted is a woman. Trump himself made a sexual and sexist attack on Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic political opponent, just this morning. The Guardian described it as a “lewd” and “crudely misogynistic comment,” originally posted by another Truth Social user. On Wednesday, WIRED published a story titled, “The Trump Campaign’s Rhetoric About Women Sounds a Lot Like Andrew Tate’s.”

“As the Trump campaign overtly appeals to the manosphere, a WIRED investigation shows that the view of women espoused by alleged rapist and trafficker Andrew Tate matches perfectly with that of Trump and his allies,” the news site reported.

Chris LaCivita is a Republican strategist perhaps best-known as the architect of the manufactured and debunked “Swiftboat” smear campaign against Democratic 2004 presidential nominee John Kerry and his military record.

On Monday, Trump and several of his top campaign aides attended a wreath-laying ceremony held by two Gold Star families whose loved ones were among the 13 service members who died three years earlier in the suicide bombing attack on Abbey Gate at the Kabul airport on Afghanistan. The Dept. of the Army, which oversees Arlington National Cemetery, had warned Trump he could attend but only as a private individual, and no campaign staffers would be allowed. It also informed him of other restrictions, in keeping with both ANC policy and federal law. It is a violation of federal law to use Arlington National Cemetery for political purposes or events.

But Trump ignored those rules and regulations, according to the Army, which defended a cemetery official who reportedly alleges Trump campaign staffers pushed her out of their way, in a physical and verbal assault as she tried to enforce the cemetery’s rules.

The Trump campaign also shot photographs and video, and released video on several social media platforms, in apparent violation of federal law.

“Arlington National Cemetery routinely hosts public wreath laying ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for individuals and groups who submit requests in advance. ANC conducts nearly 3,000 such public ceremonies a year without incident,” the Army’s statement reads, according to Talking Points Memo.

“Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside. Consistent with the decorum expected at ANC, this employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption. The incident was reported to the JBM-HH police department, but the employee subsequently decided not to press charges. Therefore, the Army considers this matter closed.”

“This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked. ANC is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve.”

The Trump campaign on Tuesday edited its captured video from the Arlington events into a TikTok video (here), complete with music and Trump’s commentary as the narration.

On Monday, LaCivita had posted this short clip:

===

---

an ah 8 25

adin Ross, a 23-year-old gamer, has become a prominent figure in the manosphere movement — a variety of anti-feminist ideologies that have clashed on many occasions.

Ross is far-right in his views, making no secret of his admiration for Andrew Tate and former President Donald Trump. And he interviewed the 2024 GOP presidential nominee during a livestream on the Kick platform on Monday, August 5.

There is a lot of infighting within the manosphere, which ranges from competing red pill groups — PUAs (pickup artists) and MGTOW (Men Going Their Own Way) — to black pill/incel extremists. Incels are so extreme that even other misogynists find them disturbing. And Ross, with his admiration for Tate, is not an incel but rather, favors the PUA/red pill area of the manosphere.

In an article published by the conservative website The Bulwark Tuesday, journalist Ilyse Hogue notes that Ross' online event with Trump attracted roughly 600,000 viewers. And the lesson for Democrats, Hogue stresses, is that Trump is really ramping up his outreach to "disaffected young men."

"Ross, who boasts 1.3 million followers, is part of a cohort of young hyper-online men who promote an unapologetically MAGA aesthetic and culture," Hogue explains. "He is a sycophant of the legendary king of the manosphere, Andrew Tate, known equally for his overt misogyny and the charges he faces for rape and human trafficking. Ross himself was banned from the more mainstream gaming platform Twitch for multiple hate speech and racial slur offenses."

Hogue continues, "That was never going to be a hurdle for Donald Trump. But the fact that the former president came on Ross' show still underscores how the GOP is operating in an unconventional but potentially advantageous manner — one that stands in stark contrast to the Democrats, who continue to plod along using a playbook that counts 'youth' as an unshakable monolith."

Hogue describes Trump's appearance on Ross' show as "part of a concerted effort by Republicans to turn up the noise and turn out the vote for Trump among disaffected young men.

"In a post-MeToo era of progressive politics where young men often felt excluded, silenced, and shunned," Hogue explains, "this emerging culture hits all the marks of making men great again…. This coordinated effort is geared to do one thing: rewire social permissions so young men can feel good about voting for a convicted felon and a man found liable for sexual abuse. And so far, it seems to be working."

Hogue adds, "Trump is winning this demographic, according to most polls. This rightward drift of young men is part of a global trend that has powered elections in recent years from Argentina to France."

*Ilyse Hogue's full article for The Bulwark is available at this link.

---

mma 8 24 sorta random grab?

### Right-wing media falsely claim that Kamala Harris wants to **ban red meat

08/06/24

### On MSNBC's Deadline White House, Angelo Carusone discusses MAGA plans to undermine the 2024 election

08/05/24

Fox News' Greg Gutfeld calls Kamala Harris “conniving**” and says she hasn’t “earned” a debate with Donald Trump

08/05/24 6:38 PM EDT

### Trump and his MAGA media boosters try to blame VP Kamala Harris for a drop in the stock market

08/05/24 4:34 PM EDT

### Project 2025 contributor: Kamala Harris “resembles in attitude the slave owners of the old South” for supporting access to abortion

08/05/24

### **Charlie Kirk: “Kamala Harris wants to see the elimination of the United States of America”

08/05/24 12:51 PM EDT

### Donald Trump is set to be interviewed by streamer Adin Ross, who has hosted white nationalists and neo-Nazis

08/05/24 10:09 AM EDT

### **Daily Wire host: Kamala Harris “has the womanish traits of being a cackling, irrational, and venomous serpent”

08/05/24

### **:{Daily Wire host: Kamala Harris “has the womanish traits of being a cackling, irrational, and venomous serpent”}:

08/05/24

August 2, 2024, edition of The Daily Wire's *The Andrew Klavan Show

ANDREW KLAVAN (HOST): Now, last week I talked about the fact that this is a very male/female race. And we're not supposed to talk about that because, obviously, the male and females are exactly the same. In fact, you can change them out. We swap them out. They're so much the same. But here we're not gonna lie, so we're gonna say this is a male-female race.

Trump is a studly guy to the point where he exemplifies both the good and the bad of manhood. He can get a little bit over the top sometimes, and sometimes he just has that incredible courage that he displayed when he was shot at — and when he was shot, actually, I should say — and also when he went before the Black journalists, which was not quite as bad, but also dangerous.

And Kamala has the womanish traits of being a cackling, irrational, and venomous serpent without the womanly traits of, grace, generosity, and tenderness. We miss those in her. But those womanish traits are now in control of our politics. // jdv cat lady

----

### On MSNBC, Angelo Carusone discusses Project 2025: “Project 2025 is alive. It's just this one part of it. They're saying, you know, job done.”

08/03/24 11:45 PM EDT

### Jesse Watters on Kamala Harris: “She likes wine. She likes food. She likes to dance. ... She's just not at the level of what you would think would be a president.”

08/02/24

### Manosphere influencers and Rumble streamers respond to Kamala Harris’ presidential candidacy by claiming it's a coup and the 2024 election will be rigged

08/02/24

manosphere influencers and Rumble streamers are laying the groundwork to challenge the legitimacy of the 2024 election by pushing election misinformation around Vice President Kamala Harris.

On their podcasts and social media feeds, these streamers and influencers from the so-called “manosphere” have joined right-wing media in attacking the likely Democratic presidential nominee with sexist smears and racist remarks. These influencers have also promoted conspiratorial beliefs, calling her candidacy a “coup” and claiming that the upcoming election will be “rigged” in her favor.

## Manosphere influencers and Rumble streamers have turned rage-based gender politics into attacks on Harris and support for Trump

- The manosphere is an online community of right-wing websites, bloggers, and influencers that is cultivating a worldview based on conservative and outdated gender politics repackaged for the internet age. Far-right rhetoric espoused by members of the manosphere does not just live in an online vacuum, and can lead to real-world violence, threats, and harassment. Media Matters, [3/16/23]

- Manosphere personalities in the past have voiced support for former President Donald Trump. Some are now attacking his main political rival with racist and misogynistic smears.Manosphere influencers have suggested that Harris is not fit for the presidency due to her race, gender, or ethnicity. Media Matters, [4/24/24; Twitter/X, 7/22/24, 7/22/24, 7/21/24, 7/21/24]

## Manosphere influencers and Rumble streamers have pushed conspiracy theories about the 2024 election, claiming it will be “rigged” and that Harris' candidacy was a “coup”

- Self-proclaimed misogynist influencer Andrew Tate claimed that if Harris is the Democratic nominee, the Democrats will “cheat.”He ranted that there are three options: “It's not Kamala and they want to have a fair election,” or “two, they'll run Kamala and cheat. Or three, they won't run Kamala and cheat — and they’ll simply do both.” Rumble, *Tate Speech by Andrew Tate*, [7/21/24; BBC, 7/23/24]

- Tate then read a tweet calling for “all eyes on the ballot boxes,” insisting that Harris could not win because “nobody likes Kamala.” His brother and co-host Tristan Tate invoked Stalin saying, “It’s not the vote that counts, it’s who counts the votes.” Rumble, *Tate Speech by Andrew Tate*, [7/21/24]

- On Fresh and Fit, Gateway Pundit writer Elijah Schaffer claimed that the Democrats wouldn’t run Harris if the election wasn’t rigged, adding, “So if she’s running then the election is rigged completely and she will win.”Schaffer claimed “the only way” Democrats will run Harris against Trump is “if they have a clear shot of rigging the election,” adding, “Unless they can guarantee that the election is fake, they won’t run her.” Rumble, *Fresh and Fit*, [7/23/24]

- Manosphere influencer John Doyle posted that Democrats “couped” Biden.Doyle wrote: “Imagine being Hunter Biden and you’re having a normal Sunday morning smoking crack and pointing loaded guns at hookers and then an aid rushes in to tell you that they couped your Dad and then you freak out and accidentally pull the trigger like when Sandman shot Uncle Ben.” Twitter/X, [7/21/24; Political Research Associates, 7/20/21]

- Comedian turned Rumble streamer Russell Brand claimed that Democrats “orchestrated” a “coup” against Biden.Brand stated: “There is now significant evidence to suggest that the higher-ups in the Democratic Party have orchestrated a somewhat undemocratic — ironically — coup to ensure that their person was put in position.” Rumble Studios, *Stay Free*, [7/29/24]

- Men’s rights influencer Jordan Peterson wrote that Harris’ “candidacy for president” is “illegitimate.” Twitter/X, [7/29/24; The New York Times, 5/18/18]

- Sneako, a former YouTuber with ties to white nationalists, claimed that Democrats are engaging in a “master plan” to “destroy democracy.” Sneako argued that Biden dropping out and endorsing Harris was evidence there are people “behind everything, pulling the strings, writing a script for how the world was going to run.” He added, “It's more and more proof that there's a master plan.” Rumble, [7/21/24; Media Matters, 3/16/23]

===

Charlie Kirk guest: Women got “the right to vote — after that, it all went downhill”

08/02/24

===

---

RNC 7 24 projection olympics req Earth2

note they are irrrational thus compromise impossible, their fault // self-defense

we are normally the good compassionate forgiving xians

note trump is the calm man even when being shot at

agw religion // alarmist hysterical fem

TUCKER REDEMPTION PENSION?

7 24 rww

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson closed out the all-day Heritage Foundation policy fest on the first day of the Republican National Convention. He warned the crowd that they are in a “spiritual battle” against “anti-human” forces that want to “eliminate” Christians.

In a strange choice for talking to political activists, Carlson began by describing politics as a “repulsive” process and politicians in general as ruthless and power-hungry and miserable people. But he said he is “thrilled” by Trump picking Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate, because “every bad person I’ve ever met in a lifetime in Washington was aligned against J.D. Vance.” Carlson said that was because “they thought he would be harder to manipulate and slightly less enthusiastic about killing people…that he would be an impediment to their exercising power.”

Carlson veered into spiritual warfare rhetoric, saying that since he spoke at the Heritage Foundation’s 50^th anniversary celebration 15 months ago, he has experienced “a total change in the way that I see the world,” explaining, “this is not ultimately political. This is much deeper…There is a spiritual battle underway.”

From Carlson’s remarks:

And I think what happened on Saturday, the assassination attempt against President Trump, reminded a lot of people this, or awakened a lot of people to this. There is a spiritual battle underway. There is no logical way to understand what we’re seeing now in temporal terms. You just can’t.

These are not political divides. There are forces, and they’re very obvious now. They’ve decided, for whatever reason, to take off the mask, whose only goal is chaos, violence, destruction. And there are the rest of us who, once again, are not always certain we’re right, but we know that that’s bad and we’re against that, sort of standing, watching, thinking, ‘Is someone going to explain to me why this is politics?’

This is not politics at all. This is much deeper and older and more recognizable than that. This has been going on since the beginning of time. And I do think, by the way, that the more literal among us, and I would count myself in that category, fail to see this because we’re so desperate to ascribe some kind of recognizable human motive to what we’re seeing.

So we call it leftism or neoliberalism or communism or anarchism. We come up with some phrase to describe it, but those phrases are inadequate. They do not describe what’s actually happening. So what you’re seeing now is really not at all different in substance from what you saw in 1789 in France, from what you saw in 1936 in Spain, from what you saw in 1917 in Russia, from what you saw in 1975 in Phnom Penh. It’s all the same. These are forces of chaos and destruction which are fundamentally anti-human, which are against people.

Carlson railed against a number of movements he described as “anti-people,” including what he called “the climate cult.” He told the activists to pay close attention to what makes “them” angriest.

What group do they dislike most? What group are they absolutely terrified of and hoping to eliminate? Well, it’s Christians. That’s who it is. It’s Christians. … The group that makes them angriest, triggers them most, I guess we would say now, is Christians. Christian nationalism. People pray outside abortion clinics. People celebrate Easter, not trans visibility day. These are their real enemies.

Carlson talked about religious persecution during the Cultural Revolution in China and the French Revolution. He said at the start of the Spanish Civil War, the “anti-Christian” side opened fire on a statue of Jesus. “If you find yourself firing bullets at a statue, what you’re really doing is revealing your deepest priority, and that’s to kill Christians,” he said.

“I don’t know if any Christians here or people who are interested in continuing to live in the country you grew up in, but these are the terms and these are the stakes,” Carlson said. “They are not the ones that we’ve been told they are–left versus right, Republican versus Democrat.”

Carlson also talked about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, saying that Trump’s show of strength—fist raised in defiance—had won him the election, because people want and need strong leaders.

After delivering his remarks, Carlson engaged in some Q&A with Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts. In response to a question about what kind of conversations people could have to bring their friends and neighbors into the MAGA movement, Carlson said they should pray for people who are willing to accept the status quo. He then veered into a diatribe against “weak men,” saying that fathers should be willing to beat up school counselors who “indoctrinate kids and try and turn them into freaks, circus freaks.” Roberts agreed, saying that “what we’re all yearning for is just a return to normal. And it is normal for a strong man, for a man period, to respond the way you describe to the school counselor.”

Asked about what kind of message the Trump team should be delivering, Carlson said the campaign was trying out a “unity message,” to which he responded:

And a lot of people hear “unity” and they think, well, unity implies some sort of compromise conversation. You can’t have a conversation with people who are unwilling to compromise. The left, which is a religious movement, is unwilling to compromise on any level at all. They won’t even admit men can’t become women. So you how can you have unity with people like that? And of course, you can’t.

Carlson recommended that Trump’s team ignore his critics and simply show through his actions that he is calm and in command. He urged activists to take Trump’s bravery as a model for their own political engagement.

Tags: Kevin Roberts Tucker Carlson Christian Persecution Election 2024 Republican National Convention Spiritual Warfare Heritage Foundation Republican Party

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July 16, 2024, edition of The Charlie Kirk Show, streamed on Rumble

CHARLIE KIRK (HOST): I mean, you see a guy who gets shot and he then fights his own agents and says fight, fight, fight. Let me be very clear - if you are a man in this country and you don't vote for Donald Trump, you're not a man. I mean, like, who are you? You're like, you're not gonna vote for that? I mean --

VIVEK RAMASWAMY (GUEST): You know what? I actually -- after that incident, I see a lot of women manning up to vote for Donald Trump.

KIRK: Oh, yes --

RAMASWAMY: I mean.

KIRK So whoever you are, if you're still voting for Joe Biden after that, there's something deeply disturbing and wrong with you. I mean, seriously. mma

rww 7 24

Joel Webbon asserts that he an obligation to protect his family from the “invasion of military-aged men who hate our country and hate families like mine; white, traditional conservative families.”

figures have found a home for their bigotry and conspiracy theories in right-wing media}:

WRITTEN BY NOAH DOWE

PUBLISHED 06/13/24

Right-wing media have amplified conspiracy theories and bigotry from Ultimate Fighting Championship figures including UFC President Dana White and a number of high-profile fighters.

In doing so, these media platforms have mirrored former President Donald Trump's efforts to use the prizefighting league to boost his 2024 campaign. They’ve also provided a megaphone for White and his current and former fighters — some of whom have expressed support for QAnon and claimed the U.S. government orchestrates mass shootings — to espouse racism, anti-LGBTQ bigotry, false claims of election fraud, and a claim that Pfizer-sponsored athletes are “taking handouts from the devil.”

Select a UFC figure

## UFC fighters have delved into right-wing politics and fringe conspiracy theories like QAnon, finding allies in conservative media

- An MMA journalist noted that a number of UFC fighters have repeatedly used their public platforms to court conservative fans and endorse extreme right-wing conspiracy theories, including QAnon. MMA journalist Karim Zidan has reported that dozens of MMA figures have embraced fringe beliefs like QAnon, COVID-19 conspiracy theories, mass shooting denialism, and even 9/11 trutherism. He has written: “MMA's embrace of outsider sports fans and right-wing politicians has helped create a wave of athletes activating around extremist causes and conspiracies.” Bloody Elbow, [9/15/20; Global Sport Matters, 10/20/22]

- Former President Donald Trump employed endorsements from UFC fighters in the 2020 election and now sees the organization as a major component of his 2024 campaign, as his team hopes to target “young male audiences with little interest in politics.”During the 2020 election cycle, a number of fighters endorsed Trump and joined campaign events like the Trump Jr.-led “Fighters Against Socialism” bus tour; the former president’s 2024 campaign is now doubling down on this strategy, which Trump aides say “puts him in front of potential voters who may not closely follow politics or engage with traditional news sources.” Politico, [10/29/20; The Guardian, 8/5/23; The Associated Press, 12/15/23]

- Right-wing media have previously defended bigoted commentary from UFC fighters, even backing middleweight Sean Strickland after he described being transgender as “a mental fucking illness” and suggested he would have “failed as a man” if he reared a gay son. A number of right-wing figures, including podcaster Steve Bannon and white nationalist Nick Fuentes, also championed UFC star Conor McGregor after his anti-immigrant commentary came under investigation by Irish authorities last year; Fuentes notably told McGregor to “rise up” because “it’s either going to be the Irish or it’s going to be the blacks. Only one side is going to come out of this alive.” Media Matters, [11/30/23, 1/31/24; Sports Politika, 11/30/23]

- Outside of direct interviews with these fighters and figures, some right-wing media have attempted to harness what Bannon’s War Room called “one of the last patriotic sports left” for political gain. Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, for example, has advocated for the Republican Party to embrace “the alpha male culture of Joe Rogan, Dana White, and the UFC” in order to “win over millions of other voters,” even suggesting he would contact White in an effort to “get voter registration and ballot chasing at every one of these UFC fights.” Bloody Elbow, [4/14/21; Real America’s Voice, The Charlie Kirk Show, 7/10/23, 6/3/24]

Here are some examples of how right-wing media have platformed UFC figures, elevating their bigotry and conspiracy theories:

## Dana White

- UFC President Dana White is a Trump ally and donor who has repeatedly used the organization to benefit the former president’s political ambitions. Besides directly endorsing Trump at the 2020 Republican National Convention, Karim Zidan reported in September 2020 that “White, along with a select group of UFC fighter[s],” had “spent the last few months advocating for the incumbent president in an attempt to ensure his re-election. From campaign rallies and bus tours, to TV appearances and ad spots, the UFC went to great lengths to campaign for Trump.” The Guardian, [8/23/20; Bloody Elbow, 11/11/20; The New York Times, 5/12/20]
- In coordination with Rumble, the right-wing streaming site which exclusively hosts White’s “Power Slap” show, the UFC has connected right-wing content creators with Trump at its events. These include Andrew Tate acolytes Sneako and Adin Ross, as well as Rumble creators JiDion and DJ Akademiks. Media Matters, [4/11/23, 4/12/23, 4/20/23]
- Some right-wing media figures praised White for “keeping the UFC apolitical” after he refused to punish fighters for public displays of bigotry. Former Daily Wire host Candace Owens called White’s defense of fighter Colby Covington, who had called his Black opponent advocating for the Black Lives Matter movement “a communist, a Marxist, [someone] standing up for lifelong criminals,” a “breath of fresh air.” White also declined to reprimand Sean Strickland after his anti-LGBTQ rant, arguing the fighter was “baited,” leading OutKick founder Clay Travis to say that he wished “every CEO in America adopted the position Dana White took there.” The Daily Wire, *Candace*, [4/25/21; ESPN, 9/24/20; Media Matters, 1/31/24]
- On an episode of Gutfeld!, White used a six-year-old story about the U.S. women’s national soccer team losing a friendly scrimmage to a boys soccer team as evidence that “biological males need to be as far away from women’s sports as possible.” Sports Illustrated, [11/10/23; Fox News, Gutfeld!, 11/10/23]
## Colby Covington
- UFC fighter and Trump ally Colby Covington has used racist rhetoric on multiple occasions. Covington, an outspoken supporter of Trump who “routinely wears a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat,” attributed his rise in the organization to a 2017 post-fight speech in which he referred to the Brazilian crowd as “filthy animals” and described the country as “a dump.” Besides his racist “smoke signals” comment aimed at a Nigerian opponent, Covington also called Black Lives Matter protesters “complete terrorists” and “criminals,” and that same night, “received a congratulatory call” from Trump on his victory. Politico, [11/2/20; MMAJunkie, 12/9/19; The Washington Post, 9/24/20]
- Covington claimed Democrats “made a fake pandemic so they could commit fraud” during the 2020 election. Speaking on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime, Covington also alleged that Democrats “opened up our borders, wide open, so illegal immigrants can come in and they can use those to vote for Biden.” Fox News, *Jesse Watters Primetime*, [12/20/23]
- Covington told former Fox host Tucker Carlson that NFL player Travis Kelce was “paid and bought for by Satan himself” and “sold his soul to the devil” to sponsor Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Covington made similar comments on Newsmax, accusing Pfizer-sponsored athletes of “taking handouts from the devil. Literally, like the devil.” Twitter/X, *Tucker on X*, [12/27/23; Newsmax, Eric Bolling: The Balance, 12/26/23]
- On The Ingraham Angle, Covington attacked USA Boxing for its trans-inclusive policies, saying that “biological men shouldn’t be allowed to compete in women’s sports” because “when they dig up their bones in 200 years, their bones won't leave pronouns.” Covington has also appeared on Ingraham’s show for an interview on a potential fight between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, the latter of whom he said brings “beta soy-boy energy.” Fox News, *The Ingraham Angle*, [1/3/24, 6/22/23]
- In an interview with Trump ally and right-wing radio host Roger Stone, Covington called Trump’s hush money trial “election interference” and spread a baseless conspiracy theory that “42 out of 50 states are allowing illegal aliens to vote in our election.” Covington said: “We need to get Trump back in office. I know the deck’s stacked against us, you know, all these different, you know, indictments, you know, to slow his campaign, all these illegals flowing through our border that, you know, Trump kept so secure before. … We all know now they’re passing that vote that 42 out of the 50 states are allowing, you know, illegal aliens to vote in our election.” Rumble, *The Stone Zone*, [4/16/24; Media Matters, 3/4/24]
## Tito Ortiz
- Retired UFC champion Tito Ortiz pushed violence in a video seemingly discussing QAnon, calling to “hang all these motherfuckers” and “line them all up just and execute all of them.” In a recording of an apparent livestream in which he seemed to be discussing QAnon, Ortiz said, “Let’s hang all these motherfuckers. That’s what I’m talking about. I think we should line them up and just execute all of them. That or we should torture them.” Ortiz continued, “2021, all this shit’s gonna be exposed. So … all those scumbags, they’re all gonna hang. I can’t wait.” YouTube, [7/27/23]
- Ortiz was elected to the city council in Huntington Beach, California — and even served as mayor pro tempore — as an avowed supporter of the QAnon and great reset conspiracy theories. Ortiz publicly promoted QAnon and adjacent conspiracy theories as a candidate for office, including warning of “a ‘globalist’ conspiracy to diminish American freedoms” and calling COVID-19 a form of “population control,” and even “used his platform to sell apparel marked with QAnon slogans such as WWG1WGA (Where we go one we go all).” Sports Illustrated, [3/4/22; The Guardian, 12/17/20; Right Wing Watch, 10/26/20]
- In an appearance on Fox Business, Ortiz repeated a common anti-migrant claim that there is an “invasion coming over” the southern border. Ortiz warned that “it’s no longer just the immigrants coming over. We have a full-blown invasion coming over,” arguing that migrants are largely “in a military-age group,” calling them “fighting men that are coming across the border, and we don’t know who they are.” Fox Business, *Mornings with Maria Bartiromo*, [3/27/24]
- On Newsmax, Ortiz advertised Freedom Fight Night, a conservative-themed MMA event which served as a fundraiser for Republican Kari Lake’s failed 2022 gubernatorial campaign. According to Freedom Fight Night’s website, the event was intended to counter “America’s freedom’s being challenged and slipping away.” Newsmax, *National Report*, [9/23/22; Freedom Fight Night, accessed 5/20/24]
- Ortiz later returned to Newsmax to endorse a measure banning flying the LGBTQ pride flag on Huntington Beach city property, claiming the “normalcy” of pride was “weakening the country.” Ortiz stated: “They’re indoctrinating my kids in the school and putting stuff like this of the LGBTQ, the rainbow flag, in the schools and making it OK, making a normalcy for that. And when you do that, you’re weakening a country.” Newsmax, *National Report*, [3/7/24]
## Bryce Mitchell
- UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell is a flat-earther who has claimed that the U.S. government stages mass shootings as a ploy to seize guns. Mitchell, who argues that “the Earth is flat” and “gravity ain’t real,” once alleged that the government “set up mass shootings and then blame the AR-15s,” adding, “I would die before I hand these guns over to my government.” Bloody Elbow, [10/19/22; Instagram, 2/20/24; Media Matters, 2/21/22]
- Mitchell claimed COVID-19 “was made by the government” in a plot to “try and take our guns,” alleging “they infected the people on purpose to cause some type of chaos.” MMAJunkie, [3/25/20]
- Mitchell has said that “we’re going to have to home-school all our kids or they’re all going to end up turning gay.” In a video posted to Instagram, Mitchell encouraged his followers not to vaccinate their children “because I think it’s bad for their health. It could potentially kill them, give them some type of — make them autistic.” He said he would home-school his son because “I don’t want him to be a communist. I don’t want him to worship Satan. I don’t want him to be gay.” NBC News, [5/23/24]
- In 2022, former Fox host Tucker Carlson interviewed Mitchell and praised him for his “honest” political commentary about Ukraine, failing to mention that he has spread a conspiracy theory about mass shootings. The Washington Post, [3/9/22; Fox News, Tucker Carlson Tonight, 3/8/22]
- Right-wing commentator Glenn Greenwald also praised Mitchell, commenting that it's often “amazing what you hear when you listen to people who don't pay constant attention to politics for a living and therefore don't have their basic values corrupted and perceptions warped by constant propaganda.” Twitter/X, [3/5/22]
- The Daily Caller’s Andrew Powell praised Mitchell for going “on an epic tirade about how evolution is ‘bullsh*t,’ because it is.” Mitchell had called the theory of evolution by natural selection “a lie of Satan,” leading Powell to say that “Bryce Mitchell gets it, man. … Evolution is dumb.” The Daily Caller, [9/22/23, 12/16/23]
## Tim Kennedy
- Retired UFC fighter Tim Kennedy, who frequently appears on Fox News, was an “associate” of imprisoned Proud Boys organizer Joe Biggs. According to Reuters, “Kennedy’s Twitter account shows that he has been an associate of Joe Biggs, a leading organizer of the right-wing Proud Boys group who is being prosecuted for his role in the U.S. Capitol riots. … In Twitter posts, Kennedy discussed going on motorcycle rides with Biggs; named Biggs as his Interior Secretary in an imaginary presidential cabinet; and posted screenshots of their text-message conversation about an anticipated rally by antifa, the loosely organized left-wing anti-fascism movement.” Fox News, accessed [6/10/24; Reuters, 5/6/22]
- Kennedy partnered with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to sell supplements and espoused extreme Islamophobia on Jones' Infowars show, saying that Muslims “will kill you, they will kill your kids, they’ll behead you … because you are against what they stand for. That’s Islam.” Kennedy made this claim while discussing the 2015 San Bernardino shooting on The Alex Jones Show. Jones said the “weirdo leftists want to control all culture and they’re allied with it. This is mental illness. I mean, this is crazy town. Kennedy replied: “It’s lethal. … They’re actually seemingly enabling these people to kill us. It’s past crazy. It’s intentional” Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [6/15/16, 6/15/16]
- In another Infowars appearance, Kennedy said of Islam, “we can’t call it a religion anymore,” claiming Muslims want to “change, at a fundamental level, a way of life and destroy any form of liberty.” Kennedy continued: “The idea of tolerance, that we can just be more accepting … that is completely moronic and idiotic.” Infowars, *The Alex Jones Show*, [3/23/16]
- On a 2022 episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Kennedy “appeared to link police inaction during the Uvalde shootings with the ‘defund the police’ campaign, calling it a ‘byproduct of what society’s forced the police to become.’” Kennedy told Rogan that “we’ve been emasculating the law enforcement for a while” and speculated that “Uvalde is a great example of not being properly trained, with broken systems, that are not ready to do the right thing.” The Independent, [6/21/22]
- Kennedy repeated this sentiment on Fox & Friends, claiming that “we have been emasculating our police officers” and describing anti-chokehold laws as “taking away all the protection” that police have. Fox News, *Fox & Friends*, [7/28/22]
- On another episode of Fox & Friends, Kennedy advertised a mentorship program he founded as an alternative to modern public education, suggesting that children in schools are “brainwashed” like the Hitler Youth were. Fox News, *Fox & Friends*, [3/26/23]
## Jorge Masvidal
- Retired UFC fighter and Trump ally Jorge Masvidal reportedly has a history of pushing conspiracy theories, including about QAnon. According to Global Sport Matters, Masvidal “posted a screenshot of a fake Kurt Cobain quote claiming to predict Trump’s ascendancy and captioning it with the hashtag #qanon. While he later claimed not to be affiliated with the conspiracy movement, he continued to share other unfounded (and QAnon-supported) conspiracy theories about the coronavirus and the 2020 presidential election.” Global Sports Matters, [10/20/22]
- After Trump was indicted in his Manhattan criminal hush money trial, Masvidal released a statement calling the case “a play right out of the Communist playbook.”The former welterweight fighter also proclaimed that “we can’t let the left take over.” Twitter/X, [3/30/23]
- On Jesse Watters Primetime, Masvidal attacked then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) warning to Olympic athletes visiting China: “They said this leads to what Cuba is now, what Venezuela is now, it leads to communism, you know, and we have to stop it as soon as we get a chance.” After Pelosi told athletes not to “risk incurring the anger of the Chinese government because they are ruthless,” Masvidal suggested the United States should not send athletes at all and said that the decision “leads to communism.” Masvidal also described America as a “twilight zone” because of “pandemic mandates,” saying, “You can be out on the street, but you have to be robbing and stealing.” Fox News, *Jesse Watters Primetime*, [2/4/22]
- Outside of interviews, Masvidal’s involvement in culture wars and politics has repeatedly been covered by right-wing media. Masvidal has drawn right-wing media attention over the years as he attacked the “woke mob,” called former NFL player Colin Kaepernick a “coward,” and — with Trump as witness — led a crowd in a “Let’s Go Brandon” chant after losing his final UFC fight. Fox News, [7/11/20; The Daily Caller, 7/18/21; New York Post, 4/9/23; OutKick, 4/9/23]
## Frank Mir
- Retired UFC champion Frank Mir has been outspoken in opposition to trans women participating in women’s sports. In an op-ed for USA Today, Mir and co-author Terry Schilling of the American Principles Project claimed the 2021 Equality Act, which seeks to prohibit “discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in areas including public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and the jury system,” would leave “the entirety of women’s athletics … deeply imperiled.” USA Today, [2/25/21; Congress.gov, accessed 6/6/24]
- Mir appeared on Newsmax to suggest that those who “dare speak out against transgender or any of the groups” are attacked by “cancel culture.”Mir also praised Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) for having “taken a leadership role in this.” Newsmax, *American Agenda*, [6/3/21]
- On Lara Trump’s The Right View, Mir lamented that we are “allowing transgender athletes, former males, to compete about — with women.”Mir continued, “There is no way that you guys can think that you want to be that open-minded that a person who’s not a woman gets to now compete against women.” Right Side Broadcasting Network, *The Right View*, [1/20/22]
- In an interview with former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker broadcast live from the Conservative Political Action Conference, Mir claimed trans athletes are part of an “agenda” pushed by the left. Mir said, “I don’t think I should have to worry about my daughter wrestling against a male that now feels like they’re a female,” warning that this alleged “agenda by the left … is extremely dangerous and it corrupts and breaks down all kinds of areas that I think that leads to a very negative outcome.” Rumble, *Liberty & Justice with Matt Whitaker*, [3/4/22]
- Mir was involved with Freedom Fight Night alongside Ortiz and advertised it on Fox & Friends, saying conservatives need to “win this culture war” among American youth. Mir warned that “the left has done a good job of owning Hollywood, entertainment, all the big sports, higher learning. And so our youth, that’s who is capturing their minds and imagination.” Fox News, *Fox & Friends*, [3/18/22]

===

bully = macho dictator power over

an 6 24

elon Musk and convicted felon Donald Trump have been in contact several times a month since their private meeting in March at the home of billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, according to The Wall Street Journal.They’re discussing an advisory role for Musk if Trump wins back the White House in November — potentially giving Musk influence over economic policy.

Musk has already briefed Trump about his plans to invest in a data-driven project to prevent voter fraud (which, as I noted yesterday, is almost nonexistent).

And Musk has committed his social media platform, X, to host live video town halls with Trump ahead of the election.

Musk is also using X to spread conspiracy theories that Democrats are intentionally “importing” millions of undocumented immigrants to vote in elections.

READ:**Buckle up for Trump's 'October Surprise'**

Musk has accused Biden of “treason” and claimed that if Democrats win control of the White House and Congress in November, America “will become a permanent one-party deep socialist state.”

What’s Musk’s motive? Not simply more money. Hell, he’s the second-richest man on the planet. He wants more power. Unaccountablepower.One route to unaccountable power is to hitch his fortune to convicted felon Trump.

Musk has been emulating Trump for years.

Consider Trump’s MO of treating underlings like dung. In 2022, Musk fired half of Twitter’s 7,500 employees, including teams devoted to combating election misinformation — and did it so haphazardly and arbitrarily that most had no idea they were fired until their email accounts were shut off.

This was after Musk fired Twitter’s executives “with cause” to avoid paying them the golden parachutes they were owed. And after he taunted Twitter and the law firm it worked with in its lawsuit against him, suggesting he would sue all of them.

Musk’s concern about the dwindling number of people seeing his tweets prompted him to convene a group of engineers to discover why his engagement numbers were tanking. When one of the company’s two remaining principal engineers explained it was likely due to waning public interest in Musk’s antics, Musk fired the engineer.

A few weeks ago, Musk laid off 14,000 Tesla workers. They discovered they no longer had jobs only when their keys to the parking lot no longer worked. In order to receive severance, they had to agree not to participate in any lawsuit or mass arbitration against the company or publicly defame Tesla.

Musk has also been copying Trump’s bombastic ridicule of anyone who gets in his way. When the British diver Vernon Unsworth rejected his help rescuing youth football players trapped in a cave in Thailand, Musk described him as “pedo guy.”

When the Securities and Exchange Commission went after Musk, he tweeted that the “E” in the SEC stands for “Elon’s.” (You can guess what the “S” and “C” stand for.)

Musk has copied Trump’s disregard for the law. During the pandemic, when public health authorities refused Musk permission to reopen his Tesla factory, he did it anyway.

Musk has been just as shameless as Trump when it comes to padding his pockets. In 2018, Musk got the richest pay package in U.S. corporate history, then worth around $56 billion. Earlier this year, a Delaware court voided that pay package, finding that the process to decide on it was “deeply flawed” because Tesla’s board hadn’t properly disclosed it to investors and had “barely” negotiated it with Musk.

In response to the Delaware court’s finding, Tesla’s board (that is, Musk) said it would ask shareholders to vote again on that same pay package at its annual meeting on June 13. In a letter to shareholders, Robyn Denholm, Tesla’s chair, wrote that the Delaware Court’s decision was “fundamentally unfair, and inconsistent with the will of stockholders who voted for it.”

Fundamentally unfair that Musk hadn’t been paid the exorbitant pay package that a court found to be illegal?

In effect, Musk got the giant multibillion-dollar package by extorting Tesla — implying that if the board refused to sign off on it, he’d devote even more of his time to his other businesses, like SpaceX or his xAI startup. The Delaware judge cited a meeting at which the board planned to ask Musk to commit a minimum level of time to Tesla but chickened out because, according to one participant, “‘that would have been like saying goodbye to Elon.’”

Treating employees like dung. Taunting and ridiculing opponents. Refusing to be held accountable or be bound by norms or even laws. Bullying adversaries. Demeaning critics. Craving attention. Self-promoting. Making gobs of money. Impetuous. Unpredictable. Autocratic. Vindictive. Utterly lacking in empathy.

Musk and Trump are different generations, of course. They possess different skills and occupy different roles in the bizarre firmament of America’s billionaire class. But both represent the emergence of a particularly ruthless and dangerous American power monger: the wildly disruptive narcissist.

Their singular goal is to imprint their giant egos on everyone else — to exercise raw power over people. To make others grovel.

They disdain democracy. Their politics might be called, instead, thugocracy.

They demean America with their brazen assertions of untrammeled power to dominate and force others to submit.

We used to call such behavior shameless. Now it’s just what Trump, Musk, and a few other super-rich (Peter Thiel, Bill Ackman, Stephen A. Schwarzman) do. It’s the new norm of the brazenly wealthy.

Shame once reenforced the common good. Through most of human history, survival depended on extended families, clans, and tribes. To be ostracized often meant death.

Charles Darwin, in his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, thought shame may have evolved as a way to maintain social trust necessary for the survival of a group and, therefore, of its members.

In a 2012 paper, psychologists Matthew Feinberg and Dacher Keltner and sociologist Robb Willer found evidence that shame and embarrassment function as a kind of “nonverbal apology” for having done something that violates social norms. A display of embarrassment shows others that the embarrassed person is still aware of the group’s expectations and is still committed to the group’s well-being.

“Ignominy is universally acknowledged to be a worse punishment than death,” wrote Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence who also sought to put an end to public stocks and whipping posts.

But shamelessness has gained a certain elan. Audacity, insolence, and impudence are welcomed. Irreverence is celebrated. Many Americans love Musk’s and Trump’s loutishness.

***

Why are so many Americans enthralled with Musk and Trump? What’s attractive about their thugocracy? Why are billionaires who violate the common good treated like Wild West outlaw heroes?

The answer, I believe, has a lot to do with America’s shameful degree of inequality.

A large portion of the American public projects its needs and fantasies on these billionaire thugs. People who have been bullied their whole lives wantsuperbullies capable of bullying everyone who’s been bullying them.

Read:[Buckle up for Trump's 'October Surprise'

*Robert Reich is a professor at Berkeley and was secretary of labor under Bill Clinton. You can find his writing at https://robertreich.substack.com/.

===

an 5 24

in the summer of 2023, I read that YouTube had demonetized a podcast called “Fresh & Fit,” meaning that the show could no longer earn ad revenue.

While YouTube didn’t point to an inciting incident, the podcast had recently come under fire for hosting white supremacist Nick Fuentes. During the episode, Fuentes had called women “baby machines” and denied the existence of the Holocaust.

Until then, I hadn’t heard of “Fresh & Fit.” But once I learned that the hosts were two young Black men, Myron Gaines and Walter Weekes, I wanted to learn more about what they were saying on their show – and how they said it.

The show is part of the “manosphere”: online places where men have conversations for, with and about men. Journalists and scholars generally describe younger white men as the most common audiences for manosphere influencers.

As a researcher of male-dominated spaces, I wondered: Were Gaines and Weekes specifically trying to target Black male followers? And, if so, how were they pulling this off?

As I listened to their episodes, I started noticing something interesting – the two hosts regularly used language to appeal to Black men. They spoke in the parlance of social justice movements, but applied it, in a twisted way, to justify misogyny and male superiority.

Enter the manosphere

I study male subcultures such as gaming and the military to see the types of rhetoric and behaviors that get rewarded and which kinds of topics are avoided.

There’s the widespread belief that men don’t express their feelings well or have a hard time being vulnerable.

The manosphere purports to upend that notion. On podcasts, YouTube series and discussion boards, men get into the weeds about their lives, their relationships and the challenges they face.

Some have argued that these interviews, posts and threads can be healthy and productive. But the manosphere generally evokes controversial internet personalities such as Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson, who have become notorious for their misogynistic and homophobic tirades. Tate doesn’t just say outrageous stuff – he’s been charged with sex trafficking and is awaiting trial in Romania. [vid?]

British American former professional kickboxer and controversial influencer Andrew Tate speaks to the press after being released from detention in Bucharest, Romania, on March 12, 2024. Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images

To Tate and Peterson, being a better man isn’t about learning to be more vulnerable. Instead, they argue that straight men have become marginalized in a society that’s gotten too soft, too effeminate and too politically correct. In their view, men need to embrace their traditional roles as protectors, providers and producers.

Research has shown that young men in particular are receptive to these ideas. Of course, young Black men make up some of this cohort. But they rarely get mentioned in critiques of the manosphere.

Fitness, health … and Fuentes

“Fresh & Fit” bills itself as a discussion on men’s fitness, fashion and mental health.

Gaines is author of the book “Why Women Deserve Less,” in which he writes, “Women are benefiting unfairly at nearly every man’s expense.”

Weekes is a business mogul who firmly believes in meritocracy; he credits his success to his own hard work, a point he eagerly reiterates on a number of episodes.

The show normally involves commentary from the hosts about current events, and they’ll often feature guests ranging from CrossFit coaches and gym owners to more controversial interviewees like Fuentes and conservative political commentator Candace Owens.

The YouTube shows are wildly popular, with some episodes garnering hundreds of thousands of views.

There’s also a spinoff, “Fresh & Fit After Hours,” which tends to include panels of young women. During these conversations, the women – who usually work in fields such as modeling, sex work or professional dance – often find themselves put on the spot by the hosts, who ask them to speak on behalf of all women.

Locker-room talk

I listened to 40 randomly selected episodes of the main show and 25 of the “After Hours” show, and the conversations veered into explorations of gender differences and debates about why men are better than women. All of these elements fall under what sociolinguist Scott Kiesling calls “masculine linguistic practices” – the ways in which men express their masculinity in conversation with one another.

Each episode is replete with misogyny. On one,[ Gaines encourages listeners [vid] ](https://youtu.be/T16En55Sf0c) to not go to Miami – not because it’s too expensive or it’s too hot, but because the women in South Beach think they’re “better than you.” On another, when talking about what men are looking for in a partner, he notes, “When we look for security in y'all, it’s security in making sure the kid is ours. And a woman that has a promiscuous past might continue that trend in the future.”

Gaines and Weekes do give a platform to women – but it’s to women who echo the hosts’ warped theories on gender.

In several of the “Fresh & Fit After Hours” episodes I watched, the hosts booked female guests who often admitted that they are status-conscious opportunists – that they want to be taken care of, that they expect men to give them gifts, and that they should be treated “like a lady.”

In one episode of “After Hours,” when a guest says she wishes men could approach her without being overly flirtatious, Gaines is quick to undermine her: Surely she gets approached by men every day. But are they all flirtatious?

Then he throws out another question: How many of the men she ended up dating hadn’t flirted with her?

She holds up her hand in the shape of a zero.

Messages that resonate with Black listeners

Watching “Fresh & Fit” also showed me how the hosts sought to specifically appeal to Black viewers and listeners.

I think it’s important to note that although Black men are highly susceptible to being seen as a collective group, they aren’t a monolith. Many Black men hold conservative views. Instances of homophobia, misogyny and transphobia are as common among Black Americans as they are among white Americans.

In other words, there isn’t any sort of cultural insulation that would protect Black men from negative messages in the manosphere, and the hosts subtly use language and imagery common to Black culture to inculcate Black listeners to their views.

Gaines and Weekes invariably slip in and out of African American Vernacular English, which conveys not only authenticity but also forges a connection with Black listeners.

Additionally, a common theme is the degree to which men are being “kept down.” In the context of their show, “kept down” refers to the ways in which women constrain them. But in Black culture, the phrase is commonly used to talk about the ways in which the dominant white culture forces them to behave or act a certain way.

Criminal law scholar Paul Butler refers to the impact of those stereotypes about Black men as “black male exceptionalism.”

To Butler, commonly repeated statistics about Black men – their higher incarceration rates, worse education outcomes and lower employment rates – reinforce the idea of Black men as an “endangered species.” My upcoming research expands on this, exploring how the internalization of this exceptionalism can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The darker corners of the manosphere stoke beliefs about disenfranchisement and discrimination against men. So it’s worth pointing out that these messages can easily resonate among minority men, too.

If they listen to Gaines and Weekes, they’ll come away from the episodes thinking that it isn’t just racism keeping them down: It’s women, too.

Steven Dashiell, Assistant Research Professor, *Morgan State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

===

mma 5 24 grift

Daily Wire announced the launch of a new “men’s lifestyle” company named Responsible Man on May 1, promoting its only current product — a men’s dietary supplement that it says is “designed to help … sharpen brain cognition” and that it suggests will help address what the outlet calls the “increasing health risk” of declining “sperm concentration.”

On April 30, The Daily Wire’s parent company Bentkey Ventures registered the assumed name “Daily Wire Ventures.” The next day, on May 1, it debuted Responsible Man, a new company for men’s health products.

The Daily Wire is promoting Responsible Man as an alternative to “woke” companies and by fearmongering about some of the outlet’s frequent targets, namely gender-affirming care and drag queens, asking its readers, “Do you want to buy your men’s health products from a company that partners with drag queens and supports radical organizations that push gender procedures on children?” Responsible Man’s website uses similar language, promising its customers that “together, we can reclaim masculinity” and claiming that “Emerson’s Vitamins are a simple step towards improving yourself, creating order, and building the future.”

Video

CitationAd from Responsible Man's website

The Daily Wire’s promotion suggests Responsible Man’s products can help address various health issues, including the purported “increasing health risk” of declining “sperm concentration” worldwide, promising to help men stay healthy “for the survival of the human race.”

The company’s only product, a men’s multivitamin, is marketed as being “professionally engineered by medical doctors” to “support your immune system, maintain energy production, sharpen brain cognition, and support the health of your heart and muscles.”

Claims made by The Daily Wire’s new company are not FDA-approved

According to disclaimers on Responsible Man’s website, the claims made to promote the company’s vitamins “have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.” Multivitamins do not need to go through an evaluation process prior to entering the marketplace, and have generally proved ineffective in reducing the risk of heart disease and mental decline.

In the past, The Daily Wire has targeted certain medications used in gender-affirming care for trans youth for their use off-label without FDA approval, even though this is a common practice in prescribing pediatric medications. The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh has been particularly fervent in wielding this point to target gender-affirming care.

The Daily Wire is promoting the new company by targeting Men’s Health magazine

The Daily Wire’s previous ventures into consumer goods have been framed in opposition to specific companies it deemed too “woke,” such as Harry’s Razors and Hershey’s Chocolate, for refusing to advertise with The Daily Wire and featuring a trans woman in an advertisement, respectively. (Jeremy’s Razors and Jeremy’s Chocolate, The Daily Wire’s answers to Harry’s and Hershey’s going “woke,” have received poor feedback from customers.)

The Daily Wire’s promotion of Responsible Man singles out for criticism Men’s Health, the largest men’s lifestyle magazine in the United States. Claiming that Men’s Health was “afraid of manhood itself,” The Daily Wire has declared itself “here to give you a better option.” The lone source of outrage cited by the outlet is a Men’s Health article from November 2021 on “LGBTQ+ Language and Media Literacy.”

desantis-signs-floridas-ban-on-lab-grown-meat

---==

extreme internet misogynists love Donald Trump

Manosphere influencers — some of whom have embraced Nazism and antisemitism over the past year — have thrown their support behind Trump

WRITTEN BY JUSTIN HOROWITZ

PUBLISHED 04/24/24

Personalities from the so-called “manosphere,” including Andrew Tate, Sneako, Myron Gaines, Jon Zherka, and Hannah Pearl Davis, have expressed their support for disgraced former President Donald Trump.

The manosphere is an online community of right-wing websites, bloggers, and influencers who repackage conservative, antifeminist, and regressive gender politics for the internet age, which they use to recruit and target young men.

Over the past year, several of these misogynistic content creators have embraced a range of extreme ideologies, including Nazism and antisemitism. (In one instance, Zherka instructed a group of women to do a Nazi Sieg Heil during a livestream and say “heil Hitler.”) Some have also encouraged their audiences — which includes pre-teens — to abuse women.

Several of these manosphere figures have featured white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes on their shows. In 2022, Fuentes dined with Trump and pro-Hitler rapper Ye (formerly Kanye West) at Mar-a-Lago.

Select a manosphere influencer

## Andrew Tate
Professional kickboxer, media personality, and alleged human trafficker Andrew Tate is one of the most well-known influencers in the manosphere. He has made several violent and abusive proclamations about women and, in recent podcast appearances, has thrown his support behind Trump’s presidential candidacy, arguing that the former president is the “last hope of Western civilization.”

- During an interview, Tate said, “Personally, my view of Trump is that I’m in massively favor of him.” “Do I believe he can save the West? No, he can slow it down. However, it would be a culture win for him to win. It would inspire the culture and it would inspire patriotism and it would inspire masculinity,” Tate said, adding, “I’m praying for Trump. Do I think they’re going to let him win? Well, they’re clearly trying to stop it.” YouTube, *Matt Kim Podcast*, [2/27/24]
- Tate proclaimed, “Donald Trump is the last hope of Western civilization. He can’t stop the decay but he can slow it down.” “If he doesn’t win, it’s over,” Tate added. YouTube,*Disruptors Podcast*, [2/19/24]
- Tate: “I am praying for the West because if he [Trump] doesn’t win, it’s the end of America as we know it.”“The core tenets that Western leaders are lacking are a degree of nationalism, a degree of care for their own people,” Tate added. “Wouldn’t it be nice to see a president who cares about Americans over everyone else? Which is what Trump was.” YouTube, *The Passionate Few Podcast*, [4/6/24]
## Sneako
Right-wing streamer Sneako, whose real name is Nico Kenn De Balinthazy, is a manosphere influencer and Ye associate. The Latch has described him as a “cheap imitation” of Tate.

Sneako, who has defended Adolf Hitler and mocked Jewish people online, once spoke at a rally organized by Fuentes, in which he said, “Nicholas J. Fuentes is going to be the future president of the United States.”

He also appears to be a big fan of Trump.

- In February, Sneako livestreamed from a Trump campaign event in Nevada.During the stream, Sneako told his audience, “If you clip up this stream — send it around, man — we could be able to influence an election.” He added, “We’re waking people up doing this.” Rumble, [2/8/24; Media Matters, 2/12/24]
- On X (formerly Twitter), Sneako posted a photo of himself standing beside Trump with the caption, “I speak for everyone when I say we stand with Donald Trump.” Twitter/X, [8/26/23]
- Sneako has also posted pro-Trump slogans including “MAGA” and “Trump 2024.” Twitter/X, [3/2/24, 8/12/23]
## Fresh & Fit podcast’s Myron Gaines
Myron Gaines (real name Amrou Fudl) co-hosts the misogynistic podcast Fresh & Fit, a Rumble show that bills itself as “the #1 men’s self improvement podcast in the WORLD!” On Fresh & Fit, Gaines, who authored a book called Why Women Deserve Less, and his co-host Walter Weekes deliver misogynistic dating and lifestyle advice to teens and men.

Over the past year, Gaines has become increasingly antisemitic, mocking Jewish people, arguing that Israel was behind 9/11, and defending Adolf Hitler. “We’re the biggest platform that’s talking about the JQ. No one else will do it,” he said. (The “JQ” refers to the “Jewish Question,” an antisemitic framework meant to question the human rights of Jewish people. It provided the pretext for the Holocaust.)

Gaines has repeatedly expressed support for Trump both on his show and on X.

- Gaines: “Everybody’s got to get out there and fucking vote for Trump, especially if you live in Florida. Bro, he is the last stand we got, man.”YouTube Shorts, *Fresh & Fit*, [12/2/23]
- Gaines expressed support for Trump. Gaines wrote in various subposts, “Trump 2024 or we are doomed,” “Trump 2024. Fuck what you thought,” “Trump 2024 is the ONLY or else we are doomed,” and “It’s Trump 2024 or this country is going down the toilet.” Twitter/X, [12/5/23, 11/11/23, 1/19/24, 11/16/23]
- Gaines wore a pro-Trump Christmas sweater during one of his streams. YouTube, *Fresh & Fit*, [1/5/24]
## Jon Zherka
Manosphere influencer Jon Zherka, a self-proclaimed woman hater who has defended Hitler and once did a Nazi Sieg Heil salute while discussing Israel, has touted Trump multiple times online.

- Zherka wrote, “Headed to a Trump rally to film.”He also posted the QAnon slogan “WWG1WGA.” Twitter/X, [7/8/23; Media Matters, 9/26/22]
- Zherka posted a video of himself holding a bill with Trump’s face on it and said, “Donald Trump was right about everything nigga.” Twitter/X, [8/9/23]
- Zherka wrote, “The thing I am most proud of is that I lived in the time of Trump.”Twitter/X, [3/23/23]
- In another post he wrote: “TRUMP > DESANTIS.” Twitter/X, [11/15/22]

## Hannah Pearl Davis

Antifeminist podcaster Hannah Pearl Davis, who wrote and performed a song titled “Why can’t we talk about the Jews?” and is also a Fuentes ally, has expressed support for Trump on X and YouTube.

- Davis wrote, “Women shouldn’t vote but since we can vote TRUMP 2024.” Twitter/X, [10/17/23]
- Davis also wrote “Trump is a cool guy” and “Trump should be king.” Twitter/X, [9/6/23, 10/17/23]
- Davis described herself as a “big, big Trump fan.” YouTube, *The Sitdown*, [3/14/24]

diff day same BS 4 24

### Misogynistic manosphere influencers dive headfirst into antisemitism

08/08/23 10:04 AM EDT

### Misogynistic manosphere influencers embrace Nazism

03/13/24 12:00 PM EDT

### Beyond Andrew Tate: Meet the misogynistic “manosphere” influencers proliferating across social media

03/16/23

religion meme migrates? this is another thing that THEY are forcing down our throats, we do not even have the right/freedumb to question, we have to obey/submit like biotches

note this is two dudes on roid rage infowars

mma 4 24

April 12, 2024, edition of Daily Veracity with Vincent James, streamed on Rumble

HARRISON SMITH (INFOWARS HOST): There's, like, two different versions. Right? There's lowercase “h” and capital “H” Holocaust where, like, were there terrible things that happened in World War 2? Obviously, fucking obviously.

You don't even need the gas shit. Like, ditches of dead bodies. I mean, it was horrible. So there's, like, just the reality of civilian deaths in World War 2, civilian mistreatments in World War 2, on, you know, ethnic basis or whatever. But then there's the capital "H" Holocaust, which is basically religious.

I mean, it basically has tenants that you have to accept, and you have to take it on faith. I mean, it has all of the qualities of a religion, that you can't — because a religion, you can't question. You know? It's even more so than, like, the Inquisition, right?

...

You could probably even question, like, the Resurrection during the Inquisition more so than you could question the Holocaust now. And, again, it's, like, it's not even, like, definitely one side or definitely be the other. It's exactly what you're just pointing out, Vince, where, like, you hear the way that it's literally illegal to question. And it's like, OK, I'm clearly missing something here, so I'm not getting the whole picture.

So, I better start looking into this, and the only thing that gives you any nuance at all is actually the complete other side. So that's what, you know, like, the documentaries, like [Europa: The Last Battle] or whatever. It's basically just the inverse of what you see on History Channel. History Channel is “the Nazis never did anything good for anybody ever.” And Europa is “the Nazis never did anything wrong ever.” And it's like the truth is somewhere in between those two things, but it's the dichotomy that's unhealthy because it leaves people just completely deluded on either side, I think.

# Alex Jones and Infowars air report that questions Holocaust death toll

11/03/23

### Alex Jones agrees with caller who claims the Holocaust death toll should be revised

12/06/22

### Rapper Ye goes on an unhinged antisemitic rant on Infowars

12/01/22

---

tate bros extradited to uk? 3 24

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mma 4 24

as men struggle with mental health, manosphere influencers say depression doesn’t exist

Reports indicate that young men are increasingly depressed, isolated, and lonely. Manosphere influencers think they have the answer — they don’t.

WRITTEN BY JUSTIN HOROWITZ

PUBLISHED 04/01/24

As men grapple with increased feelings of loneliness, isolation, and depression, viral personalities from the “manosphere” — including Andrew Tate, Sneako, Jon Zherka, and Myron Gaines — are ridiculing chronic mental illness and dismissing the existence of depression.

According to Equimundo’s 2023 study of American men, boys are experiencing higher rates of “depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts, and a sense of isolation.” Additionally, 65% of men reported feeling that “no one really knows me.”

Equimundo’s study highlights the severity of men’s feelings of disconnection from intimate relationships, increase in social isolation, and heightened anxieties about the future, among other concerning findings about men’s mental health and stability in the modern age.

Together, these mental health complications can make young people more vulnerable to extremist views, which have become central to the modern manosphere.

Men seeking to understand issues related to their romantic relationships or feelings of masculine insecurity often turn to the manosphere, as its figures speak to the genuine fears of men. However, instead of addressing the underlying causes of their followers’ anxieties or depression, manosphere influencers steer them toward the belief that women and a lack of masculinity are responsible for their obstacles.

Regarding issues like depression, these influencers suggest to their audiences that mental health challenges may stem from living lives that are not yet worthwhile or from a lack of effort toward becoming worthy “alpha” men.

This notion — that men must prioritize a profit-driven mindset and an attitude of constant improvement across all aspects of life — is summed up in the manosphere’s so-called “grindset,” which requires adherents to chase eternally shifting goalposts on what defines a man's worthiness.

Here are examples of manosphere influencers downplaying chronic mental illness, saying depression does not exist, and instructing men to make physical improvements in order to cure depression:

Select a manosphere influencer

## Andrew Tate

Professional kickboxer, media personality, and alleged human trafficker Andrew Tate is one of the most well-known influencers in the manosphere. He has made several violent and abusive proclamations about women and has purported that depression isn’t real both online and in interviews.

During an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Tate explained his position on depression.

“I believe that feeling depressed is real; I don’t believe that depression as a clinical disease is real, no,” Tate said.

“I can’t become clinically depressed,” Tate later added. “Because I don’t believe in it.”

Video file

Video

CitationFrom the October 9, 2022, edition of Piers Morgan Uncensored, streamed on YouTube

In a YouTube clip from an interview with Tate, he again denied that clinical depression is real. (Tate is banned from YouTube, but there is still plenty of his content on the platform.)

“The idea of clinical depression as a disease I reject absolutely and I do not believe in,” Tate said. “A lot of people are pretending depression is why their life is shit, when in reality their life is shit, which is why they’re depressed.”

Video file

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CitationClip uploaded to YouTube on June 30, 2022, by user @tatetainment

In a clip from the misogynistic Fresh & Fitpodcast, Tate went on a long rant about men who experience depression.

“If you have children and you kill yourself, you were never a man to begin with. Absolute garbage. Garbage,” Tate said. “The only reason this crap happens is because of the acceptance of depression. People say that depression is stigmatized — it’s the complete opposite. It’s accepted now to the point where it’s almost promoted. It’s insane.”

Video file

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CitationClip uploaded to YouTube on January 4, 2023, by user @DirectWaffle

On X, Tate has claimed that people can use their depression as motivation or as an “alert system.”

Tate has also written online that “depression isn’t real” and that it’s “a choice.”

CitationScreenshot via Tate's X account

## Sneako
Right-wing streamer Sneako, whose real name is Nico Kenn De Balinthazy, is a manosphere influencer and associate of pro-Hitler rapper Ye (formerly Kanye West). The Latch described him as “a cheap imitation” of Tate.

Sneako is also an associate of white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and spoke at one of Fuentes’ antisemitic rallies. Additionally, Sneako has praised and defended Adolf Hitler.

On multiple occasions, Sneako has downplayed depression and claimed that it’s not real.

Above an interview clip with gaming streamer Jynxzi that Sneako posted to X, he wrote, “depression is retarted.”

Sneako also said it’s “bullshit” that people are chronically depressed and claimed that the idea that chemical imbalances cause depression is “another giant psyop.” (There is evidence that “changes in the function and effect” of neurotransmitters in the brain “may play a significant role in depression and its treatment.”)

“People who get depressed just have nothing to do,” Sneako added. “So do something. Do a push up.”

Video file

Video

CitationClip via Sneako's X account

In a video uploaded to YouTube, Sneako mocked people with depression.

“You get validation now for saying you’re depressed,” Sneako said. “If you tell somebody, ‘Oh, I’m depressed,’ they expect you to say, like, ‘I’m praying for you, I hope you feel better.’ ‘Thanks for saying that. It’s been really hard.’ ‘Wow, you should go to therapy.’ Bro. Fuck that.”

“We should stop validating and giving people attention for like — it’s like you get to come out as a gay person now. The same way you get to come out as gay, you could come out with, ‘I have anxiety.’ Everybody does. Everybody does. We need someone else to just be like, ‘Bro, OK. Suck it up,’” Sneako added.

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CitationClip uploaded to YouTube on July 31, 2022, by user @sneakodaily155

In another video, Sneako said that people who have depression “get some dopamine from thinking that they are kept down, by having an excuse to blame for why their lives are miserable.”
Video file

Video

CitationClip uploaded to YouTube on March 11, 2023, by user @frankifyy

On X, Sneako wrote that homophobia cures depression, “Depression isn’t real,” and “Depression is only a belief.”

CitationScreenshot via Sneako's X account

Video file

Video

CitationClip uploaded to X by Sneako

CitationScreenshot via Sneako's X account

Sneako and his toxic rhetoric are apparently popular with preteen boys.

In December, a video emerged of extremely young looking fans approaching Sneako. In another video, a trio of young fans approached Sneako and repeated his own toxic rhetoric back to him, saying, “Fuck the women,” and, “All gays should die.”

Glancing at the camera, Sneako smiled and asked, “What have I done?”

IFrame Content
## Fresh & Fit podcast
The Fresh & Fit podcast, which describes itself as “the #1 men’s self improvement podcast in the WORLD!,” is a show filled with extreme misogyny.

The show is hosted by Why Women Deserve Lessauthor Myron Gaines (real name Amrou Fudl) and dating and lifestyle coach Walter Weekes. Their show has more than 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube. Over the past year, the hosts have embraced antisemitism and Holocaust denial.

During an interview alongside Sneako, Gaines claimed that men are depressed because they are not making enough money or working hard enough in the gym.

“A lot of the times when guys are sad, it’s not because ‘I’m depressed,’ or ‘I’m sad, I have this mental disorder’ — no, you’re a fucking bitch. That’s what it comes down to,” Gaines said. “You want some therapy? Go to the fucking gym, OK? Make some goddamn money, become more attractive, take care of yourself, I promise you you’re going to feel a lot better.”

“You feel that way because it’s a byproduct of you being a loser,” Gaines added. “It’s your masculinity reminding you, what are you doing?”

Video file

Video

CitationClip uploaded to YouTube on July 1 2023, by Clips from Ahmad Mahmood Show

In another clip, Gaines downplayed and mocked chronic depression.

“It’s up to you whether depression is a temporary feeling or a permanent one,” Gaines said. “There is no ‘I’m depressed, I suffer from depression,’ long term. It’s up to you if you’re going to get out of that depression.”

Video file

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CitationClip uploaded to YouTube on September 1, 2023, by FreshandFit Clips

Gaines also said depression is a “survival mechanism” and “your body’s natural response to inadequacy.”

“You got to get out there and do something, because if you don’t you’re not going to be able to procreate,” Gaines said.

Video file

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CitationClip uploaded to YouTube on September 8, 2023, by FreshandFit Clips

In a similar video, Gaines that “depression is a healthy response to mediocrity.”
## Jon Zherka
Manosphere influencer Jon Zherka is a self-proclaimed rapist and hater of women who has been accused of flirting with minors online and has promoted extreme misogyny. He has made several misleading and false comments about depression.

On X, Zherka wrote, “Racism cures depression,” and, “Depression is inactivity of the soul.”

CitationScreenshot from Zherka's X account

Zherka also suggested that depressed people should get beat up to feel an adrenaline rush and experience a “Euphoric feeling.”

CitationScreenshot from Zherka's X account

In a clip uploaded by Fresh & Fit titled “Therapy Is A Scam,” Zherka argued, “Most therapists are actually scammers.”

“If your therapist isn’t racist and sexist, you’re fucked. You’re not getting the truth, bro,” Zherka said.

Video

CitationClip uploaded to YouTube on June 4, 2023, by FreshandFit Clips

In a clip from a Zherka livestream with a supposed psychotherapist, the influencer and his guest claimed that depression cannot be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.

“It’s not neurotransmitters in the mind. It’s not a lack of serotonin, that’s a ridiculous concept. There’s no evidence to prove that,” Zherka’s guest said.

“Oh shit, you’re saying that. I said that chemicals are stupid,” Zherka responded.

===

Misogynistic manosphere influencers embrace Nazism

Influencers who offer dubious lifestyle and dating advice to men are praising Adolf Hitler and Nazis

WRITTEN BY JUSTIN HOROWITZ

PUBLISHED 03/13/24

Right-wing “manosphere” influencers including Sneako, Jon Zherka, and Myron Gaines are embracing Nazism and defending Adolf Hitler online. These influencers — who have large followings across multiple platforms — have histories of making antisemitic comments and pushing conspiracy theories about Jewish people, but their pro-Hitler and Nazism commentary marks an escalation.

Over the past year, these three figures have praised and defended Hitler, done the Nazi Seig Heil salute while streaming, and refused to disavow Nazism.

These influencers are part of the manosphere, an online community of right-wing websites, bloggers, and personalities cultivating a worldview based on conservative and regressive gender politics repackaged for the internet age.

While purporting to provide dating, financial, and lifestyle advice to men, some manosphere figures are aligning themselves with far-right personalities. Their online presence can serve as a gateway to push audiences further to the right toward more dangerous ideologies, as they often use other topics that interest young men — like weightlifting, video games, and boxing — to draw viewers in before diving into extremist content and misogyny.

Figures in this group often push extremism and antisemitism while blaming women for myriad societal woes and treating them as an inferior sex. Rhetoric from these influencers can sometimes be overtly cruel and promote hitting, degrading, and shaming women.

Sneako

Right-wing streamer Sneako (real name Nico Kenn De Balinthazy) is a manosphere influencer and associate of pro-Hitler rapper Ye (formerly Kanye West). He has been described as “a cheap imitation” of misogynist, media personality, and alleged human trafficker Andrew Tate.

Sneako is also an associate of white supremacist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. He spoke at one of Fuentes’ antisemitic rallies. He is banned on TikTok and YouTube and has promoted the abuse of women.

Sneako recently interviewed Nevada Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony at an event for former President Donald Trump. Several attendees also pointed out that Sneako is one of Fuentes’ associates.

On several occasions, Sneako has praised, defended, and embraced Adolf Hitler and Nazism.

While probing a German woman about her sex life in a stream uploaded to X, Sneako made antisemitic comments and said he wanted to do the fascist Roman salute “so bad.”

“How about we role play,” Sneako said. “I’ll be the Nazi and I’ll shove you in the oven like a dirty Jew.”

Video

CitationVideo via @RedPillSayian on X, uploaded on March 5, 2024

On X (formerly Twitter), Sneako posted a picture of Hitler and wrote, “this nigga had aura.”

Sneako Hitler had aura

CitationScreenshot via X

During a livestream on the right-wing video hosting platform Rumble, Sneako said that “the Nazis had drip” and that the swastika is “aesthetically pleasing.”

Video

CitationFrom a December 2, 2022, Sneako Rumble livestream

While livestreaming with influencer Adin Ross, Sneako refused to call Hitler evil.

Video

CitationVideo via @DramaAlert on X, uploaded on April 12, 2023

Sneako wrote on X that people should not “bash” Hitler for killing Jewish people and wished him a happy birthday.

Sneako "don't bash" Hitler

CitationScreenshot via X

Jon Zherka & Myron Gaines

Self-proclaimed woman-hater and manosphere influencer Jon Zherka, who has flirted with underage girls online, been praised by Fuentes, and shared content promoting violent attacks against women, has also embraced Nazism.

Zherka instructed a group of women to do a Nazi Sieg Heil during a livestream and say “heil Hitler.”

Video CitationVideo from @AFPost on X, uploaded on February 21, 2024

During a livestream debate about Israel featuring Zherka, Fuentes, white nationalist Vincent James Foxx, Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes, and Rumble streamer Elijah Schaffer, Zherka did a Nazi Sieg Heil salute.

Video CitationFrom the January 11, 2024, edition of Slightly Offensive with Elijah Schaffer

In a bizarre livestream video posted to Reddit, Zherka melted down after finding out a woman he was hanging out with is Jewish. “You rule the world and all the banking,” he said to the woman while pretending to hit her.

After the woman said “I don’t like Hitler,” Zherka asked, “The fuck is wrong with you?” He later added, “I’ll regret this, dude.”

Zherka ended the livestream by saying “Hitler was a good guy.”

Video file

VideoCitationFrom a Jon Zherka livestream, uploaded to Reddit

Zherka again did the Nazi Sieg Heil alongside Fuentes and manosphere influencer Myron Gaines (real name Amrou Fudl) during a livestream. Gaines then pretended to be Hitler’s ghost.

Antifeminist influencer Hannah Pearl Davis was also featured on the stream.

Video file

VideoCitationFrom a June 2023 Sneako Rumble livestream

During a stream with Sneako, Zherka identified himself as a Nazi while attacking a man’s appearance.

“You look like a Nazi that became a Nazi just to fit in,” Zherka said. “Like, you’re not actually one of us.”

Video file

Video CitationFrom TikTok user @RedPillClips, uploaded on July 20, 2023

Gaines previously defended and praised Hitler on his Fresh & Fit After Hours podcast.

“Though he did things that were morally incorrect, he definitely did a bunch of things correct for his country. That’s a fact,” Gaines said.

Video Citation From the July 7, 2023, edition of Fresh & Fit After Hours, streamed on Rumble

Influence on young people

Reporting shows how easily toxic rhetoric from manosphere influencers can infiltrate the minds of young audiences, even among users as young as 11.

And some of the videos these manosphere influencers share, showing them meeting their fans, demonstrate just how young some of these viewers are.

In one clip, young Sneako fans repeat his toxic rhetoric back to him, saying, “Fuck the women,” and, “All gays can die.” He seems to half-jokingly ask the camera, “What have I done?”

This sort of misogynistic and extremist rhetoric does not live in a vacuum online; it can lead to real-world violence and harassment.

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https://www.alternet.org/alternet-exclusives/decade-russian-infowar-republicans-weird/

alternet no lnx 2 24

A decade of Russian infowar has made Republicans weird

President Donald J. Trump and President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation hold a joint press conference | July 16, 2018 (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks).

John Stoehr February 29, 2024

There’s a clip going around featuring Malcolm Trumbull, the former prime minister of Australia, describing for a home audience the few times he witnessed Donald Trump interacting with Vladimir Putin. He said: “When you see Trump with Putin, as I have on a few occasions, he’s like the 12-year-old that goes to high school and meets the captain of the football team – ‘my hero!’ It is really creepy. It’s really creepy. … It struck everybody. You could touch it. The creepiness was palpable.”

I’ll leave it to worthies steeped in international relations to discuss the ramifications of a former leader of one of America’s closest allies defenestrating Trump’s great claim that all the world respects him.

For me, I’m interested in that adjective, “creepy,” and its cognates – “strange,” “weird,” “not normal,” and so on – because I’m going to suggest two things. One, that we are hearing those words applied to Trump and the Republicans with greater frequency by Americans rooted in mainstream culture. And two, that the more their behavior is called “creepy,” “weird,” etc, the more they are going to appear, to Americans rooted in mainstream culture, to be virtually foreign.

When you think about it, that makes sense.

As I said in yesterday’s edition, the Russian government has, more or less, been waging nonstop information warfare against the United States since at least 2015. During that time, Donald Trump and the Republicans have eaten, digested and metabolized practically all of it.

Their views are nearly indistinguishable from Vladimir Putin’s. State governments run by Republicans are increasingly Russian in practice. (“They have banned books, censored speech, outlawed history, suppressed individual expression and, therefore, individual liberty,” I said. “If they have not used the power of the state to control their populations, they have empowered snitches and vigilantes to reach the same goal.”) The heart of the GOP’s impeachment inquiry is a Kremlin lie. “Basically, the Republicans have become synonymous for [the] Russians at this point,” said Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett.

I called this the transmogrification of the Republican Party. To see how thorough, complete and total that process has gotten, watch this clip. An MSNBC reporter asked Trump supporters for their thoughts on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Vladimir Putin’s threat to democratic Eastern Europe. After watching it, you may be reminded of this piece I wrote in September summarizing the Russo-Republican perspective:

'According to the rightwing view, Ukraine is not a democracy. It is a corrupt regime undeserving of aid. Moreover, it’s an enemy. Among other things, it colluded with Democrat Hillary Clinton in a scheme to undermine US sovereignty and defraud the American people in the 2016 election. The plan was thwarted by the victory of Donald Trump.'

'The rightwing view insists, moreover, that Donald Trump, as president, attempted to expose Ukraine’s corruption in 2019 when he demanded an investigation into then-former Vice President Joe Biden. Biden, according to this view, abused his office and corrupted US foreign policy in 2016 in order to enrich himself and his son, Hunter Biden.'

That’s upside down, backward and prolapsed.

It’s also weird.

Consider that the president ordered and ate an ice cream cone recently. In response, Fox host Jesse Watters suggested not only that Biden has dementia, on account of people with dementia enjoying the taste of ice cream, but that he’s unmanly. “A grown man, especially the president, should not be licking ice cream in public.” (Watters also said a grown man should not eat soup in public. “It’s not a good look.”)

On the one hand, this was an attempt to “infantilize” the president. Jennifer Mercieca, an expert on authoritarian rhetoric, said last night it’s “another way of saying he’s weak and not a Übermensch. He’s not trying to be an overlord strongman. He’s trying to be a president. Ice cream is delicious and eating it is democratic. Fascists gonna fash.”

On the other, this is just weird. “I've said it before: rightwingers are the biggest weirdos,” one person said on Twitter. “It truly sounds awkward, like ‘decadent Westernized male degrades manhood with frozen treats,’” another quipped. James Surowiecki, formerly of The New Yorker and currently of The Yale Review, put the ice cream thing in context. “In the past four weeks, high-profile rightwingers have come out against adults eating ice cream, IVF, recreational sex, Taylor Swift, and the NFL. They're so in tune with mainstream Americans.”

Surowiecki was joking, of course. The Republicans and their media allies are not in tune with mainstream Americans. They don’t like people having abortions. They don’t like in vitro fertilization. They don’t like birth control. They don’t like a self-made female billionaires dating Super Bowl-winning football players. And they don’t like grown men eating ice cream cones in public. (Or soup). They, like Mother Russia, don’t like things that don’t fit into a human society ordered vertically – with straight white Christian men dominating the top.

These people are so far outside mainstream American culture that those on the inside might legitimately ask: “Wait, you’re not from around here, are you?” “The creepiness was palpable,” Trumbull said.

He’s right.

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More than crazy bluster

This rhetoric may seem like crazy bluster, which is no doubt why many people appear prepared to ignore it. But put in its historical context, what Trump is doing is echoing views that are part of a long tradition of illiberal and outright fascist thought. For fascists have always seen the use of violence as a virtue, not a vice.

First, this is the natural result of the way that fascist communities define themselves. According to Carl Schmitt, a prominent Nazi and for a time the official legal theorist of the party under Adolf Hitler, one builds and maintains a community by identifying and vilifying its enemies. And in this kind of highly polarized environment, the threat of violence always hangs in the air.

Second, among fascists, machismo is much admired. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, whose own outrageous rhetoric has also encouraged violent behavior by his supporters, simply “beamed” when Russian President Vladimir Putin praised him for his masculinity.

Trump often acts as a sycophant for Putin too, and machismo also is a big part of Trump’s own public persona.

Third, fascists are obsessed with purity. They long for a world where they can live among their own racial, ethnic, religious and ideological kind on land they view as exclusively theirs.

But in the real world, people are too intermixed for this to occur naturally. True purity of community is an aspiration that can be made real only through violence and subjugation. Hence the Holocaust,genocide and ethnic cleansing, and other more limited attacks on minority and immigrant populations.

Violence as noble and intoxicating

Fascists, then, see violence as noble and intoxicating. For example, Julius Evola, a far-right intellectual active in Italy from 1920 to 1970 and the author, among other things, of “Fascism Viewed from the Right” and “A Handbook for Right-Wing Youth,” writes that violence “offers man the opportunity to awaken the hero that sleeps within him.”

Today, Evola is a favorite of the alt-right, and he suggests that a hero’s death is preferable to a life built on liberal compromise. “The moment the individual succeeds in living as a hero,” Evola writes, “even if it is the final moment of his earthly life, weighs infinitely more on the scale of values than a protracted existence consuming monotonously among the trivialities of cities.”

The ultraconservative Catholic authoritarian and opponent of the French Revolution Joseph de Maistre, who is recognized as one of the intellectual forefathers of fascism, goes even further.

“The whole earth, perpetually steeped in blood, is nothing but a vast altar upon which all that is living must be sacrificed without end, without measure, without pause, until the consummation of things, until evil is extinct, until the death of death,” Maistre writes. Indeed, without an executioner, the man who kills other men, Maistre claims society could not exist. For violence is necessary to satisfy “men’s natural desire to be destructive,” he writes; it leaves them feeling “exalted and fulfilled.”

Patriot Front – labeled a ‘white supremacist group’ by the Anti-Defamation League – marches in Washington, D.C., in May 2023.

Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Social disruption and destruction

These comments make clear that fascists see violence as something to be used for more than just personal retribution and intimidation. It is to be used to create wider social disruption and destruction. Not only are individuals to be subject to attack, but institutions and norms as well.

Consider “The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy,” a work by two amateur historians popular on the far right.

The book is actually a restatement of Evola’s theory of historical regression, set forth in his “Revolt against the Modern World.”

The idea is that history moves in cycles, the first one being the best and each one thereafter representing a further decline. The fourth cycle is the worst, and it ends only when all existing social institutions are destroyed. This, in turn, is an application of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s idea that “one can build only in a space which has been previously razed to the ground.”

Then history will reset and cycle once again.

Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon admires these ideas so much he made a movie about them.

Trump appears to embrace these ideas too. “When the economy crashes, when the country goes to total hell, and everything is a disaster, then you’ll have riots to go back to where we used to be, when we were great,” he says.

Viewed in this context, not taking Trump’s violent rhetoric more seriously seems dangerous indeed.

Mark R. Reiff, Research Affiliate in Legal and Political Philosophy, University of California, Davis

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Matt Walsh: "We would be a better, healthier country if physical fights broke out in Congress every once in a while" | Media Matters for America

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https://www.alternet.org/markwayne-mullin-2666288268/

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an 11 23

*This article originally appeared on Truthdig.

Jones’ eyewitness account of the event is bone-chilling because it looks so much like what we are seeing today at Trump rallies.

Then Hitler took the stage to a “roar of applause and the thumping and the blare of a military band and the thud of marching feet.” Hitler, Jones observed, “is … a master in repeating [his] leitmotiv in many varied forms, and the leitmotiv is: ‘The republican regime in Germany has betrayed you. Our day of retribution has come.’”

As a form of political behavior, discourse and ideology, Trump and the MAGA movement are clearly fascist.

“Again,” Jones wrote, “the hall resounds.”

Three weeks later, Hitler secured passage of the Enabling Act, bringing the Weimar Republic effectively to an end.

In 2016, I declared: I am your voice. Today, I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.

Trump delivered a similar message earlier in June, telling an audience of enraptured supporters in Columbus, Georgia, that he was being persecuted by federal and state prosecutors. He insisted that the “deep state” was also out to get those who followed him. “In the end,” Trump complained, “they’re not coming after me. They’re coming after you — and I’m just standing in their way.” This was the usual stuff of Trumpian spectacle. In a rambling tirade delivered on Veterans Day in New Hampshire, Trump vowed to “root out…the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.”

Trump’s fixation on Hitlerian imagery, memes and tropes is not an accident. The orange-haired demagogue has had a longstanding fascination with Hitler. According to a 1990 Vanity Fair article, Trump’s first wife Ivana, who died last year, told her divorce attorney that the former president kept a compilation of Hitler’s speeches in a cabinet by his bed. Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Bender remarked on Trump’s interest in Hitler in his book on the 2020 presidential campaign, “Finally We Did Win This Election.” Bender writes that Trump told his then-chief of staff Gen. John Kelly during a 2018 trip to Europe that “Hitler did a lot of good things,” particularly for the German economy. (Trump vehemently denied Bender’s account.)

“Mussolini put his hands on his hips, thrust his chest, jutted his lower jaw,” Jonathan Blitzer wrote in a 2016 New Yorker article that profiled the work of New York University history professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat, one of the fore most authorities on fascism. “It’s all about showing that he cannot be contained,” Ben-Ghiat told Blitzer. “It was the same with Mussolini.”

“I’ve been studying cult leaders for a hundred years’ worth of them,” said Ben-Ghiat in an appearance on Democracy Now last June. Trump “has all the signs. He is not a conventional politician of either the Democratic or Republican [Party]… He is a cult leader. And the GOP has long been…submissive to him. He put them under an authoritarian discipline, and then he made them complicit. And this is what corrupt, violent authoritarians do. They make you part of their crimes.”

There’s a long-running class factor in the current of American fascism. University of London professor Sarah Churchwell’s June 2020 essay in the New York Review of Books exactly nails it when she quotes rabbi Stephen Wise: “The America of power and wealth is an America which needs fascism.”

{“[N]ostalgia for a purer, mythic, often rural past; cults of tradition and cultural regeneration; paramilitary groups; the delegitimizing of political opponents and demonization of critics; the universalizing of some groups as authentically national, while dehumanizing all other groups; hostility to intellectualism and attacks on a free press; anti-modernism; fetishized patriarchal masculinity; and a distressed sense of victimhood and collective grievance. Fascist mythologies often incorporate a notion of cleansing, an exclusionary defense against racial or cultural contamination, and related eugenicist preferences for certain ‘bloodlines’ over others.”*}:

The fear is that Trump will invoke the Insurrection Act on his first day in office to deploy the military. This vision of horror includes Trump in the Oval Office using his immense power to quash civil unrest and dismantle civil service protections for government workers in order to secure their loyalty. And all this while weaponizing the Justice Department to do his bidding.

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AN 11 23

Former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric has regularly bordered on the incitement of violence. Lately, however, it has become even more violent. Yet both the press and the public have largely just shrugged their shoulders.

As a political philosopher who studies extremism, I believe people should be more worried about this.

Trump’s prior rhetoric is also now on record as having inspired many of those convicted to engage in insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

More than crazy bluster

First, this is the natural result of the way that fascist communities define themselves. According to Carl Schmitt, a prominent Nazi and for a time the official legal theorist of the party under Adolf Hitler, one builds and maintains a community by identifying and vilifying its enemies. And in this kind of highly polarized environment, the threat of violence always hangs in the air.

Second, among fascists, machismo is much admired. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, whose own outrageous rhetoric has also encouraged violent behavior by his supporters, simply “beamed” when Russian President Vladimir Putin praised him for his masculinity.

Trump often acts as a sycophant for Putin too, and machismo also is a big part of Trump’s own public persona.

Third, fascists are obsessed with purity. They long for a world where they can live among their own racial, ethnic, religious and ideological kind on land they view as exclusively theirs.

Violence as noble and intoxicating

Today, Evola is a favorite of the alt-right, and he suggests that a hero’s death is preferable to a life built on liberal compromise. “The moment the individual succeeds in living as a hero,” Evola writes, “even if it is the final moment of his earthly life, weighs infinitely more on the scale of values than a protracted existence consuming monotonously among the trivialities of cities.”

The ultraconservative Catholic authoritarian and opponent of the French Revolution Joseph de Maistre, who is recognized as one of the intellectual forefathers of fascism, goes even further.

Patriot Front – labeled a ‘white supremacist group’ by the Anti-Defamation League – marches in Washington, D.C., in May 2023.

Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Social disruption and destruction

Consider “The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy,” a work by two amateur historians popular on the far right.

The book is actually a restatement of Evola’s theory of historical regression, set forth in his “Revolt against the Modern World.”

Then history will reset and cycle once again.

Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon admires these ideas so much he made a movie about them.

Viewed in this context, not taking Trump’s violent rhetoric more seriously seems dangerous indeed.

Mark R. Reiff, Research Affiliate in Legal and Political Philosophy, *University of California, Davis

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

---

Alternet 10 23

Tucker Carlson’s 'homoerotic' ‘The End of Men’ is no laughing matter

John Stoehr

April 18, 2022

I did not, and I hope you did not, watch Tucker Carlson’s infomercial on Fox called “The End of Men.” We don’t need to see it to know it.

Social media was ablaze last night after a “fitness professional” told the TV show host that when applied to a man’s netherlands, “red light therapy” can boost his levels of testosterone. As of this writing, “testicle tanning” is trending on Twitter. Welcome to Monday.

Another point of focus was the video introduction of the TV special. In it, young, muscular and naked-to-the-waist white men, in this order:

do push-ups,

shoot a semi-automatic rifle,

milk a cow,

grill some meat and

wrestle.

Then comes a panoramic shot of a white man, fully naked, standing in front of what looks to be a bike-share dock. A red light illuminates his groin so brightly it’s like his parts are missing. His arms are reverently outstretched. The scene is set to Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra.

That’s followed by more unshirted white man lifting a tractor tire (?), chopping a tree (I think) with a double-headed ax (??), bathing (???) and drinking a globulous liquid (let’s hope to God it’s raw eggs). It all ends with a naked white guy standing before a rectangle of red lights.

In conclusion, a male voiceover, slightly British-sounding, says: “Once a society collapses, then you’re in hard times. Well, ‘hard iron sharpens iron,’ as they say. And those hard times inevitably produce men who are tough, who are resourceful, who are strong enough to survive. Then they go on to re-establish order, and so the cycle begins again.”

Reactions from the liberal quarters of social media have been mixed. Some call it grift, which seems true. For God’s sake, listen to the guy:

It’s testicle tanning, but it's also full body. Red light therapy has massive amounts of benefits and there's so much data out there that isn't being picked up on or covered. … I was recently exposed to a term called 'bromeopathy' and I think there's a lot of people out there right now that are don't trust the mainstream information.

Others call it homoerotic. I presume some truth in that. But it can be hard to tell where homoerotism ends and where familiar ordinary narcissism begins. I’m partial to the latter explanation. Making a fetish of men’s bodies isn’t necessarily about sex or sexual identity.

(Saying as much is cruelty in disguise. If real men are really closeted gays, then closeted gays can’t really be real men? Let’s avoid that.)

The Nazis made a fetish of men’s bodies. Some were closeted, but all? As Annika Brockschmidt, author of America's Holy Warriors, said:

Fascist aesthetic is highly militarized, focusing on sculpted male bodies that represent the strength of the volk.

This form of hyper-militant masculinity can carry homoerotic implications. This is very on brand, not off brand for fascism.}:

Other aspects are ruralism, anti-urbanism, idealised version of hyper-virility, anti-feminism, pro-natalism.}:

This is a case study in modern American fascist aesthetics, anti-modernist, inspired by idealized ‘Roman’ bodies.}:

Others still called it ridiculous.

After all, “red light therapy” (not UV light) is more fiction than medicine. It won’t boost levels of testosterone any more than herbal cures will. (If you want more testosterone, it’s better to exercise).

In any case, how are young, muscular and bare-chested white men supposed to restore order by consuming products manufactured in a society that’s ordered enough to manufacture products with which young, muscular and bare-chested white men re-establish order?

Sure, ridiculous, but over top that is evil.

The first tell, above all the above, is that a highly profitable cable news network took it seriously enough to broadcast it. Fox knows that much of its viewership fear “testosterone levels have crashed and nobody says anything about it,” as Carlson told his “fitness professional” guest.

“That's crazy,” Carlson said. “So why is it crazy to seek solutions?”

Those solutions might include “testicle tanning” but that’s a stand-in for something else – the subliminal fear that white men are becoming less manly, more womanly, and the result, as the voiceover guy said, is that “society collapses.” It will take restoring white male strength, which is code for their rightful place in society, to “reestablish order.”

That doesn’t involve genitals, though.

It involves pushing women, racial minorities and sexual minorities (perhaps religious minorities) back to where they are “supposed to be,” where they are removed from the machinery of democratic power as well the rights and privileges white men have historically enjoyed.

Carlson’s “The End of Men” is worthy of ridicule.

But let’s remember it’s a reflection of a larger social paranoia about a form of government, democracy, and a set of values, liberalism, that have challenged, though not beaten, an ordinary familiar narcissism that’s now hoping to “restore” white men to the center of everything.

---

aha

women allowed to express some emotions in some ways /time & place; man can express anger, often via violence

strict fr righteous anger retribution for bad weak immoral out of control behavior disobedience

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How Barbie sped up the collapse of Trump’s macho-based hate movement

Thom Hartmann

August 28, 2023

This article was paid for by AlterNet subscribers.

Have you noticed Americans are beginning to reject hate?

Trump’s popularity — even among Republicans — is dropping like a stone, and parents are beginning to show up in large numbers at school board meetings to talk back to bigots and haters.

MSNBC and CNN are filled with Republicans who have rejected Trump and hate. Increasingly, pastors are speaking out against Trump and hate.

Trump called for huge protests at his arraignments, but only a handful of people showed up, and the Wall Street Journal is calling for Republican presidential candidates to organize themselves in a way that will prevent Trump from becoming the GOP’s nominee again.

As investigative reporter Jordan Green notes over at Raw Story:

“On Telegram accounts linked to the Proud Boys, posts about the Maui wildfires — typically suggesting sinister causes or accusing the Biden administration of neglect — appear to outnumber references to the Trump indictment roughly four to one.”

The New York Times reports that even in the weeks before Fani Willis’ Fulton County indictment:

“A majority of Americans, in four recent polls, said Mr. Trump’s criminal cases were warranted.”

And democracy expert David Pepper points out on his excellent Substack blog Pepperspectives:

“Recent polls on Trump are brutal, with more than 60% saying they won’t vote for him in a general election.

“Recent elections in Ohio and Wisconsin confirm that the far right’s toxic brew of extremist policies and attacks on democracy are also deeply unpopular. Absolute losers at the polls.”

Political candidates who base their campaigns on hate are failing, and ordinary cordial discourse among Americans with different political views is beginning to return.

The media has noticed the trend, but they think it’s caused entirely by Trump’s legal troubles. While that’s no doubt a very large factor, I believe there’s also another force at work here: the movie Barbie.

Seriously.

Last week Louise got together with some “girlfriends” — including a few Trump supporters — for a Barbie Party. A group of boomer women all hanging out wearing pink and talking smack about “the patriarchy.”

Before you scoff, consider this:

— The reason “shock therapy” (electro-convulsive therapy or ECT) fell out of favor in America wasn’t just because of the development of anti-depressive medications during that era: it was also because of the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

— Deer hunting collapsed as a sport in large part because of the Disney movie Bambi, and sociologists credit the film and it’s “Bambi Effect” with a rise in vegetarianism among boomers who were children when it came out (I sure still remember it, and my parents took me to see it during the film’s revival 66 years ago!).

— Teaching evolution and contrasting it with creationism in American classrooms became acceptable as the result of the movie Inherit The Wind about the Scopes Monkey Trial.

— The nationwide revival of the then-moribund Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s (leading to the Klan taking full political control of the State of Oregon that decade) was entirely attributable to D.W. Griffith’s movieBirth of a Nation.

— The movie Jaws caused a drop (that lasted for years) in people willing to swim in the ocean, as well as an increase in shark hunting that has caused some species to become endangered.

— The film Gone With The Wind, whitewashing the crimes of the Confederacy and the brutality of slavery, led to a revival in “Confederate Culture” that echoes across the South to this day.

Given this history, and the brilliant screenplay, acting, and production values of the movie Barbie, it would be naïve not to think it’s had an impact on American consciousness. The question is, how big is that impact?

A recent survey reported by The Hill found that fully 85 percent of conservatives who’d seen the movie Barbie said it increased their “awareness of the patriarchy at work.”

Fifty-seven percent of all viewers surveyed said the movie “improved their opinion of women in leadership.” The percentage of people surveyed who said that women were more effective leaders than men went from 19 percent before seeing the film to 29 percent after.

A movie ostensibly about a Mattel doll, it opens with a Barbie character proclaiming:

:{:{}:

“In Barbieland, corporations are not people, and money is not considered protected free speech!”

From there the plot becomes even more progressive. Ken goes from the matriarchal Barbieland to the “real world” and brings back the idea of patriarchy, a cultural contagion that destroys Barbieland nearly as completely as Trump tried to destroy democracy in America. (I promise not to give away any more of the movie.)

The analogies between the transformations of Barbieland and the collapse of Trump’s macho-based movement are startling; it’s hard to imagine the screenwriters weren’t either influenced directly by it or at least by the same social forces that brought it about.

And it’s hard to overestimate how widespread the impact of the movie has been. It’s grossed over a billion dollars, and fully 22 percent of people who saw it hadn’t been to a movie in years.

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Hopefully, this is the start of a trend like the one we saw during the latter Obama years.

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Between 2013 and 2014, hate in America experienced a significant decline: in an “Intelligence Report” released in March, 2015, the Southern Poverty Law Center said, as CNN reported, “the number of hate groups operating in the U.S. declined 17% between 2013 and 2014.” They were, SPLC reported, at their lowest levels since 2005.

But then Donald Trump came down the escalator at Trump Towerand, like Satan opening his mouth and unleashing the hounds of hell, poured out a plume of hatred, bigotry, and a call for violence that has saturated our nation for nearly eight long years.

There was an immediate jump in hate crimes, a trend that continued and increased steadily right up until this year. The Washington Post summarized the phenomenon succinctly in a 2019 headline:

“Counties that hosted a 2016 Trump rally saw a 226 percent increase in hate crimes”

It’s premature to proclaim the era of Trump-fueled racism and hate over, but the sense I’m getting from doing a national radio and TV call-in talk show for the past 20 years is that America has begun its much-needed healing.

Perhaps most surprising, people who had previously called in to promote Trump and “conservative values” are increasingly telling me and my listeners that they’ve seen the light and want to work together to make America a better place for all.

Beth Felker Jones writes for Christianity Today that she’s seeing it in her family and her church community, as the twin sensations of Barbie and Taylor Swift’s tour (and Swift’s open disavowal of hate) sweep the nation:

“Movie theaters are full of families and groups of friends, dressed in pink and laughing together; the country’s biggest stadiums are packed out with a tiny slice of those who would have come to see Swift perform, had more tickets been available.”

She notes how the pandemic and America’s political differences pulled us apart for years; now, she writes, things are changing for her kids and others:

“Now they’re hungry for togetherness. They’re hungry for large-scale shared cultural events and wearing dress-up clothes in public.”

Whether it’s Barbie or the Trump prosecutions that have brought about what feels like the early stages of a sea-change in the American zeitgeist — or the perfect storm of the combination of the two around the same time — I’ll take it.

America is better for both!

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mma 8 23

## channels which attract young viewers with misogyny and push right-wing extremism have appeared on the leaderboard more frequently in recent months
Videos from channels that push rhetoric associated with the “manosphere” — a far-right community that recruits susceptible young men with toxic masculinity and misogyny, accounted for 3% of the videos we identified on the leaderboard between February 1 and July 31, earning over 46 million views and at least 1 million likes.

Notably, videos from these channels have appeared more frequently of late: They accounted for just 27 appearances on the leaderboard in February, but 94 appearances on the leaderboard in July.

graph]
The right-wing misogynistic channels that have appeared most frequently on the leaderboard include “SNEAKO,” “FreshandFit,” and “TateSpeech by Andrew Tate”:

- Videos from Sneako, who has repeatedly promoted white Christian nationalist Nick Fuentes on his channel, appeared on the leaderboard at least 84 times, earning over 8.5 million views and at least 161,000 likes. On May 30, Sneako held a harrowingly antisemitic and homophobic six-hour livestream with Fuentes that appeared on Rumble’s leaderboard as the fourth most-liked video on the platform from that day. In Sneako’s video, which Rumble removed but Fuentes then reposted to his own channel, Fuentes effectively denied that the Holocaust was genocide and parroted the antisemitic propaganda of blood libel from the Middle Ages, accusing Jews of “communing with demons” and of “using Christian blood in their rituals.”
- Videos from FreshandFit — which describes itself as the “the #1 men’s podcast in the world” covering “females, fitness, and finances” — appeared on the leaderboard at least 74 times, earning over 19.5 million views and at least 331,000 likes. Hosts of the Fresh & Fit podcast include Why Women Deserve Less author Myron Gaines and dating and lifestyle coach Walter Weekes, who both regularly spew misogynistic and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and demean a panel of young women who appear on the show’s “After Hours” streams. The show has also embraced Holocaust denial and extreme antisemitism.
- Videos from misogynist Andrew Tate appeared on the leaderboard at least 43 times, earning more than 10 million views and at least 340,000 likes. Tate, who is banned from Meta, YouTube, and TikTok for his hateful and violent rhetoric, is known for serving as a misogynist guru for young boys and men. He has encouraged a “mass exodus” from other platforms to Rumble and repeatedly promoted the platform (which has repeatedly promoted him in turn, even reportedly paying him $9 million to make Rumble his streaming platform of choice, even though he is banned from most others). Several of Tate’s videos appeared on the leaderboard while he was imprisoned and later under house arrest in Romania, awaiting a trial for charges relating to an alleged sex trafficking operation he ran with his brother along with several charges of rape.

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no lnx

The Claremont Institute: The Anti-Democracy Think Tank

It was once (mostly) traditionally conservative and (sort of) intellectually rigorous. Now it platforms white nationalists and promotes authoritarianism.

Katherine Stewart/August 10, 2023

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Earlier this year, nearly 1,000 supporters of “National Conservatism” gathered at the semicircular auditorium of the Emmanuel Centre, an elegant London meeting hall a couple of blocks south of Westminster Abbey, to hear from a range of scholars, commentators, politicians, and public servants. NatCon conferences, as they are often called, have been held in Italy, Belgium, and Florida and are broadly associated with what is increasingly called the “New Right.” In London, speakers denounced “woke politics,” blamed immigration for the rising cost of housing, and said modern ills could be solved with more religion and more (nonimmigrant) babies. The break room was lined with booths from organizations such as the Viktor Orban–affiliated Danube Institute, the U.K.-based conservative think tank the Bow Group, the Heritage Foundation, and the legal powerhouse Alliance Defending Freedom, which is headquartered in Arizona but has expanded to include offices in nearly a half-dozen European cities.

When I attended NatCon London in May, I heard a number of American accents in the crowd, and I was not surprised to see Michael Anton, a former national security official in the Trump administration and a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, a right-wing think tank, on the lineup. These days, Anton and other key representatives of the Claremont Institute seem to be everywhere: onstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC); at the epicenter of Ron DeSantis’s “war on woke”; and on speed-dial with GOP allies including Josh Hawley, J.D. Vance, and Donald Trump.

Most of us are familiar with the theocrats of the religious right and the anti-government extremists, groups that overlap a bit but remain distinct. The Claremont Institute folks aren’t quite either of those things, and yet they’re both and more. In embodying a kind of nihilistic yearning to destroy modernity, they have become an indispensable part of right-wing America’s evolution toward authoritarianism.

Extremism of the right-wing variety has always figured on the sidelines of American culture, and it has enjoyed a renaissance with the rise of social media. But Claremont represents something new in modern American politics: a group of people, not internet conspiracy freaks butcredentialed and influential leaders, who are openly contemptuous of democracy. And they stand a reasonable chance of being seated at the highest levels of government—at the right hand of a President Trump or a President DeSantis, for example.

Claremont represents something new in modern American politics: a group of people, not internet conspiracy freaks but credentialed and influential leaders, who are openly contemptuous of democracy.

What is their worldview, their mission? It starts, of course, with a redefinition of America’s national identity. Launching into his NatCon speech, titled “Britain’s Grand Strategy for the 21st Century,” Anton hailed Brexit as “Britain standing up for herself against the globalist Borg.” With a sly swipe at U.S. support for Ukraine (“A Russia that has difficulty reaching, much less crossing, the Dnieper does not seem much like a threat to cross the channel,” he said), he was unequivocal in his assessment that “wokeism” is at the heart of the threat to the West.

“It is tempting to want to think of foreign policy in the traditional way, as threats from predatory empires and nation-states. But that is not the threat that we face today, not the main one,” Anton said. “This ideology was not born in our countries” but “has taken root here and in America. It has captured our elites and our institutions. And I am sorry to say we are partly to blame because so far, at any rate, we have failed to stop it.”

There is a story you hear from the podiums at gatherings like NatCon and CPAC, and if you go to enough of them, it will sound as familiar as a classic rock song. It goes something like this: The sum of all our problems—and the greatest threat that the American republic has ever faced—is the rise of the “woke” elite. Cosmopolitan, overeducated, gender-fluid, parasitic, and anti-Christian—the leaders of this progressive cabal worship at the shrine of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion offices, which they use to elevate undeserving people of color and crush hardworking “real” Americans. They control “the regime,” or so the song tells us: “the administrative state,” the institutions of culture, law enforcement, even the military. Any and all means to annihilate the power of the woke, up to and including political violence and overturning elections, must be seriously considered if we (right-thinking Americans) are to “save our country.”

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It’s not just the NatCon types who are humming this tune; it has permeated other sectors of the American right. In the run-up to the 2023 Road to Majority Policy Conference, an annual gathering of religious right activists, strategists, and politicians that took place in Washington, D.C., in June, seasoned Christian right strategist Ralph Reed sent out a fundraising email asserting, “Woke culture and anti-Christian, anti-American radicals drive our public life further and further from the Light of God’s Word.” From the main stage of the conference, Ron DeSantis railed against the “woke mind virus”; Vivek Ramaswamy took a swipe at the “administrative state”; and Josh Hawley asserted that “woke corporations” and “Marxists in the C-suite” are “pushing relentlessly this Marxist agenda,pushing relentlessly this religion of woke.” At the gala dinner, Trump delivered a rambling attack on his political opponents in the Democratic Party, whom he accused of “trying to impose their blasphemous creed of woke communism.”

Ironically, the folks pushing this rescue-America-from-the-woke narrative don’t look much like the hardworking “real” Americans they purport to speak for. Educated, urbane, politely attired —they look a bit more like the villains of the tale than the people who are supposed to be rising up against the regime. There is something detached from reality in this story about how one part of the upper middle class is going to save the country from the other part. Yet, under Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, this conviction has become something close to the official ideology of the third most populous state in the nation. Donald Trump too has shifted his rhetoric to claim ownership of what is, in essence, an ultra-MAGA narrative.

Why has so much of the American conservative movement embraced the story that the principles of equality and the pursuit of a more just society are the greatest threats to Western civilization today? Who or what is responsible for giving these paranoid ideas an intellectual veneer? The Claremont Institute gets you much of the way to an answer.

Founded in 1979 in the city of Claremont, California (but not associated in an official way with any of the five colleges there), the Claremont Institute provided enthusiastic support for Donald Trump in 2016. Individuals associated with Claremont now fund and help run the National Conservativism gatherings;Claremont Institute chairman and funder Thomas D. Klingenstein also funds the Edmund Burke Foundation, which has held those National Conservatism conferences across the globe. Claremont is deeply involved in DeSantis’s effort to remake Florida’s state universities in the model of Hillsdale College—a private, right-wing, conservative Christian academy in Michigan whose president, Larry Arnn, happens to be one of the institute’s founders and former presidents. Claremont honored DeSantis at an annual gala with its 2021 “Statesmanship Award,” and the governor returned the favor by organizing a discussion with a “brain trust” that included figures associated with the Claremont Institute. If either Trump or DeSantis becomes president in 2024, Claremont and its associates are likely to be integral to the “brain trust” of the new administration. Indeed, some of them are certain to become appointees in the administrative state that they wish (or so they say) to destroy.

“What the Hell Happened to the Claremont Institute?”

The saga of the Claremont Institute in the Trump years is readily told as one of moral collapse. Once upon a time, the men of the Claremont Institute (they are almost all men; more on that in a moment) idolized George Washington for his “prudence” and “civility.” From its founding up through the Obama years, the institute was certainly situated on the right, but it was not, or did not seem to be, conspicuous for its extremism. It was probably best known for publishing the Claremont Review of Books, which was sized and laid out to resemble The New York Review of Books, as if to suggest that it was in direct competition with its more established and exalted Manhattan counterpart.

But in 2015–16, the Claremont men threw their support behind the man who descended that golden escalator with a mouthful of hateful rhetoric. In an earlier time, they defended intellectual rigor against the alleged relativism of contemporary academic culture. But now they provide a platform for white nationalists, racist “replacement” theorists, and the Pizzagate man. Nate Hochman, the erstwhile DeSantis staffer who was fired after he reportedly created and distributed a campaign video featuring Nazi imagery in July, is a former Claremont Institute Publius Fellow (2021). ”Most haunting of all—they once hailed the United States as “the best regime in Western civilization.”But in the aftermath of Trump’s defeat in 2020, Claremont board member John Eastman was instrumental in the plot to recruit fake electors and overturn the election—and the men of Claremont rose to his defense. Eastman currently faces potential disbarment in California and appears to be a person of interest in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations. Yet Claremont board member and founder Christopher Flannery has called John Eastman a “hero” and has asked us instead to condemn “the Stalinist machine” (meaning U.S. federal law enforcement) for persecuting him. Eastman was the unidentified (and uncharged) co-conspirator 2 in the August 1 indictment of Trump over his January 6 actions. (Claremont did not respond to emails from The New Republic asking if the institution endorsed Eastman’s behavior on this matter, in addition to some other issues addressed in this piece.)

The Claremont Institute’s seeming embrace of political violence against the government of the United States is not limited to Eastman’s efforts to whip up the mob that gathered at the Ellipse in preparation for the assault on the Capitol, nor can it be excused as mere metaphorical excess in the war of ideas. “Given the promise of tyranny, conservative intellectuals must openly ally with the AR-15 crowd,” argues author Kevin Slack, a professor at Hillsdale College, in a lengthy book excerpt published in Claremont’s online magazine,The American Mind. “Able-bodied men, no longer isolated, are returning to republican manliness in a culture of physical fitness and responsible weaponry. They are buying AR-15s and Glock 17s and training with their friends, not FBI-infiltrated militias or online strangers but trustworthy lifelong friends to build a community alongside.”

“What the hell happened to the Claremont Institute?” asks Laura K. Field, a senior fellow at the Niskanen Centerand a scholar in residence at American University, in an insightful series in The Bulwark. Daniel W. Drezner has described the institute as“the poster child for the devolution of conservative thought.” Over at National Review, Mona Charen has written that Claremont “stands out for beclowning itself,” and adds that its fellows have “thoroughly jettisoned their devotion to truth and virtue.” In conversation with me, Bill Kristol dismissed the current incarnation of Claremont as “off-putting and depressing and stupid.” Steve Schmidt, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, was even more direct. Claremont, he told me, “is becoming like the West Point of American fascism. It has collected a creature cantina, like the Star Wars scene, and has nurtured and midwifed the birth of a political ideology” that “leaves most commentators deeply discomforted by calling it by its name.”

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But is it really a story of decline? Or are we simply seeing the true face of the beast, now that it has stepped into the limelight of significant political power? “It’s not like there were no signs of ideological trouble or shortsightedness at the Claremont Institute going back nearly to the start,” Field told me. “The more I read, the less surprised I am.” In Kristol’s view, too, the signs were there. “If you look at the Claremont Review of Books 10 years ago, there were some intelligent articles.” However, Kristol noted, “What I would say is that some of them have fallen into legitimizing violence and really fundamental illiberalism. Not all of them are there.... But because they are so unwilling to call out extremists on their own side, I give them no credit.”

A broad survey of the Claremont Institute’s trajectory since its founding confirms Kristol’s intuition. The pathologies appear to have been present at the creation, too, and they have always seemed to matter more than any specific policy agenda or political personality that the institute supports. But the suggestion that the rise of the kind of disordered thinking that Claremont embodies is something that just happened to America’s conservative movement, as if by accidental impact with some outside force, is far too optimistic. Over the past five decades, wealthy conservatives have conducted a grand experiment in American political discourse by investing heavily in organizations and think tanks that have sought to shift the center of public debate in a direction favorable to their interests and privileges. The Claremont Institute is representative of the many operations that blossomed with this well-financed effort. The unintended consequences of the experiment are now the story. When you pay people to be unreasonable, you attract many unreasonable people. They drown out the reasonable people. And they just want to blow the place up.

The Intellectual Background, Part 1: Jaffa and Strauss

The intellectual origin story of the Claremont Institute begins in the 1970s with a circle of graduate students gathered around Harry Victor Jaffa, a charismatic professor of political philosophy. Jaffa’s story begins about three decades before that, when he experienced in the 1940s the equivalent of a red-pill moment.

Jaffa gratefully attributed this awakening from somnolent acceptance of relativism to his mentor,Leo Strauss, the German-born Jewish political philosopher who later found a home at the University of Chicago before his death in 1973. As a graduate student at Yale, by his own account, Jaffa had lived “within the historicist dogma that we are all prisoners of our own time, and that we had no access to any truth outside of it. Strauss frees one from this prison….” Plato’s dialogues, Aristotle’s treatises on ethics, and the rest of the works that he studied with Strauss are more than just great, Jaffa realized in his moment of clarity; they are the source of absolute truth, which is far more durable than the compromising relativisms of liberal dogma and reveals something that can be called “natural right.”

The other teaching that Jaffa took from Strauss is that the great philosophers don’t always say what they mean. According to Strauss, philosophers routinely engage in “esoteric” and “exoteric” writing. That is, they disguise their most important teachings in the face of political persecution (with which Strauss, as a German Jew who escaped to the United States, may have had some familiarity) and pass them along to followers in between the lines, as it were. The implication is that philosophical writings are deeply political. They have an external message, aimed at influencing the public in some way. But only their intellectual fellow travelers can decode the internal meaning of the texts.

Jaffa was a complex figure, and not without appeal to progressives. Central to the vision articulated in his seminal work on the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, Crisis of the House Divided, is the argument that equality is the founding principle of the American republic, and that Lincoln achieved incomparable greatness in wielding this principle against slavery.

Strauss is even harder to pin down, politically speaking. A defining experience for him seems to have been the failure of the Weimar Republic, which he possibly took as a failure of liberalism. The theory of esoteric writing sometimes appears to rest on the premise that human society is incapable of the kind of rational, deliberative government that liberal democracy requires. Only Strauss and his followers can handle the eternal truths vouchsafed to us by the Greeks, it seems to suggest; most ordinary people must be content to live in what Plato called “the cave”—a state of permanent delusion.

Even such a brief review of this Straussian legacy raises some subtle questions. How do we know that absolute truth landed in the texts of Plato and Aristotle and not, say, Lao Tzu? If the real message was intended to be misread, how can we ever know that our self-appointed interpreters have decoded it correctly? The great minds of Claremont, however, do not do subtle. In their work, these tensions stand out as blatant contradictions.

A case in point would be the work of Charles Kesler. The long-time editor of Claremont’s book review, Kesler tends to show up in reporting on the Claremont Institute as its éminence grise, lending a patina of intellectual respectability. You can get a feel for Kesler’s style of Straussian natural rights analysis from his interpretation of the speech that Trump delivered at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021. Where Trump says that former Vice President Mike Pence and other Republican leaders in Congress would be “ashamed of themselves throughout history, throughout eternity” if they failed to overturn the election, Kesler sees proof that Trump believes in “a form of right, based not merely in history but in ‘eternity.’’’ Trump the Platonist—who knew?

Although it is usually unwise to judge a book by its cover, an exception can be made in the case of Kesler’s Crisis of the Two Constitutions (whose title is an homage to Jaffa’s book on the Lincoln-Douglas debates). Between the covers of Kesler’s sequel to Jaffa, readers will find potshots at “the 1619 riots” (Kesler’s label for the George Floyd protests of 2020); extended attacks on “multiculturalism”; analysis of why liberalism “looks increasingly, well, elderly” (hint: Joe Biden); representations of Donald Trump as a “truth-speaker”; and, of course, sweeping and deeply partisan generalizations about American history.

Fortunately, for those who might wish to access the underlying claims in Kesler’s book about American history, it’s all there on the cover. In a custom-drawn cartoon in shades of red and yellow, the U.S. Capitol stands in the distance, majestic and forlorn. Barring the entrance squats a nasty-looking monster with vaguely racialized features. It is labeled “the living Constitution.”

The monster represents the great evil of the world as Kesler appears to understand it. This evil is called variously “historicism,” “nihilism,” and, most despicable of all, “progressivism.” Historicism is the doctrine that we are all “prisoners of our own time,” to borrow Jaffa’s phrase; nihilism is the supposedly consequent view that there are no absolute truths or values; and progressivism is the self-destructive political program that afflicts people who are presumed to have mistakenly fallen for nihilistic historicism. In Kesler’s version of the history, the influence of the German philosopher Hegel (1770–1831) accounts for the rise of historicism, a gateway drug to nihilism, while the supposedly arch-progressive Woodrow Wilson is responsible for the creation of the dreaded “administrative state.”

Off to the right on Kesler’s book jacket, a small but heroic knight on horseback flies the flag of the true United States Constitution (“We the People,” it reads). Call him the white knight of Claremont; he tilts his lance in the direction of the beast of progressivism. In fact, in the cartoon, he looks set to storm the Capitol.

The book was finished before January 6, 2021, but came out about a month afterward. The timing was impeccable.

In Kesler’s version of American history, the Progressive Era is when the country’s decline began. Kesler is not alone in peddling a dark narrative of American collapse, though the dates and details can vary. As Laura Field explained to me, “One pattern I’ve noticed is that when they look back … it’s like they think there was some magical moment in history, a blip in time in 1866, 1933, or 1966, or what have you, when there was a perfect equilibrium, and all racial or civil rights problems were solved.” The absurdity of this proposition shows that the “creature cantina” at Claremont, as Steve Schmidt puts it, has little interest in learning from the study of the past. They are driven instead by the hatred of groups or aspects of life in the present that they map onto a fictional narrative involving an imaginary past. This isn’t intellectual history; it is cartoon history, rooted in some kind of reactionary pathology.

The Intellectual Background, Part 2: About Schmitt

One figure from the history who should matter in any assessment of the Claremont Institute, not in the official pantheon but not far below the surface either, is the ultraconservative German political theorist Carl Schmitt. Unlike Strauss, Schmitt is very easy to place, politically speaking. He was a Nazi and a vicious antisemite: not just a fellow-traveling Nazi, but an influential legal adviser to the regime who promoted book burnings, worked to destroy the careers of Jewish scholars and scientists, and refused to participate in de-Nazification after the war. And yet, he was instrumental in getting Leo Strauss the scholarship that helped him leave Germany in 1932; Strauss thanked Schmitt for providing him with “the most honorable and obliging corroboration” of his scholarly work that he had ever been accorded.

Like Strauss, Schmitt was unhappy with the Weimar Republic, which he perceived as unforgivably weak. He took his unhappiness out on the very idea of liberal democracy. Liberalism, he argued, is a failure because it refuses to acknowledge the distinction between “friend” and “enemy”—a distinction that he took to be the foundation of all politics. What makes humans special and genuinely political, according to Schmitt, is that they are willing to fight one another and die for a higher cause. The other defect of liberalism, according to Schmitt, is that it fails to acknowledge that the sovereign must be he who can act in a “state of exception” or “state of emergency.” That is, a ruler must be able to break all the rules, ostensibly in the name of the common good, or he isn’t much of a ruler at all.

At first glance, Schmitt’s friend-enemy distinction might sound like a way of separating citizens from “foreigners.” And indeed Schmitt, in works such as The Concept of the Political, pointed to enemies both foreign and domestic. But the main source of his appeal to contemporary conservatives is the latter. To today’s right, the more important enemies are those citizens (liberals and insufficiently conservative conservatives) who either fail to acknowledge that we have enemies or are supposedly plotting against the country. Trump (who may be presumed innocent of any direct knowledge of Schmitt’s work) explained the gist of the point at the 2022 Road to Majority conference. “The greatest threat facing this country is not our foreign enemies, dangerous as they may be,” he said. “The greatest threat is the internal enemy. And I think you all know who I’m talking about.”

Schmitt’s antisemitism, too, was more complex (if no less despicable) than it first appears. “The Jew,” in his thought, was the paradigm of the secularized, cosmopolitan, educated elite on which liberalism necessarily relies. While the nature of Schmitt’s antisemitism is the subject of some debate, observers note that it did not follow traditional theological patterns but was rooted in his political theory. His antisemitism was thus an expression of his anti-liberalism filtered through the grotesque racial prejudices of his time. Some of his successors would learn how to draw on the same anti-liberalism while dropping the antisemitism in favor of hating on other groups ostensibly playing the same role. “At a time of dizzying and dynamic technical change, instantaneous communication, abolished borders, and global, de-territorialized conflict, Schmitt proves a prescient guide,” Claremont contributor Aaron Zack wrote in his largely favorable review of Schmitt’s 1942 book, Land and Sea: A World-Historical Meditation, published in the Claremont Review of Books in January 2017. “It is well worth reading.”

Michael Anton, who warns of the possible rise of a left-wing Caesar.]

This background is helpful in assessing the most infamous essay ever to appear in the Claremont Review of Books—or at any rate the essay universally thought to mark the birth of the new Claremont. Published in September 2016 under the byline Publius Decius Mus and later attributed to Michael Anton, “The Flight 93 Election” was said to make “the intellectual case” for Trump. The election of Hillary Clinton, Anton asserted, would be the equivalent of a terrorist attack on the United States. If we’re all going to die at the hands of the Al Qaeda–like Democrats, the argument went, we have no choice but to join the alternative.

A Clinton presidency would mean “pedal-to-the-metal on the entire Progressive-left agenda” combined with “vindictive persecution” of conservatives.Yet having established that as a given, Anton directs most of his polemic against the representatives of “Conservatism, Inc.”—that is, those squishy, closet liberals who are too sanguine about a Clinton presidency, and who fail to recognize that Trump is the only alternative and that the only answer is to rush the cockpit.

At the time, Bill Kristol characterized Anton as a minor-league Carl Schmitt, noting on Twitter, “From Carl Schmitt to Michael Anton: First time tragedy, second time farce.” In communication with me, Kristol emphasized the connection anew. “If you look at recent issues, it becomes like Carl Schmitt,” he said of the Claremont Review. “They are sending the message that extreme measures are needed to defend against the tyranny of liberal Democrats. They seem to want to blow through all the guardrails and are OK with that.”

The Pathologies of Manliness

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Of Claremont’s 41 fellows and senior fellows, all but three are male, and nearly all appear to be white. All 19 board members appear to be male. Nevertheless, they seem extraordinarily preoccupied with their manliness.

Recently, The American Mind featured an interesting piece on that score from a frequent contributor who calls himself “Raw Egg Nationalist” (REN). REN is the author of a cookbook. He advocates “slonking,” that is, a diet he describes as part of “a physical and political ethic built around the massive consumption of raw egg.” The eggs are said to help with bodybuilding and other manly pursuits. (Remember Rocky Balboa arising before dawn and chugging down raw eggs?) But the benefits don’t end there! It turns out that raw eggs can also counteract “the globalists’ plan for world government.” In Tucker Carlson’s 2022 film, The End of Men, REN joins with other figures in the “manosphere” to link the consumption of animal products with a back-to-the-land nationalism meant to strengthen the traditional moral values of Western males.

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The big problems with the world today, according to REN, include “the agricultural revolution and its consequences” and a “crisis of masculinity.” “We have it drilled into us, this instinctive revulsion for inequality in any form. And actually, I think we need to ask instead whether inequality has its uses,” REN muses. “Maybe men and women shouldn’t work together in the same spaces.” Another big problem would appear to be ugly people, by which REN seems to mean the kinds of people who show up at racial justice events. In an interview with Jack Murphy, who was a Lincoln Fellow at Claremont, REN has this to say about the Black Lives Matter protesters of 2020: “All of these people look the same. I mean, they are hideously ugly, malformed people.” REN’s publisher, as it happens, is Antelope Hill Publishing, otherwise known for its Nazi and white nationalist titles, such as Michael, a novel written by the young—I kid you not—Joseph Goebbels (“Antelope Hill Publishing is proud to present a new English edition….”).

REN is far from the only writer with woman problems to score a platform at the Claremont Institute (he’s written frequently for The American Mind). In 2021, a Boise State University political philosophy professor named Scott Yenor went viral—not in a good way—with a speech at the National Conservatism Conference in Orlando, Florida, in which he characterized women with professional aspirations as “medicated, meddlesome, and quarrelsome.” Yenor’s views could hardly have been news to Claremont. Six months previously, the institute had invited him to deliver a keynote on “Feminism and the American Future.” Yenor seized the opportunity to inveigh against women’s pursuit of economic security and a satisfactory sex life. He maligned the “pernicious trajectory of feminism” and argued that it is “fatal to family life and fatal to the country.”

Claremont hired Yenor to be the think tank’s inaugural senior director of state coalitions for its new center in Tallahassee, Florida.From his speeches and writings, it would seem his actual plan looks more like an affirmative action program for reactionary males. “Every effort must be made not to recruit women into engineering, but rather to recruit and demand more of men who become engineers. Ditto for med school, and the law, and every trade,” he said. According to Yenor, state officials should conduct civil rights investigations of academic programs (“especially colleges of nursing and education”) that attract larger numbers of women than men. Ron DeSantis’s wife, Casey, tweeted her support for Yenor’s appointment, saying, “Thrilled to welcome @scottyenor from the Claremont Institute to his new home in Tallahassee.”

As Bill Kristol observes, the fanaticism here is even worse under the surface. “They are not just against the legalization of same-sex marriage,” he said. “They are so extreme they are for permitting gender discrimination in salaries, changing divorce law to what it was 70 years ago, for criminalizing homosexuality. They don’t want to say that because of political reasons, but certainly you don’t get the sense that they feel any compulsion to restrain their extremist rhetoric.”

Setting aside the rabidly misogynistic agenda, the most curious thing about Yenor’s work is just how unserious it is. If you want to make the case that women’s struggle to realize inherent natural rights and secure equality under the law is connected to various social ills in some way, you could look in places for evidence to test that remarkable hypothesis. You might, for example, compare countries with different levels of gender equality, economic outcomes, life expectancy, and health measures. You would surely want to explain the inconvenient fact that some of the places that are least hospitable to women’s rights happen to be those with the worst social and economic outcomes for all people. You might consider that, around the world, the countries that seem to best satisfy Yenor’s urgent desire to keep the genders in their lanes are also among the most repressive, unsafe, nepotistic, economically unstable, and corrupt. You would, at the very least, want to consider alternative explanations for the collapse of marriage rates among working-class Americans and the decline in male health indicators, such as the erosion of working- and middle-class wages and job security, the decline in manufacturing, and the rise of a winner-take-all economy.

But Yenor doesn’t have to do analysis, because Claremont already gave him the answer. The culprit, ever and always, is relativism, historicism, nihilism, progressivism, “wokeism,” and—since it’s all the same thing to them—feminism. So if working-class men are suffering, that can only be because the “woke left” has mounted a merciless assault on—here’s a word Yenor uses a lot—“manliness.”

Manliness. Where exactly did that word enter the conversation? In the Claremont world, manliness is a bit of a dog whistle, and Senator Josh Hawleyhas blown on it hard with his recent book, Manhood. True to Claremont formula, Hawley traces the crisis to our departure from ancient sources. When we were schooled in the classics, we had “moral uprightness”: “Machiavelli called it virtù” (from the Latin vir, meaning “man”); and the Bible has “a mission for men.” You might think that the man who raised his fist on January 6 and then scurried as fast as his legs could take him from the manly men attacking the Capitol would see some complexity in the issue, but Hawley does not. The problem, as ever, is the “priests of wokery,” as he said at the 2023 Road to Majority Conference, who have apparently succeeded in infiltrating the C-suites and learned to dispense their toxic doctrines through the corporate hierarchy.

Hawley, Yenor, and REN, however, are just taking a page from an earlier chapter in Claremont history. The story of manliness at Claremont might be said to begin with Harvey C. Mansfield Jr., the author of the 2006 book Manliness. A fixture of the Harvard University government department for decades, Mansfield counts as nobility among Claremont’s extended family.His father, Harvey Sr., helped Harry Jaffa land a career-making teaching job; Harry introduced Harvey Jr. to Leo Strauss; Harvey Jr. was Charles Kesler’s teacher.

Manliness offers a lightly informed romp through some work in biology and the social sciences on gender and sex, from which we supposedly learn that gender stereotypes are all true. “War is hell but men like it,” and women will never make good soldiers because “they fear spiders.” The patriarchy is just a biological fact of life. “Lacking as women are, comparatively, in aggression and assertiveness, it is no surprise that men have ruled over all societies at almost all times,” Mansfield concludes. And that’s that.

Mansfield is at least twice as subtle as REN; he knows enough to divide manliness into two basic types. The bad type is “nihilistic.” In a neat exercise of philosophical jiujitsu, he argues that the real problem with feminism today is that it tries too hard to be “manly”—but (gotcha!) in the bad, nihilistic way. This is especially true for Mansfield’s bête noire, Simone de Beauvoir. As Diana Schaub elaborates in a retrospective on Mansfield’s book in the Claremont Review, “Manly nihilism was embraced by the woman warrior, Simone de Beauvoir, who refashioned it into radical feminism’s womanly nihilism.” If it sounds like Mansfield is blaming harlot Eve and her uppity sisters for ruining manliness for everyone, that’s because he is.

To Harvard Professor Harvey C. Mansfield Jr., our problems started with Simone de Beauvoir.

Mansfield is far too sophisticated—or perhaps too Straussian—to openly argue for stripping American women of the rights they have fought for over the past two centuries. The “‘public sphere,’” he insists, should remain “gender neutral.” But in the “private sphere” (don’t bother looking for any definition of how the spheres are distinguished), those highly accurate stereotypes should reign triumphant. Only by acknowledging that men alone can be properly manly can we retain the “moral moorings” of manliness, as Schaub sees it. Meanwhile, the need for men alone to perform manliness has been pretty much standard practice for non-gender-neutral societies from South Sudan to Taliban Afghanistan.

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In short, Manliness is not the lowbrow male supremacy that bubbles up from the manosphere into the pages of The American Mind. It is the kindly, highbrow version of it. The raw egg fellow and Florida’s new thought leader on anti-woke education don’t represent a break with Claremont’s misogynist past. The novelty is just that REN and Yenor are departing from the Straussian code and saying the quiet part out loud.

Sticking It to the Bugmen

Apart from the “Flight 93” masterwork of intellectual Trumpism, Michael Anton contributed at least one other piece that, in a happier world, would mark a turning point in the history of the Claremont Review of Books. That would be his review of a book titled Bronze Age Mindset, whose author goes by the nameBronze Age Pervert (BAP) and has since been identified as Costin Alamariu, who received his Ph.D. in political philosophy from Yale.

BAP writes as if he were some modern-day Zarathustra descended from a mountaintop cyber-collective. “I was roused from my slumber by my frog friends,and I declare to you, with great boldness, that I am here to save you from a great ugliness,” he intones. (The “frog” meme is widely associated with the far-right blogosphere.) If a right-wing Yale Ph.D. student woke up one morning after another dateless night on 4chan and thought he was the second coming of Nietzsche, this is the book he might write.

BAP abhors women. He refers to them as “roasties” (a crude reference to female genitalia), “whores,” and “property.” The “liberation of women,” BAP whines, amounts to an “infection” from which the West “can’t recover without the most terrible convulsions and the most thorough purgative measures.”

He isn’t into gay people either. He thinks they represent “the most profound of social and political problem” (sic) of the modern world.Then again, as he recounts in his book, he managed to ejaculate without touching himself while gazing upon an ancient statue of a Greek boy; so perhaps he is part of the “problem”? For what it’s worth, Alamariu sprinkles his Twitter feed with images of muscled beefcake. Oh, and that Twitter feed is also a collection point for racial hate.

BAP thinks the Bronze Age was just great. This would be the same Bronze Age in which human sacrifice was widely practiced, a great many humans were enslaved to other humans, and more. But none of that bothers BAP, because he identifies with Achilles and the master race—those superior beings who ride herd over their inferiors without apology, without false ideas about human equality, without woke politics. “The free man is a warrior,” he says; “the only right government is military government.” He encourages his followers to join the military, where he seems to think they will be able to organize coups against womanly democracy (or as he, Yenor, and much of the manosphere call it, “the gynocracy”).

So why would Michael Anton want to promote this clinically perfect example of the resentment-addled misogynist? Perhaps it’s because they have in common the same imaginary enemy. Both hate “the left, or what I have termed the Bug-man,” as BAP puts it (Nietzsche’s term was “the last man”). Anton and others at Claremont, as we know, simply call them “the woke.”

The Bugmen, to stay with BAP, are the “pretentious bureaucrats” who harbor “titanic hatred of the well-turned out and beautiful.” They believe in “social justice” and “first-world regimented hygiene” (BAP doesn’t like clean, well-lit streets “made safe for women” because they kill “the mood of the city”). And they are right now operating a “global slave project” for the benefit of the “gynocracy.” To the finely tuned ears of Claremont, that sounds like a description of the Democratic Party.

BAP seems to agree. He tells his followers that a tactical alliance with conventional right-wingers “would get you 99% of what you want.” He urges political leaders who are persuaded by his plan to bring back the Bronze Age to “use Trump as a model of success.” But he is savvy enough to advise those of his followers who go into politics to disavow his work publicly, and even suggests they should attack it. Oddly, the men of Claremont have ignored this sage piece of Straussian advice.

Claremont has a deep bench when it comes to fascist enthusiasts, however, and it may have found a more presentable representative foil than BAP in Curtis Yarvin, a blogger sometimes described as a political theorist. Yarvin is very much on board with the anti-Bugmen agenda, but he spares us most of the male anxiety and faux-Nietzsche rhetoric. Mostly he delivers the message in the self-congratulatory patois of the tech bro: America needs a “reboot.” Napoleon and Lenin are to be admired because each was “a start-up guy.”

Yarvin’s term for those who rule the modern world is “the Cathedral” (though he has been known to slip into talk about “dark elves” and “hobbits,” too). His proposed solution, like BAP’s, is the iron fist. He thinks America needs a king, a dictator with total military power, and he offers tips on how a president might become such a kingly king. The plan: Ignore court rulings and laws you don’t like, and maybe have “taped behind your balls, a non-fungible token (NFT) which controls the nuclear deterrent. Now that’s power.”

Swaggering talk about a super-empowered dictator appears to have tremendous appeal to the men of Claremont. In their pseudoclassics way, naturally, they frame it as the rise of an American Caesar. How glorious! Sometimes, the reveries are tucked inside high-sounding language about “statesmanship.” The “man of action” is Claremont’s favorite character in Aristotle, mainly because, as in the case of Christopher Rufo, the former Claremont fellow behind the anti–critical race theory hysteria, the men of Claremont explicitly aspire to become such figures themselves.

What will the manly dictator do once in power, apart from smashing the Cathedral to bits? Yarvin has little to say on that point. Who cares about the morning after? Like BAP, he practices what Nietzsche called “grand politics.” It’s all about magnificent gestures and look-at-me explosions. Details are for the Bugmen.

Anton’s approach to the Caesar question is particularly revealing and provides an example of what Straussianism has come to mean at Claremont. In his 2020 book, The Stakes, along with his appearances on several podcasts, including a two-hour discussion with Yarvin, he frames the prospective rise of a fascist dictator as prophecy, not policy, and insists that he laments such an eventuality. But then he turns around and declares that we have a choice. On the inevitable slide into a post-constitutional order, we can have a Blue Caesar or a Red Caesar. The Blue version—a combination of “Hillary Clinton and Pol Pot,” according to American Mind contributor Charles Haywood—would, Anton writes, rally “all the power centers and commanding heights of our society” to the cause of the “state-directed persecution” of conservatives. The Red one would at least draw from the part of the population with high “social capital,” which is fit to manage the “necessities” of life—this appears to be Anton’s euphemism for Trump-supporting, non-ruling-class Americans. But such a Red Caesar is unlikely, says Anton, because—woe to us!—conservatives are still too weak and disorganized.

Anton pretends merely to offer predictions grounded in wisdom of the ancients. But his target audience would have little trouble deciphering the hidden message for today. “Me, I like, if not love, the idea of a Red Caesar,” gushes Haywood. Nathan Pinkoski, a Claremont fan writing for First Things, the go-to journal for right-wing theoconservatives, explains Anton’s communications strategy: “In good Straussian fashion, what he teaches is not what he says. With great moderation, he explicitly teaches us how to act prudently within the framework of the republican constitution; with great daring, he implicitly teaches us how to act prudently when the republican constitution is gone.” In other words, Straussianism at Claremont means pushing authoritarian fantasies in not-so-secret code while cosplaying ancient philosophers.

So, who gets to join the secret society of latter-day Greco-Roman authoritarians? A strange fact to remember is that Costin Alamariu, a.k.a. the Bronze Age Pervert, got his Ph.D. from Yale. Curtis Yarvin has degrees from Johns Hopkins, Brown, and the University of California, Berkeley. Anton is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley. Their hero Ron DeSantis has both Harvard and Yale on his C.V. Manly man Josh Hawley is Stanford and Harvard. Yes, Virginia, these very men are themselves the Bugmen. When they talk about sticking it to the administrative state or fantasize about having their dictator-buddy tell all the liberals to suck on it, they seem to be dreaming about revenge on the professors, administrators, and fellow students who were mean to them on their way up.

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It is with that in mind that one can make sense of the strangest aspect of the Claremont pathology: its obsession with elite higher education.

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Adventures in Higher Education: or, Claremont Goes to Florida for Spring Break!

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Only last year, the Hamilton Center for Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida was just an idea on a piece of paper. But it quickly picked up $3 million in state funding, thanks to advocacy from the Council on Public University Reform, a mysterious group whose representative, Joshua Holdenried, previously worked at the Heritage Foundation and has a long history of working with conservative religious causes. The Florida legislature then approved an additional $10 million. According to the Council on Public University Reform’s draft proposal, the center would hold the power to appoint its own staff and educators in classics, history, and the humanities without consulting the existing faculties at the university.

The nonprofit behind the Hamilton operation is headed by a Claremont Review contributor, and the center’s arrival was music to the ears of Claremont’s Florida man, Scott Yenor. A hint about the center’s ideas in civics education may be gleaned from its decision to hire Pinkoski, who took up his position as a visiting faculty fellow at the center around the same time he published a review in First Things of a key text in the white supremacist canon: Jean Raspail’s The Camp of the Saints.

Published in France in 1973, Raspail’s novel imagines the horror that unfolds when one million nonwhite immigrants land on French shores. The subhuman invaders, as Raspail describes them, wallow in their own feces and delight in trampling over the misguided liberals who thought to welcome and feed them.The book has long been a favorite among white supremacists, but Hamilton’s man thinks it is a work of “genius” that exposes the—you guessed it—“cancel culture” and “nihilism” that is stabbing the West in the back. The Camp of the Saints is “the most important dystopian novel of the second half of the twentieth century,” he writes. Move over, Handmaid’s Tale!

The Hamilton Center is one of many such centers springing up around the nation. It is also one piece of DeSantis’s plan for higher education in Florida, along with the makeover of New College. Rufo, the anti–critical race theory guru, now serves as a trustee of New College, the small, liberal-friendly state school that the governor hopes to convert into an ideologically right-wing academy. Joining him on the board, as noted above, is Charles Kesler.

Fortunately for us, Rufo has been as transparent about his plan for the nation’s universities as he was for whipping up the fraudulent hysteria on critical race theory. (“The goal is to have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and immediately think ‘Critical Race Theory,’” he explained on Twitter.) In a lecture delivered in the safe space of Hillsdale College, Rufo revealed that America’s universities—all of them, apparently, with the exception of Hillsdale and a handful of allies—are in the hands of the woke and discriminate rampantly against right-wingers. The time has come, said Rufo, to counter this nefarious tendency with a new, parallel university system that would hire the right people and fire the lefties, and teach a pedagogy more in line with his beliefs.

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One person who gets it, by Rufo’s own estimation, is journalist and January 6 conspiracist Darren Beattie, whom Trump appointed to the commission that encourages the preservation of Holocaust sites. Beattie gushes about the results of the program in Florida so far, citing an unsigned piece in Revolver News, a right-wing outlet, that compares the right-wing reconquest of Florida’s university system with Napoleon’s lightning victory over the Austrians in 1805.

Beattie was too far out even for the Trump administration; he was fired after it emerged that he spoke at a conference attended by well-known white supremacists. A listserv for Claremont alumni swiftly accumulated messages of support for Beattie that included some amount of racist and white nationalist commentary, notably from alt-right troll and Holocaust denier Charles Johnson. That prompted some participants holding respectful positions to withdraw from the listserv; eventually, Claremont shut it down. But Johnson himself had been, in fact, a Publius Fellow at Claremont and a contributor to the Claremont Review. And he had scored a flattering foreword to his own book on Calvin Coolidge from none other than his eminence, Charles Kesler.

Charles Kesler blames it all on Hegel—and Woodrow Wilson.

Why is Claremont helping to normalize white supremacist narratives? The political capital to be made from playing to racial grievance in the Trump era is perhaps too obvious to belabor. It is much more interesting to note that the tendency long preceded the Trumpian turn. The men of Claremont routinely complain, as Kesler does in his Crisis of the Two Constitutions, that the contemporary academy has it in for “dead white males.” It is tempting to dismiss such claims as just another grievance narrative from those living white males who feel themselves to be the true victims of discrimination in today’s America. But this would be to overlook the role that such grievances play in consolidating the Claremont position on intellectual history. In the meta-narrative that Claremont absorbed from Strauss and Jaffa, greatness comes from a distinctive civilizational tradition, one that got its start in Athens, then picked up something in Jerusalem to become “the West.”

The Claremonters generally do not, on balance, explicitly identify this tradition with a racial group. Some are savvy enough to include a smattering of people of color in their narratives (Frederick Douglass being a favorite). But their followers likely have little trouble grasping that the whole point of reviving The Camp of the Saints is to conflate the desire to preserve civilization with the fear of other races and peoples. John Eastman’s views on race may be presumed to be benign, but those of the Proud Boys who stormed the Capitol on January 6 are not. And yet the Proud Boys’ oath could just as well serve as a Claremont motto: “I am a proud Western chauvinist. I refuse to apologizefor creating the modern world.”

A truly scholarly history would show that what we call “the West” is the work of human interactions spanning the globe. The fabled Greeks drew inspiration from as far afield as India, and many encounters with different cultures shaped history decisively. It is also clear that not every person who has mattered in the process was white or male. But Claremont doesn’t do intellectual history, properly speaking. There is a better name for what it does do, and that is identity politics.

Claremont has had few qualms about pursuing its version of identity politics across the board. Affirmative action is just fine, according to Claremont’s Florida model, as long as it is used to boost the kind of people who make the right sort of noises about the “gynocracy” and demonstrate an interest in white supremacist novels. The administrative state is a good thing—provided you can funnel taxpayer money to ideologically correct centers of learning. Meritocracy is the great American ideal, but only when “merit” is defined as advocating for what your ultrarich patrons already know to be true. Cancel culture is a good thing, too, as long as you are using state power to ban books you don’t like.

To be sure, there are some excellent critiques to be made of diversity programs, and maybe some of these critiques make it through the apocalyptic rhetoric coming out of Claremont. What you won’t hear, however, is any serious consideration that such programs came into being to address real problems in a diverse society with a long history of racial oppression and rank discrimination. That’s because the men of Claremont aren’t here to propose practical policy solutions to the problems facing America. They come to rile up a grievance-addled base and satisfy their own resentments—and to raise enough money to keep the circus on tour.

They Don’t Shoot Administrative States, Do They?

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In his Crisis of the Two Constitutions, Kesler names “the administrative state” as both the ideal of “Progressivism” and the font of all evil. He appears to have borrowed most of the argument, along with the strange fable about Hegel and Woodrow Wilson, from John Marini, a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute whose association with the organization goes back to its very beginnings in the 1970s.

The critique of “the administrative state” has a long history and touches on issues of concern in any modern democracy. As noted by Dwight Waldo, the subtle political theorist and onetime federal official who brought the idea to attention in a 1948 book, the administrative apparatus of the modern state has emerged as a new and powerful political function, distinct in important ways from a traditional conception of the legislature and executive. The administrative state often attempts to justify its power through an ideology valorizing scientific efficiency and managerial expertise. Yet, as Waldo points out, government administrators engage in inherently political tasks; they seek negotiated solutions among constituencies, and they ultimately answer to a democratic people through their elected representatives. The sensible critique of the administrative state, then, is a complicated one. The point isn’t to destroy it—surely we’ll want to hold on to the air traffic controllers and food safety inspectors—but to ensure that it remains accountable to the people in a democratic polity.

But the Claremont Institute doesn’t do complicated, and Marini is a case in point. He is a black-and-white kind of thinker, and one can get a sense of where he locates the color line from his analysis of Donald Trump’s candidacy for president in 2016. Marini lauded Trump for his interest in “unifying the country” by “appealing to the common good.” And “Trump has appealed to the rule of law and has attacked bureaucratic rule as the rule of privilege and patronage.” In brief, Trump represented “an existential threat” to the administrative state, according to Marini, and the secret reason why many progressives oppose Trump is that they love nothing more than the smell of bureaucracy in the morning.

In Marini’s narrative, the administrative state is not to be reformed; it is inherently illegitimate. “The tacit premise of the rational state, and the defense of the administrative state,” he claims, “rests upon the assumption that the power of government cannot be limited,” which, in his reading, directly contradicts the wisdom that the Founders supposedly gleaned from Aristotle. Consequently, as his co-author, editor, and fellow Claremonter Ken Masugi writes, “The administrative state is the modern face of tyranny—an issue on which thinkers as diverse as Leo Strauss and Carl Schmitt apparently agree.” The references are apt indeed. Marini’s critique of the administrative state, and even his identification of Hegel as its evil mastermind, tracks Schmitt’s critique of the liberal (Jewish) order with uncanny precision.

So who, according to Marini, is to blame for the rise of the administrative state in America? Marini’s answer: The “knowledge elites in the bureaucracy” who have manipulated public opinion in a dastardly plot to advance their bureaucratic power. Shorter Marini: The Bugmen did it. So what are we to do about air traffic, food safety, the environment, defense? Who knows. Details. Go ask the Bugmen.

Four years of the Trump presidency afford us some insight now into what the “deconstruction of the administrative state,” to borrow Steve Bannon’s phrasing of the Claremont idea, looks like on the ground: epic levels of corruption, nepotism, incompetence, polarization, and politicization. The best illustration of the tendency, as it happens, comes from the tenure of Claremonter Michael Pack as head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (whose flagship is Voice of America). Pack was president and CEO of Claremont Institute from 2015 to 2017. His reign at Voice of America began late in Trump’s term, lasted seven months, andended two hours after President Biden took office. During those seven months, Pack “inspired multiple formal investigations and rebukes” from various federal and D.C. judges who found that he acted “illegally and even unconstitutionally,” according to NPR reporting. “I don’t think he had a plan other than to just blow the place up,” said Dan Hanlon—a former top aide to Trump’s chief of staff who was himself appointed by Trump to the agency. “We would come in at nine o’clock and stamp out at five o’clock,” Hanlon said. “And we played foosball all day. And we would just sit there, commenting about how absurd this whole thing was.”

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Broadly speaking, the kind of anti-government nihilism that Marini preached and Pack practiced has two natural constituencies. The first consists of those people who generally do not suffer from discrimination and who, unaware of the role of the administrative state in creating and sustaining their privilege, see no place for government in securing their civil rights. The second consists of those economic interests whose activities cause harm (such as pollution or the degradation of communities) or depend on monopoly profits, and who therefore do not wish to be regulated.The Claremont Institute fills its rosters with members from the first group but fills its coffers with representatives of the second. If you want to understand the Claremont Institute phenomenon, the oldest adage of journalism is indispensable: follow the money.

What Money Buys When It Thinks It Is Buying Ideas

Apart from whatever small dollars it wrings from anxious recipients through its mass mailers, the Claremont Institute appears to get the largest chunk of its money from Tom Klingenstein, the New York–based finance executive who serves as its current chairman.

Claremont has other funders, too. The Sarah Scaife Foundation, the Bradley Foundation, Donors Trust and the Donors Capital Fund, and the Dick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundation—all have chipped in. These are among the same groups that top the list in funding climate science denialism; the privatization of public education; the reduction of taxes for the rich, especially of inheritance taxes; and other causes known to warm the hearts of billionaires.

Thomas D. Klingenstein, a main Claremont financial backer.

The direct funding from ultrawealthy interests is really only part of the story of how money has made Claremont. Claremont heroes such as Ron DeSantis, Josh Hawley, and J.D. Vance are to an important extent creatures of the donor class. The money that these political leaders receive from their wealthy friends turns into power for Claremont.

It would be a simple story if the money flowing to Claremont was merely there in pursuit of financial self-interest—and to some extent it is. Many of the donors would love to deconstruct the administrative state, after all, since it stands in the way of many of their privileges and moneymaking activities. So they will put up with the raw eggs, the Bronze Age nuttery, the woman-hating, and all that, as long as it delivers lower taxes and “small government.”

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But what can history tell us about this kind of compromise? What will happen to the moneyed interests if BAP gets his military dictatorship, or if Anton’s Red Caesar steps forth?

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I put the question to Steve Schmidt, and he lit up with enthusiasm. He urged me to read a speech thatHitler gave in 1932 in Dusseldorf to an audience of business executives. Hitler makes an explicit argument against democracy, he said, and “it’s not an unsophisticated argument—it’s what Tucker Carlson said every night on Fox and now on Twitter.” The core of the argument, in its American form, is that “America needs a Caesar.” Why does America need a Caesar? “To protect freedom and liberty—because democracy threatens the privilege of those who ‘built the country,’” Schmidt continued: “All fascist movements require the cooperation and capitulation of conservative movements. The conservative party is the party that is devoured by fascism in any type of right-wing fascist descent.”

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Having spent a fair amount of time exploring the mind of Claremont in preparation for this piece, I find Schmidt’s analysis extremely convincing. It does, however, leave me with a loose end that I think of as the Klingenstein problem. When we suggest that conservatives are cooperating with and capitulating to authoritarians, we are supposing that they still see the alliance in rational, transactional terms. We implicitly assume that they know that they are making a pact with the devil, and we fault them for a moral failure or perhaps a lack of foresight. But that doesn’t describe Klingenstein at all. He clearly has been drinking the same Kool-Aid that was intended for the working classes. He isn’t capitulating to the forces that promise to destroy the foundations of his own wealth and privilege; he actively wants to become one with them.

The kind of authoritarianism that Claremont is peddling did not happen to the conservative movement by accident. It is the predictable result of the massive investment that conservative money made over the past 50-plus years in polluting American political discourse with its massive complex of ideological factories. When you spend enough to spread unreasonable ideas, you will get an unreasonable society. You might even become a bit of a crank yourself. It goes back to a problem at least as old as Plato. If your power depends on lying to the people, that doesn’t make you noble. It just leaves you with a choice: Accept that you are a fraud, or embrace the lie.

Katherine Stewart @kathsstewart

Katherine Stewart is the author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism.

Read More: Magazine, September 2023, Feature, Cover Story, Politics, The Soapbox, The Claremont Institute, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Michael Anton, Leo Strauss, Harry Jaffa, Carl Schmitt, Illiberalism

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united States Representative Jim Himes (D-Connecticut) on Sunday blasted supporters of former President Donald Trump following the publication of a CBS/YouGov poll, which found that nearly two-thirds of likely Republican primary voters are backing Trump for the GOP nomination despite the ninety-one criminal charges that have been filed against him.

"Trump voters' affinity for him seems to insulate the former president from attacks whether or not the debates this week, because voters basically say they aren't receptive to such criticism," CBS correspondents Anthony Salvanto, Kabir Khanna, Jennifer de Pinto, and Fred Backus explain. "Instead, a whopping nine in 10 GOP primary voters want the other candidates to focus on making the case for themselves, but not against Trump."

Those same people, according to CBS, "dismiss the premise" of the indictments. "The bulk of them do think Trump tried to stay in office, but to them, it was legal and constitutional because these Republican primary voters overwhelmingly think Joe Biden didn't win legitimately."

CBS and YouGov also noted that "more generally, Trump's voters hold him as a source of true information,even more so than other sources, including conservative media figures, religious leaders, and even their own friends and family."

Himes was deeply disturbed by these revelations during his conversation with MSNBC's Alex Witt.

"You know, Trump's most fervent supporters, most fervent supporters, you know, are not open to reason or not open to arguments. CBS News just put out a poll that suggests that Trump's voters value him as a source of truth by eight points more than they value their friends and family and by thirty points more than they value religious leaders," Himes said.

"So, I mean, these are people who, and I sort of hate to use the bombastic language, but these are people who have joined a cult," Himes continued. "And therefore when Donald Trump says, 'The FBI is off of me,' or when one of his proxies like Marjorie Taylor Greene says, 'The FBI, the Democrats are doing this,' which of course is demonstrably nonsense, they get pretty fired up. And it doesn't surprise me at all that you know, these jurors, these judges, federal judges are being threatened. This is where we have come because so many Americans decided to join the cult of Donald Trump."

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// an 8 23

no lnx

'Militant — even militaristic': Why Trump appeals to white evangelicals’ view of 'masculinity'

Alex Henderson August 21, 2023

Despite battling four criminal indictments, former President Donald Trump continues to be the clear frontrunner in the 2024 GOP presidential primary. A CBS News/YouGov poll released on August 20 finds Trump leading Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the primary's second-place candidate, by 46 percent. And that poll is hardly an outlier.

Polls released in mid-August showed Trump ahead of DeSantis by 38 percent (Trafalgar Group), 39 percent (Quinnipiac University and The Economist/YouGov) or 37 percent (Fox News).DeSantis has been making a concerted effort to win over the Religious Right, but so far, Trump remains the favorite among far-right white evangelicals.

On the surface, Trump and the Religious Right seem an unlikely combination, yet many right-wing Republicans regard Trump as a staunch ally.

In an episode of The Bulwark's "Beg to Differ" podcast released on August 18, host Mona Charen examined that alliance during a conversation with guest Kristin Du Mez (author of the 2021 book "Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation").

Critics of the Religious Right have accused them of blatant hypocrisy for supporting Trump, but according to Du Mez, it is consistent with their history.

Du Mez told Charen — a former Nancy Reagan speechwriter and Never Trump conservative — "If you look at how many conservative evangelicals responded to abusive leaders, abusive pastors in their own churches and in their own organizations…. time and time again, you see evangelical communities ending up defending perpetrators of abuse—of sexual abuse, of abuse of power — and doing so in the name of protecting the witness of the church, (and) blaming women for leading men on or for seducing men. All sorts of excuses, really…. And that's exactly the rhetoric that we have heard and continue to hear around somebody like Donald Trump."

According to Du Mez, the Religious Right's embrace of Trump reflects their views on "masculinity."

READ MORE: Trump-appointed judges have ruled favorably to conservative Christians but not other religions: study

The author told Charen, "I started noticing, more than 20 years ago, a growing embrace of a very kind of militant, rugged, even militaristic conception of what it meant to be a Christian man —a kind of warrior. And I traced that up to the present and heard so many echoes of that in evangelical support for Trump; he was their ultimate fighting champion,who would do what needed to be done to advance their aims…. You can see in the recent history of evangelicalism kind of an ebb and flow of perceptions of masculinity and what's wrong with masculinity."

READ MORE: Vivek Ramaswamy's Hindu faith 'major stumbling block' for evangelical 'Christian nationalists': report

Find Mona Charen's interview with author Kristin Du Mez at this link and here.

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obligatory macho? // gaetz w trump iowa? use force

right cannot rule out violence?

https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-responds-audience-question-about-forming-militias-you-needs-have-systems

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https://www.mediamatters.org/white-nationalism/misogynistic-manosphere-influencers-dive-headfirst-antisemitism

many lnx twt pix

Misogynistic manosphere influencers dive headfirst into antisemitism

Antifeminist media figures are pushing neo-Nazi rhetoric and spreading conspiracy theories about Jewish people

WRITTEN BY JUSTIN HOROWITZ

PUBLISHED 08/08/23

Content warning: This article contains examples of extremely antisemitic and violent language.

Several misogynistic manosphere influencers are making antisemitic comments and pushing conspiracy theories about Jewish people on podcasts and online.

The manosphereis an online community of websites, bloggers, and influencers cultivating a worldview based on outdated, extremist gender politics repackaged for the internet age. The community valorizes pick-up artists, violent misogynists, incels, men’s rights activists, and conservative cultural critics.

While purporting to provide dating, financial, and lifestyle advice to men, some manosphere figures are aligning themselves with far-right personalities. Their programs serve as gateways to push audiences further to the right toward more dangerous ideologies.

Fresh & Fit podcast

The misogynistic Fresh & Fit podcast, hosted by Why Women Deserve Less author Myron Gaines (real name Amrou Fudl) and dating and lifestyle coach Walter Weekes, describes itself as “the #1 men’s podcast in the world.”The podcast recently hosted Holocaust-denying white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who appeared multiple times and made numerous antisemitic comments. During livestreams, he and white nationalist ally Sneako — another guest — denied the Holocaust, justified Nazi book-burnings, and claimed that transgender identities are the result of Jewish conspiracies.

Two Fresh & Fit videos featuring Fuentes have over 1 million views on Rumble, and Fuentes has gloated about his impact on the show’s viewership.

Nick Fresh n Fit

CitationScreenshot from Nick Fuentes' Telegram account

During one of the streams,Gaines bragged, “We’re the biggest platform that’s talking about the JQ. No one else will do it.” (The “JQ” refers to the “Jewish Question,” an antisemitic framework meant to question the human rights of Jewish people. It provided the pretext for the Holocaust.)

Video

CitationFrom the July 10, 2023, edition of the Fresh and Fit podcast

In another livestream, Gaines again bragged about discussing the “JQ” on his show.

“It’s JQ time,” Gaines said. “Everybody else is too much of a bitch to have this conversation. You can’t have this conversation on no major podcast.”

Video

Citation From the July 7, 2023, edition of Fresh & Fit, streamed on Rumble

During one of the podcast’s panel discussions,Gaines praised and defended Adolf Hitler.

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“Though he did things that were morally incorrect, he definitely did a bunch of things correct for his country. That’s a fact,” Gaines said.

Video

Citation From the July 7, 2023, edition of Fresh & Fit After Hours, streamed on Rumble

The two hosts sometimes play a cash register sound effect when talking about Jewish people on their show, a familiar antisemitic gag.

Additionally, Gaines dressed up as a stereotypical caricature of a Jewish person during one of his livestreams with Fuentes.

Fresh n Fit Jewish gag

CitationScreenshot from the July 7, 2023 edition of Fresh & Fit After Hours, streamed on Rumble

A video of Fuentes and several women giving the Nazi “Sieg Heil” salute on the set of the podcast circulated online.

Video

CitationVideo via r/MarchAgainstNazis Reddit page

The two Fresh & Fit hosts have repeatedly hosted9/11 truther andHolocaust denier Ryan Dawsonto push antisemitic conspiracy theories about Jewish people being involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

During an episode titled “Ryan Dawson REVEALS 9/11 Coverup By US Intel Agencies, Saudis & Israel! (PART 1),” Gaines pushed a debunked antisemitic conspiracy theory about Israelis being involved in 9/11.

Video

CitationFrom the May 5, 2023, edition of Fresh & Fit, streamed on Rumble

Hannah Pearl Davis

Antifeminist influencer and podcaster Hannah Pearl Davis has also recently pushed antisemitism online in a since-deleted song titled “Why can’t we talk about the Jews?”

“Why can’t we talk about the — without being kicked off of YouTube,” Davis sang. “Now, I’m not saying Hitler was a good guy, but I kind of want to know why.”

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“Now, there’s all these conspiracy theories, and the more they talk I think maybe they’re right,” Davis continued. “But I can’t even listen to the convo, I can’t even have the conversation, without being canceled by the left and the right.”

Fuentes celebrated Davis’ song, saying, “We love you, Pearl.” He has previously appeared on Davis’ dating talk and debate show.

Davis attempted to walk back her comments during an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored, saying the song “was more about cancel culture.” She later added, “I’m a fan of conspiracy theories.”

Sneako

White nationalist ally, manosphere influencer, and former associate of the rapper Ye (formerly Kanye West) Sneako (real name Nico Kenn De Balinthazy) has made several antisemitic comments online and in interviews.

Sneako has been described as “a cheap imitation of [Andrew] Tate” and rose to prominence on YouTube for his gaming, motivational, and man-on-the-street interview videos. He later shifted toward making misogynistic and hateful content.

Sneako has defended Hitler in the past and attacked Jewish people online.

“Jews have the ultimate power,” Sneako said during an interview with No Jumper’s Adam Grandmaison. “That’s just true, they have ultimate control and power and they will abuse it if they need to protect their agenda.”

“In every single industry, if you look at the end of the rabbit hole, it’s always a Jew who controls it,” Sneako said.

“The label owners, the real estate owners, like, all the people with the most amount of money behind the scene is a Jewish guy,” he continued. “Why are we out here slaving away for Jews who are profiting off of us killing each other?”

Video

CitationFrom the October 19, 2022, edition of No Jumper, uploaded on YouTube

Sneako has also said that “the Nazis had drip” and that the swastika is “aesthetically pleasing.”

Video

CitationFrom a Sneako livestream

Jon Zherka

Self-proclaimed woman-hater and manosphere influencer Jon Zherka has made several antisemitic comments.

In podcasts and on Twitter, Zherka has frequently mocked and attacked Jewish people.

During an appearance on Fresh & Fit, Zherka described Jewish men as “extremely unattractive.”

“We Catholics fuck your Jew women,” Zherka continued. “They’re a little short. Your people are short and they fuck a wall.”

Video

CitationFrom the July 12, 2023, edition of Fresh & Fit After Hours

In a bizarre livestream video posted to Reddit, Zherka melted down after finding out a woman he was with is Jewish. “You rule the world and all the banking,” he said to the woman while pretending to hit her.

After the woman said “I don’t like Hitler,” Zherka asked, “The fuck is wrong with you?” He later added, “I’ll regret this, dude.”

Zherka ended the livestream saying, “Hitler was a good guy.”

Video

CitationFrom a Jon Zherka livestream, uploaded to Reddit

Reporting shows how easily toxic rhetoric can infiltrate the minds of young audiences, even among users as young as 11 years old. Parents in particular should be aware of the dangers these figures pose. Additionally, this misogynistic and antisemitic rhetoric does not live in a vacuum online; it can lead to real-world violence, threats, and harassment.

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not bare chest steroids but misogynist etc

looks like brand/team defense in a greed biz dispute? groomer dick pix finished him?

8 23 -mma

no lnx many vid pix?

Steven Crowder’s empire of hate collapses

WRITTEN BY JASON CAMPBELL

RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM JACK WHEATLEY & CARLY EVANS

PUBLISHED 08/07/23

Hatemongering bully Steven Crowder has had a very bad year. After a brutal fight with conservative outlet The Daily Wire and a series of reports about his abusive behavior toward his family and staff, Crowder’s Rumble and YouTube views have plummeted. Crowder’s YouTube video addressing his split from Daily Wire from January received over 2 million views. His most recent video on the platform, however, barely broke 100,000 views (and his preceding video has only 59,000 views). Likewise with his Rumble account, Crowder’s videos once received over two million views. He hasn’t broken a million views on Rumble since May.

Steven Crowder's Rumble views

Along with a dwindling audience, Crowder has also lost support from other right-wing media personalities. Conservative columnist Bethany Mandel called Crowder a “narcissistic jerk.” Conservative cartoonist Scott Adams said Crowder’s attack on The Daily Wire was “bad form,” and claimed the platform’s offer was a “reasonable starting point.” And conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg called Crowder an “untalented buffoon.”

Crowder’s once strong media presence appears to be collapsing. How did this happen?

In January, Crowder began a public war with The Daily Wire. It all started when Crowder accused an unnamed conservative platform of being in league with Big Tech against conservative content creators. The next day, Daily Wire CEO Jeremy Boreing posted a video confirming that the unnamed platform was, in fact, The Daily Wire. He spent 30 minutes explaining the terms of the “dream” contract that Daily Wire offered Crowder, which included four weeks of paid vacation, full editorial control over content, a staff, and the right to retain ownership of any previously created content, as well as $50 million. Crowder not only publicly rejected the deal, but he played a secretly recorded tape of him and Boreing discussing the possible contact. This was too much for The Daily Wire.

Ben Shapiro called Crowder “nasty” on his podcast. He went on to express his condemnation of Crowder, along with a full timeline of the events which precipitated the escalating war between the Daily Wire and the YouTuber. Daily Wire host Candace Owens went on the attack as well, accusing Crowder of a “bitch move” and calling him a “socialist.” She went on to make vague threats of revealing personal and damaging information about Crowder if he did not cease his assault on her employer.

It turns out that damaging personal information, though, was about to be exposed anyway. In April, Yashar Ali published Ring camera video of Crowder’s property, which showed the YouTuber verbally abusing his wife, Hilary. In the videos, Crowder told his pregnant wife, “I will fuck you up” and ordered her to perform “wifely duties.” Crowder and his wife have been in a contentious divorce since December 2021.

As conservative radio host Erick Ericksonnoted, there was scant defense of Crowder after this video was released.

The damage only continued. In May, The New York Post revealed that Crowder has a long history of abusing his staff. This included screaming — including at his father, Darrin, who acts as his booker — as well as exposing his genitals to his employees.Mediaite followed this, reporting in July that Crowder created a workplace that was “rife with bullying, alarming and unpredictable behavior, as well as lewd sexual workplace misconduct.” In addition to the sexual harassment, the reporting also stated that Crowder would offer and ask employees for drugs, including Klonopin and opiates.

On his show, Crowder responded to the allegations that he sent pictures of his genitalia to male employees — “groomer-ish” behavior, according to an ex-staffer — by doing a skit in which he showed his genitalia to a staffer.

Crowder has long been a bully on air. After Columbus police shot and killed Ma’Khia Bryant in 2022, for example, Crowder mocked her weight. He once claimed a “disproportionate number” of trans people are rapists and pedophiles and said, “I would like to send out gangs of retarded people to lynch pedophiles.” He’s a racist who used the N-word on his YouTube show. He also frequently attacks LGBTQ people and women. What the reporting about Crowder demonstrates is that he is a bully both on camera and off.

Video

CitationFrom the March 16, 2021, edition of Louder with Crowder, streamed on YouTube

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Crowder has received an almost constant stream of YouTube suspensions. Most recently, he was suspended after allowing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to host his show. He and Jones have been getting closer in their professional relationship, an indication that as Crowder declines in popularity, he’s turning to more extreme outlets.

In March, Crowder signed a deal with Rumble to allow the extreme right-wing platform to exclusively manage his content. Viewership of his shows on Rumble this year, though, clearly show his audience is rapidly dwindling.

:{:{}:

Through lack of character and professional foolishness, Steven Crowder’s star is fading. He created a show that was as ugly as he is, and now people are finally tuning out.

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Trump chats with Mel Gibson, Roger Stone, Joe Rogan at UFC fight

Trump made the appearance during a weekend of campaign stops in Las Vegas and Iowa.

July 9, 2023,

By Jake Traylor and Vaughn Hillyard

LAS VEGAS — Former President Donald Trump drew a raucous reaction from the audience at UFC 290 on Saturday evening when he showed up for the mixed martial arts event amid a weekend of campaign stops in Las Vegas and Iowa.

While at T-Mobile Arena, Trump chatted with notable political allies and celebrities, including actors Mel Gibson and Mark Wahlberg and celebrity chef Guy Fieri. Roger Stone, Trump’s longtime friend, former political adviser and weekend travel companion, tweeted a photo of himself, Trump and Hollywood star Gibson in conversation during the event.

Stone, a longtime political provocateur, traveled with the campaign in Trump’s personal aircraft over the weekend and has a long history with the former president. Stone drew scrutiny from the now-defunct House Jan. 6 committee for his actions in the lead-up to the attack on the U.S. Capitol in 2021, and invoked the 5th amendment when subpoenaed by the committee later that year. Stone was also at the heart of probes into Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 election, and was convicted on charges stemming from then-special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's election meddling, for which Trump later pardoned him.

Trump was seen chatting inside the arena with Ultimate Fighting Championship commentator and podcast host Joe Rogan and briefly shaking hands with actor Mark Wahlberg. The former president, who’s seeking re-election in 2024, high-fived supporters while walking along the Octagon before taking a seat in the first row.

South African UFC fighter Dricus Du Plessis abruptly jumped the fighting cage to quickly shake hands and talk with Trump after a second-round technical knockout of his opponent.

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Also spotted with Trump at his campaign stop at a church in Vegas on Saturday afternoon was Nevada GOP Chair Michael McDonald, a close political ally of the former president who appeared last month before the special counsel grand jury investigating Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attack and efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. McDonald was also one of the so-called “fake electors” involved in the effort to override those results.

Trump entered the T-Mobile Arena from a ground-level tunnel alongsideUFC President Dana White, a staunch supporter of his. White spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention and donated $1 million dollars to pro-Trump super PAC America First Action.

Trump is no stranger to UFC events, attending UFC 244 while president in 2019 alongside then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and then-Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., Trump’s future White House chief of staff. The former president most recently attended a UFC event in April alongside musician Kid Rock.

Jake Traylor

Jake Traylor is a 2024 NBC News campaign embed.

Vaughn Hillyard

Vaughn Hillyard is a political reporter for NBC News.

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