Morning Briefing: The Far Right's Predictable Response to the State of the Union
Morning Briefing: The Far Right's Predictable Response to the State of the Union
From Marjorie Taylor Greene's performative antics to right-wing commentators promoting conspiracy theories, the far right responded to the state of the union with predictable narratives.
Morning Briefing: The far right responded to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech with predictable narratives, including promoting conspiracy theories about the president’s health and antiemetic conspiracy theories about the immigration crisis.
However, the Republican response to the State of the Union delivered by Sen. Katie Britt was met with nearly universal derision from far right commentators ― not necessarily for the content but for the delivery.
On Super Tuesday, “far-right candidates took notable wins in state elections,” and the MAGA faction of the Republican Party will further cement control over the party “when GOP officials vote to install the former president’s hand-picked leadership team — including his daughter-in-law Lara Trump.”
Brian Echevarria, a Republican candidate for the North Carolina state House of Representatives, reportedly “paid more than $50,000 to a political consultant with ties to the Proud Boys, campaign finance records show." Echevarria “narrowly defeated” state representative Kevin Crutchfield in the Republican primary for House District 82.
Seann Pietila, who was found guilty of charges related “using social media to make violent threats against Jewish people,” was sentenced by a judge “to a year and a day in prison, far short of what prosecutors had recommended.”
Health care facilities and health care professionals are reportedly under increasing threats of violence “as a result of cultural and divisive issues like abortion, gender-related care and a hangover from debates caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned that the “Great Replacement” and other similar far right conspiracy theories “spreading in many countries are ‘delusional’ and racist and are directly spurring violence.”
Must Reads
Will Carless writes that “suddenly, it seems, the term ‘Christian nationalism’ is everywhere. News reports about a rising conservative think tank express concerns about its ties to the movement. A high profile documentary asks whether a new wave of believers will wash away democracy in America. And Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, is increasingly embracing the narrative that he has been chosen by God — that only he can save America from Satan. Last month, a trio of convoys calling themselves ‘God’s Army’ converged on the U.S.-Mexico border to protest what they called a flood of immigrants into the country. On stages draped with Trump flags and banners with phrases like ‘An appeal to heaven,’ they prayed and proselytized… The concept of Christian nationalism — technically, the belief that the secular government should favor Christianity or even be replaced by it — existed long before Trump’s rise to power. But experts said the former president’s embrace of the movement and his increasing use of Christian nationalist language is something altogether new.” [USA Today]
Ana Marie Cox writes that “it’s almost tempting to think there could be a damaging backlash against conservatives—just look at their numerous defeats at the ballot box post-Dobbs! (Trump, ever canny about the populist urge, has encouraged Alabama to ‘preserve access’ to IVF.) This is the wrong way to read the Christian nationalists’ perversely unpopular policy pushes. They are not concerned about overreach and backlash, because they are not concerned about instituting policies that have popular support. They are not concerned with winning elections. Here, they find themselves largely in alignment with the rest of the conservative movement, which has long benefited from a slew of electoral conditions—some baked into the Constitutional cake, others teased from its depths—that limit the ability of those who disagree with them to actually have a say in how they are governed, even in cases where large majorities of voters decline to give their consent.” [The New Republic]
Peter Stone writes that “TPUSA’s annual revenues have soared in recent years with help from leading rightwing donors including the Bradley Impact Fund, which chipped in $7.8m in 2022, the Ed Uihlein Family Foundation and dark-money behemoth Donors Trust. TPUSA has also benefited mightily from hosting several gaudy gatherings at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and in tony Arizona venues that have drawn some big donors and conservative stars like the representatives Marjorie Taylor Green and Matt Gaetz, and Don Trump Jr. These events and mega-donor checks have helped make TPUSA a fundraising goliath: the group’s revenues soared from $39.8m dollars in 2020 to $55.8m in 2021 and $80.6m in 2022, according to public records. TPUSA now employs 450 people and has broadened its focus from fighting left and ‘woke’ influence on campuses to other culture war fronts by setting up a Turning Point Faith unit that’s hosted large gatherings at churches featuring Wallnau and other Christian nationalist figures.” [The Guardian]
What to expect from Radical Reports: Morning Briefing provides a daily round-up of reporting on the Radical Right; Extremist Links offers a weekly round-up of extremists activities including the white supremacist and militia movements; Narratives of the Right delivers weekly analysis of the current narratives in far right online spaces and promoted by right-wing media; and Research Desk provides monthly highlights research and analysis from academia on the Radical Right.
