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Donald Trump Is Building a New Army of Foot Soldiers
Neo-Nazis and white nationalists have been emboldened by Trump’s reelection.
https://newrepublic.com/article/189845/donald-trump-building-new-army-foot-soldiers
https://archive.ph/yq5LD
Far right supporters of Donald Trump, including members of the Proud Boys, rally in New Jersey in April.
Presidents don’t just wield power directly; they set the mood for the country. It’s not uncommon for their grassroots base to flourish under their administration, as the far right did during Donald Trump’s first term in office. It is less common, however, for that base to remain strong after defeat. But, defying the odds, the MAGA movement continued to flourish under Joe Biden. Now, with Trump returning to the White House, the far right grassroots is barreling into 2025 with plenty of momentum, while their leader both helps set their agenda while sustaining it by crowd-sourcing their conspiracies and lies for his own use.
Issues and Themes
The far right is currently animated by several themes, many of them interrelated. For several years, demonizing “DEI” (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) frameworks—which focus on identities, racial and otherwise—was an obsession. But the far right has gradually replaced DEI with “woke,” a vaguer and broader idea which can refer to the vast majority of left-leaning positions and be applied to any number of hot button, culture war topics. The backlash over gender, sexuality, and reproductive rights continues, with trans issues front-and-center. After Roe v Wade was struck down in 2022, attacks on abortion rights increased. And when Trump was reelected, the slogan “Your Body, My Choice” spread like wildfire after being embraced by far right leaders like Nick Fuentes.
Anti-immigrant rhetoric has also increased, particularly as Trump has promised to deport tens of millions. His racist vilification of immigrants was epitomized by his embrace of unfounded rumors that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio—who were, for what it’s worth, legal residents—were stealing and eating pets. Finally, completely discredited “race science” theories have returned, often focusing on bogus IQ studies. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has promoted them on his social media platform X, as has Trump, who has blamed violence by immigrants on “bad genes.”
Donald Trump
Donald Trump has different faces: the tax-cutting businessman, the international negotiator—and the authoritarian strongman. Sometimes he embraces different approaches at different times; mostly, though, he is everything at once: A demagogue and a xenophobe who is committing to cutting taxes for corporations and the wealthy and who pitches himself as the only man who can keep the country—and the world—safe. Campaign promises have included setting up deportation camps for undocumented immigrants—in what he said would be a “bloody story”—and arresting critics and opponents including Kamala Harris, Mark Zuckerberg, and members of the January 6 House committee. Trump also said he’d consider banning vaccines and claims to have the power to halt congressional budget allocations.
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8 replies
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..then deport millions of brown skinned immigrants because they are brown skinned.
Fuck. 